Planting begins!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

This weekend I started sowing a few seeds indoors under the grow lights. I've been feeling hunger pangs for spring greens lately, and I found in my seed bucket an unopened package of "micro greens" -- a freebie from the folks at Botanical Interests. Inside is a mix of beets, cabbage, Swiss chard, kohlrabi and pak choy seeds. All these things, even in miniature form, would ease my craving just fine. Really, though, I think this is more about the urge to coax to life a few tender greens, even if it's not yet enough for a full-bowl salad. The instructions say the seeds can be started inside "anytime under proper lighting." So here we go!


I also planted seeds of Blue Solaize Leeks, and for flowers, I started snapdragons and petunias. I never imagined I'd become a petunia grower -- those things are a dime a dozen at garden centers -- but the previous owner of the house had petunias planted when we moved in, and I saved some of the seeds last fall. I'm working on free plants for the flower boxes along the deck.

Speaking of flower boxes, I'm trying to think of a combination of plants that I could put in the flower boxes at the front the house. It's north-facing, no direct sun, and the boxes, I anticipate, will be dry more often than moist. Any suggestions for good flower combos in such conditions?

Beginner's Guide to Growing Food in DC

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Vegetables I grew at DC's Newark Street Community Garden

Susan Harris of DC Urban Gardeners (and Garden Rant and Sustainable Gardening) asked me recently if I would be willing to compile a basic primer on growing food. On the one hand, I was completely flattered that she asked me to take on this task. On the other, I thought, Who me? The one who dug up and replanted all her potatoes last spring because she thought she'd planted them upside down? (Note to newbie potato growers: Do not repeat my laughable mistake. Potatoes will find their way, even if you put them in the ground with their "eyes" facing downward.)

So, even though I only have four years of veggie growing experience (and a lot of trial and error at that), I compiled a Beginner's Guide to Growing Food in DC. It's posted on the DC Urban Gardeners blog. Please head over there to read it and add your comments. We want this to be a great resource for people who'd like to grow some of their own food here in the local area, and tips from food growers everywhere will be incorporated, too. Please, comment away!

Getting Organized for Seed Sowing

Saturday, January 19, 2008

I started going through the seed catalogs last weekend, trying as best as I could to stick to my list. I needed to order peas, radishes, and potatoes. I also needed tomato and pepper seeds for indoor sowing.

Before I knew it, my pen was a' flyin', circling this and that, and, oh... don't I need to buy a few flower seeds, too? I could hear the "cha-ching" of my escalating bill. Hmm. Maybe I should assess my existing seed stash first, before I get carried away?

I keep my seeds in an old potato chip container. It's so packed full that I almost can't close the lid on it anymore. I've got seed packets in there from when I started gardening four years ago -- many of them still unopened. How did I end up with so many seeds? It's almost too much, even for a pack rat like me.

Almost.

I dug deep into the well of seeds. Did I say I needed to order peas? I found two packages in there -- unopened. Radishes? I found five packets of those, in three varieties. Lettuce? Have I ever got lettuce. And, oh yeah, there are those fava beans I ordered last year and never planted. I'd forgotten about those entirely.

Long story short, I haven't placed a seed order yet because I already have enough to start with. Seeds that are a couple years old still germinate well for many plants, so there's no need to buy too much more. Although... yes, I do plan to treat myself to a few new things I want to try, keeping in mind that I still have to dig those garden beds!

In the end, I sorted some of my vegetable seeds into groups and clipped them together with binder clips. There's one set for sowing outdoors in early spring, another set for sowing indoors under grow lights, and so on. This should help me keep track of what needs to be planted at different times, and I won't have to swim through the sea of a seed bucket every time I need to find something. This is the most organized I've been with my seed sowing endeavors. Ever.


Related Posts: Seed Buying Habits, Saving Seeds

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Earlier this month, I found a few branches that had fallen from the tree in our backyard. It's a flowering pear tree, I think, and I am eager to see what the blossoms will look like this spring -- our first in the new house. Will the flowers be white? Could they be pink?

I brought the branches inside and placed them in this little silver vase I keep on the kitchen windowsill. I've been hoping the warmer indoor air might force the buds open. This weekend when I focused in close with my camera, I saw for the first time the tiniest specks of color inside -- pink!


Also this month, my kalanchoe plant is in full bloom, cheerful in yellow.


Then there's this one, a real surprise to me. My begonia plants are blooming for the first time in more than 10 years! How's that for pulling one out of a hat for the mid-winter edition of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day?!


Seriously, I've had these begonia plants for more than a decade and they've never bloomed for me. Not even once. In fact, I only knew what begonia flowers look like because the ones in my mom's greenhouse bloom practically nonstop. I think mine decided to bloom now, finally, because I live in a place now were they can get direct sunlight. Hallelujah! Here's to having a room full of sun! I love it, too.

This is how the begonia flowers look up close.


Last but not least, hanging over from last month's Bloom Day is my poinsettia plant. It looks like this festive party-animal-of-a-plant is not going to quit anytime soon. Holding out for double duty on Valentine's Day perhaps? Nah. Doesn't quite work. But it's pretty enough to keep around until it loses its crowning red glory.

Green Thumb Sunday, Mystery

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The previous owners of the house left several unknown-to-us shrubs in the backyard. Two of them now have these dark orange berries that look like they're getting "squeezed" from their pods. Can anyone help me identify what plant this is? Please?

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Free subscription to Organic Gardening

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Now you can have your yogurt and get a free gardening magazine, too! Stonyfield Farm and Organic Gardening are teaming up to offer a special deal for gardeners. From now through January 31, 2008, if you mail in four (clean) specially-marked lids of Stonyfield yogurt, they'll sign you up for a FREE one-year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine.

I already subscribe to Organic Gardening and I love it. It's one of the few gardening magazines I've seen that has great information on growing vegetables. And they're good articles, too, with detailed information and growing tips that are relevant to "newbies" and "masters." It's not just a bunch of glossy photos of meticulously cared for perennial borders. I'm a big fan.

A wildlife-friendly garden

Monday, January 07, 2008

Downy woodpecker at the suet feeder

Though the garden is at rest these days, my backyard brims with activity. Here's the typical scene: A flock of house sparrows assaults the bird feeder. Two squirrels guard the base of the tree and gorge themselves on fallen seeds. Three more squirrels chase one another through the tree, down the fence, onto the roof. The nuthatches and woodpeckers -- downies and red-bellies -- jockey for a place at the suet feeder. Carolina Wren, tail turned high, lines up for a bite, too. Mourning doves, sometimes as many as 15, amble across the yard, oblivious to the squirrels' antics. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal announce their stately presence with their characteristic "chip, chip." Dainty chickadees, "chick-a-dee-dee-dee." Then Cooper's Hawk occasionally swoops down and startles everything into hiding. Except, of course, for the squirrels. The Squirrels. Who Just. Keep. Eating.

To say I have a wildlife-friendly yard is an understatement. Sometimes it's a veritable zoo out there. It's amazing how many critters will show up at a simple tube of mixed birdseed and a slab of rendered pork fat. It's a boosted chance at winter survival for the birds, and precious moments of simple entertainment for me.

In the spring, I plan to swap out the seed and suet feeders and cater, instead, to the nectar-eating birds. The bird of all birds I hope to attract to my garden is a Baltimore Oriole -- the state bird of Maryland. They apparently like nectar, oranges, and grape jelly. A bit high maintenance, aren't they?


Beyond setting up bird feeding stations, though, I've been thinking about ways to organize my garden with specific plants that will attract wildlife naturally. I'd like to put in some cosmos, coreopsis, and bachelor's buttons for the goldfinches. Monarda for the hummingbirds. Zinnias for butterflies. Not only do I think about what I want to eat from the garden; I think about what all the critters like to eat, too. (And that works both ways, of course, as I'll have to devise ways to keep rabbits out of the lettuce patch.)

The National Wildlife Federation recently put out a series of tip sheets for maintaining a backyard wildlife habitat. Included are simple steps one can take to reduce their lawn, install bird feeders and nest boxes, attract butterflies, and more. Check out the one that's titled Neighborhood-friendly Wildlife Gardening. See the photo of the ladybug on the front? That's the work of none other than yours truly. It's a photo I took when I had my garden plot in the District -- a ladybug on larkspur flowers. I was thrilled to contribute the photo to a cause I support.

Garden Plans for 2008

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

A turn of the calendar page, and so it begins; my new garden for 2008 is springing to life. At least on paper it is. The seed catalogs absorb me like the first rain to a sun-parched soil, pulling me in willingly with their beautifully written biographies of heirloom vegetables. A trickle of ideas becomes a deluge of possibilities. Can I make room for Paul Robeson's tomato? Is there space for the Gill Brothers' Golden Pippin Squash? Is there just one spare corner for Alan Chadwick's lettuce? It is so difficult to show restraint, but I know I must. The garden in which this cast of characters will cavort doesn't yet even exist. Maybe the better analogy for a seed catalog is not biography, but fantasy novel?

So I'm trying to organize the garden by asking myself and my husband a practical question: What do we want to eat each season? Let's make our plans from there.

We put to paper a list of what we hope to harvest from our garden this spring, summer, fall, and, yes, even winter. This list, I hope, will keep me focused on what's desired and what's possible -- especially when the newest seed catalogs drop at my doorstep. Then I can pick and choose accordingly among all those tempting heirlooms. We have one raised garden bed in which to plant the vegetables and fruits of our choice for spring. After that, we've got a lot of digging to do. A lot of digging... to make room for all the rest.

~~~

"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." - Dwight David Eisenhower