Ella in the Garden

I know! I know! It's a picture of a dog...our standard poodle, Ella, to be exact. But, I could not resist since it is one of the few good pictures that we have of her. She hates getting her picture taken almost as much as I do (and that is saying something). Plus, she's a great garden dog because she doesn't dig and she helps (a little bit) to keep the squirrels under control. 

The Last of the Meyer Lemons

I love Meyer Lemons, so it was a sad day last week when I finally harvested the last of them off of our dwarf tree. This was the first year that the little guy produced any lemons and we did pretty well with a total harvest of 19.

But as you can see, all is not lost. There are new buds on the branches and new leaves growing. We did a little spring feeding with some citrus fertilizer (E.B. Stone) and are hoping to see some little lemons starting in another month or so. But, patience is a virtue and we will have to wait till late fall or early winter for another crop. Or maybe, we will get very lucky and we will get a second crop in the summer. Time will tell.

Bring Your Own -- Reusable Produce Bags

We all know that plastic shopping bags are an environmental nightmare. But, what no one ever mentions in that conversation is plastic produce bags. It's all about the shopping bag. However, people use a lot produce bags when they go to the market, even if it is a farmers market. So, not long ago, I realized that I needed to stop using plastic produce bags and find a reusable alternative. I bring my own shopping bags everywhere, so why not produce bags. So, thanks to a little bit of online research, I found these great reusable produce bags at Eco-Bags. 

Eco-Bags has been around since 1989 and their mission it to reduce waste. It all started with reusable shopping bags but their business has grown to include lunch bags, produce bags, waters and more. So, when I found these produce bags, I could not resist them and purchased 3 sets. Each set includes a small, medium and large produce bag. They are made out of a very light weight cotton fabric and have draw string to close them with. They are washable in cold water and then should be line/air dried. They are not pre-shrunk so do not toss them in the dryer or you'll have produce bags for a Barbie doll. I have been using these bags now for a few weeks and they have been great. I have even used them for bulk items like popcorn and rice.  I often get asked about them. I am hoping that by using these bags, that this will be a positive example for others to follow. The less plastic that we have in our lives,  the better for us...and the planet.

Mountain Valley Growers

I was really excited earlier this month to read about a nursery that stocks organic herbs, perennials and even some vegetables in The Herb Companion magazine. I have been looking for some unusual herbs for the garden but had not been able to find anything at local nurseries or even on some of the seed and plant websites. But, Mountain Valley Growers (MVG) was listed in the article so I decided to check them out. Their website is not the greatest and is a bit difficult to navigate but the variety of herbs and perennials that they have to offer more than makes up for the hassle.

I have never ordered plants for delivery before so I was a little worried about how they would arrive. But, the plants arrived safe and sound as you can see from the first photograph. MVG really knows what they are doing and it gave me a lot of confidence in their operation. Now, if I can do justice to the plants that I received and keep them alive and thriving.

I ordered the following herbs and perennials:

• Moroccan Mint (for tea...of course)
• Kentucky Colonel Mint (can't make a Mint Julep without it)
• Lavender Mint (because it sounded interesting)
• Lemon Thyme (love me lemon anything)
• Cretan Oregano (how could I resist with a name like that)
• Creeping Pink Thyme (needed some groundcover for around the bird bath)
• Dwarf Blue Butterfly Bush (looking to attract more birds and insects to the garden)
• Sungold Butterfly Bush (looking to attract more birds and insects to the garden)

Everything is planted now. And, so far, so good. I'm even thinking of ordering a tray of the creeping thyme since I could use a little more groundcover in a few areas.

Last Day of February

It's the last day of the month and I couldn't be more thrilled. I know that this is weird but I'm just not a huge fan of February. For that matter, I'm not too keen about January either. I am not really sure why but I have been this way all my life. I love the other 10 months but not those two. They just seem rather dull to me. Post holidays and pre-spring, there just doesn't seem much to them.

But, I digress, this is really about today's end-of-the-month harvest. Sure it won't exactly feed the family for a week but it is something. We finally got more arugula, three beets, five radishes and two carrots (damn...they take forever to grow). At least with the beets, you also get the beet greens and not just the roots.

And, sadly, our arugula bolted. So, I spent some time today tearing it out and sowing new seeds. Fortunately, arugula is a fast grower so we are hoping to have new crop making its first appearance within the next week or so. We may even be able to harvest some baby arugula by the end of March. And, I also sowed more seeds for the radishes, beets and the chard. Oh, the chard, how it mocks me. It just won't grow more than a couple of inches before it just stops, I cannot figure out why. But, I'm going to keep trying for another few months. Just not ready to throw in the towel yet on this veggie.

Just a few more weeks till the official start (March 20) of spring...can't wait.

So Many Seeds, So Little Space

This spring/summer planting and growing season will mark our second year at trying to grow some of our own food. And, instead of purchasing transplants from a local nursery, we are going to try and grow at least 90% from seed. This way we have access to a lot more variety, and plants that will hopefully work best for our growing situation and climate.

Right after the New Year, I ordered a number of seed catalogs (Tomato Growers, Seeds of Change, Seed Savers Exchange, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Burpee). When they finally arrived in late January and early February, I thought I had died and gone to gardening heaven. I started referring to them as “gardening porn.” I read them like novels but marked them up like textbooks. After several weeks and a lot of second-guessing myself, I finally decided what to order. So, now the deed is done and I am anxiously awaiting the deliveries (hoping for the first or second week of March).

Here’s the list of seeds:

TOMATOES

• San Marzano
• Yellow Canary
• Isis Candy
• Super Sweet 100 VF Hybrid
• Sioux
• New Big Dwarf
• Better Bush VFN Hybrid

PEPPERS

• Early Sunsation Hybrid
• Peto Wonder Hybrid
• Chilly Chili Hybrid
• Jalapeno M

EGGPLANT

• Vittoria PS Hybrid
• Fairy Tale Hybrid

CUCUMBER

• Diamant

PEAS

• Sugar Sprint

WINTER SQUASH, PUMPKINS & GOURDS

• Ornamental Gourds (mix)
• Honey Bear
• Waltham Butternut OG
• Rouge Vif D’Etampes

SUMMER SQUASH

• Cocozelle

BUSH BEANS

• Blue Lake
• Roc D’Or

DRY BEANS

• Jacob’s Cattle Gold

CHARD

• Orange Fantasia

LETTUCE

• Santa Fe

This doesn’t include the selection of seeds that I already have and have been growing from since the fall. Now, I have to find new places to grow everything since there is no way that I can fit everything into four 4’x4’ raised beds. I will need to get creative with containers. I am eyeing parts of the front yard for the peppers and, may be, the eggplants. And, I may dig up some of the backyard to make room for the squashes and pumpkins since they have a tendency to take up a lot of space.

Some Early Signs of Spring

February is ending and March has yet to begin but there are more signs of spring showing up in the garden every day. The French Lavender that is in the front yard is bursting with blooms and covered in bees.

The fig tree that is in the backyard is just starting to show its first leaves. Oh, and I didn't say what kind of fig tree it is because we are not really sure. Might be Black Mission or it could be Brown Turkey. It's really hard to tell. All I can say is that the figs are really really tasty but you have to get to them quickly before the squirrels do...little bastards.

And, finally, our plum tree has started to produce a few blossoms. Though I expect that there will be an explosion of flowers on it within the next week or two. Then, we can look forward to plums in May and June. That is if the neighbors don't steal all of them first. Which is a problem when your two plum tress are planted in a parkway strip and they are fair game for the neighborhood.