Pushing myself to Garden

What is wrong with me? I love to garden but this year I am just not doing it. I pushed myself to get out today for a little while. I don't know if it is just that I have so much else going on or if it is the weather.

But I did have a good gardening day today.

I planted:
Carrots - Scarlet Nantes, Tendersweet, Nelson Hybrid, & Atomic Red
Radishes - Easter Egg Mix
Leaf Lettuce - Lettuce Blend
Parsnips - Hollow Crown
Beets - Red Ace Hybrid

I also set my tomatoes out for a few hours today to get them used to the weather and wind so I can plant them out soon. They have grown so tall that they are touching the lights - the weather needs to cooperate so I can get them out in the ground!

I also took a couple of pictures -


The plum tree is blooming. I am hoping for plums this year - it would be the first year - last year we had a couple of blooms, but no plums.


And strawberry blossoms.

We got our first weekly box from our CSA

With the crazy weather there hasn't been much gardening to do yet. The plants in the basement are growing very tall and would like to go outside - if only the weather would cooperate!

The plants that are outside are doing well. The lettuce is bouncing back - slowly, but it is bouncing back. The cabbage, brocolli and brussells sprouts are all thriving. The onions and garlic are growing nicely. The strawberries are blooming. The plum tree is about to break out in bloom soon. The apple tree is leafing out but no flowers. The peach is looking healthy and the lilacs will be blooming soon. Hopefully the weather will improve soon and I will be able to get out and get my hands dirty.

In the meantime I have my veggies from my CSA. I couldn't be happier with my new CSA - it is like night and day difference from the one we belonged to last year. We eat a ton of veggies around here so I really hope that between the garden and the CSA I will not have to buy veggies this summer - that would so totally help the grocery bill.

Here is a pic of what was in the box this week. Pussy Willows, rhubarb, parsnips, horseradish, ramps, sunchokes, chives and spinach. I have never had sunchokes or ramps before so I am excited about that. We have already eaten the sunchokes and parsnips - made oven roasted root veggies for dinner last night - yum! And I used the chives in a sour cream/chives dip - again yum!

For those of you local here in the Twin Cities, the CSA I joined this year is Harmony Valley and they still have openings - they are in Wisconsin and make deliveries in Madison and probably other towns as well - so my Wisconsin friends and relatives can check them out also.

Spring is coming slowly

We've had a couple of nice days with highs in the 50s. Now it is supposed to go back to being colder and rainy. Rain I can handle - that makes the garden grow - as long as it's not snow!


The lettuce hasn't bounced back yet. We'll see what the rain does for it. If it doesn't bounce back, I will just plant more. I also get my first box from the CSA next week so hopefully they will be able to keep me in lettuce (we eat a lot of salads in my house).


The Brocolli is looking great - it likes the cold weather.


I transplanted brussels sprouts yesterday and they look nice.

I am going to start setting my cabbage plants out next.

April continues to act more like March!

And I don't want to believe that I saw snow on the ground Saturday morning. I did not take a picture of it - I prefer to be in denial.

I am going to go ahead and garden and pretend that it is a normal spring. I need to do that. I need my sanity.


Here are my Packman Brocolli seedlings. I have them sitting on my patio table (that has been freed from the grape vines) "hardening off" so I can plant them in the garden later this week. They don't mind the cold and will do great.


I planted some lettuce in the garden this weekend (seedlings I had started in the basement) - the plants don't look so hot now but they will bounce back and do fine. They don't mind the cold either. It won't be long now - I'll be eating lettuce and forgetting it was ever cold real soon.

Pictures of my garden Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The tomato plants are looking very healthy in the basement.


The pepper plants are not looking so good. Most of them are not up.


The cabbage and brocolli look great - the cauliflower and brussells sprouts not so good.


I have this pile of grape vines on the patio table from the fall. What was I thinking? Did I really think I could use them to weave a basket or something? I think they need to go in the compost....


The snow shovels are still by the back door - I think we can safely put them away now.......at least I hope so.


Lilac buds will soon be fragrant flowers! I can't wait - I love lilacs in the spring.


Lillies will soon be up.


The rhubarb is awakening also.


The onions I planted on Sunday.


Andy's garlic project.


Kind of blurry - but some of Andy's garlic A (the old stuff) is actually coming up.


My next big project - I have started digging these shrubs out. I don't like the bushes in the front of the house and the rocks. I want a nice flower bed with mulch.

That's my kid! An Earth Day Story.

If there is one thing my kid is good at it is listening to every little thing even when you think he's not. I can't tell you how many times something that I have said to someone else has come out of his little mouth - and I might add, that is not always a good thing! I like to think that I am always aware of tiny ears listening and watch what I say but I don't know if that is always the case. But I digress - this time he has been listening to good things.

He was playing in his room on Sunday with his cousin Michael and Vinny from next door. The boys, ages 7, 8 and 9 were discussing Earth Day. I'm sure it is something that all three of them have been talking about in school. Here is where the repeating stuff from my mouth comes in - I heard Andy say "This is what I don't get about Earth Day - shouldn't every day be Earth Day? It is cool that there is one day dedicated to taking care of the earth, but don't we live on this earth every day - shouldn't every day be Earth Day?" Even though I know my kid does this, it still takes me back to hear by words tumble out of his mouth almost word for word as I've said them to someone else. I don't think I have even discussed Earth Day with Andy since taking care of the Earth is something we do every day.

He got those boys thinking. They talked about Earth Day for a long time and Andy even walked them out back to where I had just planted the potatoes and onions and told them that HIS MOM practices Earth Day every day. He wanted to give each of the boys a plant from the basement but I told him they could come and visit them once they are in the garden and help take care of them. I was just afraid if they took a tomato plant home it would not get planted at the proper time and end up dying. They can eat from my garden any time.

Happy Earth Day to my fellow gardeners. May every day be Earth Day!

Spring is finally here!

Today it really felt like spring and it was good to get out in the garden. I am going to be sore tomorrow though - I am very out of shape after the long winter. I planted red onion plants today that came in yesterday's mail. I also planted potatoes - Red Norland and Gold Rush.

I feel like I am getting such a late start - but what can you do when it decides to snow in April? I have a busy week working this week, but I hope I can get out in the garden some every day. I will take some pics and post them soon.