what i’m growing

so i always like to put my garden plan in writing.  helps me keep track of things and learn from year to year.  it also tends to overwhelm me with just how much i’m attempting to grow.  below are all the seeds i’m hoping to get in the ground this year.  everything in green is a new seed for 2K10.

garden::aug ’09

key:  BC- baker creek; PT – pinetree seeds; SSE – seed saver’s exchange; B – burpee; G – gurney’s

asparagus:

Mary Washington – BC

root vegetables:

Muscade carrot – BC

Tendersweet carrot – PT

Fingerling potatoes – PT

Yukon Gold potatoes – PT

brassicas:

Romanesco Italia broccoli – BC

Belstar broccoli – PT

alliums:

Carentan leek  – BC

Giant Flag leek – B

Flat of Italy onion – BC

Garlic

lettuces:

Little Gem – BC

Rocky Top Mix – BC

Black Seeded Simpson – BC

Buttercrunch – PT

Tom Thumb – BC

greens:

Bright Lights swiss chard – BC

Space spinach – PT

Bloomsdale Longstanding – BC

tomatoes:

Roma – G

Moneymaker – BC

German Red Strawberry – BC

Amish Paste – SSE

Green Sausage – BC

Green Zebra – BC

Carbon – BC

Sungold – PT

Wes – BC

Black Cherry – BC

Henderson’s Pink Ponderosa – BC

Roman Candle – BC

other nightshades:

Thai Yellow Egg eggplant – BC

peppers:

Patio Red Marconi – BC

Early Jalapeno – annie kay’s

Kaleidoscope Mix – PT

Orange Bell – BC

Red Belgian – BC

Golden Treasure – BC

herbs:

Chives – B

Sage – SSE

Stevia – SSE

French Thyme – PT

Oregano – PT

Cilantro – SSE and PT

English Lavender – SSE

Dill – BC

Genovese Basil – BC

Purple Dark Opal Basil – SSE

Lime Basil – BC and PT

legumes:

Lynx Bush Bean – PT

Bush Romano Green Bush Bean – PT

Pencil Pod Yellow Bush Bean – PT

Contender Bush Bean – BC

Greasy Grits – BC

cucurbits:

Diva cucumber – PT

Horn of Plenty summer squash – PT

Costada Romanesco zucchini – BC

Spaghetti squash – PT

Lemon squash – BC

Early Golden Summer Crookneck squash – BC

White Sugar Lump watermelon – BC

White Bush Scallop – BC

Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin – BC

also:

strawberries

on the brain

because it’s so far away…

and because it’s right around the corner…

seed planting month is upon us

while big fluffy flakes of snow fell all afternoon on sunday, ross and i holed up in the garage, with the wood stove cranking and the pups curled up in front of it, some tunes playing, and got to work on our new seed starting arrangement. 

by mid-march, seed starting will really pick up, so we needed to have all the set up down well before then.  our arrangement is really simple right now:  we have a series of plant lights hanging from the rafters so as to give the veggies-to-be a good dose of light (about 12 hours).  we also purchased a space heater to keep the seeds warm at night and help speed germination along.  right now we have four seed trays with 100 cells each.

planted so far are some red onions, leeks, and basil.  i might also add some other herbs this week, just to see if i can get them going early.

finally, i just finished a tentative layout for what plants are going where and how many.  our garden is significantly bigger this year – as in 5x bigger – so i wanted to make sure i was organized.  it sure looks great on paper – the real test will come in may and june when i’m actually planting and tending all those plants.  if i can make it work, i’ll try to post the layout.

still left to do is figure out how in the world we’re going to come up with enough compost, peat moss, and vermiculite (the three ingredients that make up our soil) to fill up four 4′x8′ boxes and two 4′x4′ boxes.   We’ve been composting all year, but two people just don’t generate enough compost for that much space.  Guess we’ll be hitting up some local farms? yum.

pictures of the seedlings soon!

they’re here!

i’m torn.

the weather around here has really been teasing us.  bitterly cold and no precipitation, or unseasonably mild and buckets of rain.  then there are the fluke times when all the weather patterns line up correctly and give us snow.  but usually only enough to get our hopes up before tuckering out.  all of this wishy washy, pansy snow has just made me want to be done with winter all together.  yes, i’ve definitely enjoyed snuggling up under blankets, making a batch of soup for dinner, and that cool icy light that only comes with winter – but my definition of winter also includes a couple of days of snow.  of the real deal, more than a dusting, build a snow ramp and sled down it kind of snow.  and since that hasn’t happened, well, if its all the same to you, i’d rather just skip the season and move on to spring.  when all the growing and planting and green stuff happens.

but now the weather’s toying with my emotions again; threatening more than a dusting – threatening even a snow day maybe – and well – like i said, i’m torn.

i’m torn because today the second half of my garden seeds came in and i’m having to make a decision between loving the snow and wanting to get outside in shorts and flip flops and roll around in the dirt.  it’s quite a conundrum.

so while i try to sort out my little dilemma some more, i’ll share the bounty of my mailbox.

start your garden engines

Well we did it.  Wilsie Garden 2K9 is officially in progress.  On Saturday I finally sat down and ordered the seeds for this year’s garden.  We’re pretty much growing everything we did last year (tomatoes, pole beans, zucchini, swiss chard, spinach, bell peppers, and onions)  plus a lot more.  But nothing we can’t handle, I don’t think.  Ross is convinced that we’ll be garden slaves for all of spring and summer, but I think we were pretty realistic with what we chose.

Maybe its the byproduct of living in rural southwest Virginia, or maybe its that Tomko blood finally kicking in, but I am totally enamored with the idea of growing my own food – interesting food (can i describe food as interesting?) and doing it in as natural and economic a way as possible.

last year’s garden

Even the planning of the garden excites me – which plant goes where to get the best results, when can i start it, when can it be transplanted into the garden, and how can i design my garden to fit everything while looking aesthetically pleasing.  you know, the basics.

for the most part i still have no idea what i’m doing, but that’s just more of the fun.  i’ve convinced myself that i’m actually going to keep a garden journal, if for no other reason than to know which parts of this garden business i totally botched and need to improve upon for next year.  we’ll see how well i do with that.

Below is what we’ve finally decided on.  Most everything is self-explanatory, but there are some flashier names like “Horn of Plenty” (yellow squash) and “Banana” (a type of fingerling potato).  All my seeds are from either Pinetree seeds or Baker Creek seeds.

I got a little trigger happy when I bought my Baker Creek seeds, so there’s no screen shot to show, just a list of what I purchased.  The flashy names in this batch are  “Contender”  (a bush bean), “White Scallop” (white summer squash), “Green Zebra,” “German Red Strawberry,” “Carbon,” “Yellow Pear” (types of tomatoes), and “White Sugar Lump” (a type of watermelon).

Item Ref.      Qty.  Description

BN102           1      - Contender (Buff Valentine)
HB103           1      - Lime Basil
HB126           1      - Dill - Bouquet
HB135           1      - Chives - Common
SQ167           1      - Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin
SSQ107          1      - White Scallop
TG103           1      - Green Zebra
TM128           1      - German Red Strawberry
TP112           1      - Carbon
TY122           1      - Yellow Pear
WM166           1      - White Sugar Lump

so there you have it.  our little garden.

the real work will actually begin around the beginning of march when we’ll plant the tomato seeds and grow them under plant lights.  then there will be either something to plant or transplant every week until roughly mid-may, when the danger of frost is over and things can start being transplanted or directly planted into the garden.  sounds fun, right?

i keep my promises – eventually

with all this garden talk, i may as well follow through on my promise from ages ago to take a peek at some of the stuff we’re going to be attempting to grow growing next year.

so here’s an IOU that this. weekend.  it shall be done.

and what the heck, i’m also finally ready to show you the official before and afters in our study, previously known as the “room that shall not be named”