Have the seed catalogs started arriving yet? No? Well…they should begin to hit your mailboxes fast and furious soon. Seed companies know that we gardeners need something to dream about during the long months of hibernation.
Once you have a sizable stack, it’s time to grab a hot cuppa and snuggle down in a cozy chair to leaf through and dream a little. What better way to get new ideas and cement plans for the garden you will begin in a few short months.
As you page through the beautiful colors and spreads, notice that most catalogs give additional growing information on disease resistance, new and improved hybrids, the length to maturity on vegetable crops and often the proper growing conditions for the plants. When you combine this useful information with your own experience in your own garden, you are in a great place to choose great flowers and vegetables for the upcoming growing season.
Try not to get too carried away and don’t order more than you can plant. Make a wish list and then sit on it for a few days. Go back to it and look at it again realistically to make sure what you plan is doable. You might just try a few new things each year, while sticking with the old favorites that grow well year after year.
It is never too early to start planning your upcoming garden. When you order seeds by mail, ordering early will ensure that you have your seeds when you need them.
Spring will be here before you know it…
Are you in need of a little winter gardening? Needing something fresh inside to brighten the short, dreary days of winter? Need to get your hands busy growing something? Have you tried forcing bulbs lately?
I heartily recommend it if you have not ever done this. By far the easiest bulbs to force are Narcissus bulbs (paperwhites). These lovely blooms will reward only a tiny bit of effort with tall spires full of beautiful white blooms that smell heavenly. Best of all…no chilling required for these bulbs…unlike tulips, hyacinths and crocuses.
All you need is a nice pretty pot (say 10 inches in diameter with NO drainage holes). Fill it approximately halfway with pea gravel. Place as many narcissus bulbs on the gravel as will fit in the pot – the more the better! Add more gravel to fill the container. The bulbs should be right at the rim of the container with the tops of the bulbs uncovered. Fill the gravel to within approximately 1 inch of the tops of the bulbs.
Pour water into the container to within approximately 1 inch of the top of the container and keep the gravel moist like this at all times. Place the container in a cool, dark place until you start to see sprouts coming up from the bulbs. Move the container to a sunny window or under a grow light and keep the gravel evenly moist.
Narcissus takes approximately one month to bloom…so time them for when you want them. I have a pot sitting about two feet away from me right now…they have been blooming for a week with no sign of tiring out yet. They are heavenly!
Do you even HAVE a gardening to do list for November and December? No?
Many gardeners are enjoying a much-needed respite from dirt and seeds and focuses are turned elsewhere during this time. We are coming up upon the darkest day of the year…and then the good news is we start moving our way toward longer days immediately!
Are you ready to start thinking about the new gardening season that will be here in a few months? Some time of eager anticipation and planning will do wonders for getting you in the mood…I promise!
You could still even be planting spring bulbs if your ground isn’t frozen yet!
Or…how about starting an herb garden indoors under a grow light? Or…forcing some bulbs indoors? My paperwhites are within days of blooming and I cannot wait!
It is definitely time to make sure that everything is cut back the way it should be and that your tender plants are tucked in with a good layer of mulch if you haven’t done so yet.
THEN…treat yourself to some dreaming and planning. Get out those gardening catalogs and magazines and start thinking about the great things you might grow next season. Maybe you want to make a new flowerbed or rearrange things somewhat. It’s always a good idea to change your vegetable garden layout from year to year and now would be an ideal time to plant next season’s planting layout. Peruse the catalogs and find something new you’ve never grown before. Oh…the possibilities are endless!
The more you dream the faster the winter will go!
After being away for almost three weeks this autumn, I came home to find myself quite behind on autumn tasks. For the first few days after arriving back home I was busy unpacking and getting reorganized around the house. After I finally finished those tasks, the rain started. It rained for several days, keeping me inside when what I really wanted to do was go outside and tuck my beloved garden in for the winter. Finally, today the weather cooperated and I was able to get outside and commune with my garden and say goodbye to it for the next several months. I know I sound melodramatic…don’t I? My garden is a source of pride, joy, contentment, and peace to me. Who needs appetite suppressants when I can get outside and get the blood moving through good, old-fashioned hard labor like that?
Anyway…several hours later the plants are all cut back or pulled up, the fence is rolled up for another year, the mulch is raked smooth and we are ready to hibernate while we enjoy the bounty from our summer’s work.
I’m excited. Admittedly, it doesn’t take a lot to make my day. Just look at this beautiful basket I just received from my mom this last week.
Wouldn’t you be excited too? Every bit of produce in this basket I grew myself. If veggies aren’t effective weight loss supplements I don’t know what are!
I lined the bottom of the basket with plastic wrap to protect the fibers from any veggies that might decide to ooze before I get to them. Other than that…this beauty is sitting on my kitchen table and we are eating around it!
My garden is starting to gear up into full swing here and I am finding that I am harvesting or picking something nearly every day now. This brings me to an important topic for this time of year when fellow gardeners are dealing with an abundance of fresh produce that must be kept fresh. What is the best way to do this?
Here are some guidelines.
Asparagus - keeps 2 – 3 days in the refrigerator (don’t wash before refrigerating and keep in the crisper)
Broccoli – keeps 3-5 days in the refrigerator (wrap and keep in the crisper)
Celery – keeps 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator (Keep in crisper)
Cauliflower and Snap Beans – keeps 1 week in the refrigerator (wrap and keep in crisper)
Carrots, Parsnips, Beets, Radishes & Turnips – keeps 2 weeks in refrigerator (remove tops, wrap and keep in crisper)
Green Peas – keeps 3-5 days in refrigerator (leave in pods and keep in crisper)
Lettuce and Salad Greens – keeps 1 week in refrigerator (wash, drain well, wrap keep in crisper)
Green onions – keeps 3-5 days in refrigerator (wrap and keep in crisper)
Peppers and Cucumbers – keeps 1 week in refrigerator (wrap and keep in crisper)
Fresh vegetables stay the freshest when in a moist environment. They should usually be stored in vegetable crispers. If there is a crisper setting, set it to the “vegetable” setting. If space in crispers is limited, store them in plastic bags to reduce moisture loss. Store most vegetables in the refrigerator to preserve freshness. Do not refrigerate potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, hard-rind squashes, eggplants and rutabagas. Tomatoes may be refrigerated only after they are ripe and then only for a limited time.
The natural abundance of the seasons is a simple and logical way of eating. We, as a culture, have gotten so far away from this. What could be better than a deep scarlet tomato eaten at the height of summer? A juicy crisp apple eaten as the days turn crisp in September? Early green lettuces as the days start to lengthen? Eating local, seasonal produce not only tastes better and is better for us, it is also a better choice both environmentally and economically.
I am focusing on learning to be a better steward by serving my family food that is seasonal and local. I have a feeling that if more people tried this, there might be little need for a nuphedra review, but maybe I’m wrong. Instead perhaps people would be strong and healthy…full of vitality and the energy needed to live active, productive lifestyles.
Care to join my family and I in our goal to eat seasonally?
Technorati Tags: eat seasonally, energy, natural abundance, steward, vitality
Do you have baby bunnies are everywhere? There are many forms of danger for baby rabbits…lawnmowers…cats…dogs…people!
Find the best insurance quotes here.
If you come upon an injured baby rabbit, the best thing to do is return it to its nest. Wear gloves to prevent unfamiliar smells from disturbing the mother. Many people don’t realize that it is common for the mother rabbit to leave her babies unattended. Often the mother will only return to a nest a couple of times a day to nurse the babies but then leaves again. By the time baby bunnies are three weeks old they are ready to live on their own.
If you find a bunny nest and are concerned that it has been abandoned, watch to see if the mother returns. You could also place an “x” of string over the nest to see if it gets disturbed by the mother returning to the nest. If it doesn’t get disturbed within 12 hours, assume the nest has been abandoned. Contact a wildlife rehabilitation center for guidance.
Homeowners should check lawns carefully for rabbit nests before mowing. Outdoor cats and dogs are a major threat to baby rabbits. Once a dog or cat has found a rabbit nest, it will remember the location of the nest and want to return to it.
Yes…this is what I’ve been doing this week! We have decided to expand our garden about about two times what we had and so I have been very busy getting this ready. With this front-and-center on my mind, I thought I would share what I’ve been doing!
Garden bed preparation is very important to long-range success. Taking the time to do it right from the start can make a big difference.
Mark the new garden bed with a rope. If your new garden area doesn’t have grass get rid of any unwanted plants or weeds. Pull them or dig them – no chemicals! If there is grass, leave a narrow strip between the garden and the lawn as a separation. If you cultivate grass or weeds, pieces of grass or weeds may pop up again after planting the new garden.
Loosen the soil about a foot deep with a tiller or a pitchfork. Add about 2 inches of organic matter and work this in until it’s blended well with the soil.
Compost from a variety of decayed plant materials is the best type of organic matter. Composted municipal leaves, mushroom soil, cow or horse manure or bagged peat moss also work well. Organic matter adds nutrients and improves soil drainage. It also adds air space to encourage root growth.
Water the new garden bed and wait a week to see what weeds come up. Lightly cultivate again to get rid of these weeds.
Put down three inches of mulch over everything. You can either mulch first and then make planting holes or plant first and then mulch around the plants later. Place wet newspaper over the bare ground first. Top this with 2 inches of mulch.
Your result should be a neatly edged, slightly mounded garden bed that will become a beautiful sight to see. Bonus: No need for diet supplements when you are working as hard as I have been lately! Calorie-burning overtime!
Technorati Tags: compost, Garden bed, new garden
It’s that time of year. It seems like each year at about the time I see my first robin of the season my thoughts almost automatically turn to my yard, my garden, and things associated with the outdoors.
I like to do a fair amount of outdoor entertaining in the backyard. This means that I spend considerable time making sure that my yard looks nice. Each spring I like to add a few new garden accents to my assortment of outdoor decor.
This year I have my eye on a new bird bath for the backyard.
Do you have any special plans for your yard this year? If so, you may want to think about using ShopWiki to help you shop online. ShopWiki works similarly to Google by crawling the internet to find the items you are looking for.
