skippy in the snow

We got a couple inches of snow today. (Wow, finally!) Here's Skippy - enjoying the white stuff at our community gardens.

sowing seeds

These are pictures from Saturday when I planted a couple trays of seeds. I also planted 8 new begonia tubers in pots. (A bag of pink dahlia tubers waiting on my shelves for outdoor planting.) My indoor lettuce is doing well. Time to start thinning it soon!

seed sowing

My first big day of planting seeds! The local True Value Hardware store had their planting trays in stock - I got 8 trays and 8 6-packs of seed cells. Also some 4-inch and 3-inch pots. And 50 4-cent wooden labels.

I planted 2 full trays of seeds this afternoon. I am a bit late starting my onions. I planted 4 6-packs of white storage onion seeds and one of bunching onions. I started a few seeds of very early tomatoes. Only 3 varieties, 3 seeds each. These will be in big pots before they can be transplanted outside.

My seed list:

Onions, Frontier
Onions, Pontiac
Onions, bunching Guardsman
Tomatoes, cherry Sun Gold
Tomatoes, Pink Beauty
Tomatoes, Mew Girl
Chinese cabbage, Wong Bok
Chinese cabbage, Mini Kisaku 50
Chinese cabbage, Extra Dwarf Bok Choy
Celery, Tango
Mustard, Ruby Streaks
Radicchio, Chiogga Red Preco #1
Lettuce, Oaky Red Splash
Lettuce, Victoria Butterhead
Parsley, Giant of Italy
Broccoli, Diplomat
Caulifower, Little Cloud Hybrid
Endive, Frisee Olesh Tres Fine

- and one of my favorite garden flowers:
Bachelor Button, Boy Blue

spring is coming - willow catkins and daffodil sprouts

My pussy willows burst open this week. Right on schedule. Last year, they opened on the very same week.

Some other plants are early this year with the balmy weather we have had. Snow drops are in full bloom and the daffodils are an inch high already. From looking back at my old photos, these are a full month early this year.

bare winter garden

This year is on track to be the least snowy winter ever in the Boston area.

valentine's day

I keep hearing that Valentine's Day is a made up holiday. As I look around, the birds are pairing off, the squirrels are chasing each other, and coyotes are threatening suburban small pets as they begin their breeding season. And my planting calendar says its 11 weeks before my last frost - time to start planting seeds!!! Of course this celebration of love is based on the season!

There are several online sources to look up Valentine's Day origins and each tells a different story....

In any case, I'll celebrate by planting my first seeds of the season, onions and celeriac. Maybe a couple very early tomatoes too. Yesterday I ordered my seed potatoes. The season is moving ahead fast ....

Happy Valentine's Day!

birds from our walk today

crop list for 2012

I'm starting to make a list of what to plant this year. Time to cut back on the number of things I grow. I pack too much in and things don't do as well as they could. So here's my list:

In order of preference:
garlic
potatoes
lettuce
summer squash: zucchini and yellow patty pan
onions
soybeans*
broccoli*
beets
carrots
tomatoes*
butternut squash
sweet potatoes
parsley, cilantro, dill*
cucumbers (max 3 varieties)*
bok choy
peppers/chiles**
eggplant**
leeks
celeriac
kale*
peas*
beans*
radicchio
escarole and frisee
pumpkins: maximum 3 plants: Jarrahdale and New England Pie

sunflowers
nasturtiums
zinnias

Tomatoes: Try the new color cages (purple?) and grow them with lots of space
*does well in my slightly shady home garden
** does well in my very warm and sheltered cold frame
well maybe 4 pumpkins...

No corn,

lettuce seedlings

Instead of waiting for spring, I planted some lettuce seeds right after I got home from holiday travels - I think it was Jan 5. Little lettuce plants are now growing fast under the lights.

my 2012 planting calendar

I've been thinking its nearly time to start my onion seeds. So today I made my 2012 planting calendar using an on line program I wrote several years ago. (Here's the link. Its on my side bar too.)

The onions need to be in by Valentine's Day! I will start getting my trays ready.

indoor flowers

Let's see, I have a big white paph blooming, and "Trick or Treat", a fluorescent orange Lc. And Ise x Sachi, a delicate white dendrobium. These three orchids have bloomed for me every year for more years than I can count.

I love the way they catch the winter sunlight.

i am a salmon??

Jeepers, of all the animals one could be.... Although I do love salmon (its our dinner tonight!)

Who does these silly tests anyway - and what does Betty get out of it?

My mom sent me this link, but she didn't tell me what her inner animal is. I will have to ask. (Maybe she will leave a comment???)

I think this link gets you to the quiz.

my planting zone has changed!

My sister pointed out to me that the USDA has updated the plant zone hardiness map. In many areas, zones have changed reflecting warmer climates. I am just north west of Boston and was in zone 6a. Now I am squarely in zone 6b. This means there has been a 5*F change in minimum average extreme winter temperature. Up from -10* (in the last USDA version released in 1990) to -5* (the average from 1976 to 2005) in the map released a couple days ago.

A couple of links are here:
Plant zone maps at the USDA Agricultural Research Service and
An article at The Salt, NPR

January snow drops

I was surprised to look down in my front yard and see flowers about to bloom. ITS STILL JANUARY!! OK, only a few hours left to the month, but still, I don't remember a winter like this. I'm certainly not complaining. Tomorrow is supposed to be particularly balmy (50's) and Skippy and I are planning a nice lunchtime walk. I have not had to shovel any snow this year. (Yippee) Its tempting to think, what's happening to the climate - but then, the average of this year and last year would be a normal winter. So who knows.

first snow of the year

Finally. We got a couple inches of snow last night. Looks like it will melt in the next few days.

Nearly 100 reasons to grow a vegetable garden

I was listening to an NPR radio show this afternoon and heard vegetable gardens mentioned. It was a show about Sugar. Author Robbie McCauley talked about how everyone used to have access to home grown food. She said its a crime that we don't anymore. Here here!

And then Molly commented on an old post of mine that listed reasons to grow your own vegetables. Molly said "..for FUN!"

So I am posting my list again. I've added lots of reasons sent in by other gardeners. The list is almost up to 100 reasons now. I counted about 60.


Nearly 100 reasons to grow a vegetable garden:

For fun! (Molly)

To find the shortest, simplest way between the earth, the hands, and the mouth(Lanza Del Vasto)

To participate in one of the basic parts of living - producing your own food

Free food!

Reduce trips to the grocery store

To reduce pesticides and chemicals in your food

To experience the seasons

To increase vitamin D levels by regular sunlight exposure

To breath fresh air

For physical exercise that produces something tangible

To hear the birds singing

For the beauty of the plants

For the scents, colors and sounds of the garden

To create a work of art

To express yourself with straight even rows or wild tangled patches

A weight bearing activity that can increase bone density

Produce better quality food

To grow rare and heirloom varieties not available commercially

For a quiet break from high stress and electronic activities

For access to super local food

To put your yard into productive use

To beautify your yard

To help support honey bee and butterfly populations

So you can blog about it during data downloads

To produce food you can share

To lower your food costs

So you can meet other gardeners

To know exactly where your food comes from

For a hobby your whole family can participate in

For real food

To support the green movement and reduce your global footprint

To eat more vegetables and less junk food

To play in the dirt

For geosmin, the musky smell of freshly turned soil

For sustainability as an ethical and practical way to live

To support biodiversity

For access to seasonal food

For minimally processed food

For the freshest and sweetest tomatoes

For giant dark red beets

Because enjoyment of the fruit is complete when one is "inextricably entwined with the memory of the plant in its various stages of development" (Kitchen Gardeners International)

For more sunlight

For lots of new crops to celebrate with a martini

For happiness

To remember my grandparents' and my parents' gardens and to grow and enjoy the plants they grew

To care for the earth, ourselves and others

To learn about nature

To experience the interconnectedness of our environment

To educate my children on where their food comes from

To teach my sons to be proud of something they helped cultivate

To protect the land from development (Cazaux)

To get your hands dirty

To appreciate the careful progression of time and the effects of sun and rain

To remain in awe about the miracle of nature - how a tiny seed can grow a tomato plant with multiple fruits some of which were 6 inches across! (Mary)

...the food tast a hole lot better (anonymous)

To revive almost forgotten memories and favorites from childhood that are no longer available unless you grow them. Like a Charlston Grey watermelon! Huge, tasty, full of seeds and so unlike those wimpy, seedless little watermelons we see today. (Phyllis)

For the sense of accomplishment (Barb)

To make your gardens look nicer (Susy)

To have something green and fresh to dream about in cold and dreary January! To be stunned to discover the bean you dropped in the ground grew pods and that those pods are filled with six or eight more beans -- and to be stunned to discover this every time you open another pod. To learn that companion planting works, and in the process, feel like you've been given a gift of the knowledge of all the generations of gardeners that came before.(Pookie)

To sweat, to feel the earth, to be in touch spiritually. Also I honor my Grandfather and other family members. I am growing garlic, parsley and basil from seeds, & seed garlic that goes back up to 90 years old from Italy. (Nick)

winter sunset on the big pond

Another very chilly day. The day was ~10-25*F. Fortunately less wind than yesterday. Lots of birds were on the big pond (Fresh Pond in Cambridge). The ones I saw:
20 Canvas back ducks
20 Ring necked ducks
50 Canada geese
a pair of bufflehead ducks
maybe a male wood duck?
lots of sea gulls
a few robins
and a Coopers hawk eating his dinner

winter flora

When I walked Skippy yesterday I brought my camera and macro lens. I looked for dried things to photograph while Skippy sniffed and played. Usually I wait for him. This time, he waited for me. It doesn't compare with other seasons, but I found a few interesting things. Still no snow here to cover the plants.

my community garden plot

Pretty quiet at my garden plot now. The parsnips I planted too late are still in the ground and still too small. The only action is the garlic. I planted this very late too. Tiny sprouts are just poking up in the cracking soil.

Its another winter like 2007 with no snow and mild weather (my favorite type of winter!!!). I was looking back at my records from previous gardens. We were knee-deep last year, but 5 years ago was very much like this year.



I like this quote that I came across recently

"January is the quietest month in the garden. ... But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come."
- Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor of Sunset Magazine, 1/99