Farmer in the Stell

Milling Wheat

2012-01-26T22:20:00.000-05:00

This year we started milling our own wheat into flour. The bread that Julia then has been making from the freshly milled flour has been phenomenal! Doesn't hurt that milling your own flour is a huge cost savings as well.

Planting Bulbs

2011-11-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

Today the kids and I planted our bulbs. We planted bulbs 25 'Menton' and 25 'Blushing Girl' Tulips, 50 'Mélangé' Narcissus Daffodils, and 25 Hyacinth.

Goodbye Jack-O-Lanterns

2011-11-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, the kids and I took the pumpkins we had carved for Halloween, and said our goodbye to them. We then chopped them up into the soil of where we were going to plant our strawberry plants. Instead of just throwing them in the garbage, we figured we let them add nutrients to the soil, and hopefully in turn give us great tasting strawberries come spring. We also noticed that one of our neighbors was throwing out three full size bales of hay that they had used for their Halloween decorations, so the two older kids and I grabbed their red wagon, and loaded it up with hay and brought it back to the "homestead" to use as mulch for our strawberries.

Filling Raised Beds

2011-09-10T23:46:00.004-04:00

Since we moved this past July, we had to leave our old "homestead" and start anew. Last weekend I built two 4'x8' raised beds, and then filled them with soil. I was able to purchase 1 cubic yard for $28 from Southern Landscape Supply, and they threw in about an extra 1/2 cubic yard for free. Antonio and Julia Belén were happy to help, and really enjoyed moving moving the soil out of the truck we borrowed from our friend Peter.

For preparation of the site, I used the lazy method of removing the sod, I just laid down overlapping layers of cardboard and then took an Olfa blade and trimmed the pieces of cardboard that extended past the wood sides to the exact footprint of the beds. I had used that method in the past in our previous "Homestead," and it worked well enough, so figured I would do so again.

Moving the soil was a good workout, was tiring but felt good, was able to spend the time talking and listening to the kids, and then praying and contemplating life while shoveling (when the kids took a break to play in the woods with the neighbors). I knew that I moved a lot of soil, but felt that it wasn't too bad, then the next morning I picked up my daughter to carry her to Mass, and my arms screamed in protest. So later I was curious and looked up approximately how much a cubic yard of soil weighs, and was surprised that I moved a little more than 1.5 tons on Saturday with the help of Antonio and Julia Belén!

Preserving Peaches

2011-09-03T23:57:00.002-04:00

We just got back from a family reunion in the Outer Banks (just a week ahead of Hurricane Irene, thank God). On the way back we stopped at a farm stand in South Carolina to buy ourselves two bushels of peaches. We have been eating peaches since we arrived home with the two bushels, but it was time to start preserving them before they start to over ripen or go bad. So two nights ago, Julia started processing them, and canned some lovely jars of peach preserves, and also canned some sliced peaches. The remainder we peeled and prepped for ready made cobbler filling, and dried in our new (thanks to freecycle) dehydrator, and as an extra bonus, Julia made into a carrot peach bread.

I was excited to try out the dehydrator, as this was our first time using it. I had been dreaming of dehydrating food probably since I was in high school. I know, that is probably weird, but I love dehydrated food, and always thought it would be so cool if I could make it myself. I used to read all the backpacking magazines and see all the recipes always called for food that you dehydrate, and would be sad that I would have to scratch the recipe, due to a lack of a good way to dry the food. The kids were very interested, in the process, watching the peaches slowly shrink as they dried into our "fruit snacks." Last night, they looked pretty much ready, so I turned off the dehydrator, and we all tried some dried peaches. They were a huge hit, even Julia, who doesn't normally like dried fruit, loved them, and was finally more keen on the idea of our dehydrator taking up some counter space while it's in use (she's the master chef, so the kitchen is truly her domain, which I can't complain, with all the wonderful things she makes us!)

So now, with Julia and the kids' approval, the world of dehydrating has opened up for us. So now we'll be adding third way of preserving to our repertoire: canning, freezing, and dehydrating!

Brewing my First Batch of Beer in the New House

2011-07-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

Today we spent the day getting almost everything that was left of our things from our townhouse and cleaning up a bit over there. I moved the majority of my garden that I had in pots over to our "new" homestead. Although we are still living in canyons of boxes, I am currently brewing my first batch of beer in our new house. This time I am brewing a Honey Brown Ale, using wildflower honey. Hopefully it turns out as well as our other batches have.

Garden Harvest upon Return

2011-07-11T22:30:00.002-04:00

We just got back from driving out to Colorado for a family reunion. We had a great time, got to see family, and even was able to go see the edible gardens at the Denver Botanical Garden.

Upon arriving back home this weekend, we saw that there were vegetables waiting for us, as well as a ton more blueberries. Julia was able to make a quick Cucumber Tomato salad with apple cider vinegar and a little bit of salt. It came out delicious.

We did have a causality, well, actually about 600 to 700 causalities I am sad to say. Our worm bin became too wet while we were gone, and there were no worms left when I looked through it last night. Not sure if it was getting some rain coming in through the sides if it was windy, or if it was a factor of the food that was in the bin. I am going to have to see what I am going to do with composting with worms in the future.

First Tomatoes of the Season

2011-06-29T17:12:00.000-04:00

Today we harvested a few more blueberries, so now we are at about 1 3/4 pounds from our two blueberry bushes for the season so far. I was excited to harvest our first tomatoes of the season! They came from my Gartenperle tomato plant that I have in a hanging basket on the back patio. So far I have 5 gorgeous looking red ~1" diameter tomatoes.

Frenching Green Beans

2011-06-20T21:57:00.001-04:00

This year for Julia's birthday, one of the things the kids and I got her was a bean frencher. This past weekend we were able to try it out on some homegrown and local farmer's market green beans. The kids were very happy to help out, and Julia was amazed at how easy it was. It is a simple mechanism that slices up the green beans as you put them in from the top and turn the crank, very much like the old school pencil sharpeners that used to be on walls of classrooms.

It was a huge hit! The kids love eating french cut beans, and quickly ate every one we put on their plates. Now Julia is itching to get a pressure canner, so we can start canning our own french cut green beans, now that we'll also have more space to grow a larger quantity of green beans.

Blueberry Season is Here!

2011-06-15T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today we harvested our first blueberries from our two blueberry bushes we have in the yard! The kids were very excited, they had been following the progress of the berries all spring, seeing how they were little green balls, then slowly darkening as they grew. So this morning we (the kids, while I telecommuted from our yard that is) picked 3.64 oz of blueberries. I am thinking that we may expand and get maybe two more bushes next spring, as we will finally have more space. We harvested just over 2 pounds last year from these bushes, and so hopefully we will harvest a bit more now that they are three year old plants this year, but with an additional two, we may be able to grow all the blueberries we eat for the year. We are finally going to move into a house that has a yard, I'll tell you more about that later, but what that means is that I am going to get to restart my garden, but also expand it.

New Raised Beds

2011-06-02T23:18:00.002-04:00

Here are pictures of the "Homestead".

Green Beans on the Berm

May 11th

The Klein Box

I was given the gift of a raised bed from a friend who had extra wood, and so I decided to go ahead and make myself another one I had been playing with adding as well. So now I have space that I didn’t originally think I would have back when I was starting seeds, there are plants I want to grow now (and have seeds for), but was afraid that it was too late, but with talking with Julia and seeing a post from Chiot's Run has encouraged me to go ahead and try. And it may work out for the best as are going tob be busy during high harvest time, so this may delay the harvest just perfectly (hadn’t thought about that aspect).

Brewing Beer

2011-05-24T18:06:00.000-04:00

This year Julia surprised me with a beer brewing kit for my birthday. I had been talking about wanting to venture into brewing our own beer for a while, loving the idea of having a beer that is as local as our own home (although yes, some of the ingredients may not be super local, but I hope to change that). I like the idea that it is one more thing that we make ourselves, that we control and know what exactly goes into it, so we can avoid the preservatives and additives that are going into our store bought goods (yes, even beer have preservatives added to them). Brewing beer fall perfectly in line with our push to a more frugal budget, if you don't count the initial cost of the brewing kit (as that was a gift), with the cost of the ingredients the beer came out to 66 cents a beer. One of the things that helped was that I was able to get all my bottles for free, by going to our local liquor store after they had a beer tasting, and asked for all their non screw-top empties, and my brother-in-law gave me a box of empties that he wasn't using from when he used to brew.

I brewed my first batch of beer, it was North Rim Wheat. I was nervous that it wouldn't turn out, but we have been happily enjoying them now that they are done. I couldn't be happier, it is a deliciously smooth tasting wheat beer.

Now I am dreaming of growing our own hops, wheat and barley (although maybe not barley, as that may not grow so well here in the south, although Walter Reeves says it may be possible, "Outdoor cultivation is more problematic. Barley sprouts very well in October but cold weather can kill it. If you want to grow it for grain, the best planting time is February. You’ll be able to harvest the golden seeds in summer.").

I have now started brewing my second batch of beer. This time I am trying an Amber beer.

Tomatoes

2011-05-24T15:35:00.000-04:00

My tomatoes are doing well, the ones that I have in my hanging pot have little blooms already forming.

I have decided that I am going to start my tomatoes at least 3 weeks earlier next year, and then just transplanting into my yogurt containers while it is still too cold outside, that way when it is warm enough for them to go outside, they will be more established. Of the tomatoes that I transplanted directly into the raised bed, half of them are struggling, while all the ones that I transplanted into my yogurt containers are doing quite well.

Radishes

2011-05-17T22:34:00.000-04:00

Earlier this May the kids were excited that there were radishes ready. They are always willing to try them after the excitement of harvesting them, but haven't truly acquired a taste for them yet.

Strawberry Jam

2011-05-06T23:54:00.000-04:00

Last week Julia preserved some of the strawberries that we had picked from a local farm, as Strawberry Jam. The kids got into the action by helping mash the strawberries down, each waiting eagerly to take their turn.

She then got out our canning pot, and boiled the jars and filled them, so that they stand ready for our later enjoyment.

Strawberry Fields

2011-05-04T18:38:00.000-04:00

The other week after work we all went out to a local farm to pick strawberries. We had a blast, the kids loved finding the plump read strawberries that asking to be picked. It is surprising haw fast we were able to collect 3 gallons worth with their help. We plan on eating some fresh, making strawberry jam, and then freezing the rest. Last year the strawberry jam Julia preserved allowed us to go the whole year without having to purchase any jam or jelly, it was great knowing that our whole year supply was homemade!

Easter Grass

2011-04-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

I had been wanting to try to grow our own "Easter Grass" for the past two years, and finally I am doing it this year. The reasons for doing so, are that we can not stand the fake plastic grass that gets everywhere, and want a more sustainable natural method of decorating the kid's Easter baskets. They were very excited to grow grass for their baskets, and helped fill the little tray with soil and put down a layer of wheat berries and then sprinkle them with water. We currently have a 5 gallon bin of wheat that we intend to grind into flour, so I was able to steal a few handfuls to use for the Easter baskets. Below is picture of the wheat six days later.

Irrigation System

2011-04-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

This spring I decided to expand my irrigation system with a micro sprinkler system. It is by the same brand as the drip irrigation system that I installed last year for my potted plants in my patio, and connects to the timer. For the last few years I had been using a soaker hose for the non-potted plants, but been having to replace the hoses pretty much every year. So when I was going to buy a new one for this year, I started looked at other options, as the base system for the micro sprinklers is slightly more than twice as much than the soaker hose, I decided to try it, with the thought that this will last me much longer than the soaker hoses had been, and will be cost effective in the long run. I have been happy with the level of control that this gives me. I can adjust the amount of water getting to different plants in ways that the soaker hose never allowed. We'll see how it does in the heat of the summer.

Blueberries

2011-03-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

Last summer our then two year old blueberry bushes gave us over 2 pounds of measured berries (there were many that never made it to the scales, as they went straight into the mouths of Antonio and Julia Belén). It was a joy to have the bushes in our yard.

The kids really got excited about going out and checking the bushes, and watching the progress of the berries, watching as the grew in size, and turned from green to a nice dark rich blue. Once the berries were ready, we had a few weeks where the kids would constantly take little breaks from playing and you would find them elbow deep into the bushes picking juicy snacks.

Natural Sugar Snap Pea Supports

2011-03-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

First, I apologize for the lack of posts. We have been very busy lately with the birth of our third child, but I intend to get into the habit of posting more. This past weekend we started our working on our spring garden. Antonio and Julia Belén helped me put together the supports for the sugar snap peas we had soaking from overnight. We used the trimmings from our hydrangea bush that I had purposely kept for this very reason. I like the natural look the exhibit, as well, can't beat the fact that they are free. After we put the branches into the raised bed, and I tied off the tops, the kids sowed the peas for me, the plants may end up coming up in clumps, as Julia Belén didn't quite understand the concept of the spacing, but she at least kept the peas in their correct squares in the raised bed.

Carrots

2011-02-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend we finally decided to harvest the rest of the carrots we had in the raised bed. Antonio and Julia Belén were very excited, as they both remember sowing the seeds and were able to watch them grow, (also doesn't hurt that Curious George grew carrots as well). We harvested almost 36 ounces. The carrots taste wonderful, both Julia Belén and Antonio can't get enough of them.

Wintersown.org Seeds

2011-01-11T00:14:00.000-05:00

I am excited about the seeds we received from Wintersown.org this past weekend. I guess as a thanks for sending them some seeds I had collected from my tomato plants, they fulfilled my request with my 6 choices and my 4 alternates. And then for good measure included an ornamental pepper and Basil 'Napolitano Bolloso' seeds. Here is a list of what I received in my self addressed, stamped envelope.

Tiny Tim ~ Abundant, yum red cherries on dwarf plants, nice for containers and planters, DET, 58+ DTM

MoneyMaker ~ Good cropper for hot and humid regions, has quite tasty red fruits, most about 4 ounces, IND, 75+ DTM

Great White ~ Large creamy-white heirloom beefsteak, beautiful and delicious, large plants, IND, 85 DTM

Gartenperle ~ Dwarf plants crop loades small red cherries, novelty for containers and baskets, DET, 75+ DTM

Golden Cherokee ~ Delicious bicolor version of Cherokee Purple, nice fruit set, can weigh over 8 ounces, IND, about 80 DTM

Cuore di Bue ~ Italian oxhearts can weigh eight ounces, excellent flavor, yum for slicing or sauce, IND, about 80 DTM

Alternates:

Bradley ~ Makes loads of 10 ounce red fruits, fine for fresh eating and nice canning type too, Semi-DET, about 80 DTM

Indiana Baltimore ~ 1930s farm variety produces loads of oblate scarlet-red fruits, reliable and yum cropper, IND, 75+ DTM

Islea ~ Venezualan variety crops loads of ruffled, oblate, dark pink-to-red fruits, juicy and yum, IND, 75 DTM

Azoychka ~ Lemon-yellow beefsteaks can weigh about a half-pound each, crops early and has great flavor, IND, 70+ DTM

Last Harvest Before Frost

2010-11-04T21:47:00.000-04:00

We are expecting our first frost tonight, with it dropping into the upper 20's by Saturday night. So this evening Antonio, Julia Belén and I went outside to harvest all the remaining tomatoes. We brought in 162.4 ounces.

While we were in the garden Antonio recognized the carrot tops protruding from the soil, so he pulled out two that looked ready. And Julia Belén was very excited to bring them into the house.

Tonight's Dinner

2010-05-26T20:06:00.001-04:00

Tonight's dinner wasn't anything special, but I did like that more than half the contents were home grown.

A bed of lettuce with cilantro, radishes and lemon basil topped by taquitos and sour cream with minced dried cayenne peppers (from last years garden), rice and a beer. We are not home-brewing our own beer yet, but that is a dream of mine, some day. So if you couldn't guess the non home grown ingredients: taquitos, sour cream rice and beer. But we have talked about making our own taquitos, I think that is very feasible. The next time we make some homemade tortillas we just need to save a few to wrap and then fry as taquitos (although this leans heavily on Julia's expertise, mine tends to run more for the outdoors).

Pikey Lot

2010-05-24T21:14:00.000-04:00

Today I walked the dogs over to the Pikey lot to take a look at where I had sowed some watermelon, winter squash and pumpkin seeds. I wasn't really expecting much, but to my surprise 8 little seedlings have sprouted up. I am excited to see what they are, as I can't remember which I planted exactly where.

Raised Bed Vertical Support

2010-05-04T15:36:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago, Antonio and I went out to the Pikey lot, and sowed some watermelon, pumpkin and winter squash seeds. Hopefully they come up, but we shall see, since this is going to by a primarily unmanned garden that we may check once in a while.

Last weekend Antonio and I bought ourselves a few plants for our garden. Some of the plants we bought were a Strawberry plant, that had two strawberries ready for picking already on it, Lemon Thyme, and Stevia. Julia and I decided to give Stevia a try (although we grew it once years before, we didn't do anything with it then). We plan on possibly using it instead of sugar when possible. It can be done with either the green leaves, or by drying and then grinding the leaves into a powder (if we have enough, we may plan on doing both). Approximately 6 large leaves chopped finely is a substitute for 1/2 cup of sugar for baking or in cooked recipes. 1 teaspoon of ground stevia is equal to 1 cup of sugar; 2 drops of liquid essence is equal to 1 teaspoon sugar. Antonio and I also picked up a Citronella Scented Geranium, we'll see if it works in keeping the mosquito population away from our patio some. Here is a picture of one of our two blueberry bushes at the end of April.

This past weekend I transplanted the majority of my tomatoes into the garden, most going into the raised bed. And on Sunday night I put together the vertical frame for the raised bed, which the tomatoes and cucumbers will climb up. Antonio is very excited about the progress of the radishes in the raised bed, which he is currently confusing with a tomato (probably due to its color).

Easter Garden

2010-04-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

Our garden has slowly been coming around as warmer temperatures of spring have finally arrived. Here are pictures around the garden from Easter weekend. Our blueberry bushes have tons of blooms on them, hopefully that means we'll have a decent yield of blueberries this year.

Garden Reduction

2010-04-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

My garden this year is going to have to be reduced in size by slightly more than a half of the size that it was at its largest last summer. First, the portion of the garden that was growing on the berm behind our yard, I am not going to use, as it drew too much of the eye of our HOA, and I would rather remain below their radar if possible. It also turns out that my neighbor that didn't use her yard, and allowed my to use the space last year, does not want me to use it this year, as her father (who watches her kids for her) wants to do something. My first reaction was to be upset, but in all honesty, I can't be upset, the space is technically behind her house, so if she doesn't want me to use it, she has every right to. I will just have to be patient and wait until we move to a house with a real yard to really start growing the amounts and varieties of plants that I would love to grow. Below is a picture of my neighbor's garden space I was using from last summer (that is her door that is barricaded by a couch in the middle of the picture.

And below is a picture of the watermelon and summer squash I had growing on the berm last summer.

On a side note, I took over some freshly harvested broccoli to her, as some of it came from the space behind her yard, as well as a good portion coming from my yard. She took it from me, and and asked what it was, and then thanked me and gave it back, saying that she doesn't know how to cook it. Weird. . . But oh well, I was trying to share, and be nice.

Square Foot Raised Bed

2010-03-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Antonio and I built the frame of our raised bed, and mixed and then filled the bed. Our mix was from the Square Foot Gardening Book, which is 4 cubic feet of peat moss, 4 cubic feet of mixed compost, and 4 cubic feed of vermiculite. The vermiculite was the hardest to find, it took me a while to finally find it. Luckily my local nursery (Woody's Nursery) got some in stock the day I had decided to finally build the raised bed. The hardest part was mixing the ingredients, they got quite heavy, and Antonio was only able to help so much.

This weekend I finally transplanted the brocolli and cabbage that had been growing under my light shelves, and sowed more cilantro, lettuce, spinach, radishes and carrots. So the Spring Raised bed is done, and everything will grow well, and be ready to harvest before the summer plants need to go in. You can see more information about the plants that I have in our Square Foot Raised Bed by following its link to MyFolia website.

Carrot Harvest

2010-03-24T21:18:00.000-04:00

Back in the end of February Antonio was very excited to show Julia the carrots we were growing, and when we told him that he could go ahead and harvest them, he was really excited. When he showed them to me, he told me "como George" referring to the episode of Curios George where he grows carrots in his yard.

Cinnamon Buns

2010-03-19T09:26:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago (I know, I have been bad about posting lately) Julia made a batch of delicious cinnamon buns from scratch. Antonio helped out, and of course we are all helping out in eating them. Julia made enough that we have batches still in the freezer, that we all look forward to pulling out and enjoying on the weekends.

Tomato & Sugar Snap Pea Sowing

2010-03-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

I went over my tomato seed stash, and ended up picking out 12 varieties that I am thinking of growing, although two of them are small tomatoes (Black Prince and Tumbling Tom) that I plan on growing hanging baskets. I am excited to try them, as all but one of the varieties are new to me this year. I just don't know where I am going to grow them yet.

Over the past few days I have finally gotten around to sowing the seeds, and setting them up in my light-shelves.

Like most things I tend to do (ask Julia), I don't account for how long they will actually take. On my task to-do list was to sow our sugar snap peas outside. I finally got to it after helping getting the kids ready for bed, while Julia was reading them a bedtime story, I was outside with my headlamp quickly preparing soil and sowing 40 sugar snap seeds. Hopefully these do better than my fall planting did. The unseasonably long span of below freezing days we had in January did them under. They had just all started blooming, with their white flowers opening up, promising fresh sugar snap peas, to only wither away.

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally

2010-02-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

I am currently reading the book 'Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally' I am enjoying the book thoroughly. I just came across a quote that makes a good argument for eating locally (outside of that fact of having a smaller footprint), when the author is talking to a registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetics: "Food begins to lose nutrition as soon as it is harvested. Fruit and vegetables that travel shorter distances are therefore likely to be closer to a maximum of nutrition. Nowadays, we know a lot more about the naturally occurring substances in produce. It's not just the vitamins and minerals, but all these phytochemicals and really powerful disease-fighting substances, and we do know that when a food never really reaches its peak ripeness, the levels of these substances never get as high." pg. 228

The nutritionist recommends gathering fresh foods at their peak, freeze or can the surplus, and consume them within six months. We as a family have started trying to eat this way as much as we reasonably can for about a year now, although no where as near as strict as the authors of the book. But it is not always easy, the convenience is sometimes hard to resist, and it has become routine and habit for many, but we have to think about the future, is it really more convenient when our health may be on the line?

Lemon Blueberry Skillet Cake

2010-01-16T22:17:00.000-05:00

Today I harvested one of my Meyer Lemons, and took out some of the blueberries we had picked ourselves from a local farm this summer, out of the freezer, to make a recipe that I saw recently in the garden blog Chiot's Run. I had a lot of fun baking it with Antonio's help. He always helps Julia out with the baking, so he was able to tell me what to do at each next step. It was my first attempt at baking something from scratch. I was really happy with how it turned out, and everyone in the family is really enjoying it.

Winter Carrots

2009-12-15T13:31:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Antonio and I went out into the garden and harvested one of our Nelson carrots. He was so excited as we pulled it out of the ground. He told me that it reminded him of the Curious George episode where he grows carrots. He immediately wanted to go and show Julia what he helped grow and harvest. We were able to enjoy the carrot in salad later that evening.

Garden Progress

2009-11-25T12:50:00.016-05:00

We are traveling in Colorado for the Thanksgiving holidays, enjoying
time with family. But here are some pictures of the garden from the
19th of November from before we left.

Eggs with Cayenne Pepper

2009-11-20T09:20:00.006-05:00

Wednesday morning I stepped out into the garden to harvest some cayenne peppers. My cayenne pepper plant doesn't seem to realize that it is no longer summer, and is still producing away. I sliced one up and added it to two free range eggs (one a great looking blue egg from an Araucana chicken, the other a nice creamy white egg) and added some cheddar cheese. The eggs were delicious, had a nice spicy kick and flavoring to them with cayenne slices cooked in. It is a great feeling being able to just step out to the garden to find ingredients to a meal that I am preparing. Can't get more local than your own yard.

Wintersown Tomatoes

2009-11-12T17:13:00.004-05:00

I went ahead and sent in my request for tomato seeds along with some seeds that I had saved from some tomatoes we had purchased from our Farmer's Market to Wintersown.org. They sent me all the ones I had requested, plus the alternates I had listed as well.

Wintersown sent me:

Green Zebra ~ Pretty, 3 ounce fruits ripen to light green with dark green streaking, very tasty, IND, 78 DTM

Black Prince ~ Dark brick-toned fruits about 2 - 3 ounces each, very productive, quite yum, IND, 72+ DTM

Dr. Wyche's Yellow ~ Delicious golden-yellow beefsteaks, most weighing over a half-pound, large plants, IND, 80 DTM

Black Krim ~ Mahogany-brown fruits with green shoulders, have green gel around seeds, delicious, IND, 75+ DTM

Rio Fuego ~ Blocky red paste is known for high sugar content, makes great sauce, excellent for salad too, DET, 75+ DTM

Grightmire's Pride ~ Pink oxheart tomato, mdeium-size fruits, so very yum, a bit earlier than most oxhearts. IND, 78+ DTM

Old German ~ Mennonite tomato has gold and yellow fruits with red and pink streaks, yum and pretty, IND, about 85 DTM

Golden Jubilee ~ Wonderful variety grown for decades, 3" yellow-orange globes, delicious, IND, 70 DTM

Arkansas Traveler ~ Delicious pink tomatoes about 8 oz., good cropper for hot and humid climates, IND, 85 DTM

Luther Burbank's WonderBerries ~ Solanum x burbankii,Historic, garden huckleberry makes small deep blue berries on short plants, best used for pies or jam, DET about 85 DTM

And they sent Lime Basil and Chinese Cabbage seeds as additional freebies. Wintersown is such a great program for keeping the heirloom varieties alive, and helps keep the cost of gardening down as well.

Fall Homestead Progress

2009-10-30T13:24:00.010-04:00

The fall plants are doing well for the most part. The peas are starting to climb up their strings, and the Garlic 'German Red' has started sprouting already.

The brussels sprouts and cabbage are looking promising. The loose leaf lettuce is sprouting nicely as well. Looking forward to getting some delicious lettuce salads again. The other evening we were enjoying some fruits from our labor, we had some really good tasting homemade bread with homemade butter.

Last of the Fall Transplants

2009-10-26T08:59:00.005-04:00

Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous day, couldn't have asked for a nicer fall day, the sun was out, but it was nice and cool due to the breeze. So while the kids were napping I got outside and removed more of the tomato plants that are done for the season, and transplanted the rest of the fall plants that I still had in my seed starting shelves. The transplants consisted of two more Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, and Cabbage. The ones that I had transplanted already are looking good for the most part. A few are being attacked by some leaf eating pest, but the ones along the east side of the house seem to be taking off pretty well.

Antonio Feeding the Worms

2009-10-21T22:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, Antonio was playing at "Feeding the Worms." He pretended to eat some letter shapes, and then put them into his Elmo connector container which was his "Compost Crock" (which is the same shape as the ceramic one we have on the counter). Then we went over to a different part of the family room, and poured out the container, the whole time saying "dandole de comer a los gusanos (feeding the worms)." I think its great that he plays at composting, growing up as it being something normal to do as a normal part of life.

Frost Warning

2009-10-20T06:37:00.000-04:00

We harvested the last of our sun ripened tomatoes at the end of last week. We had some varieties that we really liked, and others that I may not try growing again.

This weekend we had a frost warning, as temperatures were to drop to 32 on Sunday night. It was nice feeling the briskness in the fall air. We lit our fire place for the first time this fall, and the house was full of great warm smells of fresh bread baking, and pumpkin bread baking as well. I had to go out into the garden and harvest the rest of our tomatoes. I pulled about 4 pounds worth. So now, to figure out what do to with all the green tomatoes, Julia may try to pickle some, I may cook some in green tomato recipes, and then I may try to store some wrapped in paper and see if they last us through November that way.

Chicken Coop, revisited

2009-10-16T16:51:00.005-04:00

Not that I am looking for a chicken coop, but if I was, this is the one I probably would want. It's called the "Little Egg Chicken Tractor" sold by GardenEggs. It would be big enough for us to grow into, (as we are thinking of starting with 3 chickens, when we finally can have chickens) and easy enough to move around a yard.

Chicken Coop

2009-10-16T08:55:00.003-04:00

Two nights ago I admitted to Julia that I entered a raffle to win a chicken coop. Not quite sure what I'd do with it if I did win, but, I never win things, so I should be okay. Maybe I can give it to someone who has a yard as an incentive to get chickens if I for some reason do win.

Suwanee Farmer's Market

2009-10-12T13:20:00.008-04:00

I am sad, this Saturday was the last day of our local farmer's market here in Suwanee. We ended up going almost every Saturday morning since the first week of May. It was so nice having the fruits and vegetables that we were able to get to supplement what we grew ourselves (the other way around to be honest, someday, maybe, we'll be able to grow more than we buy). But the free range eggs are what I am really going to miss over the colder seasons until the farmer's market opens up again in spring. The eggs were just so much better. They looked completely different, and tasted so much better, and from what I have read, I knew that they were so much healthier for us as well. You can read the facts at Free Range-Eggs.

The idea of not having fresh eggs has us (mostly me, as Julia is a bit more realistic than me when it comes to our dreams and ideas) brainstorming of ways to get our eggs. We both know that we want to have a few hens as soon as we live in a place where that is feasible, but I brought up the idea of guerilla chickens to go along with our guerilla garden (I am sure the HOA would LOVE that). . . Have a few hens, and let them live in the magnolia trees next to our house, and plead ignorance as to how they got there, or how they are being fed if anyone asks. But alas, we'll have to wait to raise our own, and hopefully find a source near us for the winter.

But if there ever happen to be chickens in our neighborhood. . I know nothing about them. . .

Canning Frenzy

2009-10-06T08:32:00.001-04:00

Sunday night Julia got into a canning frenzy, she made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce and canned that. Julia then also made a really good smelling salsa out of our homegrown tomatoes and cayenne peppers that she is going to can as well.

Fall Transplanting

2009-10-05T09:20:00.005-04:00

This past Saturday Antonio and I got out into the garden and sowed more lettuce seeds of various varieties, and some spinach. He really enjoyed pushing the spinach seeds into the soil with his fingertip. And on Sunday Antonio and transplanted about half of our seedlings we had growing under lights. We now have some Brussels sprouts, broccoli (Packman and De Cicco) and some cabbage planted outside. I am excited to see how the brussels sprouts will do, as it is our first attempt at growing them, the surprising thing is that we only last year discovered that we really like eating them.

Lemon Basil Vinegar

2009-10-03T23:28:00.001-04:00

I finally got down and made some lemon basil vinegar from the lemon basil I had harvested earlier in the week. I wonder how it will turn out. So the jars are packed with the basil, and filled with vinegar, and now sitting on the kitchen counter. I'll have to stir them a few times a week. In a two or three weeks, they should be ready.

Basil Harvest

2009-10-01T21:33:00.001-04:00

Antonio and I harvested a bumper crop of our herbs, mostly basil (of all three varieties I grew this year), but also some oregano and mint as well to tide us over for the winter. He was so proud of the harvest, that he would show each container to Julia, so she could see it and smell it. I am in the process of drying most of the herbs (so our house smelled strongly of basil last night). We are planning to make some pesto to freeze with some of it, and I may experiment with making Lemon Basil Vinegar.

Sugar Snap Peas

2009-09-30T22:32:00.003-04:00

Last night I soaked some peas, and today I was able to get outside and enjoy this great fall weather and sowed 50 pea seeds. Hopefully I did not wait too long to do so.

Watermelon

2009-09-28T17:32:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday night we opened up the watermelon we harvested early in the week (the 18.8 pounder). It was delicious, and smelled so strongly of sweet watermelon, that both our kids couldn't help themselves and started digging in and eating the watermelon too.

Watermelon Harvest

2009-09-20T21:18:00.004-04:00

Today we finally harvested the Watermelon 'Moon & Stars' that was growing huge on the berm. The plant was grown from seeds that my friend Andrew gave me for my birthday (from seeds he saved from a watermelon he had purchased at a farmer's market). We would look at it every time we sat down to eat in the dining room. We weighed it, we couldn't use the kitchen scale, that came up with an error, so we used our Wii Fit. The one watermelon weighed in at 18.8 lbs! (Outweighing our daughter Julia Belén!) We have one more little one growing still up on the berm, hopefully that one keeps growing too.

Thanks Andrew.

Gazpacho

2009-09-17T14:54:00.002-04:00

Last night we finished the rest of our batch of Gazpacho that Julia had made. It was delicious, and it comprised of all homegrown ingredients other than the onion. We used the typical red but also some of our yellow tomatoes for the batch of Gazpacho. I said that it is gone, and sad that I didn't have the forethought to have taken a picture of it to share with everyone.

September 9th Harvest

2009-09-10T07:20:00.001-04:00

Even with the latest attack of the caterpillars, I was still able to harvest a decent amount yesterday.

Blueberry Caterpillars

2009-09-10T06:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I noticed that there were a bunch of caterpillars on my Rabbiteye Blueberry. I am not sure what kind of caterpillar they are, but I made the mistake of touching one, and it definitely hurt my fingertip. They have what look like two eyes that are actually white spots on one end, and bristles on each end, and along their bottom.

Tomato Hookworms

2009-09-06T09:36:00.000-04:00

This Sunday I went out to water the tomatoes, and noticed a ton of tomato hookworms on my tomatoes, they had been devastating my tomatoes in what seems like just two days. I pulled them all off and killed them. The one good thing that I noticed is that some had white things that are small cocoons of a parasitic wasp that eats the insides of the caterpillar and they soon emerge as wasps where they will go out and start the reproduction and munching cycle over again on more caterpillars. I was in a rush to get out to church, so I did not take a picture of them, but they are pretty mean looking with their red hook.

Homestead Tomato Variety

2009-08-26T22:23:00.002-04:00

Today we harvested our first tomato from our "Homestead" variety. A nice 7+ ounce tomato.

Guerilla Gardening battle with HOA

2009-08-13T09:46:00.003-04:00

Sad to say, that I may have to pull up a whole section of my garden that I planted, since it was a guerilla garden on land that I don't own, and never had permission to grow on. I made a point of not disturbing the HOA's plantings, only planting where they had mulch that tends to gets washed away by rain. We thought it looked better, and I know it was helping the stop the erosion that their mulch never does on land that is not being used for anything else. Luckily our green bean harvest in that area has already produced a bunch, but really sad about the watermelons. We have one growing really nicely, already a nice size, that I am told has to be pulled out immediately. But I am fighting them over some of my garden, because they are saying that I have to pull everything out, even the garden I have next to our patio under our kitchen window. I told him in no way am I removing that, as I have written permission dating back to Spring 2003 from the former HOA company giving me permission to plant there.

I personally can't stand this HOA company. Last fall a bush that they had planted did damage to our plumbing, and cost us a total of $1300 to repair (which included the price for the removal of said bush). When I asked the HOA company to cover at least the cost of the removal, they said that we were in charge of it, but now that I am taking care of the plants around my house, they tell me to take it out. So they only care when it is convenient to them, or doesn't cost them any money.

Fall Vegetable Sowing

2009-08-02T19:55:00.005-04:00

Today I started indoors Broccoli, both Packman and De Cicco varieties, some Catskills Brussels Sprouts and Brunswick Cabbage to grow for our fall vegetables. Looking forward to hopefully eating some Brussels sprouts around Thanksgiving.

First Non-Stolen Tomatoes

2009-08-01T09:34:00.001-04:00

FINALLY!!! We were able to harvest some of our tomatoes!

Carrots and Green Beans

2009-07-31T21:00:00.003-04:00

This past week we harvested a handful of carrots that had started to crest up out of the soil. Antonio was intrigued, perhaps due to having seen the episode of Curious George where George grows and then later picks carrots.

Thursday evening Antonio, Julia Belén and I went out into the garden and decided it was time to really start picking the green beans. So I got out a bucket and Antonio started picking green beans and ended up picking 7.8 ounces worth of green beans. I grilled some of the green beans in Spanish olive oil and kosher salt, it came out delicious.

Butter Making

2009-07-29T20:56:00.001-04:00

Sunday was a busy day in regards to our homesteading efforts, allbeit, not as much regarding the garden. I made butter out of a pint of store-bought cream for the first time Sunday, and stored it in our new butter bell. We had some on our homemade bread Sunday night, and it was really good, and it was nice having butter that is so soft and spreadable. Julia was busy sewing Sunday, and finished her first pajama pants that she is making for Antonio. I think that is such a great accomplishment, seeing the finished pants and know that Julia made them herself.

Oh, and on Friday Julia made some Artisan bread, that we all devoured later that evening, it was delicious.

Tomato, Basil, Cucumber, Feta Cheese and Bullhorn Pepper

2009-07-16T11:00:00.000-04:00

The other night Julia made a dish with our homegrown Tumbling Toms, Genovese Basil, and our first Diva Cucumber. It was delicious.

And we harvested our first Bullhorn pepper of the season. A full 7 ounces.

Homesteading Activities

2009-07-15T21:30:00.001-04:00

On our way back from our week long vacation in Tennessee we stopped at a local peach farm and bought a large basket of peaches. And upon getting home Julia started canning peaches, and made a batch of wheat bread. The jars are sporting the labels I designed for Julia as part of her birthday present. The image on the label is a picture of our lemon tree that I took.

And actually before we left she canned a batch of sauerkraut that she had been fermenting for about 3 and a half weeks.

Stolen Tomato

2009-07-15T20:38:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I was looking forward to enjoying our first larger tomato (as so far all of the tomatoes harvested have been Tumbling Toms), and saw that one was close to ready while I was watering it in the morning. I figured I'd give it until the afternoon to ripen further. But lo and behold, when I went back to harvest it, someone had already cut it off the vine. So now I have been patrolling my tomatoes as a few more are close to being ready.

June Harvest Tally

2009-07-05T21:53:00.002-04:00

Our monthly Harvest Tally for the month of June, not counting herbs (too lazy to weigh them) was 23.81 ounces. Doesn't seem like much, but at least it is a start, and we got to eat all the locally grown organic food, knowing that our sweat and effort went into growing it.

Tumbling Toms

2009-06-26T10:13:00.004-04:00

Last night we ate our first homegrown heirloom tomatoes. They were so delicious. They were exploding with flavor, and so juicy, it was wonderful. We are excited to try our other heirloom varieties as they start to come in.

Homestead Dreams

2009-06-26T07:21:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we went to a wedding outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was held at our friend's parent's house, which was an old farmhouse that had been renovated and expanded. It was gorgeous. I can only dream and hope that some day we'll be able to find an old farm house and land in such a gorgeous setting to fix up and make our own.

First Blueberry

2009-06-23T12:23:00.001-04:00

Just before our extended weekend vacation, I harvested my first
homegrown blueberry. Yes, you read right, one, solitary blueberry, but
grown in our garden. This was the first year for these two blueberry
plants, so hopefully, their yield will improve with time.

Basil & Blue Lake Bush Beans

2009-06-08T16:37:00.007-04:00

This past weekend I finally got all the basil that was still in my closet on the light shelves out into the garden and into the ground or pots. The varieties were Genovese, Lemon and Opal. I also sowed all the Blue Lake Bush Beans I had gotten from WinterSown.org at the base of the berm.

As an update, some of the Basil is being attacked during the nights, particularly the Opal variety. I believe the culprits are june bugs and pill bugs (rolypolys). I guess the june bugs may have been avoided had I got the basil started on time, and were more established by this point in the season when all the young june bugs start emerging. I have read that putting corn meal around the plants may help, so I may try that, to hopefully give my basil a fighting chance.

Around the Garden

2009-06-03T11:39:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures of some plants in bloom around the garden this morning.One of the Balloon Flowers that I transplanted out onto the berm.
One of the giant blooms on the onions.
Radish Flower

Two Zephyr Flowers

Alfalfa sprouts

2009-06-02T07:37:00.001-04:00

I started another batch of alfalfa sprouts last night. I've been missing them on my sandwhiches, eggs & salads.

Cooking our Sugar Snap Peas

2009-05-30T08:28:00.006-04:00

This past week Julia cooked a dish comprising solely of the sugar snap peas that we grew in our garden. They were delicious and very easy to make.

Here's what she did:

- Saute some chopped onions in a little bit of butter and olive oil until soft.

- Add a few tablespoons of water and the prepped sugar snap peas. Cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes.

- Take off the lid, turn up the heat and cook on high for a few minutes until the water cooks out. And you're done!

A variation could be to cook some bacon in the pan first, take out the bacon, and then use the leftover grease to cook the onion instead of the butter and oil.

Around the Garden

2009-05-24T16:13:00.006-04:00

We've finally got most of the seeds into the ground, and the seedlings as well. The tomatoes are in the ground and doing well in my neighbor's yard (that I had asked earlier in the year if I could plant since she doesn't ever use her yard. I have also done a bit guerilla gardening, I transplanted winter squash and watermelons into the berm behind our house (they are the small plants that have the white plant id tags in the picture). By adding plant tags, I am hoping that the HOA maintenance people don't rip them out or spray them, and let them fill the bare spaces there in the berm. We have had some pretty busy weekends and evenings with the amount of time the garden has taken on top of taking care of two children and two dogs, but hopefully it will be worth it. Sometimes I start to get stressed feeling that I am getting behind on the garden or missing key windows for planting, but I just need to step back and enjoy the small successes that we are already achieving. As Michaela Cavallaro recently said in Organic Gardening: "I hope to be content with my successes--and accept the inevitable failures. Above all, I want to slow down. If we save a few bucks on groceries and eat a few more veggies in the process, so much the better."

Bush Beans

2009-05-16T14:42:00.004-04:00

Today Antonio and I sowed some Bush Beans of the Medinah variety. We sowed some dill, radishes and carrots along with them. Here are a few pictures of the garden & Antonio trying out his new helmet.

Worms

2009-05-14T07:39:00.008-04:00

On Wednesday our shipment of a pound of worms (approximately 500 worms) arrived. How exciting. Antonio was all oo's and ah's, but did not want to try to touch them. So our worms are now happily in their new home (or at least we hope), in our home-made compost bin. I am excited to finally start composting our kitchen scraps and producing our very own fertilizer. One step closer to closing the loop and being more self sufficient at our little homestead.

Harvesting Lettuce

2009-05-07T21:08:00.000-04:00

This Monday night we harvested 2.1 ounces of our organic lettuce. That was enough for all three of us to make salads using only homegrown lettuce. Up to now we had been adding our homegrown lettuce to our store-bought lettuce. It was definitely a nice feeling to be eating something that we knew came about by the efforts of our labor.

Alfalfa Sprouts

2009-05-07T08:44:00.001-04:00

I started another batch of alfalfa sprouts. Can't get over how easy it is to grow sprouts to have when ever I want.

Lemon Basil, Opal Basil, & Genovese Basil

2009-04-30T22:23:00.002-04:00

I was excited when I got the mail today, because we received our free basil seeds from www.tomatoheirlooms.com. So I sowed some Lemon Basil, Opal Basil and Genovese Basil. I also transplanted a few more of our tomatoes into small pots.

Blueberry & Sweet Alyssum

2009-04-29T12:46:00.002-04:00

I sowed some Sweet Alyssum seeds around my blueberries, to act as a living mulch, and attract bees. I am excited, I found out that the Rabbit-Eye Blueberry plant I have is actually native to the area.

Blueberries

2009-04-26T14:15:00.002-04:00

This weekend we purchased and potted two blueberry plants. One is a Tiftblue and the other is a Rabbit-Eye Blueberry. I am excited, as Antonio and I love eating blueberries, and I love their little white flowers, and the spectacular red leaves in the fall.

Snap Pea Flowers

2009-04-24T11:37:00.003-04:00

We noticed that our Snap Peas flowers are starting to bloom, so that hopefully means that we'll be having some snap peas soon.

Cooking with Cuban Oregano

2009-04-23T08:23:00.002-04:00

I was curious how people typically cook with Cuban Oregano, so I did some research on it, and this is what I have found:

Can be used (fresh or dried) in tomato based sauces (for use on any type of meat), or if ground fine - use in egg, macaroni, potato salads, fresh cut leaves can also be used (if cut fine) in tossed salads.

Harvesting Radish & Lettuce

2009-04-23T07:52:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we had are first (small) harvest from the garden. We ate two of our radishes, and harvested some of our lettuce. The lettuce was not enough to eat by itself, but we were able to mix it in with the store bought lettuce. Both tasted really good, much better than store bought. The lettuce is the one that really blew us away. We never realized how bland store bought lettuce is, being that is all we have really known until now.

Summer Squash, Cucumbers & Melons

2009-04-19T21:36:00.002-04:00

On Sunday night we sowed some Zephyr summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, Delicata squash, Kabacha squash, and Moon & Stars watermelon. I also threw in there a few more basil, dill, and thyme seeds.

Phoenix Gardens

2009-04-18T13:15:00.005-04:00

Today we went to a plant sale that a local farm was having here. The farm is Phoenix Gardens. It was really nice meeting the owners, and touring their farm. We bought a Cuban Oregano, Orange Bell Pepper, Bullhorn Pepper and Garden Salsa Pepper. We had a great time at the farm, Antonio really liked seeing the chickens, and walking around on the tour.

Alfalfa Sprouts

2009-04-15T20:54:00.004-04:00

Today I harvested the alfalfa sprouts that I had been growing. It was 4.5 oz out of a tablespoon of seeds. I had some today on my burger, and they were really tasty. I started my second batch of sprouts today as well.

What to do with these Onions?

2009-04-14T11:07:00.001-04:00

Back in February we had some onions that had started growing on us in our pantry, so Julia gave them to me to try planting in the garden. Antonio has been very proud of their progress. My question is, what do we do with them? What can we expect from them? Since I just planted two store bought complete onions in the ground, are we going to have new bulbs down there, do I need to separate the stalks and so be dividing the bulbs? If anyone out there knows, or has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Seed Starting Setup

2009-04-13T12:44:00.003-04:00

This Saturday I also finished purchasing and putting together my seed starting setup (it is no longer an ad-hoc setup on top of the fridge made of glass blocks and phone books). I know it may be a bit late to really get a jump start on this years plants, but I am happy that I now have it set up for future use. Ideally, I wish I had been able to go with slightly longer shelves, but due to space limitations in our townhouse, that was not an option for now (so the shop lights stick out on each side a bit). Please ignore the clothes hanging in the background, as you may guess, the only available space we had was in my walk-in closet, so now I get to squeeze by our seedlings every morning as I get ready for work. The nice thing is that the setup did not cost much at all. The shelf was $29 from Ikea (Gorm shelf) and the 4' shop lights were from Lowes, and were $9 each, and the bulbs were slightly under $7 a pair.

Transplanting Tomatoes, Rosemary & Greek Oregano

2009-04-13T12:31:00.006-04:00

This Saturday Antonio and I transplanted two of our seedling tomatoes into small temporary pots, and then a rosemary and greek oregano plant into ceramic pots for our patio. Antonio really helped me out. I would hold the plant in place in the pot, and he would carefully put the potting soil into the pot, taking care not to damage the little plant. I didn't have to move any soil myself. I hadn't realized until Julia came outside to take some pictures and watch us, how serious we both look while concentrating as we transplant the plants.

Garden Update

2009-04-13T12:12:00.005-04:00

Here is a update of the overall view of the Jardin de Stell.

Nasturtiums growing along the Meyer Lemon have grown giant leaves now.

The Peas and lettuce look promising.

The pot with radishes and spinach that was sown on March 15th is looking good too. The radishes have us anxiously waiting to be able to start harvesting some of them.

Thinning out of Seedlings

2009-04-13T12:05:00.004-04:00

Saturday I thinned out the seedlings. It felt weird knowingly destroying perfectly good plants. Hopefully the ones I chose were the better of the two seedlings.

Lavender & Black Eyed Susans

2009-04-11T20:25:00.003-04:00

Today I sowed indoors some Lavender and Black Eyed Susans. I also transplanted into temporary pots two tomato plants from my seedling tray.

Alfalfa Sprouts

2009-04-10T21:23:00.003-04:00

Today is day one for growing Alfalfa Sprouts. I started out with 1 tablespoon of organic alfalfa sprouts and am reusing Atlas Mason jar from Classico Spaghetti Sauce. I am hoping of having a steady supply of healthy and good tasting vegetables regardless of what is going on outside. Speaking of which, we had a few thunderstorms and were under a tornado warning for a while this evening.

Snap Pea, Lolla Rosa Lettuce, and Sparkling White Tip Radish

2009-04-01T11:01:00.003-04:00

I did one last sowing of Snap Peas directly into the garden, and sowed Lolla Rosa Lettuce and some more Sparkling White Tip Radishes along with it. Hopefully it is not already too warm for the peas. Hopefully they still have enough time to produce some tasty peas. I also went ahead and sowed indoors 4 cilantro, to try to get them started.

Marglobe Tomato

2009-03-31T22:00:00.003-04:00

I planted two Marglobe seeds in two of peat pellets that had broccoli that did not sprout. Hopefully these do better.

Thyme, Basil and Tomato Seedlings

2009-03-27T13:48:00.007-04:00

Yesterday morning I noticed that the thyme has started to sprout. And when Julia Belén and I took a closer look at the tray on top of the refrigerator, we noticed that the basil has started sprouting as well. And now two Tumbling Tom and one Carolina Gold tomato seedlings have sprouted.

Tomatoes, Broccoli, Basil & Thyme

2009-03-23T09:29:00.003-04:00

Yesterday evening I sowed indoors a few seeds of all the different tomato varieties I have from Wintersown.org, some De Cicco Broccoli, Sweet Basil and some Common Thyme. I am hoping it is not too late for my broccoli, and am hopeful that all the seeds take this time.

Georgia Freedom Gardens Gathering

2009-03-23T09:25:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to the first Georgia Freedom Gardens Gathering. It was a gorgeous day, and we had the fortune of having the Dervaes family being the guest host. The get together was at the Oakhurst Community Garden, which I had never been to before. It was nice to see, and overall a great morning.

Lettuce and Pansies

2009-03-18T10:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Antonio and I planted some pansies and some lettuce seeds into a container. Antonio was the one who put all the potting soil into the container while I prepped the plants and added the amendments to the soil. I couldn't ask for a better garden helper.