tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19379833605776237692024-03-05T10:55:09.282-06:00The Haphazard GardenerThe adventures of a gardener who doesn't plan.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-73304938412506134932016-03-20T21:30:00.000-05:002016-03-20T21:30:41.076-05:00It's Almost Planting Time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year, I planted about 30 cups of tomato and pepper seeds. I was using a combination of new seeds and seeds that were a few years old from my seed box. Normally, I put two seeds per cup, but since I had some older seeds and wasn't sure how they'd germinate, I put three seeds of the older seeds in each cup. Wouldn't you know it? Just about every single seed germinated!! I am now the proud plant parent to 95 seedlings! I only know the exact number because I had 100 sixteen ounce Solo cups and I have 5 left. (That's some old-school Math right there!). <br />
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This year's tomatoes, all heirlooms:<br />
Marmande (from seeds saved last year)~This is my husband's favorite tomato and has performed very well in our garden the past 2 years.<br />
Century~First time in our garden<br />
Earliana~First time in our garden<br />
Large Red Cherry (from seeds saved last year)~This is a reliable producer and has performed well in our garden the past 3 or 4 years.<br />
Rutgers~We grew this variety a couple of years ago with moderate success. I decided that since I had 2 seeds left in the packet, I'd sow them and see what happened. <br />
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This year's peppers:<br />
Red Bullnose~Sweet red pepper that does well in our garden. <br />
Yellow Belle~Sweet yellow bell pepper that produces great tasting peppers and is prolific.<br />
Orange King Bell~An orange bell pepper that we've grown in the past, but it's been a few years.<br />
Jalapeno~No Texas garden is complete without jalapenos!<br />
Greek Pepperoncini~New to the garden this year. Hubby has plans to pickle these.<br />
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We won't be planting most of the 95, so I'll be selling them and giving them away to friends. I don't think I even have space for 95 total plants in my garden plot! We'll probably plant about 15 tomatoes and 10 peppers, max. <br />
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Even though we've had an unseasonably mild winter with some days in the 70s, 80s, and even hovering around 90ยบ, I know how fickle Texas weather can be. This morning, we had a light frost with temps in the upper 30s/low 40s and we're expected to be chilly again tonight. This is why I wait until the end of March to the beginning of April to start planting my spring and summer veggies. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow Belle pepper with flower buds already! I'll pinch those off because the plant isn't strong enough to support any fruit that might form. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-47966952142399123502015-05-18T10:21:00.000-05:002015-05-18T10:21:26.346-05:00Saving Poppy Seeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love growing poppies! They are early bloomers for us in Texas. They're easy to grow as well. Just toss seeds out in the fall and wait. They germinate and start sprouting in late January or early February and then take off from there. I haven't intentionally sown any poppy seeds for the past couple of years, yet I get a bumper crop of volunteers every year, like these in the picture above.<br />
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After poppies flower, the petals will die off (or get blown off if my case) and leave the seed pod behind. I think they look like queens wearing crowns. As the seed heads dry out, the "crown" lifts up and little windows start showing. This is where the seeds empty when blown by the wind, knocked down by animals (like the neighbor's cat), or if turned upside down when pulling the plants out. <br />
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I snip off the tops and turn them upside down in a tall container, such as a large yogurt or cottage cheese container. Twirl the stems to empty all the seeds. Once harvested, spread them out on a paper plate and allow to dry. Store in a paper envelope or old medicine bottle until the fall and toss them about your garden to bloom in the spring. <br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-51949303019867503262015-05-02T23:20:00.001-05:002015-05-02T23:20:57.243-05:00Planting Tomatoes<br />
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Tomatoes are probably the most planted vegetable in gardens across America. Who doesn't like a vine-ripened, juicy tomato? There is nothing store-bought that can compare to the tasty goodness of a homegrown tomato. <br />
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Growing tomatoes in North Texas is always a challenge. It's difficult to grow beefsteak tomatoes (the really large sized tomatoes) because we just don't have the number of cooler days to grow them to maturity. I always look for heirloom and open pollinated varieties that have a medium growing season, something about 70-80 days to maturity. This year, we're growing Marmande, Super Sioiux, Pantano Romanesco, and Large Red Cherry. We've grown all but Super Sioux previously.<br />
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Marmande is a nice, small-medium sized round tomato. It's very prolific and very tasty. Reminds me of an old-fashioned tomato. Perfect for one person, too. Pantano Romanesco is a larger tomato, but more flat. They're pictured above. They have a fantastic taste and are very juicy as well. Large Red Cherry is the perfect snack size tomato. Cherry tomatoes are much more prolific and will sometimes produce when the weather is very hot, long after the regular tomatoes have given up.<br />
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Prior to planting, be sure to harden off your plants. This allows them to gradually adjust to the outdoor temps without freaking out. Over a two week period of time, you want to take your plants outside until they're out full time. I set mine out starting for about 2-3 hours in deep shade. I gradually increase their time out as well as their sun exposure. For about the last 3 or 4 days they're out day and night in partial shade. Because they're in smallish containers (16 oz plastic cups), I don't leave them out all day in full sun. They're pretty root bound by plant out time and I don't want to stress them too much. As you can see from the picture above, I put them in an old laundry basket to protect them from the wind. They're about 2 feet tall and blow over easily. The laundry basket keeps them upright to prevent any damage. The vents on the side of the basket allow for air circulation. If you drill holes in the bottom of the basket, you've got drainage. Tomatoes don't like wet feet and balk at too much water, so you don't want them sitting in water and you want the soil to dry out a bit between waterings.<br />
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Prepare your soil well. I have heavy, clay soil frequently referred to as "gumbo clay soil". Over the years, we have added lots of compost, green sand, lava sand, and a little bit of expanded shale to aid with drainage. I don't till, just dig a hole and plant or sow my seeds. Tomatoes will grow roots along the stem, so plant them deep. I trim off the lower leaves of my plants, leaving only the top 2 or 3 sets of leaves above ground. This gives them a more robust root system, more stability, and the potential to produce more fruit. <br />
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Prior to planting, be sure to loosen the root system a little bit. This helps them get going once in the ground. <br />
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In the hole with the tomato, mix a bit of tomato food and earthworm castings into the bottom of the hole along with a handful of leaves or compost. Water in, then place your tomato in the hole and fill with your dirt. Pack it in lightly around the root ball and up to ground level. Sprinkle a bit more of the fertilizer/earthworm castings on top, cover with mulch and water well with a good liquid organic fertilizer. <br />
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We use Nature's Guide Tomato & Pepper food and earthworm castings from <a href="http://www.txwormranch.com/worm_castings.html" target="_blank">Texas Worm Ranch. </a>We didn't have any homemade compost this year, so I used mushroom compost. We get the leaves from our oak tree in the front yard, which drops its leaves in the spring. Very convenient for us. Placing them in the hole with the plant gives the roots someplace loose to grow and also feeds the soil. It's a win-win.<br />
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The hubby loves maters, so he's usually in charge of actually planting them out. I just direct, make sure he's got supplies, and make up the markers so we'll know which variety is where. In about 2 months, hopefully, if we don't get any damaging winds, late season freezes, or damaging hail, we'll end up with a nice harvest of tomatoes by the end of June to middle of July. Fresh tomatoes by the 4th of July is always the goal.<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-76356536832141079362015-02-10T17:55:00.000-06:002015-02-10T17:55:40.022-06:00Time to Plant Tomatoes and Peppers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's that time in Texas, folks. This year, I planted my spring tomatoes and peppers two weeks ago. I usually start them sometime around the first of the year, but I'm running behind this year. (Go figure!) My set up is very basic. I use old shop shelving units with bed slats for shelves to allow for circulation and two old shop lights with one "cool" bulb and one "warm" bulb. This year, I have a heat mat, but in years past, I've just used a space heater on the bottom shelf of my set up and hung old shower curtain liners from shower curtain hooks around the top of my shelving unit to hold heat in. I also run the ceiling fan in our spare bedroom to keep mold and mildew at bay. <br />
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So far, I've planted:<br />
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<li>Pantano Romanesco tomatoes</li>
<li>Super Sioux tomatoes (new for us this year)</li>
<li>Marmande tomatoes</li>
<li>Jalapeno peppers</li>
<li>Bullnose bell peppers</li>
<li>Purple Tomatillos</li>
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I also make my own seed starting mix. I start with a good, organic potting soil. I like Ladybug Brand Vortex Potting Soil. To that, I add some compost, earthworm castings, green sand, and lava sand. I mix about 5 parts potting soil, 3 parts compost, and 1 part everything else. I water with warm water to help raise the soil temperature and to aid in soil germination. I water the soil with a very weak liquid fertilizer and then drop my seeds on top of the wet soil. Cover with a bit of planting mix and spritz with warm water in a squirt bottle. Until the seeds germinate, I spritz with warm water once a day. For the cups on the heat mat, I spritzed twice a day. <br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-66733791338717979342014-05-13T13:59:00.001-05:002014-05-13T14:01:09.627-05:00DIY Butterfly Cage (Helping the Butterfly Population)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About a week ago, I found a Black Swallowtail egg on my dill. A couple of days ago, I found this wee little 1st instar caterpillar chowing down on my dill. He's very tiny, probably about 1/4" long. I knew that I'd need to get some butterfly cages ready to keep some of these inside and away from predators, such as wasps, if I was to help the butterfly population. <br />
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Not only are butterflies pretty to look at, they are important pollinators. Some species, like the beautiful Monarch butterfly, are in danger due to their food source being taken out by pesticide use, urban sprawl, and drought. I'm not a huge butterfly lover, but I do try to plant butterfly friendly plants, not necessarily to attract them to my garden, but to help them along in their journey and reproduction cycle. <br />
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Several years ago, I planted some dill in my garden for my husband. He has a life-long goal of making dill pickles using fresh dill, dill seeds, and cucumbers from our garden. I freaked out when I saw a huge caterpillar destroying "his" dill! I immediately snapped a picture of it and posted it on <a href="http://davesgarden.com/" target="_blank">my favorite gardening website</a> to find out what it was and if was friend or foe. I was quickly informed it was an <a href="https://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg266.html" target="_blank">Eastern Black Swallowtail.</a> It's a keeper and should be "protected", raised away from harm, and then released. I grabbed a plastic container, an old medicine bottle that I'd washed out, a paper towel, some dill, and some orange tulle and began my butterfly cage journey. Over the years, I've redesigned my cage with the help of a couple of fellow gardening buddies. If you'd like to make your own butterfly cage (or caterpillar cage), they are inexpensive and easy to make.<br />
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What you'll need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Floral Foam or floral clay (I prefer the foam)</li>
<li>Scissors</li>
<li>Glad Press 'n Seal cling wrap</li>
<li>Scissors</li>
<li>Box opener</li>
<li>Deep food storage container (approx. 64 oz)</li>
<li>Tulle (Wedding netting)</li>
<li>Water bottle, if using floral clay</li>
<li>Hot glue gun </li>
<li>A nosy kitty is a nice accessory and helper (NOT!)</li>
</ul>
** I buy my food storage containers from Family Dollar, similar to <a href="http://www.glad.com/food-storage/containers/deep-dish/" target="_blank">this one from Glad.</a>. Be sure to get the deep rectangular ones so your caterpillars will have enough room in the container with your host plant. <br />
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First off, using your box cutter/box opener/razor blade, cut out the center of the lid. Leave enough space to put a bead of glue around the edge without getting into the grove for the lid to snap onto the bottom. This one is actually cut a little too close to the edge, but I went with it anyway. Then, cut your tulle approximately 2" -3" larger than your lid. I just lay the lid on the tulle and start cutting. No measuring required!<br />
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Using your hot glue gun, run a bead of glue around the cut edge. Place your tulle on top and press down. You can use a popsicle stick or orange stick to press it down. If you like to burn your fingers, you can just use your fingers. I'm really not into that, so I used a popsicle stick. <br />
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While the glue job is drying, cut your floral foam to fit the bottom of your cage. You're going to set your cage on its end, so make sure your piece fits. You can use one side of the scissors as a knife to cut your foam. I like it to be about 2" deep so it has enough room to hold the stems of the plants.<br />
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Tear off a piece of the Glad Press 'n Seal wrap large enough to wrap your piece of floral foam. I dare you to do this without trying to kill yourself on the cutter on the box. If you're really lucky, the cutter on the box won't even work! (Not fun!)<br />
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Wrap it all up nice and neat. Make sure it's nice and tight. The reason I wrap my piece of floral foam is to make clean up of the cage quicker and easier. Caterpillars create an enormous amount of frass (aka "poop") and the wrap keeps the frass from contaminating the foam. It wipes off easily and quickly to make daily cleaning quick.<br />
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* If you're using floral clay, cut the bottom of your water bottle off,
about 1" - 1.5" from the bottom with your box opener or scissors. Fill
with clay and wrap the foam and bottom of the water bottle with the
plastic wrap. Poke some holes in the wrap and clay, wet, and then place
your sprigs of host plant in the clay.<br />
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Using a toothpick, poke some holes into the foam. I like to wiggle the toothpick around a bit to make holes large enough for the stems. Make several different sizes to accommodate the possible various stem sizes. If you don't have a caterpillar ready to move it, place the foam in the cage and place the lid on top and store it for when you need it. If you've got a resident ready to move in, continue reading.<br />
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Place your square of foam into some water. It'll float, so you'll need to place something on top of it to hold it down. A cat food dish worked great for me. Allow it to soak while you collect your host plant stems and occupant, if you've not already brought them inside. I had an Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar waiting, so I went and collected several sprigs of dill and the little caterpillar.<br />
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Once your foam is watered and full (it turns a dark green), place it on a paper towel in the bottom of your cage. The paper towel also helps ease cleaning. <br />
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Prior to placing your resident and sprigs of host plant into your cage, be sure to rinse off, upside down, in some slow running water. This helps rinse of any predators or other buggies that might attack the caterpillar. Once the sprigs are rinsed off, gently place them into the holes in the foam.<br />
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Snap your lid on and move your cage to a safe place. You want it in a sunny location, but not in direct sun. I use a rubber band around the cage not only to keep the lid on securely, but also to help keep my inquisitive cats out of the cage. They don't normally bother the cages, but I don't want to take any chances.<br />
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There you have it! Very easy to do and the clear container makes it easy to see what's going on inside. It also provides easy clean up once you release your butterfly. These are easy to store and last for several years. If you have kids, they can decorate the outside with paint or stickers to personalize them.<br />
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A few tips:<br />
<ul>
<li> Be sure to change the paper towel daily and clean out any frass on the foam. </li>
<li>I can usually change out the food source every other day. </li>
<li>I also keep a spare piece of foam wrapped up to use when I change out the food source. </li>
<li>To transfer the caterpillar to the new sprigs of food, just lay the sprig it's on in the mess of the new sprigs. It'll figure out how to get onto the new stuff. </li>
<li>Learn the stages of your caterpillar's growth. When it gets to the advanced stages, but before it pupates (eliminates all waste from its body, goes into the "comma" position, and starts making its chrysalis), put a larger twig or small stick in the cage. It will use that to build its chrysalis on and won't need any food source.</li>
</ul>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-26283015924198896792014-03-31T15:58:00.000-05:002014-03-31T15:58:41.429-05:00Spring Cleaning...Finding Surprises<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before starting to spring clean</td></tr>
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The big flower bed by the driveway and curb in the front of our house has been sadly neglected since the middle of last summer. It barely got watered, yet everything flourished. I didn't cut anything back in the fall or late winter like I should have, so I decided today was the day to get started on it! As you can see by the pic above, it was looking pretty dead. I pulled off dead passiflora vines from the obelisk. I cut lots of dead branches from shrubs and I did a bit of weed pulling and yanking of plants that spread by underground runners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHhfjiN-l7ywpd1QwrbUXk7qJTYLlgH8r5HZpuPRGoDipbQJ5V12xv-Qz-bMJ3c7nCAplplP7kF8Yf8YlLQA3LOg0c99r4X0gfIeQvdBcH_wWlLFHo8xd5d7ycz_v87FIF9DAWazexxg/s1600/100_1212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHhfjiN-l7ywpd1QwrbUXk7qJTYLlgH8r5HZpuPRGoDipbQJ5V12xv-Qz-bMJ3c7nCAplplP7kF8Yf8YlLQA3LOg0c99r4X0gfIeQvdBcH_wWlLFHo8xd5d7ycz_v87FIF9DAWazexxg/s1600/100_1212.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cut off the dead branches from the Mealy Blue Sage and the Shrimp Plant. Thinned out some of the Willow Leaf Asters and American Germander.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4j6JtEq_u8aMbKBeCf3FzaIZzszpqBBXvsDoy3CDRuE48XAoV30ZJlomrQx1SDKK9k1hocG3HRN0hLkczVkz5kShFpLsZvWLB39Z174Wr5V6462mQ2bn06c99hvoKxQX279ki8rQi9dk/s1600/100_1210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4j6JtEq_u8aMbKBeCf3FzaIZzszpqBBXvsDoy3CDRuE48XAoV30ZJlomrQx1SDKK9k1hocG3HRN0hLkczVkz5kShFpLsZvWLB39Z174Wr5V6462mQ2bn06c99hvoKxQX279ki8rQi9dk/s1600/100_1210.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Already looking much better!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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In the process of thinning out some of the plants that have overstepped their boundaries, I found some treasures. I've tried growing John Fannin Phlox for several years. It barely produces in my garden and I'm not sure if it's the soil or the sun exposure. Last year, I pretty much gave up on it. This year, I found a lovely little clump of phlox and some babies! The fork is there because I used it to mark where the original plant was planted 3 years ago. It also helps me not step on any new babies as I tromp through the bed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vw-Ji3iXxM64-E4D-j34VR6c7sZ56dI4rdQVBK_bAEP_Wsfi7PM8lZX0pPhAgJvPuB220OOxCRBzQ_oJAGcZhXakXshwaSor464X-GxnuBTI6uQNS9F3BSLqstzL9Qvqub6UUfmHk_E/s1600/100_1206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vw-Ji3iXxM64-E4D-j34VR6c7sZ56dI4rdQVBK_bAEP_Wsfi7PM8lZX0pPhAgJvPuB220OOxCRBzQ_oJAGcZhXakXshwaSor464X-GxnuBTI6uQNS9F3BSLqstzL9Qvqub6UUfmHk_E/s1600/100_1206.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Fannick Phlox clump</td></tr>
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In addition, I discovered this plant growing amongst the Willow Leaf Asters. At first I thought it was a Willow Leaf Aster until I looked more closely at the leaves and noticed that the leaves on this plant have a more serrated edge whereas the aster has a straight edge on the leaf. I vaguely remember broadcasting seeds from the mother plant last fall. This is such a beautiful plant to have flowering in the fall. The bees love it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0clGgLx3v39YoKIgkZvTfcJlbOfEMFJqVeQkPXbMPNNMBZBlMy-R3JXpyAqdIO8xE5GZtiML2BekWFvLCN5HFgVaRXJHGgp4SOYQBz57ZHSKlBZXIn6ReZ6b5kKtszI-y57Yi6_W6Rmk/s1600/100_1205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0clGgLx3v39YoKIgkZvTfcJlbOfEMFJqVeQkPXbMPNNMBZBlMy-R3JXpyAqdIO8xE5GZtiML2BekWFvLCN5HFgVaRXJHGgp4SOYQBz57ZHSKlBZXIn6ReZ6b5kKtszI-y57Yi6_W6Rmk/s1600/100_1205.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow Goldenrod</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I was also surprised to see a few flowers blooming. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgyO5HcWECKzDfsPKh6qZXlWZcCxhpO7yEX8_JTMfalLXWb5jHWXv9tXnLbMw2K2O3aJt9T6T5uUN5vN1NzynwJ2Qk-YdJZnVAmpYZfQDVvHJVSi72phpcJC2MHXrwdF_zsCFg5mvtwE/s1600/100_1203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgyO5HcWECKzDfsPKh6qZXlWZcCxhpO7yEX8_JTMfalLXWb5jHWXv9tXnLbMw2K2O3aJt9T6T5uUN5vN1NzynwJ2Qk-YdJZnVAmpYZfQDVvHJVSi72phpcJC2MHXrwdF_zsCFg5mvtwE/s1600/100_1203.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood Violets growing in between the bricks on the walkway.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6X8A4th8JnVoPAb49Du_7HK63mQ52mzb5LZU1rxlgsRZxsreRkGgHhfW7KrLep1RjHR7mtVzA4jJNCFCuVuYR3FAW1yYmSb3JDqgq3ubVoJd6TMYkLLG8GyPfCegovY_QinkqMI1qhE/s1600/100_1201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6X8A4th8JnVoPAb49Du_7HK63mQ52mzb5LZU1rxlgsRZxsreRkGgHhfW7KrLep1RjHR7mtVzA4jJNCFCuVuYR3FAW1yYmSb3JDqgq3ubVoJd6TMYkLLG8GyPfCegovY_QinkqMI1qhE/s1600/100_1201.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Nerve Daisy will bloom away until the heat sets in, then slow down. They pick up again when it cools off in the fall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhuuXMz9zrO53WJENAUz5yCMb5rIOqnG3NBcDc6FQEUy9gzb3FmLEuILFM-vlvgpsYZ_5s1xiH9bdJ0dgztOzKHnW9tmf4tTmR0lHiaTeP_zB11W4KkiUT1lgw2T-ydSZJzxmkEtv20U/s1600/100_1202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhuuXMz9zrO53WJENAUz5yCMb5rIOqnG3NBcDc6FQEUy9gzb3FmLEuILFM-vlvgpsYZ_5s1xiH9bdJ0dgztOzKHnW9tmf4tTmR0lHiaTeP_zB11W4KkiUT1lgw2T-ydSZJzxmkEtv20U/s1600/100_1202.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May Night Salvia stinks, but is such a glorious flower. This little plant is several years old, has been divided a couple of times, and continues to put out new growth and flowers in the early spring.</td></tr>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-45867582983052541132013-04-12T14:59:00.000-05:002013-04-12T14:59:26.641-05:00For the Love of TomatoesI started my tomatoes from seed in January. My husband LOVES tomatoes, so this year, we've decided to give prime garden real estate to more tomatoes than we've ever grown. Since tomatoes don't produce after the temps in the evenings get above 80ยบ, we have a very short time to produce a good tomato harvest. Also, plants basically fry in the heat of the Texas summer. The plants were ready to go in the ground on our last average freeze date, March 15th. I took off a week from work to plant the tomatoes and the other spring veggies. Here is the hubby planting the maters.<br />
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Planting the babies March 18, 2013</div>
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Root system of transplants.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMj2CG9n8wkF1xbOUIUZn2pBHA3ZtUa5zx3opEvkXNPtvhOmlFIIYJwr-sNs0zkYGfbiH6VzBNEC27AgcL2dGsYVjcXcKOG3rxd7NPEg9nxgP7EpkEBp7OHz_rnXVx0tNlBd1CDHRGv4/s1600/100_9629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMj2CG9n8wkF1xbOUIUZn2pBHA3ZtUa5zx3opEvkXNPtvhOmlFIIYJwr-sNs0zkYGfbiH6VzBNEC27AgcL2dGsYVjcXcKOG3rxd7NPEg9nxgP7EpkEBp7OHz_rnXVx0tNlBd1CDHRGv4/s320/100_9629.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Planting deep so that roots can develop along the stem. We also mixed in a handful of organic veggie fertilizer, a handful of compost, and a handful of earthworm castings. Once planted, we watered with a weak combination of liquid organic fertilizer and fish emulsion.</div>
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We planted 3 Homestead 24 plants, 4 Pantano Romanesco plants, 1 Rutgers, and 2 Beefsteak tomatoes. (We still have some large cherry tomato and tomatillos to plant.) <br />
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We got 10 of the tomato plants planted, stopped for the day, watched the news and discovered that a freeze was heading our way in a couple of days. How frustrating!! We haven't hardly had any freezing weather and then as soon as we try to start the garden...WHAM! We spent a couple of days watching the weather and coming up with a plan. We decided that since the plants were planted deeply (at least 18" deep) and not much top growth was showing, we'd cover them with buckets and hope for the best. We watered them well to help protect the roots. My husband also decided that we could use Christmas lights to generate a bit of heat inside the buckets at night to raise the temps inside a bit. <br />
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Under the buckets 3/25/13 (obviously from Home Depot!) with Christmas lights. Wonder what planes flying overhead thought!! LOL</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYZb6BKK3n8eenlunN43wRCyS5g_v4ZE2o5xI3By_WmSf5WqLUITfs-OP3mds-41E97gR5q0jrPJrhdOBH00tIMTf4h0C8qRaBavn11QNUeR41bZEei435emSCuT087zO7PWCFdTwNmI/s1600/100_9709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYZb6BKK3n8eenlunN43wRCyS5g_v4ZE2o5xI3By_WmSf5WqLUITfs-OP3mds-41E97gR5q0jrPJrhdOBH00tIMTf4h0C8qRaBavn11QNUeR41bZEei435emSCuT087zO7PWCFdTwNmI/s320/100_9709.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Freeze burn on leaves.</div>
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Some green remains, but a lot of freeze damage.</div>
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This one looks really sad. The poor thing was already in trouble to begin with. It's stalk had bent during some winds, so we went ahead and planted it about 2 days prior to the cold front. We planted it deep so that the bend was underground and hoped for the best.</div>
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After we uncovered the plants, we gave them some more fertilizer (just diluted fish emulsion this time) and started babying them. Thankfully, the weather cooperated until this week when we got lows on Wednesday night in the upper 30s. We once again watered and fertilized well in anticipation of the cooler temps. Once again, the buckets came out and we covered the babies. This time, they did fine and everything is green! We haven't lost one tomato plant yet! Now, if they'd just start producing, I'd be happy!!<br />
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This is the same plant as the middle pic in the set above. We've cut off all freeze damaged leaves and it's put on new growth and doing great!</div>
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This is the little one that had the broken stem and almost died during the first freeze in late March. Look at it now! </div>
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This is the same plant from above that had almost no green growth on it after the freeze in March that I thought would die. Lots of new growth now!</div>
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I heard today on the news that we might get more cold weather next week. I have my lights and buckets ready!! All I can say is that these guys had better produce a HUGE crop with all this attention they've gotten!! What we do to save our plants!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-86357078199989390122013-03-03T13:40:00.001-06:002013-03-03T13:40:16.372-06:00Where We AreAs expected, February was a wild ride weather-wise. We have had several cold days and lots of freezing temps. Great for the garden, but bad for me when I've got spring fever. The tomatoes are growing like weeds, I tell ya! I need to start taking them on field trips during the day so they can begin hardening off. I'll be ready to get these guys in the ground in about 2 weeks.<br />
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The picture above was taken on 2/24/13. They have grown several more inches since then and are about 18" tall with thick, hairy stems. Four days later, I walked into their room and found this:<br />
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This little Pantano Romanesco mater is getting a bit anxious for spring! I clipped off the bloom so the plant would spend its energy making leaves and such rather than on trying to produce tomatoes. This morning, I noticed some buds on one of the Large Red Cherry plants. I have been watering them from the bottom every other day and weekly with water and fish & seaweed combination. They love that fish and seaweed! It smells up my house for the whole day, but if it makes the maters happy, that's okay by me.<br />
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The pepper seeds never sprouted, so I've got to replant those. I've had horrible results trying to sow peppers the past 2 years! What is up with that?!?<br />
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Meanwhile, out in the sunroom where we have all of the planters from outside stored for the winter...<br />
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My aloe vera has a flower stalk on it!!! Unbelievable! This thing is overcrowded to the point of sadness and it only gets watered (inside) about once every 3 weeks. Guess it's happy because it's going to make me a flower. I just hope it's not some really bad smelling thing!<br />
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Lastly, the onions did get put in the 2nd week of February. It was actually nice, just before the freeze settled in. They're doing great and came through all the dreary, cold weather just fine. (I need to snap a pic of them since you can actually SEE them now! LOL)<br />
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Coming up soon, I need to get my carrots started and I still need to put my potatoes in the ground.<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-25502447653278264922013-01-27T10:35:00.000-06:002013-01-27T10:35:38.953-06:00Seed Starting Success<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The tomatoes are off and running! This picture was taken 2 days ago. The seedlings have their first set of real leaves and are ready to be thinned and more dirt added to their cups. The cool thing about tomatoes is that they will develop roots along their stems, so if you add dirt to the seedlings while they're growing, you'll end up with transplants with stronger and more developed root systems. When you plant them out, you can plant them deeper than you normally would (so that only the leaves are showing above ground) for an even better chance for growing more roots and doing better in the garden. <br />
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On Thursday, I watered the seedlings with a shot of seaweed and fish emulsion, diluted in a lot of water of course, and this is what the seedlings looked like this morning.<br />
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Yikes! They grew like crazy in just a matter of days! On the agenda today is thinning the seedlings and adding more soil to the cups. I will actually pot up the seedlings I thin out, so I'll have double the number of most varieties. Some of these are already over the top of their cups and it's almost time to adjust the lights up so they don't touch the bulbs. I will continue to fertilize them with the seaweed & fish emulsion mixture weekly. I also need to sow my peppers and a few herbs.<br />
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I received my order of onion sets from Dixondale Farms this past Wednesday! I ordered a short-day sampler (1015Y, Texas Early White, and Red Creole) and a bunch of Texas Legend onions. Those also need to get planted today. This year, I ordered their organic fertilizer and plan to use that to see if it helps my onion harvest. I've had less than stellar results with onions the past 3 years and I'm determined to have success this year. I absolutely LOVE onions and would plant that exclusively if my husband didn't think we needed other veggies and such in the garden. <br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-78838383965183015842013-01-17T16:35:00.000-06:002013-01-17T16:35:15.879-06:00Liftoff!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first seedling has sprouted! It took about 4 days. I planted these late on Sunday afternoon and have my first sprout this afternoon. There are several more seeds getting ready to pop. When I checked on the seedlings around lunchtime today, I noticed several with their necks poking out, so we should be ready to move them to the light station in a day or so. <br />
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As I've monitored the cups, I noticed that they tended to dry out faster than when I'd started seeds previously. I did two things. First, I lowered the lid so that there was a smaller opening between the lid and the top of the roaster. Secondly, I watered twice or three times a day with WARM water. I don't use really hot water, but it should be good and warm. I have a 1 liter soda bottle that I use. The lid has pin holes in the top so it acts as a watering can and comes out in a gentle stream. I've also been using a moisture meter to test the soil and a thermometer to monitor the soil temp.<br />
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Also waiting in the wings are the seed potatoes. This year, I have Purple Majesty (purple skin and purple flesh), Yukon Gold (white), and Red Lasota potatoes. I've had them on a shelf in my kitchen pre-sprouting. They're doing great! My plant out date is Feb. 14th, so they still have a few weeks to wait and grow. The Red Lasotas haven't sprouted fully yet, but they do have a lot of eyes forming and I can see several spout wannabes on them. I also have some pretty red-almost burgundy skinned potatoes that my husband picked up at Sprout's a month or so ago that have been growing since we've not used them. I'm thinking they'll get planted as well. <br />
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While the potatoes are waiting and the first batch of seeds are growing under the lights, I'll start the last of the tomato seeds and start the first batch of tomatillos and peppers.<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-66187549601786710502013-01-13T22:50:00.000-06:002013-01-13T22:50:22.145-06:00Seed Starting Adventure Epic Fail!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, my big time seed starting project 1.0 was a bust. Boo!! I checked on my seeds on day 2 after planting and I found MOLD in all my containers! I think it was a combination of high heat, high humidity, and not enough air circulation. I tossed all the contents of the containers into the compost pile where the mold will be taken care of as the compost does its thing. I was going to toss the containers into the recycling bin, but hubby encouraged me to rescue them, clean them and reuse them. I soaked them in some hot Clorox water, cleaned them out, and have started the great seed starting adventure 2.0.<br />
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Seed Starting 2.0 is still using the roaster oven, but as you can see, I've elevated the lid and have a fan going for air circulation. The air temp inside is about 72ยบ. I'm thinking of leaving the top off at night or raising the lid a bit more to give even more air circulation. We'll see. Tomorrow I'll mist the cups and see how things are going.<br />
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We also set up our other seed starting station. This structure has lights and a heat source. We still need to put the plastic covering on it to create a greenhouse effect. We used this set up successfully 2 years ago. (Last year, I didn't start any seeds indoors as hubby was still experiencing some heart complications during January. Sometimes life gets in the way of our fun.) We also need to get one more light fixture and some hardware to hang it with from Home Depot. Not exactly sure how I'm going to see those containers at the very top, but I'll figure it out! Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-15209980429766114552013-01-10T17:52:00.001-06:002013-01-10T17:52:05.255-06:00Seed Starting Adventure 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year, I'm starting almost everything from seeds. This isn't new for me as I've started almost everything from seed for the past two years. This year, however, I'm trying something different with just my tomato and pepper seeds. I'm using a roaster oven to start them. Just so you don't think I'm completely off my rocker, I got my idea from a post on <a href="http://allthingsplants.com/ideas/view/patrob/653/A-quick-tip/" target="_blank">All Things Plants</a> . Thankfully, when my oven died the week of Thanksgiving and my turkey was sitting in my fridge waiting to be cooked, we purchased an 18 qt roaster oven. If you'd like to give this seed starting method a go and don't have a roaster oven, check out flea markets, thrift stores, Goodwill, and garage sales for a good deal on a used oven.<br />
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The first thing I did was line the bottom with heavy duty aluminum foil. I then place a baking rack on the bottom and placed a mostly filled cup of water in the pan. I turned the dial just until I heard it click on and saw the light come on. I left the oven to warm for a couple of hours. I tested the water temp and it wasn't quite warm enough, so I increased the heat a bit (as seen by black line on the dial) and left the water to heat up again. This time when I checked it, it was just a touch too warm (92ยบF), so I adjusted the temp down a bit. This time, when I checked it, the temp was perfect (89ยบF)! You want your temp to be 80ยบ-90ยบF. <br />
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This year, I'm using 6 oz yogurt cups the hubby and I have been saving all year. I've never eaten so much yogurt in my life! I can fit 27 cups in my roaster. Once the seeds germinate, I'll move them to the middle bedroom where the light system will be set up. Please note the future tense "will be" because it's not ready yet! I told the hubby we have 3 days to get it together, which means lots of de-cluttering and straightening of that room. <br />
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For my seed starting medium, I'm doing something a bit different. I'm using an actual seed starter and adding a few other things to it. In the past, I've used potting soil, but that's really too heavy for seeds. This is what I've got going for this go 'round of seeds. To <a href="http://www.ladybugbrand.com/products/Germinator.asp" target="_blank">LadyBug Brand's The Germinator mix</a> I'm adding a small handful of horticultural cornmeal (an antifungal to help deter fungal growth), Texas green sand and lava sand to help with drainage. I also added a dash of tomato and pepper food. That hospital pan comes in quite handy in the garden, so don't throw those things out if you have the pleasure of bringing one home.<br />
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Today, I planted the following tomato varieties:<br />
Beefsteak<br />
Homestead 24<br />
Large Red Cherry<br />
Pantano Romanesco<br />
Rutgers<br />
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I am planting 6 cups of each variety with 2 seeds per cup. Since my roaster only holds 27 cups, I planted 6 of each of the first 4 varieties and only 3 of the Rutgers. When I start the second batch of seeds, I'll start with the Rutgers and move on to the rest of the tomatoes and peppers. I'm not sure I'll plant as many peppers as tomatoes, though.<br />
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I filled each cup about half-way with planting medium then watered well with warm water. Seeds need warmth to germinate and I've found this helps. I then put my seeds on, sprinkled on a bit more planting medium and watered with warm water again. (Please note the use of the old cat litter tray! Again, good way to reuse and recycle. Perfect for carrying plants)<br />
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Once watered and everything, I put them in the roaster oven. I can fit 15 cups on the bottom of the roaster pan. I put a cooling rack on top of these cups and can fit an additional 12 cups, maximizing the space in my oven. If this works well this year, I might look for a 2nd oven to use next year. <br />
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Now the lid is on the cups and they are nice and warm, hopefully doing their seed thing and beginning the sprouting process. I'll check on them in 3 days to see if we have any sprouts! Stay tuned for updates!<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-26889180680516277222012-12-31T21:55:00.000-06:002012-12-31T21:55:45.899-06:00Dusting off the Blog and Getting Ready for 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The 2012 growing season was productive, but a total bust on blogging. This year, I'm thinking of doing a weekly post and some special posts when I get to it. That's my plan now; we'll see how it works out! <br />
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In preparation for the 2013 gardening season, I've spent a lot of time online this past week placing orders for seeds and starts. The potatoes and onions go into the ground around Valentine's Day and I've got to get the tomatoes and peppers going soon so they'll be ready to plant out by late March.<br />
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This is what I've ordered for the spring, in addition to some seeds I purchased in the fall that never made it into the garden. I also have some seeds I've saved from last summer's veggies.<br />
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Dixondale Farms <a href="http://www.dixondalefarms.com/" target="_blank">http://www.dixondalefarms.com/</a><br />
Short Day Sampler (1 bunch of 1015, Texas Early White, and Red Creole mixed together)<br />
Texas Legend (1 bunch) <br />
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Sustainable Seeds <a href="http://sustainableseedco.com/" target="_blank">http://sustainableseedco.com/</a><br />
Tomato--Large Red Cherry<br />
Pepper--Orange King Bell Pepper<br />
Triple Curled Parsley (for the herb garden/butterflies)<br />
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Baker Creed Heirloom Seeds <a href="http://rareseeds.com/" target="_blank">http://rareseeds.com/</a><br />
Pepper--Red Bullnose (sweet)<br />
Tomato--Pantamo Romanesco (first time for us)<br />
Watermelon--Royal Golden (new for us)<br />
Herbs--Borage, Stevia, and Flat Leaf Parsley<br />
Flowers--Button Box zinnias, Pink Sunday Sage (Salvia), Persian Carpet zinnias<br />
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Victory Seeds <a href="http://www.victoryseeds.com/" target="_blank">http://www.victoryseeds.com/</a> <br />
Cantaloupe--Honey Rock<br />
Tomato--Homestead 24, Rutgers, Beefsteak<br />
Tomatillo--Morado (purple)<br />
Cukes--Ashley, National Pickling, and Muncher<br />
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Potato Garden <a href="http://potatogarden.com/" target="_blank">http://potatogarden.com/</a><br />
Purple Majesty (2 lbs)<br />
Yukon Gold (5 lbs)<br />
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I'll also be growing carrots, radishes, okra, bush beans, peas, black-eyed peas (cowpeas), and lettuce. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0bLYw8JZvjHU-7A1zF7rFfe6xpXGP7W77yRNFd4MDK2HCw_BMvnqYYB4RFgEcGeqrT89Fo7GdCXIh_4FBlwp4ZzU08MuuJbEFnzsEZy862XD4l2kQbXj2STzl_PCLmxB3gvv2l9GT-E/s1600/100_9173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0bLYw8JZvjHU-7A1zF7rFfe6xpXGP7W77yRNFd4MDK2HCw_BMvnqYYB4RFgEcGeqrT89Fo7GdCXIh_4FBlwp4ZzU08MuuJbEFnzsEZy862XD4l2kQbXj2STzl_PCLmxB3gvv2l9GT-E/s1600/100_9173.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garlic on Christmas Day in the snow</td></tr>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-56929009360992186512012-04-11T13:04:00.006-05:002012-04-11T14:57:18.363-05:00Back in the Garden!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituoR0B_9r-Bs8QgUjkmfd55NEOlvM4jtytfvmC7AcVdYTfUFoJBb6LCvJuEZUs_dt4dVpO8KLSJocbEposXOqkMa7cpOrMy2Rmd07Dwl5FPPZurX82MrmUFnNJ2mFPDdsausArzCAfzA/s1600/100_6076.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituoR0B_9r-Bs8QgUjkmfd55NEOlvM4jtytfvmC7AcVdYTfUFoJBb6LCvJuEZUs_dt4dVpO8KLSJocbEposXOqkMa7cpOrMy2Rmd07Dwl5FPPZurX82MrmUFnNJ2mFPDdsausArzCAfzA/s320/100_6076.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730207278198513986" /></a><br />Last year, all gardening efforts were pretty much a bust as my husband had some serious health issues that prohibited him from working in the garden and left me to do tend the house, the kitties, him, and work. Something had to give, and unfortunately, it was the veggie garden. The heat probably would've killed everything anyway...<br /><br />The hubby's health issues are pretty much under control after heart bypass surgery in August, 2011 and then having a heart defibrillator implanted this past January. He's back to working in the garden while monitoring his heart rate and we're ready to reclaim the garden plot, expand it, and continue developing the flower beds! <br /><br />We put in garlic in the fall and it's almost ready to harvest. I have cut all of the bloom stalks off so the heads will be as large as possible. Since it's been warmer than normal, the garlic will probably be ready to harvest late May.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Kyn1ZNpW2piXXno_1Snsri5a4NUyIakrU4t1xwvcbK8tBqjbU3ouH4OCu9VaAVXebMJnAfQb3BcHj5vddusBhUWpVbdlzWWteZyCPC4B4sg9a4Mz_hNGfsDVmKB69e9b2bXajI0BWnA/s1600/100_6036.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Kyn1ZNpW2piXXno_1Snsri5a4NUyIakrU4t1xwvcbK8tBqjbU3ouH4OCu9VaAVXebMJnAfQb3BcHj5vddusBhUWpVbdlzWWteZyCPC4B4sg9a4Mz_hNGfsDVmKB69e9b2bXajI0BWnA/s320/100_6036.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730211481624619346" /></a><br /><br />We planted onions again this year. I ordered the short day sampler from Dixondale which has a mix of Texas 1015Y, Texas Early White, and Red Creole. I've been fertilizing them with blood meal weekly. I've learned that once planted, you want to feed onions a high nitrogen fertilzer (21-0-0) every two weeks until they bulb. Blood meal is 11-0-0, so I'm feeding weekly. The more leaves an onion has, the more rings it will have. The more rings it has, the bigger the onion! So if you want bigger onions, fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iDJG0mWClwDpDKSQUpq7LxJnpeGgpj1pT1bhdt5-iPfApy-cLvxViiRXQyyUaPNEpJGU9thof0SZYO6m0DKoIqm09FKrdPIXfUM1xK9uHyjUX9z5DzJQ88sPsnZgXF3jjHjKfvEDajM/s1600/100_6041.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iDJG0mWClwDpDKSQUpq7LxJnpeGgpj1pT1bhdt5-iPfApy-cLvxViiRXQyyUaPNEpJGU9thof0SZYO6m0DKoIqm09FKrdPIXfUM1xK9uHyjUX9z5DzJQ88sPsnZgXF3jjHjKfvEDajM/s320/100_6041.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730211494643003634" /></a><br /><br />The peas are a project plant out! We had seeds leftover from 2 years ago and from last year that didn't get planted, so they all went in the ground. I think every single seed germinated! LOL We also planted them about a month late, so while I'm not expecting a big harvest, I do hope to get some peas. There are 2 varieties, Alaska and Wando. My husband planted them and he doesn't remember which ones are which variety. Note to self: Do not let husband plant anything unsupervised! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8AhJ21hag05PG8b3l4_72yRko1YUtVwHc5nH_qNpAxSaSEh7kZjpJYOXcoWijYvhfse-EOShkj0aqTt8FCKLlkO-iUFkoGqwdzVTlaMTB9R56MBE4bfafGIEYPWH5I1PiY1oVbmpaQw/s1600/100_6079.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8AhJ21hag05PG8b3l4_72yRko1YUtVwHc5nH_qNpAxSaSEh7kZjpJYOXcoWijYvhfse-EOShkj0aqTt8FCKLlkO-iUFkoGqwdzVTlaMTB9R56MBE4bfafGIEYPWH5I1PiY1oVbmpaQw/s320/100_6079.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730211464275899458" /></a><br /><br />We've also planted pole beans. This is only our second attempt at pole beans. The first time didn't go so well. This year, we planted Blue Lake pole beans. We like the Blue Lake bush beans, so I'm hoping these are just as good. Several have started vining and I'm thinking I might need to thin a few out still. We've thinned once. If possible, I might try transplanting them further down the fence line.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEskP3wW3T94rYvXCwzm4zU9zAKlWdKnwsaCxBZHHnvaFmREgjWDlKpiVSicDZEmb5hIP4XcruEaTzBQau0q_q_R2gdP6kQshVnd0y3fLXZgcApo1ckztdjscji49RcJ325Vvfp8SsyR0/s1600/100_6078.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEskP3wW3T94rYvXCwzm4zU9zAKlWdKnwsaCxBZHHnvaFmREgjWDlKpiVSicDZEmb5hIP4XcruEaTzBQau0q_q_R2gdP6kQshVnd0y3fLXZgcApo1ckztdjscji49RcJ325Vvfp8SsyR0/s320/100_6078.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730211455465469570" /></a><br /><br />As you can see from the pics below, the flower gardens are doing great! We have lots of bees, butterflies, and other visitors in the gardens this year.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3eC1fPu7zXFtPZ9V4spB1FCWijDfXxVcZ3e7ubsEo1bw6_sZiXrrK7JI1cZ8k9wPBAMc2F8sFuO_oO7ktEwJvZ_2RyOknFuWiIlEvGeMHGRkbUpBcBcm2SWOp9FSRIz3Qa34-5QCkIU/s1600/100_6051.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3eC1fPu7zXFtPZ9V4spB1FCWijDfXxVcZ3e7ubsEo1bw6_sZiXrrK7JI1cZ8k9wPBAMc2F8sFuO_oO7ktEwJvZ_2RyOknFuWiIlEvGeMHGRkbUpBcBcm2SWOp9FSRIz3Qa34-5QCkIU/s320/100_6051.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730233868485452482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydzKdpL2WA0e-YJDqU6ZBO8Yqg8q-rCR1uaJokvn2xcFayTH1DZYJRduZBM61ap3LcdWwtm904wB-Rrl7hmJVZ0J1aFyqcDZHT6GAGLo9_ikXYHHDRkS_PSa-MXFfKwYpXAB52nA4DG0/s1600/100_6056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydzKdpL2WA0e-YJDqU6ZBO8Yqg8q-rCR1uaJokvn2xcFayTH1DZYJRduZBM61ap3LcdWwtm904wB-Rrl7hmJVZ0J1aFyqcDZHT6GAGLo9_ikXYHHDRkS_PSa-MXFfKwYpXAB52nA4DG0/s320/100_6056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730233875377065874" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-86609335920723351382011-07-05T11:10:00.007-05:002011-07-05T12:53:37.234-05:00Starting the Fall Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPBAf5-sKQF3u6cD-FgMelqT4atMSX2istINsh_MHXxM0ehzE9Z5_A6GzIZBfPQXP3EalMktrggXNol3JEtDjLL6fAsph0NG07zCePwSJ2odbPkOnQYc-rd9KZ-CrbS9zNP7WBtVasP8/s1600/100_4919.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPBAf5-sKQF3u6cD-FgMelqT4atMSX2istINsh_MHXxM0ehzE9Z5_A6GzIZBfPQXP3EalMktrggXNol3JEtDjLL6fAsph0NG07zCePwSJ2odbPkOnQYc-rd9KZ-CrbS9zNP7WBtVasP8/s320/100_4919.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625906578671526034" /></a><br />I know, I know. It's been more than a year since I blogged about my garden. Due to some health issues my husband has been experiencing for the past 6 or 7 months, we didn't get to do much spring gardening. We did get some garlic and taters, but I didn't have time to blog about them. However, the husband's health issues have been addressed, he's feeling better, I'm getting more rest, and we're back in the saddle for the fall! <br /><br />I've never really "done" a fall garden because you have to start it in the dead of summer when the temps are over 100ยบ and it's miserable to be outside during the daylight hours. Really, who can garden in the dark when it's not so hot?? On top of the miserable heat, we've had NO measurable rain for weeks. <br /><br />I still have lots of bell peppers that I managed to plant in the spring. Of course, they didn't get planted "on time" so they've not done much until recently. As long as I can keep them watered, they should do well through the fall. I think I planted something like 14 or 16 transplants. Less than half of them survived the squirrels and the birds. Grumble, grumble.... I have 1 Bullnose Red Pepper, grown from seeds saved from last year's crop, some orange peppers, golden peppers (yellow), and chocolate (purple) peppers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBaAqXzM9Pxbvn8cgFt40RcF7JDdfqkXnomI-x0tQg0MM_FER0VAlPf1hXQdLWT63nB6KYMHL4u94hib09n2u58Ju1NuscQO6nKSQmde4thGcjqJTAP2phV-NrrichpQh9Jl2DfzNT74/s1600/100_4913.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBaAqXzM9Pxbvn8cgFt40RcF7JDdfqkXnomI-x0tQg0MM_FER0VAlPf1hXQdLWT63nB6KYMHL4u94hib09n2u58Ju1NuscQO6nKSQmde4thGcjqJTAP2phV-NrrichpQh9Jl2DfzNT74/s320/100_4913.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625909536489643634" /></a>These are the chocolate peppers. They're supposed to be really sweet, but since I've yet to taste one, I can't say for sure. The plant is a nice size with lots of branches and a sturdy trunk. It's loaded with babies, too! I counted 5 babies on one plant yesterday and that was just at a glance from one direction!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPraDALODYMbg8MFqiGbSptx_9i9Y0yTjS50MjnLpbCENVKgtol2nK3d2qEZtJyyqKy_KkHQBnYvBY-3G6eyGTCLBFiGBgVb11VMBgZHPERW_IHyxAKQoB-XKkTySUa088i8bvRKArqGg/s1600/100_4914.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPraDALODYMbg8MFqiGbSptx_9i9Y0yTjS50MjnLpbCENVKgtol2nK3d2qEZtJyyqKy_KkHQBnYvBY-3G6eyGTCLBFiGBgVb11VMBgZHPERW_IHyxAKQoB-XKkTySUa088i8bvRKArqGg/s320/100_4914.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625910725246187874" /></a>The husband is going to erect some kind of shade thing for them so they don't get sun scald. The one red bullnose pepper that I have already has a touch of sunscald, so we'll have to use it soon.<br /><br />Last Thursday, I sowed cantaloupe seeds. They germinated in 2 days! We'll grow the same variety we grew last summer, Honey Rock. I think every single seed I planted has germinated, even the ones I dropped and couldn't find so they wouldn't germinate in the wrong place! LOL<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRR4Hyp4JLfycY4F4u0X7F8df5Uw-k-UN_59WO9iAJxApJnpiELa98gqA0DHTNLfqfCZjhvOHlEr3sANvrW5f6XU1mLLFj7TMfkUQLIaKSJCuULdAekkKZiu8X-ZqhQxvKrBkSY6kttg/s1600/100_4955.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRR4Hyp4JLfycY4F4u0X7F8df5Uw-k-UN_59WO9iAJxApJnpiELa98gqA0DHTNLfqfCZjhvOHlEr3sANvrW5f6XU1mLLFj7TMfkUQLIaKSJCuULdAekkKZiu8X-ZqhQxvKrBkSY6kttg/s320/100_4955.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625925256359064434" /></a>This picture is from yesterday. Today, all the leaves are open and they're up above the straw. Soon, I'll have to thin them to 3-4 plants per hill.<br /><br />Until next time, have fun playing in the dirt!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0i1TzjA4mCz4m4wjbW1npBmYDPf0i-wparzy6xpBbSQUVwMQDHizmNhMoyGRzZVv3ae3JzTe6QXIz0IlItw41uUxaJCaDYvTmPdYm4mE3VSWJlSCs2HVnw9llMy1IaPrd5lCpZQ_zr4/s1600/100_4952.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0i1TzjA4mCz4m4wjbW1npBmYDPf0i-wparzy6xpBbSQUVwMQDHizmNhMoyGRzZVv3ae3JzTe6QXIz0IlItw41uUxaJCaDYvTmPdYm4mE3VSWJlSCs2HVnw9llMy1IaPrd5lCpZQ_zr4/s320/100_4952.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625927611529432978" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-39467573735514989822010-06-27T11:36:00.007-05:002010-06-27T15:05:37.560-05:00Garden Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBffjmuZJ3TGp4U6AkGTLcOYZyteeryfN9fWOXtNxD8rdNQqsBYoY-pF9MOQt02KCqEBmFjRb9OkQZoFdYP7FvkLKrJfTZtypVMdTWre7pQFNOr9KIn1aM2tUH-ZMER3JH0NogvAgVvCk/s1600/100_1589.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBffjmuZJ3TGp4U6AkGTLcOYZyteeryfN9fWOXtNxD8rdNQqsBYoY-pF9MOQt02KCqEBmFjRb9OkQZoFdYP7FvkLKrJfTZtypVMdTWre7pQFNOr9KIn1aM2tUH-ZMER3JH0NogvAgVvCk/s320/100_1589.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487517903146111394" /></a><br />We've been so busy harvesting and shelling black-eyed peas (pink eye purple hulls, actually) picking tomatoes and okra, and watching the progress of the cantaloupes that I've not had time to update. Not to mention that work really hinders my computer time! <br /><br />It's been hot, hot, HOT here in my neck of the woods for the past couple of weeks. We finally got about 1/4" of rain a couple of days ago. We're more than 5" behind in our rainfall for the year. I think it's going to take something big, like a hurricane to come ashore (unfortunately), to change the weather pattern. I'm so ready for cooler temps and rain and it's just the end of June! I'm usually not feeling this way until the middle to end of July.<br /><br />The Contender bush beans gave up the ghost this past week. They were really starting to look stressed because of the temps, so on Wednesday, the husband and I harvested all the beans and then yanked out the plants. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBGjP2jOt0umOKm_arvT2hyphenhyphen8f0fUynIBEvpop_xrxUm79HgMsE3YiQ9pTx1diPjtkSYEdc360zGnkQdb8tnAF-KliWcZrhAKiEa3mCjqcUwMtKFzCM6n-7q_7ZsHsWS98iNwzUvhJktA/s1600/100_1514.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBGjP2jOt0umOKm_arvT2hyphenhyphen8f0fUynIBEvpop_xrxUm79HgMsE3YiQ9pTx1diPjtkSYEdc360zGnkQdb8tnAF-KliWcZrhAKiEa3mCjqcUwMtKFzCM6n-7q_7ZsHsWS98iNwzUvhJktA/s320/100_1514.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487526490331149154" /></a>We ended up with a mop bucket full of beans.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzjvp9QvBQ5LoTZQgocrg8OhdrigMnK2KzDzBF7uiLbadJ3Jc1cHdpJaC3NwE1pBjtd6OxUJGKy60hzX2uBcX6E7wtHBZpGaN7qTF1NoXk0tBY6KQKVeyBMjaGnQgQRf5Fz5eZUo0fNA/s1600/100_1511.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzjvp9QvBQ5LoTZQgocrg8OhdrigMnK2KzDzBF7uiLbadJ3Jc1cHdpJaC3NwE1pBjtd6OxUJGKy60hzX2uBcX6E7wtHBZpGaN7qTF1NoXk0tBY6KQKVeyBMjaGnQgQRf5Fz5eZUo0fNA/s320/100_1511.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487526478440238754" /></a>The partial harvest for the day of the beans.<br /><br />Out of our bucket full of beans, we got 3 quart sized freezer bags full of cut green beans. I did blanch them for 3 mins in boiling water followed by 3 mins in a cold water bath before bagging and freezing.<br /><br />The pink eye purple hull black eyed peas are going crazy! They are so loaded with pods it's not even funny. For the past week, we've been harvesting pods, shelling them, and then putting them in a freezer bag in the freezer. I'm cooking them TONIGHT! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixU-yXOZAi48wocAh2ir2sKan-ehk1zLymTWSl6pItJYfwxwW6Hyk0Dd2s-yWsBglcb8LxMpI0RJ3uTCnOXpgAa5AEkaPieLXIMlIMuSKZuLTXI1fa5bpQvv-mxbYOpgdjJZw7hkzXrz0/s1600/100_1388.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixU-yXOZAi48wocAh2ir2sKan-ehk1zLymTWSl6pItJYfwxwW6Hyk0Dd2s-yWsBglcb8LxMpI0RJ3uTCnOXpgAa5AEkaPieLXIMlIMuSKZuLTXI1fa5bpQvv-mxbYOpgdjJZw7hkzXrz0/s320/100_1388.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487538042139539698" /></a><center>Bloom and the first pods.</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqGO0saluCHqgdL0p5fwYIyMBjbsQHa20Ruc79dqSkXFtOeMR_pJhI_Q7EefogKm3GSOCo7Aij35YuixXAlVjvmEQHMmHYuaocWJ08PJU8GdLg2vNrHka8Zd1Rva6ga-ncBVtl6xvrz8/s1600/100_1435.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqGO0saluCHqgdL0p5fwYIyMBjbsQHa20Ruc79dqSkXFtOeMR_pJhI_Q7EefogKm3GSOCo7Aij35YuixXAlVjvmEQHMmHYuaocWJ08PJU8GdLg2vNrHka8Zd1Rva6ga-ncBVtl6xvrz8/s320/100_1435.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487538049321893026" /></a><center>Green pods</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMq-egkcfe7CSfMNmvoVoTj8kILQFsvHtyYZKhGwDAvp7IxP0owCpa4m7wHaut_staLLlOUl8ZSRkg1rebQVXqxECcNnjRFi79QB71GeXup4eIY4ttCdVyCw6NIcs_2pZqQvLJE5ytTc/s1600/100_1553.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMq-egkcfe7CSfMNmvoVoTj8kILQFsvHtyYZKhGwDAvp7IxP0owCpa4m7wHaut_staLLlOUl8ZSRkg1rebQVXqxECcNnjRFi79QB71GeXup4eIY4ttCdVyCw6NIcs_2pZqQvLJE5ytTc/s320/100_1553.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487538059152156434" /></a><center>Ripe pods (purple hulls)</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVnK3efqcc50apvBVr_AzJqyFGjFCaQZQjHWEvbRhFo4zAsbF6c_drQDdjgrPsMbRQEH2WulquTgqzeHOfu9x0nJyfiXdYoOPhEG4WMMEjXzGPpvJXcY_-ApKW_1-2xcTpObmSZb2KFY/s1600/100_1470.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVnK3efqcc50apvBVr_AzJqyFGjFCaQZQjHWEvbRhFo4zAsbF6c_drQDdjgrPsMbRQEH2WulquTgqzeHOfu9x0nJyfiXdYoOPhEG4WMMEjXzGPpvJXcY_-ApKW_1-2xcTpObmSZb2KFY/s320/100_1470.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487538064245934050" /></a><center>Fresh shelled. See the pink eyes?</center><br /><br />We have 2 mounds of cantaloupes. The first mound has already set 3 fruits. The largest fruit has started to develop its webbing, so it should be ripe and ready soon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g4EdmLIQSTLUmlUUhO-ol_6IfnKQOed4GWy2nLw7AG9GjQsQMhBvM0pmFFGh7O1Wwoa7TrlQ89LovTkVS2sxKdf4PVAZlFlI6_HYUW_xq2clWagutaSDbQ-Hj4BbNvgbP_9Y_OMYIwk/s1600/100_1559.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g4EdmLIQSTLUmlUUhO-ol_6IfnKQOed4GWy2nLw7AG9GjQsQMhBvM0pmFFGh7O1Wwoa7TrlQ89LovTkVS2sxKdf4PVAZlFlI6_HYUW_xq2clWagutaSDbQ-Hj4BbNvgbP_9Y_OMYIwk/s320/100_1559.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487541617935431794" /></a>Still a bit on the green side, but you can see the webbing starting to form on the skin. Soon....<br /><br />The second mound of cantaloupes is in an area that receives more shade than the first mound. Those plants have finally started running and sending out both male and female flowers. I saw a couple of potential melons this morning that look like they've been pollinated. Here's one of the potentials on my watch list.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvHT1rBh9UG_n5gXD26xO-cfmmZhS8005va1ilhr_rvl4LnO205qHxpmcP7CkY_KgKq9KHydQakBE_H89NjNy0OizY1_PUL4uCzQN2Hs0U1j8IzAGDLudm6rldAhTOAQ0z3YW_lzssu0/s1600/100_1599.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvHT1rBh9UG_n5gXD26xO-cfmmZhS8005va1ilhr_rvl4LnO205qHxpmcP7CkY_KgKq9KHydQakBE_H89NjNy0OizY1_PUL4uCzQN2Hs0U1j8IzAGDLudm6rldAhTOAQ0z3YW_lzssu0/s320/100_1599.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487541625425666034" /></a><br /><br />Lastly, the watermelon patch is really filling in. I think there's some kind of fungus among us, so I'm researching that and trying to figure out what it is and how to treat it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiont7OtrhD_KJhfxDC10RfSBmaBTcnJoZPd7-PUGxfwag9v3YfAfB9PlzfRm9wDzsitJcqWJ5jYlC7In_7c2gtr77d-9W5offsFpAUeuo2TVRPuIf1YaFOrKOdVhqCri-slf_eq-QUYzg/s1600/100_1479.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiont7OtrhD_KJhfxDC10RfSBmaBTcnJoZPd7-PUGxfwag9v3YfAfB9PlzfRm9wDzsitJcqWJ5jYlC7In_7c2gtr77d-9W5offsFpAUeuo2TVRPuIf1YaFOrKOdVhqCri-slf_eq-QUYzg/s320/100_1479.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487545041227888258" /></a><center>The watermelon patch before straw was put down.</center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulYRs7Jpx6m9XFldsPfV2TtNNDb-KcD507dbOCQYnULv3qNdxrITe18mVhNQE_5HsK895SKQ6nP7g0YYeZCiYywvGM6YwiUIW4tq-2gS-clqAQ2G_6cQ92hyj13_nsI9S45CTQ-XETPg/s1600/100_1590.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulYRs7Jpx6m9XFldsPfV2TtNNDb-KcD507dbOCQYnULv3qNdxrITe18mVhNQE_5HsK895SKQ6nP7g0YYeZCiYywvGM6YwiUIW4tq-2gS-clqAQ2G_6cQ92hyj13_nsI9S45CTQ-XETPg/s320/100_1590.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487545050409495586" /></a>First potential watermelon. It's teeny tiny, but located just to the right of the black edging between the two leaves.<br /><br />That's it for today. Next time, I'll show off my cucumbers!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-16283983911036184472010-06-16T21:18:00.005-05:002010-06-16T22:29:24.113-05:00Harvests<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwykgIRJgJtP8qfT5rMj8NWgRIl3x_cngDZ25KbxmF3xnWlJ115gyYaLQYUGMLpuruvVB9RvNqdnxBAjIC0kW8dHiDDTtyYPBxxN6TSQhhg-50n6RtvPJcN9v1bYkhb5y7bwU6j7nnRWY/s1600/100_1350.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwykgIRJgJtP8qfT5rMj8NWgRIl3x_cngDZ25KbxmF3xnWlJ115gyYaLQYUGMLpuruvVB9RvNqdnxBAjIC0kW8dHiDDTtyYPBxxN6TSQhhg-50n6RtvPJcN9v1bYkhb5y7bwU6j7nnRWY/s320/100_1350.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483568038647043826" /></a><br />It seems like so much has been happening in the garden lately! I'm so tired of the hot temps already. We usually have these temps in July, not in June. We're also lacking precipitation. We're 5" behind on the rainfall totals for the year. However, there's good news in the garden! We've been harvesting for the past week or so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh424hIUCUUMYzdkNM797d2XwpSNBxP1M0tQPccaTxunEClg91tpqEhYAmG1OrEdoIuu_mkO8d4NDyBlGI8__tgM_xau_lzht84Mcfy8a1YZqw0z4sInrvClsVGB2DhgI8Qb2B4qyyayjc/s1600/100_1390.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh424hIUCUUMYzdkNM797d2XwpSNBxP1M0tQPccaTxunEClg91tpqEhYAmG1OrEdoIuu_mkO8d4NDyBlGI8__tgM_xau_lzht84Mcfy8a1YZqw0z4sInrvClsVGB2DhgI8Qb2B4qyyayjc/s320/100_1390.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483564131784342674" /></a>Today's harvest of a handful of cherry tomatoes from our volunteer cherry tomato plants, a few okra that are now in the freezer, and a lemon cucumber.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznnc-yIBd7Tl-MxoDO539S_oBPaRzOrQUK5KX2bqx52kEm3b9F2xjID3ghTFUXt2m65yCHxDX0TMHjGk9pA0lomXXViK5vwRgdaWBqAm7-Nia5eCL6k0Wb4XMuhkKV2OA0gYUx2GVQxU/s1600/100_1369.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznnc-yIBd7Tl-MxoDO539S_oBPaRzOrQUK5KX2bqx52kEm3b9F2xjID3ghTFUXt2m65yCHxDX0TMHjGk9pA0lomXXViK5vwRgdaWBqAm7-Nia5eCL6k0Wb4XMuhkKV2OA0gYUx2GVQxU/s320/100_1369.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483564144836531010" /></a>The other night, I went out and picked about a pound of Contender bush beans, a few strawberries, and a couple of okra. This was our first harvest of beans and they were really tasty! Husband put the okra somewhere, supposedly in the freezer, but I've not found them yet! LOL<br /><br />This is the first year I've grown lemon cucumbers. I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought I'd give them a try. I'm in love!! What a tasty little thing and perfect for just one or two people! It's about the size of a medium sized apple, grows green, and then turns a light shade of yellow and gets stripes from the top down when it's ripe. There are little spiny things on the outside of the skin, but if you use a vegetable scrubber on them, they'll come off. The skin is tasty and the inside is nice and crisp!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDQAOfKWQzLdSIeLb0dteDWxNqwn0MxKVECvXP1suVtHdv8JJ1Xj8KoaSErv5-YH-tXD064ztTpyhJ2Uq1KaFQjZ6W4sjm49_YF7DvNYjhBMPtNbbzDJvRMnSeuBHFFqBPyTDzbrVRI8/s1600/100_1371.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDQAOfKWQzLdSIeLb0dteDWxNqwn0MxKVECvXP1suVtHdv8JJ1Xj8KoaSErv5-YH-tXD064ztTpyhJ2Uq1KaFQjZ6W4sjm49_YF7DvNYjhBMPtNbbzDJvRMnSeuBHFFqBPyTDzbrVRI8/s320/100_1371.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483564152696065986" /></a><br />Here's the inside. It's so pretty, I think!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_dPKDyW0lNdn7hNUZXDEuF5zkOiD1NmjUzDHqP6YmYm4nz72TkRr1kFTFSfXhFORaskSzdtJncTnTpxInynNXeQ6fMOFoNZap33PyqOJs9mEAx8X1NkNDFiWu0SprsLX_N0IB1bvDqI/s1600/100_1372.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_dPKDyW0lNdn7hNUZXDEuF5zkOiD1NmjUzDHqP6YmYm4nz72TkRr1kFTFSfXhFORaskSzdtJncTnTpxInynNXeQ6fMOFoNZap33PyqOJs9mEAx8X1NkNDFiWu0SprsLX_N0IB1bvDqI/s320/100_1372.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483564157376761010" /></a><br /><br />We pulled the garlic up on Sunday. It hadn't fallen over, but it was all brown and dead looking, so out it came. This is elephant garlic passed along to me from a gardening friend who's been growing and passing it along for about 20 years now. All I can say is that the fully mature bulb is HUGE! It's about the size of a softball.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUHWLmaXgZ_Ll8iep_hyphenhyphenE6ku_iFTTUuIuBcJc5hyphenhyphentjvTipmrbHBG0NKxv5oQya23olcOs7XjGadkFBvyXhnqnA5R2Z2HfS5r9yfW69BBhxbYY3PnISxWXip47Oy3JOQ1KIVEb4q20AGk/s1600/Garlic+Harvest+06.13.10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUHWLmaXgZ_Ll8iep_hyphenhyphenE6ku_iFTTUuIuBcJc5hyphenhyphentjvTipmrbHBG0NKxv5oQya23olcOs7XjGadkFBvyXhnqnA5R2Z2HfS5r9yfW69BBhxbYY3PnISxWXip47Oy3JOQ1KIVEb4q20AGk/s320/Garlic+Harvest+06.13.10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483568061157375298" /></a>Here's my haul. The smaller bulb on the left is a 2-year bulb. I'll let it cure, then plant it again in the fall. Next year at harvest time, it'll be the size of the larger bulbs on the right. The 2 bulbs on the right were grown from full size pods last fall. They are full size cloves of garlic. We'll use one of the bulbs for cooking and one of them we'll plant in late September-early October so we'll have more full-grown garlic bulbs next June.<br /><br />If you'll look at the picture of the garlic on the right, you'll notice that the outer paper husk of the garlic is not there. That's because we waited too long to harvest. These cloves are still viable, but without the paper, they are more susceptible to disease and pests. We'll have to use these first. They need to dry for about a month where it's not too dry and out of the sun. We've brushed the dirt off them, but not used water on them. Right now, they're on my washing machine, but we'll soon hang them outside under the carport where they'll be out of the sun, but can take advantage of the warmth and high humidity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7LMbB7IoaX6H8klTdmrv-k7ZxrsbhccQ_6CXh7u2-noqQRxbtfMF8ZEAHKp1u5f2T9pT1XxUiBEJfrQ_hSZ5segj7KzI8qpQ4W0UCZOFXn4aIzH_IYWSKQXBI_8me5sA0t1jRCBACjk/s1600/Garlic+Bulbules+for+Fall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7LMbB7IoaX6H8klTdmrv-k7ZxrsbhccQ_6CXh7u2-noqQRxbtfMF8ZEAHKp1u5f2T9pT1XxUiBEJfrQ_hSZ5segj7KzI8qpQ4W0UCZOFXn4aIzH_IYWSKQXBI_8me5sA0t1jRCBACjk/s320/Garlic+Bulbules+for+Fall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483568055449378786" /></a>These are the small bulbules that grow on the bottom of the larger bulb of garlic. These are 2-year pods and this is what we planted most of last fall. They have a very hard outer shell that takes awhile to break down and germinate. The smaller bulb in the previous picture is what was grown out of one of these bulbules. I need to clean these up, let them cure, then they'll be ready for sharing and planting!<br /><br />Until next time, I'll leave you with a pic of one of my garden visitors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwU1-QNkuLKVWeRNybvNO9nMMJxMt4egr2uSuhIfkknQauLTG9vuE3i3QqC_As-vrrjjuZp0jB77FFcJVpLoRoHo-Mxv6dhPdW6uM0vHQWxpglfbyZMNZ1D4vGH2aCN5mIOYkr2Vqp-Zs/s1600/100_1357.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwU1-QNkuLKVWeRNybvNO9nMMJxMt4egr2uSuhIfkknQauLTG9vuE3i3QqC_As-vrrjjuZp0jB77FFcJVpLoRoHo-Mxv6dhPdW6uM0vHQWxpglfbyZMNZ1D4vGH2aCN5mIOYkr2Vqp-Zs/s320/100_1357.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483578954198046370" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-56849708020425422382010-06-09T13:26:00.007-05:002010-06-09T14:36:25.312-05:00Today in the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVCiSia90BxkSD4CbWAo0j0tKvUcUYKGUBgcsvBhmh74t8QJa1fQZ7pR4ub3sy7t2FdZV8pk-Kwb8mJ6z3uGZiY7iigLDMlAjPQ3soG_3fPZeKHZr6qXlUXsIGxJL631ywuwudHaHCCU/s1600/100_1264.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVCiSia90BxkSD4CbWAo0j0tKvUcUYKGUBgcsvBhmh74t8QJa1fQZ7pR4ub3sy7t2FdZV8pk-Kwb8mJ6z3uGZiY7iigLDMlAjPQ3soG_3fPZeKHZr6qXlUXsIGxJL631ywuwudHaHCCU/s320/100_1264.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480846347676008258" /></a>We have a lovely lemon cucumber growing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphmHu24YucVM_yGQGEymc7PwJvyCuw2jfspZ4AcgD8FwmaJKmjtBJ4iewY21spFxHe9c0fr_B_BGuDIRLbuca2V49R6g4FsyXGpSgZMpd2SQ99-3tGoC9ztXjIrhUKemP4Cufl8tbnTQ/s1600/100_1294.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphmHu24YucVM_yGQGEymc7PwJvyCuw2jfspZ4AcgD8FwmaJKmjtBJ4iewY21spFxHe9c0fr_B_BGuDIRLbuca2V49R6g4FsyXGpSgZMpd2SQ99-3tGoC9ztXjIrhUKemP4Cufl8tbnTQ/s320/100_1294.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480846798210752514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEuR8ArwIe6VJZs08GKQt8u9oRPqp9weRaGFK9DSa5iFi23oYwcuizzJ-e2PwmiwkC6uAbgMhUKalSr_SpefVT_ufSmE1UXqDPazFlsosemcEwXSQIYD2XfM8_xoLlP0f9GR3TduLM-o/s1600/100_1302.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEuR8ArwIe6VJZs08GKQt8u9oRPqp9weRaGFK9DSa5iFi23oYwcuizzJ-e2PwmiwkC6uAbgMhUKalSr_SpefVT_ufSmE1UXqDPazFlsosemcEwXSQIYD2XfM8_xoLlP0f9GR3TduLM-o/s320/100_1302.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480854403783063122" /></a>The Contender bush beans are getting ready. They were flopped over, so the husband has been working today to get them "contained" in a more orderly fashioned.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rXAhwQ51T9aY9rwFXp6T9uLstn30r-Ti3DQMoApGE__WStHIkqQ0SOlwzTmvLdTiGoON_KDvf-DETjH5141JsJHk0rta0Eq2CfiNFYOowLvDN8V_87nHnclwgFlk6fsziTqntxTC-AM/s1600/100_1292.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rXAhwQ51T9aY9rwFXp6T9uLstn30r-Ti3DQMoApGE__WStHIkqQ0SOlwzTmvLdTiGoON_KDvf-DETjH5141JsJHk0rta0Eq2CfiNFYOowLvDN8V_87nHnclwgFlk6fsziTqntxTC-AM/s320/100_1292.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480849093910431506" /></a>The black-eyed peas have started blooming.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf2jtoxMV70P7awwVgHcaJiSFIsNre18-G3cWat0k_FUOcKXMdYQe6vfFz98_FO2ojx1WeLCA1Dv05LfdSdFf_WiLJ-MEuQTIITK6ecGH6bOlUKnSayfpgdnTfq7ASUyDXB3avglz5Eo/s1600/100_1298.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf2jtoxMV70P7awwVgHcaJiSFIsNre18-G3cWat0k_FUOcKXMdYQe6vfFz98_FO2ojx1WeLCA1Dv05LfdSdFf_WiLJ-MEuQTIITK6ecGH6bOlUKnSayfpgdnTfq7ASUyDXB3avglz5Eo/s320/100_1298.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480854369571024450" /></a>I spied my first couple of maters ripening...finally! Now I just need to keep them safe from the birds. Need to put up bird netting. Oh good! Something else to do outside in the heat.<br /><br />Lastly, we released our first Black Swallowtail butterfly grown from a caterpillar this morning!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1iBHa8cKVEWBdjCbcPlvIjzFpE5fCtq6aFBDEVtwnTfSqEWAuGrsTzUAsjRc-gU-4Wyr1KaJ3jXzs4QE-HHCvZcCdrfeKSFMSr8e4Zsx4TxKXu1tH44a1-OvsWhf_XsyY4Jthg32KmRU/s1600/100_1283.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1iBHa8cKVEWBdjCbcPlvIjzFpE5fCtq6aFBDEVtwnTfSqEWAuGrsTzUAsjRc-gU-4Wyr1KaJ3jXzs4QE-HHCvZcCdrfeKSFMSr8e4Zsx4TxKXu1tH44a1-OvsWhf_XsyY4Jthg32KmRU/s320/100_1283.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480856594389357778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIn_WYQl9KTMOTDfRODPBboojKJ7VA-MM2vQ1bwJKFosYGjDMewGrl2HSJLBcTapZMm_-oFNn8iVQfWEIxGdkR5CaklloJfTecFC-yJrsdGyjJCfXzr3_6KxvBPj6sNXVKatIWu4G98s/s1600/100_1284.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIn_WYQl9KTMOTDfRODPBboojKJ7VA-MM2vQ1bwJKFosYGjDMewGrl2HSJLBcTapZMm_-oFNn8iVQfWEIxGdkR5CaklloJfTecFC-yJrsdGyjJCfXzr3_6KxvBPj6sNXVKatIWu4G98s/s320/100_1284.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480856560657425490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWvbLiKtLCLH8Vy4jq55LGPSpms66zZqmzZUHKljgx_WCtFwPjIo_sJDy_QTBYTwnXFJYU_H6_e3G55NekBtnYVvvnuCFtw4F1dXY0Utq5EktBxDXTdR6z14OKEmbJV5EPWE6Be04wp4/s1600/100_1285.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWvbLiKtLCLH8Vy4jq55LGPSpms66zZqmzZUHKljgx_WCtFwPjIo_sJDy_QTBYTwnXFJYU_H6_e3G55NekBtnYVvvnuCFtw4F1dXY0Utq5EktBxDXTdR6z14OKEmbJV5EPWE6Be04wp4/s320/100_1285.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480856551783341842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxU35MNa4IhnKGnHi1od6AY8ERjjcNCls6nujAdLISg37dn9pHzumrKSRlF8K9piKfY6wPQUS9ML163yn7dBayVQaLfo-QrHx1sfEm-ElN8egpH4FmB6W9ppXU1TVW9Sb3cw4cj6u1sd4/s1600/100_1286.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxU35MNa4IhnKGnHi1od6AY8ERjjcNCls6nujAdLISg37dn9pHzumrKSRlF8K9piKfY6wPQUS9ML163yn7dBayVQaLfo-QrHx1sfEm-ElN8egpH4FmB6W9ppXU1TVW9Sb3cw4cj6u1sd4/s320/100_1286.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480856536929531378" /></a><br />I have one caterpillar getting ready to pupate and form a chrysalis, 1 in the third instar stage and then I discovered 2 first instar stage cats this morning in one of my containers.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-29455708184260980212010-05-26T18:09:00.004-05:002010-05-26T18:31:33.273-05:00Excitement in the Garden!A couple of weeks ago, I found baby Black Swallowtail cats on our dill plants. They were teeny tiny, much smaller than they appear in these pics, and weird looking. I've never seen Black Swallowtail cats, so I had no idea what they were! Before I could rescue them, though, the wasps got them. I was so upset!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAEiFkhQwJCsSL19w3nzPMWt-Iq8QGSXhI3iv6R3VjQIlxioqQVVTQUkCVFDSEPkKa4yazG4Gw35DyVQ4vadNkp71DAyaafdTS0JoOfaWcXLWrsIBwbyPdEQfXut0QAdjDDlg3FepwBY/s1600/100_0888.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAEiFkhQwJCsSL19w3nzPMWt-Iq8QGSXhI3iv6R3VjQIlxioqQVVTQUkCVFDSEPkKa4yazG4Gw35DyVQ4vadNkp71DAyaafdTS0JoOfaWcXLWrsIBwbyPdEQfXut0QAdjDDlg3FepwBY/s320/100_0888.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475722067844353122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppwuIquN0iiZiR055oSOliU3KiAFKwGPYVHGeOL2xdfdqbN2F8zi0tg-MJAIG1mrBiAB7KGQYQLWc9ESxaR4cBYGpOtXLfB4rsCQSLueLEIrXp4v0yF8aVp7tblOwpTjaVYQ8Bx6VK28/s1600/100_0886.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppwuIquN0iiZiR055oSOliU3KiAFKwGPYVHGeOL2xdfdqbN2F8zi0tg-MJAIG1mrBiAB7KGQYQLWc9ESxaR4cBYGpOtXLfB4rsCQSLueLEIrXp4v0yF8aVp7tblOwpTjaVYQ8Bx6VK28/s320/100_0886.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475722063139693314" /></a><br />This morning, as I was coming back inside from my morning stroll through the garden and checking on the tomato cages DH has built, I found a Black Swallowtail cat that had evidently escaped or survived the wasp attack! Woohoo! I was so excited! I showed it to DH and told him, "We HAVE TO rescue this guy!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIQGXhKzXYn1Vo-U4n4GH-YpTRTz9sCjqP3xrpKotx44NYzntYF0bbxXUfLbbSEsO-i_buY2gIwStvvzSiist6ZlJUEZFkZ01gkoVMu7kDMWyjRmCL-GG56K915gfTbuoQkaZPEQ6MsE/s1600/100_1085.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIQGXhKzXYn1Vo-U4n4GH-YpTRTz9sCjqP3xrpKotx44NYzntYF0bbxXUfLbbSEsO-i_buY2gIwStvvzSiist6ZlJUEZFkZ01gkoVMu7kDMWyjRmCL-GG56K915gfTbuoQkaZPEQ6MsE/s320/100_1085.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475720766369800802" /></a><br />The husband had an appointment and had to leave, so I found a wide-mouthed plastic gallon jug, cut the parsley and put the sprigs in some water in old medicine bottles, and put the guy in the jug. I cut some holes in the top for ventilation until we can get some screen mesh put on the top. I need to get a stick for the cat in case he wants to make his cocoon on it. Otherwise, he'll probably use the screen mesh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjqqOMr0Jaw7mrvrEKla1XahtjlW85b5bV4QpDFdELB-3FbwUuL9xHAxf93S3UY7g3yZ91uRHdCB-_dYKYsdniQvQIAaf-ReHnJ5zucmYvKFsrwVcr5nRzfewG_pU-4vgI-124GiTzHI/s1600/100_1088.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjqqOMr0Jaw7mrvrEKla1XahtjlW85b5bV4QpDFdELB-3FbwUuL9xHAxf93S3UY7g3yZ91uRHdCB-_dYKYsdniQvQIAaf-ReHnJ5zucmYvKFsrwVcr5nRzfewG_pU-4vgI-124GiTzHI/s320/100_1088.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475720758987054130" /></a><br />He's currently residing on my washing machine, but I think he'll probably be moved back outside to a shady spot. Stay tuned for updates!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-51552612515838254182010-05-06T17:57:00.004-05:002010-05-06T19:54:08.871-05:00The Flower's are a Bloomin'!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrRjhfMdyuK-KnTdaHFYi2QhzOh-G1XIqwusKdZBD4BttxSIOUz0JP5qVeCsmLT-cdEKzi7DWx06fU13AlJvkoQ1dTed4YyEl4J3nR2QhiE7nVp1gJbAptt1pGvOCbrNtwU8Lnb2A7s4/s1600/100_0650.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrRjhfMdyuK-KnTdaHFYi2QhzOh-G1XIqwusKdZBD4BttxSIOUz0JP5qVeCsmLT-cdEKzi7DWx06fU13AlJvkoQ1dTed4YyEl4J3nR2QhiE7nVp1gJbAptt1pGvOCbrNtwU8Lnb2A7s4/s320/100_0650.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468315125858440562" /></a>The front flower bed by our driveway is coming alive with color. In the past couple of days, I've added several new plants, which I'll profile later on at some point in time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7zferNlxQNDnYWlL5irjYp5KUNvH3a15UeInHcOaS1_0xo1NJgtEDnwcMk6Ct-SdcVTnityxcqPizhzmI0UOMbr3lSi_SpgnYmf3yUDMNdXzQYoAz2xDcaqWbucAilxjZAa2UssIV4g/s1600/100_0615.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7zferNlxQNDnYWlL5irjYp5KUNvH3a15UeInHcOaS1_0xo1NJgtEDnwcMk6Ct-SdcVTnityxcqPizhzmI0UOMbr3lSi_SpgnYmf3yUDMNdXzQYoAz2xDcaqWbucAilxjZAa2UssIV4g/s320/100_0615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468309046389165378" /></a>The gaillardia (Blanketflower) has come back in full force. I gave many of these away at the plant swap this past weekend and I've pulled some and put in the compost pile. There are many self-seeded plants in my flower bed as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQ07TGXOTQwN2Tmj2s006vyfnGpCiCH3uaGOF8b5fpwjGzaaug4LFhEncu3qHDBhZnHcEl-oFdkChfqLsAkZufc7A_xSn76LjlwCUl63iaOu0XWZAAKyD9W5WLi_byUzZ5dRxEHwo7yo/s1600/100_0747.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQ07TGXOTQwN2Tmj2s006vyfnGpCiCH3uaGOF8b5fpwjGzaaug4LFhEncu3qHDBhZnHcEl-oFdkChfqLsAkZufc7A_xSn76LjlwCUl63iaOu0XWZAAKyD9W5WLi_byUzZ5dRxEHwo7yo/s320/100_0747.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468309034794881954" /></a>This scabiosa daisy has really put on a show this year. I really wish this thing flowered all summer, but alas, it doesn't.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLGU59wAupAltZAqNmSK5M47b78UoNS5xMCGqQazHNFSe994hzA3oBuJSxuKZdyUNqzGS1rBbgLwdIUQTPJPzKhX_rdiWJH-25vX-g2Llm0HaYqDrLHcQkzEgN5UTIN9NeD0VdLc6ZcU/s1600/100_0749.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLGU59wAupAltZAqNmSK5M47b78UoNS5xMCGqQazHNFSe994hzA3oBuJSxuKZdyUNqzGS1rBbgLwdIUQTPJPzKhX_rdiWJH-25vX-g2Llm0HaYqDrLHcQkzEgN5UTIN9NeD0VdLc6ZcU/s320/100_0749.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468309024847202066" /></a>Phlox pilosa (Prairie phlox) was added last spring. It's a wonderful bloomer and the flowers have a very soft scent to them. It's most prevalent in the early morning and late evening hours when it's not so hot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyx-oPhy7MnQA30tf-QvgiVn6126BPwQoeYduZVqe2L6ypAfY8Tt2zpPbxU1o2eNc7wg79S9Vfd99GHKxCqtHHIA2XAzrytNo_KXrB3TzrJ9QAmtgqQbFYWUb2TbV1_qg3vNqSmfYlVGw/s1600/100_0647.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyx-oPhy7MnQA30tf-QvgiVn6126BPwQoeYduZVqe2L6ypAfY8Tt2zpPbxU1o2eNc7wg79S9Vfd99GHKxCqtHHIA2XAzrytNo_KXrB3TzrJ9QAmtgqQbFYWUb2TbV1_qg3vNqSmfYlVGw/s320/100_0647.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468315118053475474" /></a>Here's a better pic of the little flowers that can range from pink to purple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbY00jV_zOjreJcIj2SQI3LYcy9XtVwP_qVWAQgm7C15asYH2hTlfIC2ayUAFXyN9pk_BA8h0Luo7Z0BL7mlW2_8ll8zkZHkYnyhfZMXqI4P_CGwV3sYGO8SR6j4sM_5kHaGE7-QZ_Fsk/s1600/100_0742.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbY00jV_zOjreJcIj2SQI3LYcy9XtVwP_qVWAQgm7C15asYH2hTlfIC2ayUAFXyN9pk_BA8h0Luo7Z0BL7mlW2_8ll8zkZHkYnyhfZMXqI4P_CGwV3sYGO8SR6j4sM_5kHaGE7-QZ_Fsk/s320/100_0742.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468309005206493826" /></a>This Sweet William was also a new addition to the garden last year. It acted as a perennial last year, but I'm not sure if it really is. I absolutely LOVE the color and the long-lasting flowers. I hope to collect seeds from this to plant more next year. By the way, that's a Prairie Coreopsis sticking out from the middle of the plant!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbVNAGUUGZr8qg9KwoEtIuFtWqhopKfrB6nT5in1Y4l3QQhQMCFI8skQ3qsiiF5vt_KRuvLAgn5KOELWQk6-635Rb6NQDsqMZXC7H3-JQRevF-csHJYycgOMpgB0U4SQcQo-ZbHGzRvk/s1600/100_0561.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbVNAGUUGZr8qg9KwoEtIuFtWqhopKfrB6nT5in1Y4l3QQhQMCFI8skQ3qsiiF5vt_KRuvLAgn5KOELWQk6-635Rb6NQDsqMZXC7H3-JQRevF-csHJYycgOMpgB0U4SQcQo-ZbHGzRvk/s320/100_0561.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468308992550878578" /></a>The poppies have performed beautifully this year. I've pulled out several of the little ones that have already bloomed, but I'm waiting for the bigger ones to go to seed before pulling them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFlWqnLzGgmf78RLr2vwFyaeUGI_8azfLVDI81uV_mxEMsie1UpHJNFgkfm0friOjME5yIxxaZXv-J7wlNHEnGmqtTGb38RLyl-I580xFLFuTkLaTaARivoAldd8iREz6zE2hCf_GmaA/s1600/100_0646.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFlWqnLzGgmf78RLr2vwFyaeUGI_8azfLVDI81uV_mxEMsie1UpHJNFgkfm0friOjME5yIxxaZXv-J7wlNHEnGmqtTGb38RLyl-I580xFLFuTkLaTaARivoAldd8iREz6zE2hCf_GmaA/s320/100_0646.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468315108709271746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZJcwW0wz5oe5T3liP74mSdn6XCauhmBvfGyK0SnoQ6EAwXPUpqaG33KAfUpYm_37nIe3PBs32435daKQQib1DHpXKP_N7Ily6yj57pCGf4zvDDf-2eWoOZmpXxrKtlOQLGvWuhaZuuA/s1600/100_0645.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZJcwW0wz5oe5T3liP74mSdn6XCauhmBvfGyK0SnoQ6EAwXPUpqaG33KAfUpYm_37nIe3PBs32435daKQQib1DHpXKP_N7Ily6yj57pCGf4zvDDf-2eWoOZmpXxrKtlOQLGvWuhaZuuA/s320/100_0645.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468315090032890370" /></a>The Brazos Penstemon is still blooming. It's gotten top heavy and some are laying down. The color is so pretty and the flowers are so dainty. Last year, when I didn't know what I was doing, I collected a seed pod. Threw the seeds into one of my winter sowing containers and they've sprouted! Now I'll need to transplant them to bigger containers and then plant them in the fall.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-66515856391911644602010-05-04T15:29:00.016-05:002010-05-04T17:18:18.869-05:00What's Going on in the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIGAQOLh0SwUlanAnfx0g_sKDUVztMWIPlLQYCNO5f66_DZpJegrIcH83bD_ijfh-SC8bw-oTQ9lfztoxNBYHqPidF6u2BYkKXTUJe6I3zaMX1IWTpDjLimZ_EEEPm12R-ADW5xIthYI/s1600/100_0661.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIGAQOLh0SwUlanAnfx0g_sKDUVztMWIPlLQYCNO5f66_DZpJegrIcH83bD_ijfh-SC8bw-oTQ9lfztoxNBYHqPidF6u2BYkKXTUJe6I3zaMX1IWTpDjLimZ_EEEPm12R-ADW5xIthYI/s320/100_0661.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467516722343016034" /></a><br /><br />Things are finally picking up in the veggie garden. We've finally gotten some steady warm weather and the veggies are thriving. I think I can safely say that spring is here and summer's on our doorstep.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLlETespSP1ud6nT4o-Yp0804MzmOsawDawzqeHOo-zSCsoDS9kA8mMVbvVU2nOovZNIyJojeAuUgYSnqUns6s2Tun3Pwhb-eI60XHBy49VO68CgkvuCzlR4da6rg013IHAOfs4tWR2Y/s1600/100_0668.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLlETespSP1ud6nT4o-Yp0804MzmOsawDawzqeHOo-zSCsoDS9kA8mMVbvVU2nOovZNIyJojeAuUgYSnqUns6s2Tun3Pwhb-eI60XHBy49VO68CgkvuCzlR4da6rg013IHAOfs4tWR2Y/s320/100_0668.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467515593465934706" /></a>This is the last radish of the ones I planted in March. I'm letting it go to seed. The radish itself is HUGE! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB6BZK8mlPaOqpbeCNGLD32KJs5VhOG3V_sg3ipSdqXO-4-06GK3KpHezd_8kkb3jgyRzmO7R8WZJc2xtu_MIr5GrXjmRVaOGvXKaQTvjJwf3ymP4uPuXF-M2In0KJBRpUGWmeH0pGBk/s1600/100_0656.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB6BZK8mlPaOqpbeCNGLD32KJs5VhOG3V_sg3ipSdqXO-4-06GK3KpHezd_8kkb3jgyRzmO7R8WZJc2xtu_MIr5GrXjmRVaOGvXKaQTvjJwf3ymP4uPuXF-M2In0KJBRpUGWmeH0pGBk/s320/100_0656.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467519282167379730" /></a>The broccoli is also going to seed. From the looks of it, I'm going to have TONS of seeds!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUOfpo1tmwn95gvHoiZA8hmkZiZKGhPDTtTTcjSanHVbQbt4_6aVDs2sDDRMo0QcLVUE3vElKBa7_-TdiPSMZE65aC4yLB7boC94yK5Cu5_TBr0V7DZSnRzhMAvtcoy4Pk2EgGH4M_Vc/s1600/100_0587.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUOfpo1tmwn95gvHoiZA8hmkZiZKGhPDTtTTcjSanHVbQbt4_6aVDs2sDDRMo0QcLVUE3vElKBa7_-TdiPSMZE65aC4yLB7boC94yK5Cu5_TBr0V7DZSnRzhMAvtcoy4Pk2EgGH4M_Vc/s320/100_0587.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467523134011001426" /></a>Both of the larger garlic plants have thrown up bloom stalks. I have cut them off so that the energy goes to the bulb and produces larger bulbs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJawvHzW2XGsL67fcrMKMrkYuBKOsblxHczgVE1rEiqrDMgH6RUp9gJ0oUEQkKQB-rQvAGG73tHtn8adEDdrxr2ys8iyfGaRmo8ZFvNTZZX_vNW15-MNm3NRAYir-RYqKL4aFWqIdO5po/s1600/100_0688.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJawvHzW2XGsL67fcrMKMrkYuBKOsblxHczgVE1rEiqrDMgH6RUp9gJ0oUEQkKQB-rQvAGG73tHtn8adEDdrxr2ys8iyfGaRmo8ZFvNTZZX_vNW15-MNm3NRAYir-RYqKL4aFWqIdO5po/s320/100_0688.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467524610806720162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVu7ArI-QsdYnuFJnhxiFya_W_oInS7Abxivdx_TZyqQdceir0Scw8NQiq7e4SnJfgvLQMdA8InsWIzJi4_K7X0PzS3Ubj6xJtSt_IFwQDIWHpVGCBwAyw7u683NOSQN8paihOv56b9U/s1600/100_0691.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVu7ArI-QsdYnuFJnhxiFya_W_oInS7Abxivdx_TZyqQdceir0Scw8NQiq7e4SnJfgvLQMdA8InsWIzJi4_K7X0PzS3Ubj6xJtSt_IFwQDIWHpVGCBwAyw7u683NOSQN8paihOv56b9U/s320/100_0691.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467524620038210066" /></a>The companion planted bed is growing well. This bed has cucumbers, which you can't see well, onions, carrots, and volunteer tomatoes in it. We finally got it all mulched with oak leaves from our front yard.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79nLvNXNyiku3dmJjzCk4kqU_eqAKRZ6Ha1KsIcBx9zddi1IlYIlqHoD35J0SHang_IBzffMhcqg1Q_Q6cnW3xTt5sYObn3za3lI-syMd0rBjmb6xXTIegwBr3RjU6vAkP0HKUckt06g/s1600/100_0626.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79nLvNXNyiku3dmJjzCk4kqU_eqAKRZ6Ha1KsIcBx9zddi1IlYIlqHoD35J0SHang_IBzffMhcqg1Q_Q6cnW3xTt5sYObn3za3lI-syMd0rBjmb6xXTIegwBr3RjU6vAkP0HKUckt06g/s320/100_0626.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467526100319503042" /></a>Lookie what I found on one of the maters?!? How exciting is this?!?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC70SFNuPlRGUw6n5HSfql0ErGUQ9ORaX003bP5FWKp_gOrjXZpxX55-DRJuNabFtK4fbnLt4EQHtd4bYebb-rbvVjw8l16PxP1tuZZtCOG1uDkXP2FPdPFu8oLoBpAww3vvfv7_DVzc/s1600/100_0625.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC70SFNuPlRGUw6n5HSfql0ErGUQ9ORaX003bP5FWKp_gOrjXZpxX55-DRJuNabFtK4fbnLt4EQHtd4bYebb-rbvVjw8l16PxP1tuZZtCOG1uDkXP2FPdPFu8oLoBpAww3vvfv7_DVzc/s320/100_0625.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467529408548663474" /></a>I planted out my little orange bell peppers last week. Some are doing well and others have bit the dust.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33Fhw9-WyV5zk6VEYirDJ1yRnXrtCgXslzPhlTidHtVPKK66I2v48oUxSErKY7NdkCUtk5msYXixbl7CN5DzS8wuciKnKJofpJUXChxI5MzPBPneBxpmG1GdbOUM3wlqrM-u2zeYWr2w/s1600/100_0628.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33Fhw9-WyV5zk6VEYirDJ1yRnXrtCgXslzPhlTidHtVPKK66I2v48oUxSErKY7NdkCUtk5msYXixbl7CN5DzS8wuciKnKJofpJUXChxI5MzPBPneBxpmG1GdbOUM3wlqrM-u2zeYWr2w/s320/100_0628.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467529415696844082" /></a>The cukes have finally come up and are doing well. The squirrels kept digging up the little hills where I'd planted the seeds. Everyday I was having to stick seeds back down in the ground. It's one of the few times I wish I'd had a pea shooter or bb gun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRGsW76awUXVmNef77OqlUwhqiVoh3q4GOYuCNdsN15_rABlN-HODjDHfZFsRhQQjSRHLcjXnLKNM6cXwnedUNN_3oOwalfbL26wvGNZbM7WxhOaP7ikoKxD41lseuJdFst5NLrex7xE/s1600/100_0658.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRGsW76awUXVmNef77OqlUwhqiVoh3q4GOYuCNdsN15_rABlN-HODjDHfZFsRhQQjSRHLcjXnLKNM6cXwnedUNN_3oOwalfbL26wvGNZbM7WxhOaP7ikoKxD41lseuJdFst5NLrex7xE/s320/100_0658.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467532720326959026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsNpCbIJDUMjG3Q8FIHbIwLcJ84vKyj37mJie_0YDKrp0nPTapJaocShlBPBZ5guK3Pj0gvAIU6lzoua1oyevfw5th1qDMKwX4CKwRQ1Ul6dQJ8F0h72lXbP27tjU0Fs4iElBoLZHZ28/s1600/100_0681.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsNpCbIJDUMjG3Q8FIHbIwLcJ84vKyj37mJie_0YDKrp0nPTapJaocShlBPBZ5guK3Pj0gvAIU6lzoua1oyevfw5th1qDMKwX4CKwRQ1Ul6dQJ8F0h72lXbP27tjU0Fs4iElBoLZHZ28/s320/100_0681.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467531658898434194" /></a>We have black-eyed peas! They only took 3 days to germinate and we didn't pre-soak them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pFTPulYAQm5s_GZiuJgSAyvhvo9iNSyAiuVEpRgLFMkpQGrRQL6kIPVD0AQICfDC8IdKYlgM2Wbqrciy6OdVBI8w01m-cf0Lqbd5uo6KGFEFz83K_xrqXxwsUzLLHq0mLEnizo44sZ0/s1600/100_0683.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pFTPulYAQm5s_GZiuJgSAyvhvo9iNSyAiuVEpRgLFMkpQGrRQL6kIPVD0AQICfDC8IdKYlgM2Wbqrciy6OdVBI8w01m-cf0Lqbd5uo6KGFEFz83K_xrqXxwsUzLLHq0mLEnizo44sZ0/s320/100_0683.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467535838633885810" /></a>A few of the okra seeds have also started germinating.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-2bsyhSBJaz2RF8QD1WOisBLs6V8svuEtOGO4AxUxoJXPxr1cxD8B7ZFkUecMty2nxhNvrZcXaYtOA4myx19nkpvQrpW723zG0lp_lV_HSHE7US4c91Qa7aici5ZV2EcMS0F4JxLVp4/s1600/100_0686.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-2bsyhSBJaz2RF8QD1WOisBLs6V8svuEtOGO4AxUxoJXPxr1cxD8B7ZFkUecMty2nxhNvrZcXaYtOA4myx19nkpvQrpW723zG0lp_lV_HSHE7US4c91Qa7aici5ZV2EcMS0F4JxLVp4/s320/100_0686.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467535830334419842" /></a>The bush beans are also starting to germinate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMMu3SbXkIru6AO097qGOGxqdUQTf4t7Sg1Ck420kmjGM1wAgewALR1QvrY7C5KtJUtzgn4CVNqkbdKxJe55RAGBALk8Du1cqqk2vIeEVqDARvg3gKw38gsCrAsM9SVNUCl8yD-4mPnE/s1600/100_0664.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMMu3SbXkIru6AO097qGOGxqdUQTf4t7Sg1Ck420kmjGM1wAgewALR1QvrY7C5KtJUtzgn4CVNqkbdKxJe55RAGBALk8Du1cqqk2vIeEVqDARvg3gKw38gsCrAsM9SVNUCl8yD-4mPnE/s320/100_0664.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467537015805146882" /></a>My lone jalapeno plant went into the ground last week, too. I traded 2 away at the plant swap and I'm giving 3 away to friends.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLAs9qLih81-YnTZVmXikUbUvuYtZMMGAdXdGYwRcZsmTOXxExz16uT1LaRUkcu7duaM2jOmcpDp10cX7PQ04bxWpomslnJhNsH93zGSAwHni2HPis001GeuFNeqll5hurGPA0Jp_3Go/s1600/100_0666.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLAs9qLih81-YnTZVmXikUbUvuYtZMMGAdXdGYwRcZsmTOXxExz16uT1LaRUkcu7duaM2jOmcpDp10cX7PQ04bxWpomslnJhNsH93zGSAwHni2HPis001GeuFNeqll5hurGPA0Jp_3Go/s320/100_0666.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467539519498120930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVeuhfn7J22TIMcISKzMITMvmj5l8pdCFuEbf6p3RGcFy35pQZfYBzFBoVfkBWYNav4c9s15PcW0A0ecksnuKAGfBsOy4VOEtXnBBpfBivQgoZyLD1BMzHM3NlffIjhWUwwQ2_tFjNP4/s1600/100_0690.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVeuhfn7J22TIMcISKzMITMvmj5l8pdCFuEbf6p3RGcFy35pQZfYBzFBoVfkBWYNav4c9s15PcW0A0ecksnuKAGfBsOy4VOEtXnBBpfBivQgoZyLD1BMzHM3NlffIjhWUwwQ2_tFjNP4/s320/100_0690.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467539527635104018" /></a>The dill is doing great! One of my plants has set a flower pod. I think this is called a "crown", but I'm not sure. I expect flowers soon and then some seeds! It's really been a nice plant and a wonderful scent to have in the garden this spring.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDxvNwscqiA_jk9OWkTrDCAUwyjFmCVRRnVzFc8mW9UyWMx_kAxmI9oQIjgWmz-qHKLDkBsWkjwm8tt7R8KxXVGSgCaZDC0j2hlOLoralUmqiipLB-9rp5FxzNVnm9Po6EIkErYhLqtE/s1600/100_0693.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDxvNwscqiA_jk9OWkTrDCAUwyjFmCVRRnVzFc8mW9UyWMx_kAxmI9oQIjgWmz-qHKLDkBsWkjwm8tt7R8KxXVGSgCaZDC0j2hlOLoralUmqiipLB-9rp5FxzNVnm9Po6EIkErYhLqtE/s320/100_0693.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467539537407209090" /></a>Lastly, I scored 3 blackberry bushes for my berry lovin' husband at the plant swap. One of the guys in the group was digging his berry bushes up to get rid of them, so I told him I'd take them They came with some young fruit. I know nothing about growing blackberries, so this is strictly the husband's project.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-81329433448700389772010-04-11T18:05:00.005-05:002010-04-11T18:49:57.504-05:00Spring Has Arrived (Pic heavy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMy-7d9UtTZZFxQRM5k17K7tm6Y82YNRrjzFDU0bJSwPQEVl0J6rJpaQ7kzaLyYYVn7naY6z5snKA1cFtDfurMfPjPO8fk6vO_stVem9uDbPWV17PxiFqNRQ6Oesg7r3kRn4jatVPuis/s1600/First+Poppy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMy-7d9UtTZZFxQRM5k17K7tm6Y82YNRrjzFDU0bJSwPQEVl0J6rJpaQ7kzaLyYYVn7naY6z5snKA1cFtDfurMfPjPO8fk6vO_stVem9uDbPWV17PxiFqNRQ6Oesg7r3kRn4jatVPuis/s320/First+Poppy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459028547133792930" /></a><br />You wouldn't know it with the drop in temps we've had this past week, but spring has definitely arrived in the garden. I've spent about 30 mins or so each night pulling weeds in the flower beds and trying to ID seedlings. I've been successful with some, but most I have no idea what they are! In the first flower bed I started I am now to the point where I'm ready to move plants and rearrange things so the shorter plants are closer to the front and the taller plants are towards the back. I have a few plants I'm still waiting on to come back to life, especially the Esperanza plant. It's always the last thing to come back, but I'm not so sure it survived the extremely cold winter we had. Here are some pics from my walk about the garden beds this morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICtm7LyTUrPdLGwabCsFG8hHP9maMDqgCj0FHrwJFDfHOJzRgpwGYEltP_GdmkXSfkXLq7uuL_f8qiMD7PVl4sn5nHxf9tid18ihUhKAjtNB5h1xvo0MQ_To6IbUkJftIN0xIyhU0tRA/s1600/Butterfly+Weed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICtm7LyTUrPdLGwabCsFG8hHP9maMDqgCj0FHrwJFDfHOJzRgpwGYEltP_GdmkXSfkXLq7uuL_f8qiMD7PVl4sn5nHxf9tid18ihUhKAjtNB5h1xvo0MQ_To6IbUkJftIN0xIyhU0tRA/s320/Butterfly+Weed.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459022884363555266" /></a>The butterfly weed showed up last week sometime. Hooray!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKFb9zAW6uoqOgQ77aBO9j-9E2DhISCA4x4pZqo3MOC7wsYtF-65FUeK6WVtgQYTvPmj66-OAwVo5aIX95pEASRfpeNjesLrDs8blir_1JaX9XlyQ9VqhzLitQsQSTvosI32XvI00NNU/s1600/Brazos+Penstemon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKFb9zAW6uoqOgQ77aBO9j-9E2DhISCA4x4pZqo3MOC7wsYtF-65FUeK6WVtgQYTvPmj66-OAwVo5aIX95pEASRfpeNjesLrDs8blir_1JaX9XlyQ9VqhzLitQsQSTvosI32XvI00NNU/s320/Brazos+Penstemon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459022872486717026" /></a>My Brazos Penstemon has really taken off since the late winter. I can't wait to see this thing bloom.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHBswvBIfXRw3d6GoP-jchXyIZN-HIqQwyVVNDu7IuPEURZaf-tXzcoIBRCTYEU09ikOdzUkAVwKMOfq43zljF-a9CfwzOVLBgEvvGqXfhagBnP-M-laudk2goxEw937p2bPMzP8bacU/s1600/Balloon+Flower.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHBswvBIfXRw3d6GoP-jchXyIZN-HIqQwyVVNDu7IuPEURZaf-tXzcoIBRCTYEU09ikOdzUkAVwKMOfq43zljF-a9CfwzOVLBgEvvGqXfhagBnP-M-laudk2goxEw937p2bPMzP8bacU/s320/Balloon+Flower.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459022861035640258" /></a>This Balloon Flower will be moved. This is the first year I've gotten a volunteer in addition to the mother plant.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Q6g9KkGWgRQyILRpbqTAlEsW64gugF0FYI4PYiZ39nONopGKy8KVEQWU379OLvr7aPWRmnz75UogQao13qEqn66NhzderwK-y49DcgeRWCGKvFmqVepgE375iUn4xzfDnw0vqFUsuc/s1600/100_0512.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Q6g9KkGWgRQyILRpbqTAlEsW64gugF0FYI4PYiZ39nONopGKy8KVEQWU379OLvr7aPWRmnz75UogQao13qEqn66NhzderwK-y49DcgeRWCGKvFmqVepgE375iUn4xzfDnw0vqFUsuc/s320/100_0512.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459022853249309058" /></a>This sedum will bloom a pretty yellow. It's planted in a small Weber grill! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmqR6E9HnfbGjA9qsUVARwOCCh358JV9aUFEcNfxx_ydDkbI-gojUZkVk5n06C8xmjwN1kiy-PYk8itPAslA1Lm5SV1vTZfpYCc0s7wIWlJA8ltC69TzqfZPiOPIGQTGlH_-VdCNShyphenhyphens/s1600/100_0422.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmqR6E9HnfbGjA9qsUVARwOCCh358JV9aUFEcNfxx_ydDkbI-gojUZkVk5n06C8xmjwN1kiy-PYk8itPAslA1Lm5SV1vTZfpYCc0s7wIWlJA8ltC69TzqfZPiOPIGQTGlH_-VdCNShyphenhyphens/s320/100_0422.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459022843339813650" /></a>The Texas Gold Columbines are starting to bloom. Love these flowers! The plant gets pretty scraggly looking in the hot summer weather, but they go crazy in the winter and really start growing like crazy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3jjBIrBp8E0U0zmuW2I2Z07wTce4y-EhDalCN4dZtoG42hq_VHD1D0Yk-Yqt9wDIR3Q2O1MGb7Dav4rG1Aqgg-b_vmF4omqdgC_-T_nH_SzcT-kpkNcRk3JiXIBeUsY4t0coemo1X00/s1600/Gaillardia.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3jjBIrBp8E0U0zmuW2I2Z07wTce4y-EhDalCN4dZtoG42hq_VHD1D0Yk-Yqt9wDIR3Q2O1MGb7Dav4rG1Aqgg-b_vmF4omqdgC_-T_nH_SzcT-kpkNcRk3JiXIBeUsY4t0coemo1X00/s320/Gaillardia.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459026037378583154" /></a>The gaillardia (Blanket flower) is starting to get its flowers on! This thing will bloom non-stop till fall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDXMLOx4_bgmn_lZsiUwsVM8-u80GZf4k7fePQGKMTSFJt8OhVjgl1LqBhjJHDMWygZaYV1pvak2yvXfMEEYbmND9agD0Brd6QuNUkgaPIZvnI8147KCHbRTHaQKSkMn7_RcI_gg29z0/s1600/Four+Nerve+Daisy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDXMLOx4_bgmn_lZsiUwsVM8-u80GZf4k7fePQGKMTSFJt8OhVjgl1LqBhjJHDMWygZaYV1pvak2yvXfMEEYbmND9agD0Brd6QuNUkgaPIZvnI8147KCHbRTHaQKSkMn7_RcI_gg29z0/s320/Four+Nerve+Daisy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459026032546666658" /></a>I thought I'd lost my Four Nerve Daisies this winter, but they survived!! Here they are with their happy little flowers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu7mTXDs5-w8q0mRjqOUSVjrXI4c9nMhtkelwg2VQK980H0qaPmyPjfBJVayOmHPRf1AluzGQauIJzIL0KAMz_HJ1_GnPWi9Z4TtuCcGWMt9PhFYsx78_aJqYSQyH5zWTvY7py8pwhMo/s1600/Dianthus_Sweet+William.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu7mTXDs5-w8q0mRjqOUSVjrXI4c9nMhtkelwg2VQK980H0qaPmyPjfBJVayOmHPRf1AluzGQauIJzIL0KAMz_HJ1_GnPWi9Z4TtuCcGWMt9PhFYsx78_aJqYSQyH5zWTvY7py8pwhMo/s320/Dianthus_Sweet+William.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459026027789169522" /></a>This dianthus (Sweet William) has been waiting for a year to bloom. Finally put out flower buds and started blooming this past week. Love the color!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8L3AfvhiK6qQpqGdjjnF2MXz61_Mxw3yjhHeoQjTmcv3-lUuuFM17lbCyYJr64cUj2pLRpTfKlhH2QBct0SIVql4lh-CS45L1wbJfuhucFOt92QIuoPlltkdGXiZ34k-eFX42eZffZc/s1600/Cranesbill+Geranium.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8L3AfvhiK6qQpqGdjjnF2MXz61_Mxw3yjhHeoQjTmcv3-lUuuFM17lbCyYJr64cUj2pLRpTfKlhH2QBct0SIVql4lh-CS45L1wbJfuhucFOt92QIuoPlltkdGXiZ34k-eFX42eZffZc/s320/Cranesbill+Geranium.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459026023645648402" /></a>My Cranesbill Geranium is going like gangbusters. I have it in a pot, but I'm going to divide it and transplant it out in the flower bed by the front curb. It loves the sun and will survive the winters.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNAiFqv9TaiboW24ol9rAIWdqvsohi7EQl8Whaz-ir4DNroia5dpqWg5s-_JEGzdbGujj0Lpr8Cttp5AZ3IYED7M-adGnDrPW_1PoHT0D1STIu_gWvgx9oM6innZBvqoc78k_nIjaHcw/s1600/Cowpen+Daisy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNAiFqv9TaiboW24ol9rAIWdqvsohi7EQl8Whaz-ir4DNroia5dpqWg5s-_JEGzdbGujj0Lpr8Cttp5AZ3IYED7M-adGnDrPW_1PoHT0D1STIu_gWvgx9oM6innZBvqoc78k_nIjaHcw/s320/Cowpen+Daisy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459026012613625138" /></a>My little Cowpen Daisy has come back from the dead of winter as well. Sooooo excited about this!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHIzdKknhw1l5hWKotJPmawfEqBjdaVMm8Gewn3UmyBCLz2noBANuK0_US4v4AVgNxRMLYzkU20FVj70698eqXwwfjEKNYNyaHWUVCLaGRhSeOKZOghjtWCh-RIfgcRVeDonl8SRN80A/s1600/May+Night+Saliva.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHIzdKknhw1l5hWKotJPmawfEqBjdaVMm8Gewn3UmyBCLz2noBANuK0_US4v4AVgNxRMLYzkU20FVj70698eqXwwfjEKNYNyaHWUVCLaGRhSeOKZOghjtWCh-RIfgcRVeDonl8SRN80A/s320/May+Night+Saliva.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459028521777702242" /></a>May Night Salvia does so well in my flower bed. It's a bee attractant like none other in my garden. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZuRVsiPqboh0UBWDCzsltpKESJGWc0eOLa4HVuhrKbjxKHgKsE7LJd49MOodIFc7wuDhOz-_ZSG6-24w3I01V0oGFeJWqnVZ6jwGP7ZXX4yw4biCZ47_9oXKrzcnsXz5Iosm9pPBwds/s1600/Pincushion+Daisy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZuRVsiPqboh0UBWDCzsltpKESJGWc0eOLa4HVuhrKbjxKHgKsE7LJd49MOodIFc7wuDhOz-_ZSG6-24w3I01V0oGFeJWqnVZ6jwGP7ZXX4yw4biCZ47_9oXKrzcnsXz5Iosm9pPBwds/s320/Pincushion+Daisy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459028530550219090" /></a>Pincusion Daisy (scabiosa daisy) is putting out its pretty pink flowers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt55oBRxnrTWbA2Nq6t3J6t-eHDg-l_AyqG-8mJ0Io8-uCrwa_y4Y_0pmqFNgJ20gGcNlFw2Pn8YEEJPj5R4EHkGgwggv7K6lSmuRSKBC2C-MQnVDhiH9Qinh8TE4_Ct1nUonKHhtP_bg/s1600/Poppy+and+Scabiosa+Daisy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt55oBRxnrTWbA2Nq6t3J6t-eHDg-l_AyqG-8mJ0Io8-uCrwa_y4Y_0pmqFNgJ20gGcNlFw2Pn8YEEJPj5R4EHkGgwggv7K6lSmuRSKBC2C-MQnVDhiH9Qinh8TE4_Ct1nUonKHhtP_bg/s320/Poppy+and+Scabiosa+Daisy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459028534251603362" /></a>A look across the flower bed to see the height of the poppy in relation to the pincushion daisy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9zLM9N_07UgVmf8r46oXuLxxq7jlLqX5eAjMxHzgwsXNHzN4PK7FyQiRXlgPkphtWx9bhyphenhyphen5g2DCr_fTlQL5zqTBknnXtx2LM_YJjidygwWJeCecSngW9LpeKTWn3HXIgzq_aC_2JhjY/s1600/Poppy+tulip+looking.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9zLM9N_07UgVmf8r46oXuLxxq7jlLqX5eAjMxHzgwsXNHzN4PK7FyQiRXlgPkphtWx9bhyphenhyphen5g2DCr_fTlQL5zqTBknnXtx2LM_YJjidygwWJeCecSngW9LpeKTWn3HXIgzq_aC_2JhjY/s320/Poppy+tulip+looking.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459028542123614642" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-43876426992011384482010-04-02T19:42:00.007-05:002010-04-02T21:00:17.632-05:00I Hilled<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdbLZZwL0cKIiNGz9AJHz2QPG1OP48GnBbBzwUKG4BJAZrv5y5fs8Gy0HIRtlr-l_gnGwIRhHTuPIwyywZ0KHmQMW3lm6_3w32NoIGKYIbtFZX_5M5nHfFUwByVRmaO9H-0F7YQB8a00/s1600/100_0296.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdbLZZwL0cKIiNGz9AJHz2QPG1OP48GnBbBzwUKG4BJAZrv5y5fs8Gy0HIRtlr-l_gnGwIRhHTuPIwyywZ0KHmQMW3lm6_3w32NoIGKYIbtFZX_5M5nHfFUwByVRmaO9H-0F7YQB8a00/s320/100_0296.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455712687858761858" /></a><br /><br />Some of my potato plants were getting tall enough to progress to the next stage, hilling. This helps the potatoes produce more potatoes. I'm using leaves as my hilling medium, but you can use compost, soil, straw, or mulch. Basically, you pile your hilling medium up the stems of the plants, leaving only about 2" or so of leaves showing. <br /><br />Hilling has many purposes. One, it cools the soil, which here in Texas is very much needed. Second, it creates space for tuber development. All tubers (spuds) form at the same level as the seed piece and higher, so you are also creating more growing space. Third, it keeps the sun's rays from the tubers. Exposure to the sun causes 'greening' of the potatoes, which often taste bitter when eaten. Fourth, it gives you something to do with all those leaves and dried grass clippings in your yard. Fifth, it helps with drainage and prevents weed growth. Lastly, it makes harvesting easier since the tubers are in the leaves, straw, dead grass clippings, compost or whatever you use.<br /><br />Here are the first containers with leaves. I only hilled around the plants that were 6"-8" tall. I covered the stems and any leaves at the lower level. If you're overly zealous, you can clip off the lower leaves. I am lazy, so I didn't do that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHOMc50ZX-0cc4C5lIa9klWENXi_mA2xxBQMvRgDob3x0BrR4snY1GR0oHAw3py47BeQMSx6_F60mx9ectpCFfk45QrX0Lwib0LO_mt2yk4XJKgRz2sAAr-eoc_hGTQ4jc5EfbbKbRtU/s1600/100_0370.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHOMc50ZX-0cc4C5lIa9klWENXi_mA2xxBQMvRgDob3x0BrR4snY1GR0oHAw3py47BeQMSx6_F60mx9ectpCFfk45QrX0Lwib0LO_mt2yk4XJKgRz2sAAr-eoc_hGTQ4jc5EfbbKbRtU/s320/100_0370.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455717736704326722" /></a>We already need to add either another layer of sides or some kind of wire caging to the box so we can add more leaves! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ta3yaGCvDA4v0wIp78Pp2GBs5EVbxIdSnui3R2asn4GHNXhYMxKrh7oJgaYOVNjCvlGuhNyw_7lUdEKjLaoz9Y14R8oVxmUa8_5bVwpjJde-69R3_IdOb1NiclXi6S8uKPJsWSn5MPU/s1600/100_0371.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ta3yaGCvDA4v0wIp78Pp2GBs5EVbxIdSnui3R2asn4GHNXhYMxKrh7oJgaYOVNjCvlGuhNyw_7lUdEKjLaoz9Y14R8oVxmUa8_5bVwpjJde-69R3_IdOb1NiclXi6S8uKPJsWSn5MPU/s320/100_0371.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455718581074571090" /></a> Same planter, different angle. In this pic, you can see that I have too much plant showing and need to add more leaves. I know what I'll be doing on Easter Sunday! LOL<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQS60qsOUc1RgJsxN1hs1CGnJEYy3YuK-HJCF11V0Q5uDhQRkbYVOtQWE2XgSYIPHtiSM5R_YQKYlTf7LvktLthNpgEB9uMs4QdkUByVQvtcIq271rznmdvrhlRGOzZa2RF4KCMU9elE/s1600/100_0373.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQS60qsOUc1RgJsxN1hs1CGnJEYy3YuK-HJCF11V0Q5uDhQRkbYVOtQWE2XgSYIPHtiSM5R_YQKYlTf7LvktLthNpgEB9uMs4QdkUByVQvtcIq271rznmdvrhlRGOzZa2RF4KCMU9elE/s320/100_0373.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455721159853830722" /></a>The big blue planter. One of these plants is growing like it's on steroids! Couldn't completely cover the bottom with leaves because of the new little shoot poking its head out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRK1ZGAScZrH8s_Tt9Fj_1bCTTPHoJptITfNsCcOwgxp5mgOtrSqSrtEZAlfd2MiDviEY4AUujPLT4ObIh5F1BK3hxcce8x6aSAFQVA5CmYZnTIknbc6zsnTVigAZy1f9VA_vo7r5KL8/s1600/100_0372.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRK1ZGAScZrH8s_Tt9Fj_1bCTTPHoJptITfNsCcOwgxp5mgOtrSqSrtEZAlfd2MiDviEY4AUujPLT4ObIh5F1BK3hxcce8x6aSAFQVA5CmYZnTIknbc6zsnTVigAZy1f9VA_vo7r5KL8/s320/100_0372.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455721154999507010" /></a>Junior sprout!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJgdk4GZtzAui2emhVGDAn7X82B8-FnxuhDVEq3yCaYEabneYgy-jEqfqMu5awqcY373Ez7hLrYCIJQqHVqBizPMH-IOYyhsE_HTZe7d9OWK61pq9HQv4U_sNEpO4XB0Q2jvmRQBEtEM/s1600/100_0374.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJgdk4GZtzAui2emhVGDAn7X82B8-FnxuhDVEq3yCaYEabneYgy-jEqfqMu5awqcY373Ez7hLrYCIJQqHVqBizPMH-IOYyhsE_HTZe7d9OWK61pq9HQv4U_sNEpO4XB0Q2jvmRQBEtEM/s320/100_0374.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455721169291004722" /></a>This plant is appropriately hilled--for now. <br /><br />I'll continue hilling until the plants start blooming and stop growing. Then they'll start making tubers!!<br /><br />For more information on potato growing, check out the growing guide on <a href="http://www.ronnigers.com/index.html">Ronningers Potato Farm's website.</a> Scroll down the page to the *.pdf documents under the form for the paper catalog.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-85930654662506985932010-03-31T16:34:00.007-05:002010-03-31T18:10:05.737-05:00An Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wd8DdhgxIT2DrECMlgBlr_mvQYwj2iHLPFSpJMIxTEnTUJWoPW7kUA9ZlXyVAw_Fs8QRCIFipRBmisAfE7F8DswfkkieO_VWO7EtlD54XwD-JgC49_ON_WSXeFogIzR6AEr7NFR0yZM/s1600/100_0315.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wd8DdhgxIT2DrECMlgBlr_mvQYwj2iHLPFSpJMIxTEnTUJWoPW7kUA9ZlXyVAw_Fs8QRCIFipRBmisAfE7F8DswfkkieO_VWO7EtlD54XwD-JgC49_ON_WSXeFogIzR6AEr7NFR0yZM/s320/100_0315.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454915594914493106" /></a><br />I planted my first winter sown container out on Sunday. I could hardly walk on Monday because of it, but it's nice to be planting and playing in the dirt again. Sweet Pea "Matucana" planted on a trellis in the back flower bed. The soil in the bed was so wet it wasn't even funny! We have very heavy clay soil and when I dug a hole for the transplant my trowel, the dirt just came up in a big glob. Then, getting the plants out of my jug in one piece complete with roots was a challenge. I ended up filling the holes with some dirt from the veggie bed that has had some amendments added into it.<br /><br />The potatoes are doing great! With the warmer temps we've been having the past couple of weeks, they're really starting to take off. Some of the containers are continuing to sprout, but they've all got wonderful growth going on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UK4ui72msTzKjphLSp7mqMZ9yeY5Axa71K-cncJh6TsqZVeJKMCJvKhmbasKPDua_la9nPl6C2Pdz7isWIkLXbUAOxDbfBcOQS9qr9mezNPQ4EgqHgShkTzsM2zWOyQ0KW6KCj5R-PE/s1600/100_0334.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UK4ui72msTzKjphLSp7mqMZ9yeY5Axa71K-cncJh6TsqZVeJKMCJvKhmbasKPDua_la9nPl6C2Pdz7isWIkLXbUAOxDbfBcOQS9qr9mezNPQ4EgqHgShkTzsM2zWOyQ0KW6KCj5R-PE/s320/100_0334.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454926286614442066" /></a><center>Red Norlands</center> They are some of the bigger sprouts, but they also had the most growth on them when I planted them out. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1h7u-esURy09Fwqeq1syPu4nAEfsP9l9oNSs3QYifuv3PIkARDhc1ex6lB0k4cEboNlGecirUoj3XOQn5PbOMHzfHgBVhaUHjPGG6N-0Gyk350o-hjBPqcMAo3sr5nuvA8BknlcJ0hU/s1600/100_0338.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1h7u-esURy09Fwqeq1syPu4nAEfsP9l9oNSs3QYifuv3PIkARDhc1ex6lB0k4cEboNlGecirUoj3XOQn5PbOMHzfHgBVhaUHjPGG6N-0Gyk350o-hjBPqcMAo3sr5nuvA8BknlcJ0hU/s320/100_0338.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454926296879760402" /></a><center>Banana Fingerlings</center>They are the most numerous since I had so many pieces. If I grow them again next year, I'll only plant 1/4 lb. in a container since they produced the most pieces.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxRGuCDRY_RFeCxM4H8RwMm1f2_RelOCONoxx8x3DWvXsaSassTpBL8tvvDz9VESFwlXkHbd8FFAG-ECqvZN4WTsKn914CdCEQYKxKW9FqbEzAch9R0fUsRZlhntiTiVeo13vl_THb5g/s1600/100_0340.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxRGuCDRY_RFeCxM4H8RwMm1f2_RelOCONoxx8x3DWvXsaSassTpBL8tvvDz9VESFwlXkHbd8FFAG-ECqvZN4WTsKn914CdCEQYKxKW9FqbEzAch9R0fUsRZlhntiTiVeo13vl_THb5g/s320/100_0340.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454926303259882130" /></a><center>Kennebecs and Purple Vikings</center>These had the fewest pieces planted and some of the Kennebecs didn't even have growth on them, just eyes formed. I noticed a new sprout on one side of the container today. It's hard to see it in this pic, but I'm excited to see another sprout. I don't remember which variety I planted on which side of the container, so it's going to be fun come harvest time! LOL<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aQqAvQb6qm8wuZrsuidxTiap2JWSmW3zaE_S0A4ZwZJrgyqX4uW4OwlLi_gn3haGxKXhpC8-R6sta9Y0dw98unuINxidhDQRG0VwjRid7HU6WqxhICkOBCDfheGNbpSq_S9Ssmoa72Y/s1600/100_0341.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aQqAvQb6qm8wuZrsuidxTiap2JWSmW3zaE_S0A4ZwZJrgyqX4uW4OwlLi_gn3haGxKXhpC8-R6sta9Y0dw98unuINxidhDQRG0VwjRid7HU6WqxhICkOBCDfheGNbpSq_S9Ssmoa72Y/s320/100_0341.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454926311260058722" /></a><center>Sprout</center>(It's in the dark portion of the pic on the left and you can hardly see it. LOL)<br /><br />The Wando Peas aren't doing so hot. I think the birds are feasting on the sprouts once the seeds germinate. DH planted more seeds yesterday, so we'll see if we get more sprouts. I'm thinking of putting down some tulle or bird netting over them to deter the birds and squirrels, too. Here are a couple of sprouts that have survived.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZ07xo4F2FFnac2TG68Gvvz4aqajGYy8iklNIjrXSh33gzPxaLvhPQ1_31HkSiLy7khzTaER7HAMLv-g5qNXsXMjiygF24hxnUBVrRFXW_wyJ3JA9yzpK6MBAZDDvSszXXiEpsBuDNRk/s1600/100_0346.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZ07xo4F2FFnac2TG68Gvvz4aqajGYy8iklNIjrXSh33gzPxaLvhPQ1_31HkSiLy7khzTaER7HAMLv-g5qNXsXMjiygF24hxnUBVrRFXW_wyJ3JA9yzpK6MBAZDDvSszXXiEpsBuDNRk/s320/100_0346.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454931272229946354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDOwsuXjvZk65gnIBU74sICEjIhUd9oc2U4SR2rjTopYSF2XO_jk7Wyl-jYWK9_0eKGwAGssGeIyDj2cxPUY4XaNmn6CI6phnq9piX8o5A4e6zMWyrOX1I1VZEC0BTAA3vybl74FJQ7c/s1600/100_0345.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDOwsuXjvZk65gnIBU74sICEjIhUd9oc2U4SR2rjTopYSF2XO_jk7Wyl-jYWK9_0eKGwAGssGeIyDj2cxPUY4XaNmn6CI6phnq9piX8o5A4e6zMWyrOX1I1VZEC0BTAA3vybl74FJQ7c/s320/100_0345.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454931265894774610" /></a>Notice the wilted, dead-looking sprout in the upper left hand corner of this pic? This is what's been happening to them.<br /><br />The onions are doing okay. All but 4 or 5 of the purple onions I planted have died. The 1015s are doing great, though! Their bed is being taken over by henbit, so it's going to be my evening weeding project for the next couple of nights.<br /><br />The carrots have finally started germinating. Not sure what the problem has been with them, but the packages do say it could take as many as 3 weeks to germinate. I think it's been about that long.<br /><br />The winter sowing project continues. Almost all of the earliest sown jugs have sprouted. The latter ones have not, except for 1 or 2. There's also some really warm weather plants in those, though, so they may not sprout til it really warms up.<br /><br />The lettuces are starting to bolt. It's just about past their time, but they've done great since last fall!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6BRuYGegHmacqUF08eI6uXWenWAk0-zHkLrO0WXvBowQY_iQVzDMTuyVHn_Z6RcjJfDVlR1ROgrCNgWlGSH07Zt1rYPu2WarFxaOHQyCX4OSt1xxWFTTHGPvVHrB5uKMpcV3LmPCRXE/s1600/100_0273.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6BRuYGegHmacqUF08eI6uXWenWAk0-zHkLrO0WXvBowQY_iQVzDMTuyVHn_Z6RcjJfDVlR1ROgrCNgWlGSH07Zt1rYPu2WarFxaOHQyCX4OSt1xxWFTTHGPvVHrB5uKMpcV3LmPCRXE/s320/100_0273.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454937588700479666" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937983360577623769.post-21720566794102002642010-03-15T21:21:00.008-05:002010-03-15T22:53:11.360-05:00Things are Moving Along!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1siSzuvUP6ObAAjWhpXXWegs1Zhj29SDU3pD9ZXrWFlcKEhr9oJzAJa3eYuCidPRY_vxeXuectuzEPovLYibibQX_sOexFIgROEFvziONssZhTgJiL2p6qxbZYrdQX66CfVvTrr4Y6A/s1600-h/100_0225.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1siSzuvUP6ObAAjWhpXXWegs1Zhj29SDU3pD9ZXrWFlcKEhr9oJzAJa3eYuCidPRY_vxeXuectuzEPovLYibibQX_sOexFIgROEFvziONssZhTgJiL2p6qxbZYrdQX66CfVvTrr4Y6A/s320/100_0225.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449056142407764930" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Spring is such a fun time in the garden. It's a time of renewal and hope. Things that have been laying dormant for the winter are coming back to life and new things are starting to sprout. <br /><br />Yesterday, we planted a row and a half of peas (snap peas). We're trying "Wando" peas this year. Wandos are an OP and heirloom variety of peas that seem to be more adapted to our area. They take the cooler temps better and also can stand up to some of the warmer temps we get in late spring as well. In between the rows of peas, I planted some dill, leftover from last year's winter sowing! LOL<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAn9_d8wsmo275M3LlKGCM1x8tJbaND7yzA9Sr7kCmlRXaN2ZmgLbe3NEsqjfrfdYKxRjQ7a7WJDaPaTAzgbwiR-xiGMtgRJ8pW2uUhv-oS5GtXCQhyqiKtWal8_-2vmxwwBaZpxJofM/s1600-h/100_0239.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAn9_d8wsmo275M3LlKGCM1x8tJbaND7yzA9Sr7kCmlRXaN2ZmgLbe3NEsqjfrfdYKxRjQ7a7WJDaPaTAzgbwiR-xiGMtgRJ8pW2uUhv-oS5GtXCQhyqiKtWal8_-2vmxwwBaZpxJofM/s320/100_0239.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449052951541477298" border="0" /></a>The white forks mark the rows, btw. The dill plants are those frilly green things you can barely see. The trellis is invisible. Actually, it's leaning up against the storage shed in the backyard. DH has yest to put it up.<br /><br />Anyhoo, we planted 2 peas per hole, 3" apart. I plopped the seeds down and the DH followed behind me and buried them. He was like a little boy playing in the dirt, complete with sound effects!<br /><br />After we did the peas, I ventured to the far back flower bed to clean it up, weed, and find a spot to plant my sweet peas. Many of the plants I planted out there last year survived and are in the process of rejuvenating. The (dis)Obedient plant multiplied like a rabbit! I started with 2 little plants and I now have this blanket of plants, which will look pretty when they bloom, but sheesh! I didn't need THIS many!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9coh2Ot8Rh31O3WfDGWK7vUq69nUKGdl6YxeFgxud6JcHc_FPLTeJRN6yGadbntlwpysggTdA0J_PPzbniJL4G8KXwddSlXbBz8R4NV9K5w_p8js5e1JDPWyDCSa_01OmH3O3TMzlS0/s1600-h/100_0229.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9coh2Ot8Rh31O3WfDGWK7vUq69nUKGdl6YxeFgxud6JcHc_FPLTeJRN6yGadbntlwpysggTdA0J_PPzbniJL4G8KXwddSlXbBz8R4NV9K5w_p8js5e1JDPWyDCSa_01OmH3O3TMzlS0/s320/100_0229.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449056126405878066" border="0" /></a>I have decided to trade some away and to plant some in the little strip o' flower bed under the kitchen window and possibly along the side driveway. We'll see how that goes!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHv5e1jMD45dWxw3oTXkeBhau411VDh6d9QEU_QBpuICZGBHJOFEtwK8w7l54cgxXJQX0qujQ3LioQyazA51vI6p-MwD04GcJL6XnVVI15JwAb94aTHhkaGKeFu-QHB8PG9zM4j_BhyWM/s1600-h/100_0232.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHv5e1jMD45dWxw3oTXkeBhau411VDh6d9QEU_QBpuICZGBHJOFEtwK8w7l54cgxXJQX0qujQ3LioQyazA51vI6p-MwD04GcJL6XnVVI15JwAb94aTHhkaGKeFu-QHB8PG9zM4j_BhyWM/s320/100_0232.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449058480781023826" border="0" /></a>My Passalong Pink lily. I really hope this thing blooms this year! I've had it for 3 years now and it's not bloomed yet. :>(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-MBm6Xsi0m1kmTFNykS21KTAEDxJBeuSOYYtewgZ8Uu1T2eeFJaq5uYYDnDqzuICngE0TQdGS9KDJsA-Koo9M44LgBM4QVvQKr3SiHyDxU5iwDSwuAnCsqmGZCWl-KnjGQ2HeLRreY4/s1600-h/100_0231.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-MBm6Xsi0m1kmTFNykS21KTAEDxJBeuSOYYtewgZ8Uu1T2eeFJaq5uYYDnDqzuICngE0TQdGS9KDJsA-Koo9M44LgBM4QVvQKr3SiHyDxU5iwDSwuAnCsqmGZCWl-KnjGQ2HeLRreY4/s320/100_0231.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449058466230515378" border="0" /></a>You may have to click the pic to see this one, but I am just beyond excited that this Frostweed is coming back. It has one very little, teeny tiny green leaf on it! Just color me happy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d22C75kZHV46PLlTOZFELf8vYPRNhTBjOSp27rjRqNXI4ZMp19zbSu4AnlbLb6AHwiVEPyupdSXWhh61KFcr2qd6iXqrwVdHJ-tE8VvCWi51Y_lvXyLfQIOCMwW6Jf_ZZko8qysiWEM/s1600-h/100_0227.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d22C75kZHV46PLlTOZFELf8vYPRNhTBjOSp27rjRqNXI4ZMp19zbSu4AnlbLb6AHwiVEPyupdSXWhh61KFcr2qd6iXqrwVdHJ-tE8VvCWi51Y_lvXyLfQIOCMwW6Jf_ZZko8qysiWEM/s320/100_0227.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449058456236514130" border="0" /></a>This is my Cowpen Daisy. I love this plant and I'm so glad it's coming back!<br /><br />Houston! We have taters sprouting!! Yesterday, I discovered my first taters peeking through the dirt in one of the planters. I *think* it was the Red Norlands, but I could be wrong. If I remember correctly, we planted about 6 seed taters in the box and I've already seen 4 sprouts, but there's one more coming up. Today, when I went to check on things after I got home from work, I found sprouts in all the other tater containers as well!! Boing! Boing! (That would be me bouncing up and down with happiness and excitement.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN-HZcMUNaX2F2R3eiE8oZnTlsWytng3-_W3EOzylvN1_YQdeKZAitwkOaDVoRBk1CMXFhQxlnAD-9v7cbgavrc8klXkhRsO2J34EHnpwjaJ_oh2zLNJlGJS2Gaq-gG0p22Gkbpik49M/s1600-h/100_0220.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN-HZcMUNaX2F2R3eiE8oZnTlsWytng3-_W3EOzylvN1_YQdeKZAitwkOaDVoRBk1CMXFhQxlnAD-9v7cbgavrc8klXkhRsO2J34EHnpwjaJ_oh2zLNJlGJS2Gaq-gG0p22Gkbpik49M/s320/100_0220.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449062045043937634" /></a>Sweetness!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzYjqxqApBFTnuQlNY3Et4l0ovY5UDU3MBy6oNZn6arYyNhcVutFcD1MIdmeQEylE3tBnA4hnQA_-JWTKSlKHZK15Tr-QMjQmPY4gEfEeJ67RY77HdhuUBkfuuX7xM-aLl8Hwlu0lC44/s1600-h/100_0234.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzYjqxqApBFTnuQlNY3Et4l0ovY5UDU3MBy6oNZn6arYyNhcVutFcD1MIdmeQEylE3tBnA4hnQA_-JWTKSlKHZK15Tr-QMjQmPY4gEfEeJ67RY77HdhuUBkfuuX7xM-aLl8Hwlu0lC44/s320/100_0234.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449062927608032562" /></a>Here's one just starting to break the surface and poke it's little bud out!<br /><br />Lastly, the lettuce bed, which also contains a few spinach plants and a cabbage, is flourishing in the warmer temps and spring rains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNbMNsSKwuDbgx9UAMlCzjLwsnGOiFSmV7AgNo_EQRhXbVYDttncld_ZigwKkE3mHRprxBoNuGlboJtErOLjHqqY6BzCl-_t-6wfIk61g1sGa23APFr-XaC60unymyKdlQjZ0dI_4foo/s1600-h/100_0240.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNbMNsSKwuDbgx9UAMlCzjLwsnGOiFSmV7AgNo_EQRhXbVYDttncld_ZigwKkE3mHRprxBoNuGlboJtErOLjHqqY6BzCl-_t-6wfIk61g1sGa23APFr-XaC60unymyKdlQjZ0dI_4foo/s320/100_0240.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449074199679097330" /></a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17198404988950927327noreply@blogger.com0