Gardening Treasures

My dear old friend Doris just told us a week ago she is moving. She is 90 and feels like it's time to move in with her daughter because she's getting forgetful. She was our first neighbor here in Lehi and has been a sweet friend to our family.

This morning she showed up on my doorstep with her whole library of gardening books to pass on to me! I feel so honored and lucky, like I won the lottery! I can't wait to delve into them, as much to learn as to read her little notes and bookmarks throughout.

Also of note, I ordered my early seeds today on heirloomseeds.com. I am going to try tomatoes and peppers in milk carton greenhouses on my back porch! I also got my peas, spinach, kale, broccoli, and chard to start in the garden in about a month! Can't believe gardening time is almost upon us again... especially with this warm winter weather. I need to get out and do some tree pruning this week and take advantage of the sunshine!

Hollyhock

A few years ago my mom gave me lots of seeds from her yard, but I didn't plant any right away. This last summer I started noticing how beautiful the hollyhocks were everywhere... and then I remembered I had seeds from her! My kids and their friends helped me plant them, and even though it was a little late I thought it was worth seeing what came up. They usually don't flower their first year from seed, but guess what we found last week?!

The combination of a wet summer and a really warm fall made for late hollyhock blossoms, and we couldn't be more thrilled to find them!

Ella went right to work to make a hollyhock doll.

I can't stop taking pictures of them. They are so pretty and remind me of home!

The plants themselves got too huge because I planted them too close together, but we can thin them for next year. It never ceases to amaze me that this kind of glory can come from a tiny seed.

Planting the Veggie Garden!

We interrupt this recipe mania to say that we planted the garden last Saturday! The kids were great little seed planters, although if spacing is wacky I blame it all on them.

We planted a row each of carrots (a rainbow heirloom variety!), beets, beans (x2), butternut squash, cucumbers, and mammoth sunflowers. We planted two groupings of zucchini, 3 mounds of pumpkins (small, medium, and large varieties!), 8 tomatoes, half a row of cantaloupe, and half a row of watermelon. I am trying interval planting with the corn, just doing one row a week so we can harvest it over a longer period!

A week ago we planted our red potatoes and a row of onions, and we're anxiously waiting for them to sprout! Planting always makes me nervous, but usually those little seeds amaze me!

Sprouts! --and Amending the Garden

Our anxious watching was rewarded with sprouts! The miracle of green life never ceases to amaze me.

 The tiny oregano sprouts came up first.

The tomatoes were next. I was worried they were planted too deep but they pushed through! Now if I can only keep them alive until planting time.

We spent Saturday spreading a new load of mink manure compost on the garden. When this wet weather dries out a little we will till it in and be ready to plant some spring crops!

Gardening Bug Bit!

This is what our first day of Spring looks like! We picked out seeds and got started on growing some vegetables indoors. 

I have never started my seeds indoors, but I thought it was time to try! I am not buying expensive lights or equipment, but just trying to sprout a few seeds in my south facing kitchen windows. Today I am planting beefsteak tomatoes and some sweet bell peppers. Both seed packets say to start indoors 6-8 weeks before transplanting into the garden, so I'd say I'm on target to plant sometime around the middle of May (after the last frost).

I am keeping it simple and hoping to sprout and transplant from the same containers. Greenhouses often start tons of seeds in flats and then transplant to larger pots, but I am thinking these medium size containers will work well. I also like that they are the kind that can just be planted into the ground and will biodegrade.

I found a tray from another planter and will use it underneath as a reservoir for watering.

I filled the containers with an organic potting mix (made specifically for seedlings, so it's nice and fluffy) and watered everything well to get the soil and pots saturated. 

Then I used a pencil to make small divots in which to plant the tiny seeds. I put two seeds in each cell in case one does not come up well. In the case that both do well, I will just thin them and keep the strongest seedling. Now I will just give them plenty of sunlight, keep them damp, and watch! Wish me luck!

Just on que, my first daffodil is blooming. Happy Spring!