Vegetable Garden

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It is about time to get my peas and other early cool season crops in. But I’m not there yet. Today I sat down and started planning. Reading blogs has actually made me a more ambitious gardener. It also might be that I’m out of school, and have a desire to stay completely involved with horticulture. I also have plenty of opportunity this year. Whatever it is, I have plans for the largest vegetable garden I have ever grown, with the most varieties of plants.

I talked to a couple of grandparents in my neighborhood who are offering half their garden to me. I’m starting to enjoy this couple: they remind me of my own grandparents and are very active for being in their 80’s. The garden plot adds another 400 sq feet to my existing 200 sq feet on the condo grounds. I’m starting to realize I could plant even more. Maybe I’ll start a farm someday, but for now the “lack” of space is good. I’m going to be plenty busy with the vegetable gardens, condo landscape, and other landscapes projects that come my way. But busy in a very, very good way.

Lots of good plants this year: leeks are my complete trial crop that I have no experience with growing or cooking. I’ve got the standard tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucs and whatever else seeds I have left over from past year.  I do want to get a crop of cool season vegetables. It’s difficult here because it tends to get hot quickly, and the soil takes a while to be workable (or at least workable at my convince). I started to dig around and found out the condo plot is a small layer of topsoil over gravel. I think it will be workable, with a good layer of compost. There was also a spot of topsoil over asphalt. It amazes me that lawn can grow with such shallow soil. Up at USU, they have a huge exercise field they planted over an old parking lot, without removing the parking lot. It does save on money during installation, but my guess is there might be trouble down the road.

And by the way, I need to buy a lawn mower. Any suggestions? I have about an acre of lawn, plenty of obstacles, no hills.

Computers

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The highlight of my day was my dad sending me a tip about a Chrome add on that helps limit time on wasteful sites on the computer. I hate how much I can get distracted by this thing. It is very useful, but very distracting as well. Check it out–it’s StayFocusd. This is how my computer time can go (as it did today). Decide to look up information on removing sod, because it is the project for Saturday. Then I got wondering about tiller rentals/purchase. I looked up some rental prices and checked KSL. While on KSL I looked for lawn mowers and other garden equipment as well. I have classifieds on there, and noticed they were started a local page for business. I added my business. Then I hoped over to my site to get some information to add with my business listing. (Including my phone number that is not entirely memorized. It’s a google voice number, which I must say google voice is neat.) Still on the marketing kick, I went ahead and checked my google ad campaign. (The only reason I’m doing that is because they sent me a free trial. I’m a big fan of free advertising, not so much paying for it. But all I’ve gotten from google ads is solicitors. Oh well.) Then I decided my site could use improvement and started overhauling it.

Did you make it through all that? Crazy how much the computer can just lead from one thing to another. I didn’t spend all my time on the computer, luckily. I cooked, cleaned, and played just as a good mommy should. I also went outside, since it is the only day with decent weather. Oh and I donated/sold plasma with the resolve to never do it again. It hurt; my veins are just too small. We aren’t completely desperate for money, so I will protect my elbow from now on out.

Couscous

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Today was a happier day. Peter is getting better, and even when he was grumpy I was able to stay happy. That’s hard to do but also important as a mother. Nothing too eventful happened today. I did make a new dish that I quite enjoyed. Last week at the grocery store, I bough some new ingredients and this is what I came up with.

Mix:

  • 1 box couscous–Cook according to package directions.
  • 2 cups bean sprouts–I boiled mine for a couple minutes because they looked a little old, but I think they would work raw.
  • 1 can tomatoes, drained
  • 8 oz tofu–Fry until slightly browned
  • Large squirt Asian sesame dressing

Serve cold

I just made this up, and looking back at the recipe it appears “ethnic” but of no specific ethnicity. Couscous is Africian/middle east. A lot of the other ingredients are more Asian. I have no idea if this even resembles how couscous and bean sprouts are usually prepared. I’ve never used them before. But it tasted good. Peter even ate a bunch. Today’s grocery trip didn’t involve any new ingredients. It is cheaper that way. And by the way, if you really want to save money on groceries and go to the store less often, cook from scratch using a few basic ingredients. Pasta, tomatoes, rice, chicken, and a variety of vegetables are my staples. There’s really no end of what you can do with them.

Tomatoes

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I love the smell of tomato vines. It is my favorite smell either. I planted an early batch of tomatoes and finally got them transplanted today after they were way past the seed-leaf stage. I start all my seeds in trays with a seedling mix until they sprout and get those first two seed leaves (and longer if I don’t get around to it) and then put them in their final container. It works well. I’ve been mildly interested in what others do. I’m trying to remember what we did the time I took Greenhouse management and worked in the greenhouse. I think we seeded stuff in vermiculite in grooved trays, and after that transplanted to the final growing pot. Elsewhere I’ve seen soil bl0cks, plug trays, and an assortment of odd containers.

I was wondering about the small plastic tops that are frequently put on top of a seed tray. Something like that is absolutely essential for cuttings, but is it really needed for seedlings? I couldn’t remember using them (I think we might have, but I’m not sure), so I went to look it up. And found out that I sold my greenhouse textbook. This is the second time I’ve gone looking for information in it. Maybe its time to buy it again. I used my other basic horticulture textbook. It mentions using the top, or putting a plastic bag or saran wrap. It does help keep in the humidity and prevent it from drying out. I think the benefit only extends until shortly the first leaf development. I haven’t used anything. My soil retains moisture very well (wetting agents help), and I spray it down when I see it drying out. Everything is germinating quickly and well.

What do you do to start seeds?

Cold

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Peter has a cold today, and it has tried my patience. I was very ready for him to go to bed at 7:00. He isn’t eating well, and is very tired. He has this pathetic little cough and sneezes out snot rockets. But he also knows to not touch such snot and let mommy or daddy wipe it off before doing anything else.

On a completely unrelated note we went to the doctor. A cold is a cold…but a red swollen hand is something to get looked at. He seems to have cut it or got a sliver at some point (I have no memory of him hurting it), and last night Joe and I realized something was amiss with it. He is on anti-biotics now for that. But my poor Pete has had a rough time lately.

Didn’t do much today. Sesame Street was on a lot, because it was often that or crying.

Spring

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It’s spring! I must admit I’ve been enjoying late winter so much I’m almost sad to see it go. I guess I’m enjoying it so much because it has this tint of spring to it…and there aren’t quite as many things to get done out in the garden.  Here’s what I’ve been up to in my garden:

I built a seed starter out of an old metal shelf, shop lights, and chains. Here it is:

Not bad for $30. I started leeks a few weeks ago. Eggplant, peppers and butterfly were seeded the beginning of this week. The butterfly weed has been an interesting plant to start and I hope they turn out. I bought the seeds from Johnny’s and I have tons. To get them started, I stratified the seeds. This is a fancy term for a cold treatment, or sticking them in the refrigerator. The directions said to seed them in moist soil first and then refrigerate. I don’t have that much room, unlike greenhouses that usually have walk-in fridges. I’ve done it by putting them in vermiculite in a plastic bag, but I decide to just put the seeds in a wet paper towel inside a plastic bag.  It’s easy and it works. They were in there two weeks, which is a short stratification but still should increase the germination rate. I think it worked pretty well–I’m already beginning to see their little green seed leaves. They’ve beat the eggplant and peppers at germination rate: still no green sign from them.

Spring clean-up is well underway.  I’ve taken over landscape maintenance at my HOA, and started cleaning up the property grounds. There was a lot of winter breakage that made for a large pile of sticks, plus more from pruning a few ornamental trees. The neighborhood did a haul to the green waste facility, so all the wood is gone. The old maintenance company left piles of fall leaves and I rescued the dying grass underneath. There are still lots of leaves to clean-up due to a lack of good fall clean-up. I’m’ hoping to turn this minimally managed landscape around, and it’s really nice to have a landscape to take care of where I’m actually paid to do it instead of paying to have it done, or basically paying myself to do it.

Before pruning...

After Pruning

Over at my grandparents we pruned the peaches. I realized the twig dieback was winter-kill, and not insects/disease. The simple cultural answer is usually the right one; shame on me for blaming it on insects at first. At my grandparents we also took a hated, weedy Oregon grape and limbed it up. There was a lot of debri in and underneath the shrub, so it’s a lot cleaner now. I didn’t mind it before, but now it does have a more cultured look to it.

One almost done...

A lot less messy!

Last gardening task for this week was cleaning out a flower bed. I was hired to do this, and throughly enjoy the prospect of seeing an overgrown perennial bed changed to a vegetable garden. It was good hard work getting rid of yuccas (that have gorgeous red roots), spruces, perennials and grasses. The soils was absolutely perfect for cultivation which made our job easier. We added a layer of compost after removing the plants, and I bet this garden will soon bring forth great plants.

Halfway there...

Ready for planting

I’m still enjoying my bulbs. The crocus and Showwinner tulips are almost gone, but the early stardrift (Puschkinia libanotica), grape hyacinths  (Muscari armeniacum) and minnow daffodils are in full bloom. I love the minnow daffodils, with their itsy bitsy daffodil bloom. Still have a couple more bulbs to come up…we will see if they do.

View from my window

And now it is officially spring. Time to plant peas, lettuce and cool season crops, start planting hardy ornamental plants including all the bare root stock, cultivate soil, and maybe teach a class. It definitely is the busy season.

Last Week of Winter

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Maybe it will snow…Here is a thought for all those people who hates when it snows in spring. What is more spring-like than melting snow? Then again I am perfectly happy with beautiful thunderstorms at sunset, complete with rainbows. My list of things to do is growing along with the temperatures. And life is so much more enjoyable when the weather is good. (Although I was thinking about what I do when the weather isn’t good and realized I still go outside. Peter and I hate being cooped up.)

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Some good things in my life lately:

  • Sand volleyball, 2 on 2, than 2 on 1. Me and Joe were beat by one guy.
  • Business name change to better reflect what I’m doing. And some potential clients as well…
  • Parks, and a brave Peter who tackles the slides.
  • Hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, and crocus. I bet your garden’s bulbs aren’t blooming yet.
  • Bees. Honey bees. Why in the world could you ever be scared of the best insect ever?
  • A great neighborhood with playgroups and friends.
  • Pruning fruit trees for others, just for fun.
  • Hide and Seek…dumbed down for 1.5 yr olds, including lots of saying “Boo!”
  • Tomato seedlings coming up.
  • Conversations where I have no idea what the other person is saying, but it sounds like “ba-ba oo” etc.
  • Singing at church.
  • Husband who takes over breakfast/dinner, all the clean-up, and watching Peter because I’m not feeling well.

Simplify

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Today I was thinking that simplifying life isn’t necessarily doing less.

Simplifying Life is to:

Stop worrying about the 100 odd things I can’t really change or deal with right now.

Stop complicating tasks I have, over analyzing, and pushing too hard.

Living each moment instead for pushing forward to the next one.

Eliminating the junk that clutters up everywhere, in my time, house and mind.

Going slower, with a watchful eye for the good.

Plan properly, with flexibility in routines and task.

Take one thing at a time and enjoy it.

Bike Ride

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We biked five miles today. It reminded me of my first date with Joe. We biked up Logan Canyon to second dam and had lunch. I remember talking and talking together. Today, we rode up Hobble Creek canyon, and made it about 2.5 miles from our home. The trail was snowy after that, and I didn’t want to ride on the road. Peter came along, of course, and enjoyed himself. He even tried to steer by putting his hands on my handlebars. I love being out and doing things with my family, even though I still feel a little cold from it.

I’ve had fun the last few days. Pete and I went on a walk with neighbor friends and played at the park. Peter would even go down the slide all by himself. The three kids were so fun to watch run around with huge smiles on. My mom and I went out to lunch and let Peter play at the mall playground. He also furthered his relationship with the escalator. At first he would cry when on it. But that didn’t last long and he was okay with it. Then he didn’t quite get on right and fell down a few steps, scraping his head. This did not damage him too much though, and he was still fine with the escalator. It started to fascinate him, and finally he would go on it just for fun.

We picked up Joe from school one day, and found a cool park in Orem. They had ducks. I remember living by the “duck park” growing up, and loved feeding the ducks. Peter wasn’t really interested…petting dogs was  a lot more fun. That night we also got 88 cent crunch wraps at Taco Bell. Eating out wasn’t in the budget, but we spent $5 for a good sized meal for all of us. I can’t always cook that cheap…and then I didn’t have to clean up either.

Peter is adorable. He says uh-oh all the time, whenever something is slightly wrong. Other common word are hot (with a very definite “t” on the end), ball, up, elmo, and mama/dada. He continues to pick up new words all the time but has yet to get most of the constants down. (Button is baba; actually lots of things are baba.) He loves being outside and cries when he comes in. But I like being outside too. Here is a picture of him at lunch today, eating cottage cheese. (The use of a spoon is still a little bit of a foreign concept, although he did eat half a bowl of oatmeal using one.)