Hanging Baskets

Kellie has a sports banquet tonight and I'm hoping it gets done a little earlier than 7:30. I have to stop by Aldi's to pick up ingredients for some venison chili I plan to make tomorrow night for our church's 2nd annual chili cook-off on Saturday. Mmm! Then, I'm stopping by Menards (their seeds are all 25% off) for impatiens seeds so I can get my hanging baskets started in the house. Impatiens make such beautiful hanging baskets. I had a little trouble with moisture last year. I'd also like to find a couple of vinca vine or hanging seeds as well to join in with the impatiens. But I really want to save as much money this year as possible. I really don't want to buy a lot of plants if I can get them going with seeds and really have them take root!

More Snow!!! GGGrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So we got more snow. Now I even more want to start some seeds. My sister-in-law has. I stopped by last night and she has about 9 tomato plants in styrofoam cups and either a broccoli or a cauliflower plant in another. She's real hard core - she starts seeds in egg cartons!!! I'm just looking forward to having a moment to start some seeds!!!! Especially since we just got dumped on with some fluffy lake effect snow. We were only supposed to get 5 inches. I'm sure there is more out by my house. There is 11 inches in Ludington and 7 inches in Grand Haven as of noon, today. At least it will melt fast. This is the time of year to start seeing snow melt and snow fall ... It really kind of sucks! All the snow that's underneath the new fluffy stuff is filthy and everything turns into a muddy mess all over!!

Must ... Start ... Some ... Seeds ... Tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

To start or not to start ... that is the question

I think I'm going to seed-start my herbs and flowers. I bought several I didn't think I was going to, but I haven't found Winter Savory yet. I also just ordered Joe Pye Weed from the net because I wasn't able to find it where I looked - probably because it is a wildflower. Anyway, I picked up Tarragon, Oregano, Rosemary, Bee Balm, Lavender and Poppies. I'm going to seed start them all, then sell the extra plants. I've got enough pots from stuff I've purchased over the past year, so when they get big I can transplant. Flowerland had all their seeds at 30% off, and if you bought ten, you got a big bag of seed starter soil (originally $20) for $5. I limited my seed purchases to 20 and got two bags for $5. The soil offer was on Saturday only. I'm so glad I listened to the Flowerland show!!! Gotta Love Rick Vuyst!!!

I picked up three new and interesting vegetable choices: Japanese extra long cucumber, a lemon cucumber and chocolate cherry tomatoes! We loved the purple beans so much that we just have to try a few new options.

I also have plans to build a small greenhouse.

Oh, the excitement is building!!! 2 weeks to the home & garden show!!! I'm breaking out with spring fever ... oh boy!

The Vegetables

Kellie and I looked at our backyard space and kind of made a decision as to where we are going to expand our garden. It looks like we'll be making it nearly twice as big.

The vegetables we're going to put in are: purple beans, green beans, wax beans, zucchini, bush cucumbers, bell peppers (assorted colors), snap peas, tomatoes - several varieties, potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, cauliflower, kale, eggplant, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, sunflowers and spinach. In the back garden, planted among the weeds, will be pumpkins, gourds, buttercup squash, spaghetti squash, watermelon and cantaloupe.

It's almost time. Almost time to start seed-starting in the house. I'm going to have to buy a bunch more trays and dirt. Kellie and I are working on the shed to get that ready for the chickens, but the shed also doubles as a gardening storage area. It's central to my garden. There is so much to do! Speaking of so much to do, I have to get the tile in my kitchen finished. The 2nd thing I wanted to get done on my day off from work!

February 13 - yee-ha

I am getting excited for winter to be over. My husband bought fresh spinach for me instead of the frozen I thought he would buy. We have been really enjoying it! I made a dish today that I just love - it has spinach, chicken, tomatoes and rice as the basic ingredients, but I think it is the spinach that really pulls the dish together. Anyway, as I was making it, and the later eating it, I was thinking that it would be nice to try the dish with turnip greens. Then I go to thinking about how great a turnip is! You eat the turnip, the bottom part, but you also can eat the leaves that grow out of it! I'm excited to try this come spring. I also think I'll plant spinach in my garden because it is so very good when it is fresh.

I think I'm going to have to expand my main garden to include the blueberry bushes and give me more room to plant other vegetables. I may have to re-plant a couple of my blueberry bushes so they don't come as far as they do; we'll see. I've got a bit of time before I do any of that MAJOR work.

Only a few more weeks and I should be able to see my crocuses peeking through the snow. I'm so glad I planted them. I might have to do a few more this fall. After the crocuses pop up, it will only be a matter of weeks before the tulips and the hyacinths show their pretty green buds.

herbs i want to plant this spring

I don't know if I've posted this already ... I think I have. But here they are:

Greek oregano - because I can't believe I don't have oregano in the herb garden yet.

flatleaf parsley - because it gets nice and bushy and pretty

Joe Pye weed - the purple attracts butterflies and the dwarf variety gets to be 4 feet tall. The regular version gets much taller than that!

Flowering gooseberry - I thought currant, but the gooseberry is just fun to say

Rosemary - tastes so good with chicken!!! and carrots ... mmmmmmmmmmm

French tarragon - again, yummy!

Winter savory - just sounds good

Lavender - smells nice

Heather - also smells nice - and is such a pretty name

BBBBBBBBrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's cold!!!! Oh, it is cold!!!! But it is so necessary to be this cold! With the thaw, my catmint was exposed, and our barn cat found it! She's been having herself a little party. I harvested most of it this past fall, but a little was left out there. Hopefully, come spring, she forgets that's what it is, or I'll actually have to get more to plant out there. I love the smell of catmint, and my ancient indoor cat loves it as well. The dogs don't understand why they like it so much. It's just a weed to them. Harley, God love her, will eat flowers! Crazy dog! She would eat the wild Queen Anne's lace that would grow into the fence, lop the flowerheads right off with her sharp teeth. She likes tomatoes, too, so I'll have to keep her out of the garden. All three dogs love squash, too. We'll see how much trouble we'll have with that because all the viney things are being planted behind the barn. We had quite a great pumpkin harvest (that was all I planted behind the barn last year), so hopefully, come fall, we'll have as good a squash harvest as we did when I planted it in the garden itself. I need a name for the garden behind the barn - how about the southern garden? The one by the house is the garden-garden, or the main. Haha! I must get back to work!