Time for Pictures

I had fun with the macro lens yesterday. There is a lot going on!

It's been so busy

I've hardly had time for a new post. So this one will be short. I hope.

We started new seeds indoors: tomatoes, onions, and leeks. Saturday was a gorgeous day, and I also sowed some onion seeds outdoors. I had a peek at the fava beans, and they are sprouting already. I tested some old seeds on a wet paper towel for a week or so, and they all sprouted! Now I need more land for my crop. Ha Ha.

We went to home depot to buy materials for a polytunnel, and I found assorted eggplant seeds; something new to try. Those had to be started indoors early, but I guess I'm going to be late. I also got tarragon and Genovese basil seeds.

I cleaned up the flower beds, although not too much, because the arbor specialist from SavATree said to wait a week or two to avoid exposing the tender growth to the cold weather. So I did the irises and the tulips to let them grow nice and straight. Fewer tulips this year, though. Should plant more in the fall. The irises, on the other hand, multiply like rabbits!

I'm officially behind schedule

While I was writing the last post, I opened the packet of fava beans and put five seeds to soak overnight, as the instructions recommended. I did saved some in case I was over enthusiastic about planting outdoors early. The seeds looked like very old fava beans, because that's what they were. Nothing that would look inviting. Other seeds are so small that they don't even need much of a description: tiny black, small brown, ...

The next day, while we were making dinner I said, "I'd like to go out to the garden", and off I went. First to the garage to get the hand shovel and the gloves... I wish I'd remembered to wash those at the end of the season...

Opening the gate with it's welcoming chime already made me happy. The red onions had their green shoots already, and the parsley wasn't thriving after being covered by snow, but it was definitely alive. One of the beds still had some snow on it, but the one I was working on was fine. I had forgotten that I had left the trellis up from last season, so all I had to do was to get rid of the oak leaves that were covering the soil (soil, not dirt), remove old vines from last year's peas, level the soil, dig 5 small holes to put the seeds in, and cover them with loose soil. Pat, pat, pat, and I ran back to the house pleased to have started.

The same night I was supposed to start onions and leeks indoors, I had even remembered to buy nice organic potting soil, but life happened, and couldn't do it. On sunday, I was supposed to start tomatoes indoors, and I missed that too. I guess having two birthday party celebrations for the same child at an amusement center and at home didn't let me much time for it. Anyhow, I'm sure I'll catch up during the weekend, when my temporary single mother state comes to an end.

This morning, when I came back from swimming, I went to see if the fava beans had seedlings, but I didn't see anything, a bit early I guess, or maybe I planted them too deep... I always have that doubt. Sigh. My father would have dug enough to see if the had sprouted, but I didn't want to disturb them, and I didn't have my gloves, and I had to catch a train to go to work! Hurry, hurry.

While I was looking for the keys to get in the house, I saw that the hostas are coming up, I better spray those purple cones before the deer snack on them.

Seeds, Seeds, Seeds

I finally made it to the garden center. What a treat! Hundreds of small packets with colorful and flavorful promises! Some of them have beautiful illustrations. While I was home adding tasks to the garden calendar I noticed a sign in one of the packets saying Artist: Marjorie Leggitt. My friend Silvana introduced me to her drawings a few years ago, and that's why the pictures looked so familiar! I wish she lived closer to be able to take a class with her.

The first packet I picked up was a selection of wild flower seeds called "Fairy Meadow", and with a fan of Tinkerbell at home, I could not resist! The picture even has three fairies. Then I moved on to the vegetable seeds, that after all, that was the reason to go to the garden center.

While browsing through the seeds, I noticed a different brand, with much larger glossy packets, and in the back they had a sticker with a sell by date of 2010, but through the sticker I could see another date underneath of sell by 2009. Maybe they just recycled the wrapper... just in case, I didn't buy those.

I bought Romaine and Mesclun lettuce, two kind of heirloom carrots some finger size and some regular ones. A blend of red, orange and pink beets, cucumbers, summer squash mix with 7 different kids: round oblong, yellow, striped... a trio of string beans (although they don't have strings any longer...) green, yellow and purple, heirloom tomatoes, of course, 2 kinds. I also got spinach, onions, peas, flat beans, leeks and fava beans. Ah, I also wanted to grow something I never ate before: kohlrabi. I sound like the elephant in Puff, Puff, Chugga, Chugga. Except that I only bought the seeds, and I didn't sneeze!

On my way to the checkout, I saw some tempting orchids at reasonable prices, and it was a warm day, so they wouldn't suffer on the way home... but I just bought 18 packets of seeds, and maybe I'll leave the orchids for when there isn't much to do outdoors!

Once the kids went to bed, I sat at the computer and wrote in the garden calendar the to-do list. There is sowing indoors and outdoors, and repeat after 3 weeks, and sow again in late summer for fall crop, soak before planting... I think I got them all.
Here is where my inexperience leaves me wondering what some phrases mean. Some packets said plant in early Spring 3-4 weeks before last frost, while others said 4-5 weeks before last frost. That wasn't a problem, since the last frost here is around Mother's day. The problem was when it only said "early Spring" or even better, "very early Spring". Other variations included late Summer, that for me means the semester is about to start, and what about all I was supposed to do during the Summer... but I have no clue what it means in the garden calendar. I'll have to ask some of my old friends from the garden club.

This one is in Spanish

Siempre quise tener una quinta, pero no podía porque en nuestra zona hay muchos venados, que si bien son hermosos, se comen todo! Por unos años me conformé con plantar flores y hierbas aromáticas, que por suerte no les gustan.

En el 2008 decidimos cercar un área del jardín y hacerlo quinta. ¡Qué placer! Desde entonces el jardín es un refugio donde el tiempo tiene otro significado y no se mide en minutos sino en novedades. Qué hay de nuevo hoy? Hay días en que sólo tengo un ratito libre cuando vuelvo del trabajo, pero abrir la puerta y dar la recorrida, sacar algún yuyito, y juntar lechuga, tomates, y albahaca fresca para la ensalada se llevan el cansancio y las frustraciones del día.

Spring is close by...

The snow that was carpeting our back yard has been shrinking for the past few days, and this morning, on my way to work, I saw the first sign of Spring. I was so excited to see the the first daffodil shoots right outside the kitchen door! That reminded me that I need to spray the crocuses with deer repellent before the deer get to have them for breakfast.

The flower beds are still covered with snow. I can't wait to see what might be sprouting underneath.