'Tis the Season

the Season of Spring, that is!

These last few weeks have been Busy Busy Busy. Mostly with sophomore level math homework and teenage/25-year old angst. But also with my birthday celebration, fun times with the girls, family visiting, garden/yard work, etc.

Garden seems to be doing really well over all. I solved the disappearing strawberry plant problem by taking some wire tomato cages and wrapping landscape fabric around them- making a crappy sort of barrier. It's worked so far, knock on wood.

Pics!

stuff is growing!! see the 'strawberry cages' I made?

strawberries are doing really well! These are the Allstars

flowers :)

Potato plants are growin' crazy! I think we have 27 plants?

Onions and lettuces are doing just fine

APPLES!

and Helo and Thene. Growin' crazy as well :)

Garden update- Week 2

It's been two weeks since I planted most of the things in my garden, and everything seems to be doing really well! I have onions everywhere, both varieties of strawberries are going strong, lettuce is doing well, and I have little garlic shoot and potato plants coming up! Still waiting on carrots- I have a few little sprouts of growth but I can't really tell if it's carrots, or just little weeds haha!

Here's some updates photos:

I planted 4 Siberian kale plants and 4 celery plants today that I got from the farmer's market!

 this Glacier tomato is not looking too good.

Potato plants are coming up!!!

onions everywhere!

Strawberry plants are beginning to flower!

Garlic shoots comin up!

more potatoes :)

Garden view

Spring love

Our edible plants are just shooting up left and right! We have little onion shoots coming up in bed #1, and the lettuce seedlings are doing well! The Ozark Beauty strawberries are getting leaves, the All Stars are continuing to look good. Haven't seen any action from the potatoes or garlic yet, but they're under there, doing their stuff!

I posted the other day on the possibility of seed-starting indoors next year.
I am constantly amazed at how sharing and talking with people is so beneficial. I feel like if you put that energy out there, things work out your way sometimes.
I was talking with my friend Anna about seed-starting and she told me she had 4 or more shop lights that she had bought for seed-starting a few years back, but couldn't bear to "weed out" the weaker seeds once they all started to grow, so she ended up with like 200 tomato plants :) So she said she would be willing to give some supplies to me!

I really love Spring. It's time to come out of hibernation :) I've had a lot of opportunities to get together with new friends lately, and I have really enjoyed that. People at work that I enjoy but haven't made a point to extend that friendship. Friends of friends that I feel are pretty much friends already, although we've not spent that much time together! I've really enoyed the chance to do this, and I'm thankful for it.

Family time this weekend has been well-earned. There's a strong chance that we will be having a 16 year old living with us for the next two years starting next week, so a lot of relaxing this weeekend is in order...

more on that to come! :)

First raised-bed planting!

Today I picked up my seeds/plants, and planted:

• Red and yellow onions,
• Red and green leaf lettuce as well as a bit of arugula, etc.
• Allstar strawberries
• Ozark beauty strawberries
• Russett potatoes
• Red pontiac potatoes
• Garlic
• a Glacier tomato plant

as well as some sweet basil plants (in a separate planter)

here's a before picture:

lettuce:

strawberries:

garden!!!:

I still have to plant:

• carrots
• tomatoes
• zucchini
• cucumbers

and I have no idea where those things are fitting lol :)

I think I might be adding another little bed somewhere!

YES!

Look what I came home to today:

Finally!!!!!

 

We burned the 8pm oil a little bit, but we got it done by the light of the motion-sensor! It will probably rain tonight and then we'll have to put a bit more in. But we did end up with a bit extra- hopefully enough to fill the cinder blocks with so I can plant my Marigolds soon :) Mike was really helpful and patient, even through my uncontrollable impatience and perfectionism. So thank you, love.


I have some onion sets to plant and I need to go pick up the rest of my cold weather transplants this weekend! Woohoo!!

I little bit of progress can go a long way for your self-esteem :)

Springy pictures from our yard

Crocuses, Tulips and Hyacinths- Oh My!

Also, what is Helo doing here? Trying to shoot into outer space? Just wondering..

2010 Goals check-up

Today I am inspired to reflect on how I am doing so far on my 2010 goals

(thanks Kathie @ Two Frog Home)!

1. Finding a source for local meat/animal products  Achieved! Meat and eggs from Karl Baer
2. Continuing to focus on eating seasonally and the methods that enable me to do that, like freezing, preserving, storing, and drying food. Official hard-core start date: April
3. Cut down shopping at chain grocery stores, such as Kroger, Whole Foods, etc. In Progress
4. My overall goal is for my average food consumption to look like this: In Progress

• 
  
  15% home-grown
• 
  
  75% Ypsilanti Food Co-op/Farmer's Market/CSA
• 
  
  10% Restaurant

Since I've been reading The Backyard Homestead, I have a much better idea of what kind of specific layout I could have in my backyard for my food crops, and some more solid thoughts about how to put my ideas in to reality! In addition, here are some other Homesteading things I have been working on:

• Making all of the bread we eat
• using cloth towels instead of paper towels
• using cloth napkins instead of paper napkins

On a seperate note, below is me in my favorite outfit, and I hope I get to wear it soon!!

Jeans + a hoodie + Birks= love!

False Alarm everyone....

..... it is NOT, in fact, Spring.

Pic from the library looking out onto snowland, and our old apartment, as a matter of fact! I am at the library for a bit, reading gardening books and thinking of sunnier days. I already did most of the chores and baking I needed to do yesterday- I don't have anything left to do today and I'm not sure what to do with this time! Maybe I'll wander over to the Co-op and get some ingredients for granola? Then its time to venture home. My stomach is getting all rumbly!

Shine Shine Shine!!

Today as I walked outside this morning to hop into my car for the morning commute, I got a distinct whiff of Spring. I don't know how to explain it- it just smelled of Spring! I'm very aware of the date on the calendar today, folks, but I've been feeling all day as if it is a chilly March 25th, not a nice February 18th, and that is a great feeling! I actually took off my coat in the car today because it was getting so warm!

Tonight's Master Gardener class is going to be on Vegetable Culture, and I am about as psyched about it as one could be about vegetables! I'm new to gardening, so a lot of the MG class has been very helpful knowledge that I haven't been able to put into practice yet- but I do have experience growing vegetables (although only a small amount) and I do have a big interest in growing vegetables! This is perfect timing since I just ordered my edible plants for the year- hopefully I will get some more insight on where to plant, how to plant, how to maintain, etc.

It's so sunny outside- wooo!!!

My spring plant order

Here's the order I placed yesterday for my plants! I plan to pick them up when they are starter sized- not fully grown, but bigger than plug-sized. I am so psyched! I'm getting 6 Flats total, plus some other loose plants. The flats are 18 2.5" x 2.5" x 3" containers:

• 64 strawberry plants
• Flat 1: loose-leaf Lettuces
• Flat 2: onions (yellow/white)
• Flat 3: 8 zucchini plants and 10 garlic bulbs
• Flat 4: 8 roma tomato plants and 8 cherry tomato plants
• Flat 5: 8 better bush tomato plants and 10 salad bush cucumber plants
• Flat 6: potatoes
• 4 basil plants, 4 cilantro plants, 2 chive plants, 2 rosemary plants, 2 jalepeno pepper plants
• enough carrot seeds for a 4x4 bed worth of carrots

 
Also- the turkey from Karl Baer's farm was absolutley delicious. I got smoked turkey, and sliced it into pieces small enough for a sandwich- right now I am eating a sandwich with local munster cheese, Baer Farms smoked turkey, and my homemade bread. I will never buy the pre-packed turkey from a grocery store again. This is delish!!
 
I'm going to make some bread tonight. What kind should I make? Suggestions?
 
Although it is cold and snowy and dirty outside, we are moving towards Spring! Or at least that's what I keep telling myself..