It Begins Again!

Above are broccoli (rapini), tomatos, eggplant (not sprouting yet) and lettuce. I started this broccoli under the lights from the beginning and the brocolli below I started on the kitchen counter for the first three days. Just three days and the second batch is taller and skinnier with much smaller leaves. I'm going to have to get a few more lights.

I had to start my AeroGarden seedstarter under flourescent lights (top) because there is a problem with the base of the aerogarden and it won't work. I didn't purchase it directly from AeroGarden but from an on-line store, but AeroGarden is sending me a replacement base quickly (fingers crossed). I purchased two 4ft shop lights and cool light bulbs for them at Lowe's for under $30. Patrick helped me set them up. I have a space for them in the garage but it's a touch too cold so I have them in my closet. This works well but it feels a little funny growing seedlings in an upstairs closet! What will the neighbors think? :-) This didn't occur to me until I was googling something for my AeroGarden and found some prominent marijuana references and then realized that from a distance down the alley, my grow lights could look funny. Yikes! Below is a picture of the closet set up.

End of Winter

My excitement for this upcoming years garden burst into bloom with an alarming intensity when I found my first crocus open and blooming in my planter box, along with the beautiful green tips of daffodils and tulips pushing up and out. Pictured above are some of my winter ground cover: clover, fava beans, and winter wheat (just a tiny corner showing). The wheat was green all winter. Next year I'll put it in the entire back yard. Not many fava beans made it through our uncommonly cold winter.

I have ordered many of my seeds for this year and realize that I need more space in which to plant them. It looks like I'm going to get to share a garden with a family who lives in the country about 3 miles from my house. I've been drawing up plans like crazy for our meeting on Monday to decide what size the garden will be, etc. Yay!!

My other big gardening development is the Aerogarden I purchased, an AeroGarden Pro200. It comes with a seed starter kit, so you can start up to 70 seedlings at a time. I also purchased some good flourescent lights and am setting up a seed starting station in the garage. Last year, Patrick and I moved all the baby plants by hand morning and night, to the sun-filled windows, then away from the cold drafts. They were also a little spindly, although they survived and then thrived outside later. I'm going to do an experiment this year and start the same seeds in a regular starter set that I start in my AeroGarden at the same time and see how they compare.

I'm all ready to go, just waiting for the seeds to arrive. I ordered them on February 4th, so it should be any day now.....

Fall

In the next couple days I'm going to start taking out all my summer vegetable plants and getting my beds ready for winter. I'm interested to see what I will find. There have been so many bees and insects buzzing around during the day that I have avoided looking through "the jungle" as my mom put it. I was stung once by a bee and once by something else. From now on, I'll be doing my work in the early morning or late evening. I can tell that the frost is not too far away now because the bees are manic about their work.

For The Birds

I planted these wild sunflowers from seeds in early summer for the birds. I'll leave the heads on as long as possible for the birds to eat. Last night we saw a hummingbird checking out our Rose of Sharon plants in the front. I have never seen a hummingbird around our house before. Yay! Perhaps we'll put in a feeder for the winter.

My garden companion still likes to follow me around and check out the garden.

My other garden companion is giving her baby a nap in the garden.

The lettuce I planted from seeds so long ago is finally full grown. For a while I had decided I would only grow lettuce from starts, but these have been so good, I might change my mind. Worth the wait.

Harvest Begins

Today I picked German Chamomile for tea. So satisfying! It surprised me how happy I was picking away, just the same as when we pick apples from the orchards in Hood River. Joy. I have a list of things in my mind that I think make me happy, but in the moment, supreme happiness comes from harvesting food straight from the earth. Simple and good.

The cherry tomatoes are gearing up to ripen in the next couple weeks. The basil is finally starting strong as well. Perfect timing. Now I just need to find some good mozarella cheese. MMMM. Sigh. I love this.

Wildflowers: A Photo History

Before:



New Soil:



Pacific NW Seed Mix planted: (from http://www.victoryseeds.com/)



Today:

Blooms and Baby Veggies

This is so rewarding! My yard is overflowing with flowers and vegetable babies and peas hanging on their vines. The first long awaited nasturtium is here along with a host of new buds and my hydrangea (top photo) is finally looking a little pink. There are squash blooms coming along everywhere. I have been hoping to produce enough to donate something to "plant a row for the hungry". It looks like I will be donating cherry tomatoes, yellow crookneck squash, acorn squash, and zucchini. My lettuce has done very well as well and we have been supplementing our barbecue hamburger nights with lettuce. I waste less when I can just go out and cut off exactly how many lettuce leaves I need. A note on the brilliance of nature: I am so glad that tomatoes and strawberries turn red when they are ready to be picked. It would be harder to find them, especially on the really big bushes.