Ready to Sow (Well Almost)

Dang is Johnny's fast!  I just ordered this stuff 2 days ago, and it is here!  I am equipped to sow, aside from not having the Vermont Compost Fort Vee mix for the soil blocker.  I do however have organic potting mix in the basement from last year's bulk order.  (Did I mention the puppy shredded anything plastic and gardening related this Fall and Winter?  Somehow she found and destroyed all of it.  She won't be able to shred the blocker now will she.)

There was a recipe included with the blocker (Eliot Coleman's), but I went with the recommend bagged mix since I can get it at a decent price through the NOFA bulk order.  The problem is that it might not be in before I want to start those maters.  No worries though, I also purchased some Cow Pots.  Ever see the "poo-pot" episode of Dirtiest Jobs?  (Just in case you missed it back in the day and are curious:  http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/dirty-jobs-poo-pot.html - check it out!)  I will probably transplant into the poo pots rather quickly this year, then bury the pot and all when they go into the quart size containers.  Hoping for happy roots!

As for seed flats I love the domes for germinating and keeping the delicate new seedlings moist.  I ordered a 'kit' that came with different sized cell Pro-Trays to keep the soil blocks company.  This year I will most likely be germinating my fall sowings in a flat wherever possible since my seeds/seedlings were snacks for creatures this past year.  Fall sowing was a complete bust!  And that giant green thing?  I am messy.  Very messy.  Not so cool when your baby veggies live in the bedroom.....this contraption should help keep the dirt where it belongs, not on the floor.   If only I bought an extra to keep in the kitchen.  :)

Ooh! I finally have my cherished Pistou Basil seeds in hand.   Last year I did a post on this favorite herb which can be found here after my plants arrived.  We LOVE this stuff sprinkled generously in salads all summer long.  It has a pleasant, mild flavor and there is no chopping involved.  Mmmm, I can almost taste it now.

Homeschooling

This is quite off topic for a garden blog, but Erin had requested an update some time ago.....better late than never right?  Depending on how look you look at it today is either a very good, or a very bad day to report in on our progress.  Currently my son is in his room for the afternoon for poor listening, unwillingness to follow directions, and general stupidity overall.  Yes, I just used the "S" word.

We have been in this rut more often than not since mid-December.  Math and Reading are very difficult subjects to get through since he doesn't like them.  My 'patience account' is overdrawn.  I keep threatening to send him back to public school next year, and I might.

Homeschool in theory is the best for Shaun, but not if he pulls shenanigans all day long.  He would never even think of doing this stuff in a classroom.  Then again, he wouldn't have his Mother as a personal tudor either.  What the answer is I don't know.  There are rewards in place when he tries hard and listens, but he no longer cares.  He is not allowed any TV time until his work is completed unless he is given a "break".  Some days he gets burnt out quickly, these are the days he is actually trying and I understand he needs some down time, so I give it to him.  It is beyond frustrating to watch him screw around when I know he can do it for real if he tries.  It is the best to watch his face light up when he is accomplishing something.

I know every parent deals with these struggles, and we have added more onto our plate with all this school stuff.  The yelling and crying is not good for anyone and one way or another it will stop.  On the positive side we are continually amazed by the progress he has made!!  He was learning everyday in Kindergarten as well, but it was all the fluffy stuff.  The songs, the holidays, the calendar.  Now he is learning to add and subtract, to read, and oodles and oodles of Science.  This is huge accomplishment for a kid that still didn't know the whole alphabet when we started this gig.

Socially we have been holed up until recently.  Shaun finally decided he was ready to join in on some group activities.  Last week we did an open gym for a couple of hours, and the week before we did some volunteer work at a charitable organization for children called Gifts to Give.  I am currently trying to organize a maple sugaring tour.  Not so bad right?  (I am the one that misses the socialization of the school routine, not him.)

I think that just about covers it, I will put together a list of the major aspects of the curriculum below, overall I am very happy with it's contents.

• Handwriting Without Tears
• Hooked on Phonics, K
• Sonlight K Science
• Singapore Math (Earlybird K)
• Crticial Thinking workbooks covering all subjects

ASL and Spanish are on the wishlist.  After the tax refund comes I will invest in some tools to learn new words and signs daily.  I picked these since I took Spanish in high school and sign language in college.  Some of it will come back to me right!?!?  (NOTE: Spanish is the only class I ever failed.)

If we continue to homeschool I will invest in a Smartboard for next year, I think it would be very stimulating and fun for Shaun and myself.  (A smartboard is a giant whiteboard that is connected to your computer via a projector and is touch sensitive, so it acts as a giant interactive computer screen.  There is lots of great curriculum out there for these things, and it is very engaging for the kids.)  There are hacked Wii remote set-ups which will be the only ones affordable to us.

Hopefully the Tension Tamer tea I have sipping while typing is kicking in, because eventually I must go get the beast and try it all again.

Confessions of a Seed Horder

Ahem.  Time to come clean seeing as everyone else has been.  I really, truly think I am done now.  "Done", as in if there is some crazy end to cyberspace next year and the United States Postal Service has come to grinding halt I will still hold enough seeds to grow my own garden, as well as 6 or 7 others.  It all comes down to security, cause you know, I am a little bit nutty when it comes to this stuff.  (I actually have one of those emergency kits complete with the whistle and heat blankets, and copies of all important papers, etc. stashed away in case we need to evacuate in a hurry.   Don't tell the dogs they are screwed though since I can never seem to keep that 'extra' bag of food in rotation.  Bad doggy mama!)

SO, here is the latest list, MUCH longer than the original 11 packets of seeds I ordered not too long ago.  Wanna know the worst part? These seeds were purchased in multiple orders.  It's like I know I shouldn't be buying them so I remove half of them from my cart only to go back a few days later and buy them anyway.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

All-righty, confession done.  On to the good stuff!  :)

1. Minnesota Midget Melon
2. Far North Melon
3. Gentilla Lettuce
4. Bianca di Maggio Onion
5. Dragon Tongue Bush Bean
6. Tam Jalepeno
7. Extra Dwarf Pak Choy
8. Tim's Black Ruffle Tomato
9. Woodle Orange Tomato
10. Amazon Chocolate Tomato
11. Japanese Yubari King Type Cantelope
12. Golden Midget Watermelon
13. Eva's Burgundy Lettuce
14. Martin's Carrot Pepper
15. Chervena Chushka Sweet Pepper

Look at all those heirlooms!!!!  And yes, that is why most of these seeds won't make their debut until 2011.  I have done a bit of seed trading this year and it has allowed me to see that when you save your own seeds (and they germinate), there is a whole world of 'I'll trade you this for that' out there with complete strangers.  Pretty cool huh?  Hopefully next year I will be trading saved seeds, not purchased seeds.

(Trades in the works are for  Principe Borghese, Brandywine, and German Red Strawberry Tomatoes.)

Amishland Seeds

This year I have become quite brave (or is it cocky??), I have ordered more than a handful of heirloom seeds.  Since this seed ordering thing is a bit of an addiction (or in my mind 'seed money' in the bank), I ventured out of my comfort zone and visited a familiar site, Amishland Seeds.  If you have never gone through the many varieties offered here it's worth a trip over.  Now.

I have ogled this site for a year now but have not had the courage to purchase these carefully raised, often times rare seed.  What if I screw up and kill the seedling?  Or what if pest and disease pressure is so high I don't get a successful harvest?

Where do I find the room?  The answer to that question may lay in next year's garden.  Am I insane to be ordering seeds I won't even grow this year?  I think not.  I did the same last year and am glad I did as at least one of the tomato varieties I ordered is not available this year.   With the poor outcome of last year's gardening season for so many I am not taking any chances this year either.  So, the variety I am most excited about is ......................



AMAZON CHOCOLATE!

I have read so many good things about this variety, I just hope it does as well for me as it has for others since soil, climate, yadda-yadda-yadda can all influence taste.  Mmmmmm.  Can you taste those sun warmed summer tomatoes yet?

Bumbles

Bumblebees are a gardener's dream.  They emerge early in the season and work from sun up to sun down.  Us Northern gardeners rely on their pollination during particularly cold Springs as they are able to generate body heat with their shivering.  Without bumbles early blooming species (think fruit trees) could go unpollinated  during cold spells.  This ability to work in the cold poses a risk to the gentle giants.  They can be "grounded" by cold weather.  If this grounding lasts an extended length of time the bees will perish as they need a constant food source.  Most of us have come across a bumble that can't fly away early in the morning or during a cold Spring day.  We can help these bees (which early in the season are often queens emerging from their nest) by providing a food source and warmth, here is how:


From www.bumblebee.org, this and other great info can be found under the "Help Bees" section:

If you find a grounded bumblebee early in the year, just at the start of the first warmer days, then it is probably a queen. She may have been caught out in a sudden shower or a cold spell. If the temperature of the thorax falls below 30 ^oC the bumblebee cannot take off (see temperature regulation). The best thing you can do it pick her up using a piece of paper or card, put her somewhere warmer, and feed her. When she has warmed and fed she will most likely fly off. You can feed her using a 30/70 mixture of honey and water in a pipette or eye dropper, or just a drop of this on a suitable surface within her reach, but be careful not to wet her hair or get her sticky. By saving a queen you may have saved an entire nest. If the weather is really unsuitable for letting her go, or if it is getting dark, you can keep her for a day or so if you are willing to feed her.

A grounded bee found at the height or end of summer is another matter. Look at the wings. If they are ragged round the edges (see the photographs of wings) then you have either an old queen or an old worker. There is little you can do as really it is their time to die, however you could take them in and feed them if you wish, but let them go if they start to fly. If the wings are fairly intact then you have probably got a male that is either cold or has been so busy patrolling that he forgot to drink. As above you can take him somewhere warm and feed him, then let him go.

Bumbles in general are attracted to yellow, purple, and blue flowers, especially those with tubular flowers. "Double" varieties of most flowers will not contain pollen so are of no use to bees.  Foxglove and Heather are used as shelter when rain arrives suddenly.  The following flowers are great bumble attractors:

• Blueberry Bush bells
• Blooms of the Nightshade Family
• Columbine
• Delphinium
• Snapdragon
• Bergamot
• Larkspur
• Honeysuckle
• Lavender
• Salvia
• Clover (yup, that white clover in your lawn)  :)

*Many flowers are great multi-species bee attractors in general, such as those found in 'cottage gardens', natives, berry and fruit blooms, high pollen sunflowers, and herbs.*

A food source is not the only requisite for hosting bumbles, they also require a good spot to nest.  Bees tunnel into bare dirt to lay eggs and hibernate, so mulch of any sort makes a landscape unsuitable (this is more problematic in urban settings).  The base of stones and hedges are frequent nesting sites so be careful not to disturb these areas whenever possible.  Curious about how to sex a bee to see if it can sting?  Check out an older post on the subject of bee bits here.

Food for Thought

With all this debate over Global Warming, and the recent airing of the global warming scientist's dirty laundry it makes one stop and think.  The weather patterns are changing, I don't think anyone would argue about that.  But why?

Are carbon emission standards just another way for the rich to get richer?  (I happen to think YES!)  Just look into which companies will hold the most credits, and who owns the companies that will profit from the trading of these credits.  One of them is  the man who supposedly once claimed to have invented the internet.  Enough said.  Ethanol?  It should be illegal with all the water used to make it  (4 gallons of H2O for 1 gallon  of Ethanol according to Mother Earth News)...seriously, we Americans waste all the water already.  Biofuel?  Horrible emissions.  I wish everyone would concentrate on reducing the chemicals and pollutants we pump into our air and water just because we should, not because it's trendy to "go green".  That would do a lot of immediate good for all creatures on this Earth.

Some scientists say we are  experiencing the next global extinction.  Our climate is changing, food will become short (shorter) if this continues, and water is already a serious problem in many parts of the world.  Disease will take hold like never before.   2012 is a very famous year.  The earth has gone through many historic changes since it's existence, what makes us think it would 'put it all on hold' for us?  Just some food for thought.

(P.S.- for anyone that was lacking pollinators (honey bees) in their gardens last year, go for the bumbles! They are attracted to certain flowers and are great pollinators as well.  I will try and dig up some specifics on varieties and post them.)

Biodynamics, Nutrient Density, Soil Building, and Medicinal Herbs

I had the pleasure of being introduced to the subject of Biodynamic Gardening by a local farmer.  When I heard it is a way of making the food we grow as nutrient dense as possible my ears really perked up.  I am one of those in the camp of 'today's food sucks', meaning our fruits and veggies are not as nutritious as they once were.  Many believe organic produce to be higher in vitamins and minerals than their conventional counterparts, but studies have both proven and disproven this general theory.  Bottom line?   It all comes down to the soil.  Healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy people.  Hopefully the selectively applied amendments  and compost will create a micro-organism dense garden soil over the years that will allow my plants to take up as many nutrients as possible, and therefor be pest and disease resistant as well as nutritionally denss.  (Humates, Greensand, Kelp Meal, Organic Compost, and Gypsum will all be added to raised beds come Spring.)

***

Measuring Brix is way to take a stab at how your produce is fairing nutritionally.  Juice is taken from the specimen and looked at through a refractometer in order to read the sugar content.  The idea is that if the sugar content is high, other content should be as well.  Most of us don't whip out the refractometer when we harvest a pepper or tomato but I plan to this summer.  I just happen to have one in my kitchen cabinet since I keep saltwater fish and use it to measure salinity.  The only thing I have ever taken a Brix reading on is a carrot, it was showing 65% which would mean the carrot has 65 grams of sugar per 100 grams of solution.  I know very little about this whole Brix business aside from the higher the reading the better, and that many variables can alter the reading.

***

Still with me?  Hope so...  :)  Does anyone else out there have an interest in medicinal herbs, particularly those with anti-biotic and anti-viral properties?  Many of these herbs require 3 or 4 years growth before their roots can be harvested and used.  I hope to order one or two of these so they will be on hand if we ever need them.  The anti-biotic resistance in this world in my opinion is one of the scariest things my generation, and my children's generation will face.  (Malaria and TB are spreading faster than ever across the globe and some of these strains are resistant to the list of drugs we use to fight them.  TB hospitals were the thing of the past here in the United States, that is unfortunately slowly changing.  E. Coli has grown drug resistant thanks to cows having guts full of antibiotics.)  Sorry, it really just scares the &*%# out of me.   So I am interested in being a bit self-sufficient on this end as well, but many of these herbs are traditionally grown in China or India thus may not be a good candidate for my Massachusetts garden.

***

Lastly, I plan on trying to follow a lunar planting calendar as much as possible this gardening season.  Dates best for sowing, weeding, pest management, etc. are given.  I am very curious to see if germination rates are in fact increased, or if the pest population is more susceptible on certain days.  Lets hope I actually stick with this and keep good records, I really am intrigued by the moon and it's powers.  Thank you for staying with me while I let my inner hippy come out and do a blog post, it's not very often I let her speak.  :)

When Gardening Pays Off

The thing that is great about life is sometimes something really cool happens unexpectedly.  The e-mail inquiring about a photograph on my blog was one of those things, it made my day!  The 2010 catalog arrived along with my check for the Cipollini photograph from White Flower Farm a week or so ago.  The check will greatly offset this year's gardening costs, I am just so thrilled to have a photograph published AND be paid for it!  (I did however have to hold back while thumbing through those pages or it all could have gone right back in their pockets.)  Well anyways, here it is....the first time my garden has actually paid off.  Thanks White Flower Farm!

Mmm, Mmm, Good.

When the weather outside looks like this:

Run to the freezer to find a little bit of
summer harvested sunshine.
Last week my taste of the sun came via Farm Fresh Pesto and my own oven dried tomatoes packed in oil.   Mmmm, I had to really dig to find those tomatoes,
but they were well worth it!

What have you been enjoying from your summer stash?

The Winter Work

Well, the seeds have been organized and ordered.  More fruit plants have been ordered (Reliance Grape, 5 Blackberries, 4 low bush blueberries, a white currant, a mandarin orange tree, and rhubarb), the new garden expansion plans are in place and my NOFA bulk order just needs to be mailed out.  Whew, my mind has been 'garden-garden-garden-' for days on end.....now I need to sit back and relax until seed germination begins.  Oh, and did I mention I have over 1,000 pea seeds?  YIKES!  I should have paid more attention, Johnny's shelling pea packets have a minimum of 375 seeds.  I ordered three varieties.

We are continuing to enjoy the fruits from the freezer and the canned goods from the pantry shelf.  I am eating some blueberry pancakes right now as a matter of fact!  Freezing all those berries and pie filling was a good move.  Speaking of berries, this year's purchases are once again breaking the bank so I have decided not to do the CSA this year.  Fingers crossed I will have access to a beef order another way at the end of the year, I would just rather invest the money in my own garden.

It has been a challenge to streamline my plantings into something more functional and less fun for the 2010 season.  Sadly there are many seeds in my stash that will not be sown this year, last year I seemed to have too many or not enough of many things......too many tomatoes for fresh eating, but not enough to process; too few green beans for a side dish or salad; too many cukes for fresh eating, not enough to pickle etc..  Because my space is limited I am considering doing an every other year type planting schedule for pickling cukes and tomatoes.  If I grow both I am limiting my abilities to can, especially on the tomatoes.  If I alternate years I can do sauce/salsa one year, and pickles the next.  I am out of my mind to even consider this??? (I would still grow a few tomatoes for fresh eating.)

Lastly, anyone have a favorite salsa tomato?  Can you use any type?  (Last year I was going to make lots of fresh salsa and it didn't happen once.)