Seed and Weed

Early spring

2012-01-31T17:07:00.000-06:00

We have had a couple spring like days here in Illinois with temps around 60. On a fluke, I looked outside and found this...

My daffodils have started coming up...in January no less! I don't know if I remember them ever coming up this early.

I started peeking around a bit and found my hyacinths with buds. These surely wont last long when the next cold snap hits. :( The tulips have also just started to peek through the ground. I bet my crocuses are up as well, but they are well buried under a layer a leaves, and I didn't want to disturb too much knowing that warm weather will not be lasting for long.

Pre Spring Prep

2012-01-29T14:54:00.000-06:00

Winter has been so mild here. It is supposed to be in the 50's this week here in Illinois. Hard to think of it as a January thaw when it seems we haven't even really been frozen yet! We did receive a 2-3" snowfall this weekend. It was a pretty icy snow and started to melt the very next day.
Seed starting will begin shortly so I took advantage of the weekend to start cleanup of my potting shed. So much to do! First of all, Charlotte and her babies had set up shop and had to be sucked up by the vacuum. I am amazed at how quickly spiders make a home. A summer and fall of in and out, drop and run had made for a disarray in the shed. One day I will learn...maybe.

The to do list continues to grow:

catalog remaining seed so I can determine my order for this year
all dirty seed starting containers and trays need to be cleaned...this is something that I definitely need to start doing in the fall. It is too chilly out to be washing dirty containers outdoors and I don't want all of that dirt going down my drains in the house.
check and replace flourescent bulbs for seed starting
figure out what containers I want to plant outside and what I want to plant in them...preferably before sending off my seed order. I want to start more flowers from seed this year.

Fallen feeder

2012-01-03T10:08:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to let the dogs out and found this. My fly through feeder was knocked over. We were gone over the New Year's weekend, and I knew that there were high winds in our area. Between that and what appears to be a rotted post, it looks like the wind probably knocked it over. It looks like my husband will need to put a new post on it. Getting it back in the ground may be a challenge though with the ground frozen solid. I hope he can get it back up. I love to watch the birds in it.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:16:00.000-06:00

So, the new year is upon us. Time for thought, reflection, and resolutions. Boy, do I have some for my gardens this year!

Start more flowers from seed. I always think that I will have these wonderful plans and know just what flowers that I want to put in which containers. Well...ummm...that never happens. I tend to be a great veggie seed person and the flowers get put to the side.
Start reasonable numbers of vegetables from seed. I need to not feel that I am feeding the masses when I seed. :) I always over plan for seed failure, which leads me to the next bullet...
Rethink how I start my seeds. I usually start my seeds in small dixie drinking cups. I know that this is not environmentally friendly which goes against most of what I believe, but I continue to do it. It reminds me of my great grandma. She started seeds this way. I need to be better about starting in small containers and pot up frequently.
Better planning of my family's needs. What veggies do I need and how many. I have been bitten by the raw food bug and hope to increase my vegetable juicing this year. That will mean more beets, carrots, spinach and adding some kale perhaps. Celery would be good, but I am not sure about how to grow it. Not that I couldn't try and learn.
Move my raspberry patch from the main garden area. My husband told me in the beginning that putting the raspberries in the garden was not a good idea. Being my hard headed, stubborn self, I persisted that I wanted them in the garden. Now I tell him that he was right. :) They have become invasive with their runners. I think that having them in raised beds in the yard where I can go around with the lawnmower will help keep those runners in check.
Redo my south facing flower bed. I had torn this bed apart when we first moved to this house nearly 11 years ago as well as expanded it. I accepted a gift of a sunflower type flower from my neighbor that she promised was only a couple feet tall. Needless to say, my dirt must have radioactive properties. Those darn things grow to well over 5 feet tall and are as invasive as any plant I have grown. They have overtaken the bed. The bed is getting everything removed and replanted in the spring.
Last but not least, weeding. Ugh. The bane of my existence. What can I say, my blog is aptly named. Spring always starts with the best of intentions and energy. Along comes the Illinois heat and humidity which I do not like, throw in a summer vacation or two, and you no longer have a neat and tidy garden, but a rambling plot of opportunistic weeds! This year's plan is to be a better weeder. How will I accomplish this goal? The basics of more frequent weeding. Weeds in general brings me to the last bullet which I need help with from my gardening friends.
How to control the weeds between my raised beds. How do others accomplish this? I don't want to use a pesticide at all. We have used straw with some success. Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:57:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! It was a brown Christmas here in Illinois, as in much of the country, but merry nonetheless. We are still waiting for our first measureable snowfall here. The latest first measureable snowfall as noted for our area on the NOAA website was on January 4, 1913. I am starting to think that this may be a record setting season. Even though it was a snowless Christmas this year, I have this picture from last Christmas Eve to reflect on.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with blessings!

Where's the snow?

2011-12-11T09:22:00.001-06:00

I keep reading about the overall lack of snowfall so far this season in tweets and on facebook. We had just a dusting of snow here on the 5th, but it was gone as soon as the sun came out that next day.
Being a bit of a self proclaimed weather nerd, I started wondering about our area's averages. NOAA is great resource for all things regarding weather related history.
In the Peoria, IL area, here are some of our averages:

1st snow - November 4
1st measureable snow - November 21
1st inch of snow - December 9
Monthy average for November - 1.1 inches
Monthy average for December - 7.1 inches
Most snowfall in November - 6.8 inches in 1975
Most snowfall in December - 8.0 inches in 1893 and again in 2000

Being a snow lover, I am hoping for some snow soon. I always say that if it is going to be cold, there might as well be some snow on the ground.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T20:22:00.001-06:00

Pinterest has become a site that I have really enjoyed. I am good at pinning ideas but not necessarily following through on any of the ideas right now.....someday, I think... I decided to try out a couple of the ideas for Thanksgiving this year.

This one in particular seemed applicable to my gardening blog. After all they ARE vegetables. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of blessings!

Garden plans for spring 2012

2011-11-16T19:41:00.001-06:00

I am contemplating downsizing our garden next year. I never thought that I would say it. I have always liked having a fairly large garden...large to some, not so much in comparison to others. It has just gotten to be too much, and I am not able to do it justice by harvesting at the right times, patrolling for bugs, and weeding...oh, the weeding! I think gardening was easier when my kids were smaller. I have one daughter that would prefer torture than to play in the dirt and one that enjoys being in the garden with us, but not the work that it requires.
This has left me wondering that if I scale back, perhaps I can regain control and pride in my garden again. I start in the spring with such huge dreams. After a long winter, the look of a freshly planted garden is inspiring. Enter Illinois' humid summers and the novelty soon wears off. This summer I spent more time away from home and on the road that the garden couldn't have gotten a fair shake had I tried. My work schedule has changed which affords me more time at home, so perhaps I will have more time before work and during lunch. Should I give it one more year? I don't know.
Home gardening has so many benefits:

The relaxation of being in the garden is a biggie.
I love the peace and quiet, nature's sounds, and playing in the dirt.
The food is fresh and pesticide free....another huge plus in my book. Saving money by growing your own food.
Our garden provides shelter for critters. Rabbit nests, snakes, birds, spiders, etc

I put myself on a waiting list for a local CSA just in case I go through with this. I am one of those people that sees something I like and thinks, "Oh, I could make that." but do I? Generally not. It is my cheapskate brain's way of saying don't buy. Will I be happy purchasing food that I could be growing myself? I would likely receive vegetables that I don't grow in my own garden which would be interesting and fun. Hmmm...
To top it all off, I received my first seed catalog of the year already. Do I dare to dream? Stay tuned...

Surprise carrots

2011-11-16T19:32:00.000-06:00

We had a bit of a surprise in the garden this past weekend. Lauren had helped me pick carrots this summer, and had trouble getting "a couple" of them out of the ground because the tops were breaking off. I didn't think much of a "couple" carrots being left. We had picked quite a few.
Fast forward to this past weeknend. Lauren asked her Dad if she could pick the carrots that she had left in the ground. Sure...why not? My goodness! This was more than a "couple" carrots! I was shocked.

This is what they pulled. They are some of the strangest looking carrots. I am not sure what would have caused them to grow such bulbous ends.

Lauren with her baby carrots.

A couple of examples of some of the more odd shapes we found that day.

Weekend out and about

2011-11-06T20:33:00.004-06:00

Mackinaw River. I drive over this bridge every day that I go to town. I enjoy the change of the seasons that I see here. An angry, raging, muddy river in spring, a lush green landscape that calls me to my kayak in the summer, the colors of autumn and a lazy river in fall, a frozen, snow covered trees and ground with an ice covered river in winter.

The above two shots were taken not long after sunrise.

Autumn leaves in a watery grave...still showing their beautiful colors.

My youngest daughter, Lauren, walking the river. She is drawn to the water just like her Momma.

Looking for shells. She said that she doesn't like the river as much when the creatures of the water aren't there. She is always asking questions that I have no answers for. Today, "Where do the clams go in winter, Mom?" and "What happens to the frogs in winter?" I need google.com in my head.

Two of my favorite people. My youngest and my husband. My oldest felt that hanging out with friends was more fun. Teenagers... :)

A different area of the same river. On the way home for the day.

Yet another stop over the river. It is a very winding river with many bridge crossings.

Where do you go? Where do you end up?

Great colors at a roadside ditch.

My father-in-law being a good sport while we were stopping today.

More autumn color on a gray day.

Sunrise11.5.11

2011-11-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

Predawn

Grain elevator silhouetted by the predawn.

Playing a bit with the sunset setting on my camera. Really brings out the reds and oranges.

Grain elevator again in close up with sunset setting on camera.

The sun is just starting to peek out...

Good morning!

Fall leaves

2011-10-29T11:26:00.003-05:00

I find autumn to be one of the most beautiful times of the year. The colors, the temperatures, the promise of an upcoming winter.... Gotcha didn't I? :) Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of trees with great fall color, but I did get a couple shots. I keep telling myself that I am going to go out and hunt some great trees for photos, but just haven't gotten there, so I improvised in my own yard.

Eastern Redbud

Maple

Freeze warning

2011-10-28T21:24:00.002-05:00

Central Illinois has it's first freeze warning of the year tonight. Not the Major League baseball kind, either. :) According to the National Weather Service, the first freeze for our area generally occurs on October 17th, so we are slightly behind average. All of my tender plants came into the potting shed with the first frost warning, so I am safe that way. I am ready to not have to mow grass anymore, for weeds to finally die, and yes, for snow to start flying. I have to say that this has been one of the most beautiful and temperate autumns that I can remember. Sometimes I wonder if that has to do with me getting older and more appreciative of nature.

Assorted flora and fauna - Yellowstone 2011

2011-10-22T17:02:00.001-05:00

I saw a lot of this fungi type growth. Unlike anything that I see here at home.

Multi colors of fungi

More amazement at the things that can grow in the adverse conditions of the geyser basins of Yellowstone.

This moss like material was actually dry. I would have thought it would be moist like most mosses. It would fall off and you would find clumps of it lying on the ground.

Definitely some funky fungi...

The Flowers of Yellowstone - The Whites

2011-10-22T13:31:00.001-05:00

This flower had the most amazing scent! Very sweet.

Alpine strawberries

These seemed to be growing everywhere....

Take me back....

One of my favorite pictures.

The Flowers of Yellowstone - Reds and Oranges

2011-10-22T13:24:00.005-05:00

Some of my favorite flowers are in this color group. They stand out and beg to be seen!

Amazing color!

Common Indian Paintbrush

It never ceased to amaze me....the beauty that grew out the hostile environment of the geyser basins.

Coral bells

Not a flower but loved the color!

Flowers of Yellowstone Part 2 - the Purples and Blues

2011-09-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

Next up are the purple and blue flowers...

Amazing where these flowers will grow and the conditions that they will grow in.

The Flowers of Yellowstone - the yellows

2011-09-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting around to posting flower pictures from our trip to Yellowstone in July. I bought a book while we were there at the recommendation of a park volunteer called Wildflowers of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks by Richard J. Shaw with the hope that I could identify all of the species that I found, but I have found that it isn't all inclusive. After seeing all the flowers, how could it be? :) I had SO many pictures that I have to divide them by color. Yellows first....of course...

More hummingbirds....

2011-09-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

In order to not make it appear as if I was only excited to see an anomaly in the world of hummingbirds, I did get some pictures of the "normal" hummingbirds as well. I had been trying to get pictures at my feeders, but hadn't had any luck. It is too easy to get distracted at home by the next project or child that needed my attention. At my in-laws, I was able to sit on the porch, drink coffee, and simply wait for the entertainment. Listening to the birds talk and scold and protect their territory is always entertaining.

"Who, me?"

Posing for a side view...

I had not realized how speckled the throat of a hummingbird is. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a ruby throated male, but not luck that morning.

Someone has their feathers ruffled...

Waiting and watching for the next intruder...

...and a little preening. I tried and tried to get this shot. I would click the shutter just a second to late. I was happy to have caught this.

Fluffed and puffed

This reminds me of just how small these birds are.

Albino hummingbird

2011-09-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

My mother-in-law called this morning to let us know that a white hummingbird had come to their feeders yesterday. She knew that I would be interested in trying to get a picture of it. I believe that it is truly an albino hummingbird. In doing further research online, I found that there are albino and Leucistic Ruby Throated hummingbirds. Leucisitic birds still have dark coloring on their bills, feet and eyes. This bird does not. They are reportedly very rare. It was an amazing sight!

I have been checking online to find an organization that might be interested in knowing of an albino sighting, but only found one in the Carolinas. I sent an email to the Cornell Lab of Orinthology and am awaiting a return email. Does anyone else have a suggestion?

Canning peaches

2011-09-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

I am a week late in posting this, but better late than never. Our peach trees produced for the first time this year, as I had previously posted, but being so small, they were not what I had wanted for canning halves. In past years, I have always put my name on a call list at one of the local orchards for when their Michigan Red Haven peaches come in. They are great peaches and freestone for easy pitting. When they came in, I bought a bushel specifically for canning.

Here is one basket ready to be put in the boiling water. We use our turkey fryer for this.

Part of the end product. 30 quarts that will taste so awesome when snow is flying. :)

Hummingbirds duels

2011-09-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

As I sit in front of my computer this morning, I am being entertained by what is going on outside my window. A duel of sorts. Let me explain...

I enjoy feeding the birds as well as gardening. Every year, I put out my two hummingbird feeders. This year had a slow start. Where were the hummingbirds? The food would sit and no birds came. This was odd. I always have hummingbirds. As summer has progressed, the birds have found my feeders once again and I have regular visitors. Two feeders with more than two hummingbirds is where the dueling comes in.

Prior to beginning to feed them, I had not known how territorial hummingbirds are. It is comical to watch one sit on or near the feeder with a watchful eye out for a competitor. As soon as one comes near, the chase is on. I can look out my window and see two birds zipping by. And noisy! I could hear them across the street going at it earlier this week.

It has been extremely dry here in central Illinois this summer, so I think that my hummingbirds are appreciative of the constant supply of food. It has been a difficult year to keep plants alive and blooming. Perhaps dying flowers have made them more dependent on the feeders. With the high heat, the sugar water can go bad quickly, and it is important to keep fresh food in the feeders and wash the feeders well. Mold likes to try to grow if you aren't careful. The food is very easy to make. There is no need to buy the more expensive red tinted food at the store. Here is the recipe that I use:

Hummingbird food

Four parts water, boiled

One part sugar

For example, this morning I boiled two cups water and then added 1/2 cup sugar. Stir to mix. Once the sugar water has cooled, I pour it in clean feeders. The food does not have to be red. I read once that putting red food coloring in the food can be harmful to the birds.

Preservation day

2011-08-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Today has been a very productive day in terms of preserving our garden's bounty. Today's totals included:

34 one cup bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer
13 pints of canned carrots
14 cups of peach freezer jam
17 cups of frozen peaches
4 pints of peach butter

Thanks to Bill for being such a great helper. I had already shredded the zucchini and cut the tops off of the carrots and washed them, but he helped with carrot peeling, peach peeling and pitting. Two sets of hands make the job go so much easier. We still have cucumbers that need to be made into pickles, but they will have to wait.

Our beagle mix, Riley, at his usual post....not too far from wherever Lauren is. Lauren really enjoyed helping to pick the peaches off of the trees. I think that she liked being on the ladder as well. :) Our peaches weren't large. They ranged from the size of apricots to somewhat smaller than a baseball. They weren't pretty to look at either with black spots on them, but wow, were they ever sweet! And no bugs or worms! This was the first year that we have gotten peaches from these trees so we were thrilled.

Lauren with a look of determination.

I had to make sure that Bill got photo credit for all of his help also. :)

Lauren got a big kick out of this twisted carrot. We also had one that looked like a pair of pants with legs. Overall, the carrots did very well. I also harvested a few peppers, a crookneck squash, some nice slicing tomatoes, many cherry tomatoes, and some okra. Not enough to put up but plenty to eat fresh.

Need help with sick tomatoes

2011-08-12T17:22:00.000-05:00

I picked 53 pounds of tomatoes today. Sounds great, right? Wrong.... 26 pounds of those tomatoes are bad, and I don't know why. I need the help of my fellow gardeners. This is a sample of what I am consistently finding. They are all my Roma tomatoes only and in one particular bed that is not part of my regular garden. This bed has not been planted with tomatoes previously and is a relatively new bed that has not had the benefit of compost like the beds in my garden. I know that there is a deficiency in the soil because I have seen a few fruits with blossom end rot as well. Weird thing is that someof the tomatoes are fine and can be right next to an infected bunch.

It starts with just a small spot on the skin that spreads...

Then a fungus type of growth starts. If there was even a small spot starting on the fruit, I got rid of it. I didn't want to take a chance.

If this is something that I can fix this year, I would like to do that. I do try to use organic practices for fertilization and control of pests. I would appreciate any help that you all can give!

Bad blogger....

2011-08-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

Need. To. Blog.
Yes, that is what I need to do. I feel that I have been running circles since we came back from vacation. Where does the time go? I have great plans for putting all of the flower pictures from our Yellowstone trip on here, but put them together in one folder in Picasa and had well over 200. How could I have taken so many pictures of flowers? No wonder my kids were rolling their eyes when I crouched for yet one more photo of a flower that I swear I hadn't seen elsewhere in the park! I guess I need to take the time and just start putting them on. One day for yellow flowers, one day for white, etc?? They are too pretty not to share. Other ideas that I have thought of is to make a big photo poster of the flowers to hang in my potting shed. I am very excited about this idea as well as making a photo book or scrapbook of just the flowers. Did I forget to mention that I just seem to not have enough time?? :)

Today's harvest

2011-07-31T21:45:00.001-05:00

After being on vacation for two weeks, I felt like I needed to go out to the garden with one eye closed and one barely open. I was scared to see what condition the garden would be in. I knew that it had been horribly hot, and goodness knows how well weeds love the heat! Needless to say, the weeds had definitely found home, and we will be working to reclaim a tidy garden for awhile. I did have some nice harvests though. I pulled some of the broccoli plants and will have to pull the rest as well. It has been way too hot for them. The peas are gone and need pulled as well.

We have plenty of tomatoes to start canning and eating. There were some cherry tomatoes that did not make it to the picture. Amazing how good they taste after eating nasty tomatoes the rest of the year. I may never buy another hothouse tomato again.

Beets! They were a bit bigger than I would have liked, but they grew extra long while we were on vacation. According to what my husband weighed before and after holding the bucket and cutting the stems down, there were nine pounds. We ended up with eight pints minus what I ate while peeling them. Yum! Now to get a second planting in.

Homeward bound

2011-07-29T20:26:00.001-05:00

After two weeks spent vacationing out west, we are headed home. We were gone for the majority of the Midwest heat wave, so I am not sure what condition I will find my garden in when I look tomorrow. I am sure the weeds have thrived. The tomatoes are probably turning red and my summer squashes are probably as big as ball bats.
I have so many pictures to go through from our trip with many of them flowers that I will share here. The Yellowstone area was absolutely beautiful!

Oh, tomato!

2011-07-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

Roma tomatoes....lots of Roma tomatoes. I see canning in my future which is great! I am hoping to get enough this year that I am able to make sauce. I haven't ever done that before. It takes such a large quantity of tomatoes.

Close up of the Roma tomatoes. So many bunched together!

Viva Italia tomato plant

These are the mystery tomatoes that got accidentally dumped on the floor of my shed in the seeding/early growth stages. All of my markers were knocked out and I didn't know what was what. I was hoping most of all that I would get at least one Black Krim plant out it all. I think that I have been successful. It was the only large type tomato in the bunch.

Sheboygan

Italian Heirloom

Gold Medal

Pink Brandywine

German Pink

Why Gardening Is Good For Your Health

2011-07-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

We have a social networking site at work that I am part of, and one of the groups that I follow is, of course, Gardening. This article from CNN was posted and I thought I would share it. I have often said that gardening is a big stress reliever for me. There is nothing quite like digging in the dirt!

Finally....broccoli

2011-07-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

Just when I was starting to think that I had planted mutant broccoli or had a serious soil nutrient deficiency, I finally have gotten some broccoli! I harvested 3 plants for a total of 1.7 lbs. I looked back through my blog, and I planted my plants on May 1st. The harvest time is 60-80 days from setting out plants, so actually I was doing okay. Next year, I need to get my plants out earlier. A very crazy spring work schedule delayed that this year. With it being so hot now, as well as very dry, I may not get much more. Perhaps I can start some more plants and get a fall crop.....there's a thought. :)

Our faithful prowler of the yard, Riley. :) He needed photo credit as well since he came out with me to pick the broccoli.

Thank you!

2011-07-05T18:38:00.001-05:00

Thanks so much to Annie's Granny at Annie's Kitchen Garden for the Harvest to Date widget for my blog! I have to say that garden bloggers are some of the best souls for helping each other out. A common bond brings people together in the best ways! :)

July 4th

2011-07-04T14:07:00.002-05:00

Happy Independence Day! Proud to be married to a Gulf War veteran. Thanks to all our service men and women that help to keep us safe and free!

2 1/4 oz of pea pods (total 15 3/4 oz.) and 9 1/2 oz. of red raspberries today (total 1.8 pounds). No pictures....figured there are only so many ways to display the same thing over and over. More of a post just to help me keep track. :) I have seen other blogs that have a way that they keep track of their harvests in the sidebar of their blog. Does anyone know if this is a widget of some sort?

Saturday's harvest

2011-07-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

We are still on a raspberry and pea pod stretch here.

10 1/2 oz of red raspberries to add to my yogurt. The Japanese beetles are still around, but doing only minimal damage to the leaves. The fruit is untouched, so I have left them alone. We have a lot of crop dusting in our area unfortunately, and while driving on the highway it sounds like rain hitting your car with all of the beetles hitting it. Yuck! The only good thing is that they are dead beetles!

11 oz. of freshly blanched pea pods...minus the pods that made it to my tummy prior to the photo. These are going into the freezer for future stir fries.

Farmer's Market trip

2011-07-02T11:41:00.002-05:00

Bill, Lauren and I went to a couple of the Farmer's Markets in Peoria this morning. Of course, I totally forgot my camera which bummed me out. I was hoping to get some good pictures.
The first market was at the Metro Centre. I was disappointed at the amount of vegetables and fruits that were there that were not locally grown. I felt like I was at the grocery store with all the stickers on the produce. We did find two booths that had locally grown produce. One was entirely organic which I really liked. We saw a lot of onions, broccoli, cabbages, beets, and squashes. We picked up some small cucumbers and some summer squash (which will be going on the grill tonight). Ours are not ready yet. A bakery was there selling fresh baked pretzels which Lauren loved and Bill and I each had a wonderful cheesy biscuit type bread that had cheddar and asiago cheeses as well as green onions and garlic. I think they were called Zorbas? I will have to get another one next time and double check the name.
The other was the Peoria Riverfront Market . We picked up some Ropp Jersey cheese there, all natural cheeses from their own cows, that I really like. Tomato basil garlic cheddar and bacon green onion cheddar.
Pekin also has one on Thursday nights that we will try to visit this week. I hope I remember my camera. :)

Today's harvest

2011-06-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Small but very tasty harvest today. Needless to say, what you see pictured is not the total harvest. Half the fun was eating sun warmed raspberries and sweet pea pods directly from the garden. One of the many benefits of no pesticides. :)

After the in garden eating, there were 9 oz. of raspberries that will be part of tomorrows breakfast.

Only 2 1/2 oz. of pea pods made it to the picture. Lauren wanted to fire up the grill and cook them. She loves to eat them grilled. I always tend to eat them before they can be cooked.

Veggie and flower progress

2011-06-22T10:08:00.003-05:00

The veggie garden as of this past Sunday (Father's Day). My husband strawed many of the beds for me. :)

Baby tomatoes...Roma on the left and Viva Italia on the right. It won't be long now...

Two of my raised beds of tomatoes on the left. They seem to finally be growing. This has been such an odd year for weather. I have noticed that throughout the country, other garden bloggers are reporting the same conditions. My okra is on the right. They are bigger than they look in their bed of straw. They really like the heat, and there just hasn't been a lot of that over a consistent period. Today is overcast and in the 60's with highs in only the 60's and 70's for the rest of the week and lows in the 50's. Great weather in my book, but not good for warm weather loving plants.

I am so proud of my yellow crookneck squash on the upper left. This is seed from my aunt in Alabama again that I have had for a few years and wasn't sure if it would grow. I am thrilled to see it sprout! She says that it is the best yellow squash in her opinion. I am so glad to have a start of another family heirloom.

Ah, the upper right picture. This has to be the most pathetic stand of beets that I have ever seen. The rabbits have been feasting on the leaves that are closest to the fence (the back of the picture). I hope to harvest these soon and get a second crop in.

Lower left...my volunteer dill. I love the feathery foliage.

Lower right...onions and a bit of my broccoli and peas. The blue tubes were over the broccoli while they were still small to keep the rabbits from devouring them.

My broccoli and peas. The peas are growing along with my carrots.

The wild black raspberry bush that I have been feasting on recently.

Also checked in on the red raspberries. There are a few that are getting some size to them. I was so happy to find that there was a red one. Needless to say, I ate it right then and there. Yum!

In keeping with my "old seed" theme this year, my hyacinth beans have sprouted. My neighbor would be proud. :)

I have torn out this wren nest so many times from the bluebird house. One persistent Momma Wren. Makes me always think of the book....

Peaches! Growing nicely....

Hostas that I have growing around the trees on the north side of our yard in the front. I have a flower bed in the backyard that is very shady. I am thinking of converting it to a hosta bed. I don't know why I haven't thought of that before. That will have to be a next spring job.

On the left is a Glowing Embers hydrangea that has never seemed to look like a glowing ember to me. It was supposed to be reddish in color. I have always had pastel pink. I don't think that this hydrangea is supposed to be influenced by the pH of the soil, but maybe?? My Oakleaf hydrangea is on the right. It is looking very full this year.

My daylilies will be blooming soon. Lots of buds. They will likely need thinned out next year. I really should think about having a plant sale.

On the right is one of my oriental lillies. So beautiful!

Chameleon plant is on the left. It can make a ground cover, but I never allow it that much room. I really like when the leaves get tints of red to them.

My rouge Sweet Autumn Clematis is threatening to take over my suet feeder. It hasn't hindered the birds from eating suet.

This is kind of a low key time for the flower gardens. After such a burst of color in spring, everything just seems green now. I plan to start more annuals from seed for some additional color next year.

Raspberry update

2011-06-18T21:29:00.000-05:00

Nine more ounces of black raspberries picked today. It sure felt like more. That is a total of 1 lb. 5 oz. Not bad for a plant that was started from a bird deposit!

After checking how the black raspberries are doing, I went to check on the red raspberries. I was unhappy to find this visitor.

Japanese beetles....they love my raspberry leaves. This one was the only one that I saw, but I found evidence of their damage. I have said for a couple years that I need to get some milky spore to help control them, and haven't done so. Looks like hand based control again this year.

I never realized until just now that those nasty grubs that you find when digging in the dirt become the Japanese beetles. One more reason to dislike grubs.

Wild onion

2011-06-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

Next to our Ash tree is this volunteer wild onion (Allium vineale). I thought that was what it was anyway and did some online checking to make sure. I found picutres that looked the same as what I have here. In doing so, I found that it is also called crow garlic or wild garlic and has become invasive and is not native to North America. It also is resistant to herbicides. I have never yanked it because I think that it is unique looking and has never seemed to become a problem where it is.

First black raspberries of the year!

2011-06-16T20:52:00.000-05:00

I picked the first black raspberries of the year tonight. 3/4 pound total. Guess what is going in my yogurt in the morning? :)

Reclaiming the garden

2011-06-13T22:04:00.003-05:00

We had a beautiful weekend, and I was able to get a lot of work done in the vegetable garden. A busy work season, combined with busy kid's activities, and the horrible biting gnats had made it a challenge to get outdoors. Weeds were the prevailing crop, but I was determined to regain control. With the help of my dear husband, we got the garden back to where we could feel proud of our accomplishment....as well as tell that veggies were being grown there! There were a few things that I had not gotten in the ground yet, so I was able to get that done. I planted eight okra plants, one hill of crookneck yellow squash from my aunt in Alabama (I love heirlooms....especially ones from my own family!) and a hill of zucchini. I still need to plant cucumbers, beans, and black eyed peas. It is getting late, but better late than never!

On the left is some of my volunteer dill that I have let grow. Dill is one of those plants that if you don't keep ahead of it, it becomes invasive. I don't think I have ever seen it labeled as such, but my garden in spring is proof of the fact. On the right is my sage. I severely cut it back in the spring since it was becoming very woody, and it came back very nicely.

Another view of the veggie garden. I planted seeds for more Bachelor Buttons, Zinnas, Sweet William, Stock and Wildflower mix along the right side of the fence. A couple of my poppies have come back this year which made me happy. I thought that they had died out. I would like to also get some Larkspur growing there again. I love flowers mixed in the garden.

My stand of Roma tomatoes. Far from the regular garden. Hoping to have our strawberry patch in here next year.

A Roma tomato in the making....

Some funky fungi that I found while weeding. A lot of different shelf type fungi seem to grow on the wood of the raised beds, but this was something I had not seen before. While I was weeding, I encountered lots of different spiders, centipede looking creatures that were quick to get back underground when disturbed, and found that lightning bugs seemed to like my beet bed. The rabbits must like beets too. Many of my plants had the green tops munched off.

Some sort of weed. The flower was pretty though. I have never seen it before.

Red raspberries. There do not seem to be nearly the bees around them this year. I have seen more wasps than anything. I don't think I have seen a single honeybee.

I have no idea what this is. Some sort of dried fungus from last year? Nest from some sort of insect?

Friendship bean

2011-06-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

Many of the plants that I have are remembered by who gave them to me. These plants bring back floods of memories. The "Darnaby lily" which is a yellow lily from our very first house as a married couple that we have brought with us with each move. The white iris with purple edging that came from that house also. The purple and yellow iris from "Grandma and Grandpa Ken", our neighbors when we lived in that first house. They also gave us a sedum and I have since planted grape hyacinths that remind me of them. Chameleon plant from our neighbor in our second house. Chives from a friend that I used to work with. Hosta from my previous walking buddy that started our current book club. My Annabelle hydrangea that was a Mother's day present from my girls 11 years ago. Pale yellow iris from a former boss. The list goes on and on....

The reason for all of this nostalgia is that I have found seeds for Hyacinth Bean in my potting shed that are from my next door neighbor that just recently, and quite unexpectedly passed away. She was a farmer's wife with a love for flowers that would share freely. I have received coral bells from her as well as what was supposed to be a short sunflowery plant that grows over four feet tall in my beds and has become annoyingly invasive. :) It must like it's surroundings.

Anyway, I think that I will plant them along our chain link fence on her side in her memory. Perhaps her husband will enjoy them also.

Buffalo gnats

2011-06-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

At the time when the weeds are growing like....well....weeds, the buffalo gnats arrive to keep gardeners away from the garden. Almost like a conspiracy.

Spring in Illinois brings swarms of biting gnats called buffalo gnats, named for their humpbacked appearance. I prefer not to let them sit long enough to check out their shape. The eggs of the buffalo gnat are laid in running water, and our proximity to a large lake and two rivers probably only helps to increase their numbers here. We have had a breezy spring which seems to help keep them away somewhat, but just being outdoors becomes a challenge. I was kayaking over the weekend with the wind against me for the first leg of my float and had no gnats. What an enjoyable experience! The paddle back was another story all together. It was very hot and the gnats started sticking to me and getting behind my sunglasses. I couldn't wait to get off the water! From what I have read, they tend to like the cooler temps and their numbers drop when the temps hit 75-80. With temps in the 90's this week, I am hoping we are close to the end of their life cycle.

Many people have allergic reactions to the bites (only the females bite) which from what I hear are painful and become very swollen. Thankfully, I am not allergic to the bites, but my husband is, and it is amazing what swelling one little gnat can cause.

There are many home remedies that people recommend to deter the gnats. The most common and recommended is vanilla sprays. Some people swear by real vanilla mixed with water, vanilla body sprays, or Buggins brand spray. My daughter's vanilla body spray seems to work pretty well for us for now.

Anyone else have buffalo gnats in your area? What do you use to combat them?

Weeds

2011-06-05T08:55:00.000-05:00

Today was supposed to be a cooler day, and I was hoping to get some weeding done. Amazing how weeds profilerate at such a rate....gone yesterday here today...in multi generations! God had other plans. We have a severe thunderstorm watch until noon and are getting nice showers with thunderstorms. No weeding right now. The plants did need some water and rain is so much better than a sprinkler.

My tomato plants and peppers seem to have been stunted. Not much growth. My broccoli seems to be doing well as with the carrots, beets, and peas. Too much cooler weather overall.

This has been such a weird year in terms of weather. I have said that for several years now. I don't buy into global warming, but think that weather changes happen and have done so throughout history. Don't get me wrong, I do think that what we are doing to the environment has to cause some sort of change, but I don't blame everything on it. No hate mail please! :)

This has not only been a crazy year for weather, but for just trying to get gardening in at all! I always thought that when the girls got older that there would be so much more time for other activities....wrong. It seems that just the opposite has happened. I still have beans, blackeyed peas, squash and okra to get in the ground. Perhaps not getting the warm weather crops in yet hasn't been such a bad thing since the weather is wacky anyway.....

Okra update and first harvest

2011-06-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

I wish I had gotten the time to take a picture of the okra seeds after their soaking. We had to get them planted in a hurry prior to leaving on an out of town trip, so I skipped a step. They started rooting right away in the water/bleach solution. Who would have thought? I was hoping for at least one plant so that I could at least keep the seed going since I really didn't think that they would sprout being old seed.

I thought that I had read somewhere that okra does not transplant well so I had some peat pots in my potting shed and thought that I would try those since I couldn't get them directly into the garden.

Close ups of okra seedlings.

I had my first harvest from my garden the other day. Radishes and beet greens. I radishes and beet greens in my salad last night and they were so good. My husband thought the beet greens tasted too much like beets themselves (he is not a lover of beets). I have a lot more thinning to do. I will have to be looking for other ways to use them also. I am wondering if they can be cooked like spinach. I can't see why not.

I found such an easy way to clean the greens. I put them in my salad spinner, ran water over them, and them spun them. No crunchy bits of dirt. :)

My singing frogs

2011-06-03T20:41:00.000-05:00

I have been serenaded by frogs this spring which I love. It reminds me of camping and is very relaxing. When we went to take the winter cover off the pool, we had hundreds of tadpoles swimming on it. We have never had that before. I didn't get a picture of them but wish that I had. A few did make it to out little "pond". Lauren wanted to save them all. All I could see in my head was a backyard teeming with hopping frogs! Needless to say, almost all perished while the water was being pumped off the cover.

After we took the cover off, we found that there were two frogs hanging out in there. Parents to the brood??

This little guy (or girl) looks dead, but everytime I would move the hose, it would follow and get back into the same pose.

They must not like the sunshine.

Taking a break from a swim....

I put chemicals in the pool tonight. I didn't see the frogs and bet they won't be taking advantage of the swimming hole anymore this summer.

13 Year Cicadas

2011-05-31T22:04:00.001-05:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Southern Illinois, and these cicadas greeted us. My cousin told me that these are 13 year periodic cicadas. Further investigation found an article from Scientific American that also calls them the "Great Southern Brood" or brood XIX. The article notes that you can eat them and compares them to asparagus. My cousin's husband as well as my husband described them as buttery and creamy. No thanks....I'll pass...

13 year periodic cicada near Marion, IL

Empty shells shed by the emerging cicadas were everywhere.

This one didn't quite make it out of his shell

A newly emerged cicada. My husband woke me up at 6:30 am to take this picture. He told me that there was one that was a better one, but they were scooby snacks for the dogs. They ate every one that they were able to get a hold of.

2011-05-22T17:20:00.001-05:00

House pictures with my ever evolving flower bed. I wanted to make sure and get pictures at different times of the year so that I can see how the flowers look at different periods. Sometimes I think that blogging is the best thing for being able journal gardens and their progress.

The vine that is crawling up my suet feeder is a Sweet Autumn Clematis. I think that a bird deposited it there or an errant seed took root. Either way, I was going to dig it up, but it has started to attach itself, and I am liking it.

Miscellaneous flower pictures. Columbine that I started from seed years ago, irises in bloom, as well as Foxglove that I also started from seed.

My mailbox bed. Not one of my favorites. It is evolving also...as is anything that lands in my yard. That is what makes gardening so enjoyable for me...nothing is static, and I like it that way.

Soaking okra seed

2011-05-22T10:04:00.000-05:00

I had received some Cowhorn okra from my aunt in Alabama a couple years ago that I have never gotten planted. I love that this is the okra that my family in Alabama, including my Grandma, has grown this variety for more years than I have been alive....truly an heirloom.

She had told me that she keeps hers in the freezer and then soaks it in bleach to soften the seed coat. That just seems not right to me... I kept thinking straight BLEACH?? The organic in me couldn't wrap my arms around that. I went online and found many different formulas for softening the seed coats with bleach. Hmmm....there must be something to this? I decided to go for it. Especially with my older seed. I need every bit of help I can get to get those seeds sprouting. I decided not to use straight bleach. Instead I used a mixture of a pint of warm water with a few tablespoons of bleach. It is supposed to rain here for the rest of the week, so I may push it and try to get them planted tonight. We'll see what happens.

Adventures in vinegar

2011-05-21T22:23:00.000-05:00

I have decided to try my hand at making vinegars this year. I am not a big user of vinegars per se, but I am intrigued with the possibilities. I am thinking of some great salad dressings in the future. I had also thought about making them for Christmas gifts, but one site that I looked at didn't give me the impression that they would last that long....freshness wise...not because I would necessarily love them so much that I would eat all of it.

My first try is chive blossom vinegar. I have a bunch of chives that blooms every year, and the blooms just go to waste. Other than looking pretty in the spring. I picked all my blossoms off, washed the bugs out, dried them using my salad spinner (a tip from another website that worked very well), and added them to about 1 1/2 quarts of white vinegar. Now that I am typing this, I am wondering if I should have boiled the vinegar first....thinking I read that also. Oh well, too late now. They are to sit in a cool, dark place for 14 days prior to straining off the blooms. The jar has been put in my downstairs kitchen cabinet. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Mid-May frost??

2011-05-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

The forecast tonight is for clear skies and a low of 35* with patchy frost. Our average last frost is usually the end of April and planting tomatoes after Mother's Day is generally safe. Key words here....average, usually, and generally. I cannot remember ever having to cover my tomato plants in all the years I have been gardening. Today will be a first. All of those milk jugs that I have saved and cut the bottoms out of and stacked...okay, so some weren't stacked so nicely....in my potting shed are being put to use. I hope that it works! I kind of wonder if it didn't get a bit chilly last night because the leaves on the tomatoes were a bit spotty today. Almost as if they had been wind burned although they have been hardened off and out in the sun for awhile. We have had some pretty fierce and chilly winds though....more like March.

It rained steadily all weekend, so I wasn't able to plant my marigolds around my tomatoes. The bunnies seem to find them tasty though. It isn't very well seen in this picture, but my husband has brought out the fake owl. I have some extra plants of the Roma tomatoes that I can replace with, but hate for them just to become an extra snack. Cat hair and cayenne pepper are coming out soon...

My other tomato beds. These two raised beds are outside my main garden as well. Anyone that feels insecure about posting pics with weeds? Feel insecure no more...I have weeds for all! We haven't gotten around to papering and strawing our pathways this year....and it shows. Oh well, if I had a perfect garden, something else in my life would have to give. It's all about balance, right? :)

MORE tomatoes.....

2011-05-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I have created a record in our house for tomato planting. I have successfully planted 48 tomato plants. Yes, you read that right...48! I am hoping for some great canned tomatoes, salsa, and sauces this fall. I may be cursing myself for doing so by fall...forget may be, make that WILL be....but they will sure taste good this winter.
We are getting a nice steady shower today that will get them well watered in and off to a good start.
Bill bought some marigolds for me to plant around them. I like to companion plant as much as possible, but the marigolds also lend some color to an otherwise green only color scheme as well as being a deterrent to nematodes and other pests. I would also like to plant some basil in with them. It reportedly improves the growth and flavor of the tomatoes.

Tomato planting and miscellaneous

2011-05-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Getting ready to plant Roma tomatoes. This bed was originally placed here for strawberries that we were going to transplant from our garden. Needless to say, a virus killed our strawberries, and we haven't gotten around to planting strawberries here yet. This year it will house my Roma tomatoes. I love that part of my gardening is encroaching on my husband's "Man Cave". The attached patio was my addition to it also when he built it. I make sure that it gets flowered up well in the summer. :)

Getting ready to plant...One tomato plant raised from seed. They were in need of another "potting up", but it was close to planting time, that I chose to let it be. When planting tomatoes, I always plant them deeper than where they were before. Tomatoes grow roots from their stems when they come in contact with the dirt.

Here is the same plant on the left that I have removed the lower leaves from and placed deep in the ground.

The end result....a shorter looking version of the same plant that will be stronger in the end.

This baby bird just about met the end of his life from my shoe....I saw him open his beak wide just before I stepped on him. I haven't seen him since.

The end result. Our beagle decided to run through the bed as I was planting, so I brought out the cages.

Now a bit of miscellaneous around the yard and garden....

Rescued volunteer Johnny Jump Ups. I had started some of these from seed last year and they have reseeded themselves into the yard. Bill started seeing them and transplanting them into a container for me to use this year. The picture on the right is yet another sprout in the yard waiting to be rescued. I am all about free flowers! :)

We have two apple trees, a Wolf River and a Honeycrisp. The last two years we have gotten one apple on the Wolf River only. This year we had lots of blooms and a closer look shows apples coming! Now to read up on how to control pests without having to use pesticides....

Our peach trees were also full of blooms and starting to produce mini peaches complete with fuzz.

Yet another first...I bought this pink peony plant from a friend's plant sale last year. Very small and no blooms last year. This year it looks fantastic and lots of buds. I can't wait to see it in full bloom. The blooms are complete with ants. :)

One of the many iris groups that I have that is getting ready to bloom.

I have no idea what these flowers are. I am thinking some sort of a Narcissus. When my grandma in Alabama passed away, my husband dug up some of them that seemed to almost be growing wild on her property. I now call them "Mama Tate flowers". I think of her every time that I see them.

Our dwarf cherry tree is also producing well this year. Lots of baby cherries. I'm sure that the birds are just waiting for them to turn red so they can feast on them. I hope to beat them this year.

My husband's favorite flowers....Lily of the Valley. They are growing wild in a hosta bed that I have around one of our trees. I cannot pull them up.

And last but not least....my trusty gardening gloves. I have had many garden gloves through the years, but not of them could hold a candle to these. My daughter's gave them to me as a gift...I think they came from Wal Mart. They are great! I pruned raspberries with them without a single thorn poke or scratch. My arms and legs did not fare as well. I have thrown them in the wash, and they come out ready for more.

Happy Gardening!

2011-05-04T18:37:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when I post many pictures, I have to wonder if there is a conspirator that is trying to keep me from doing so. It took me literally days to maneuver these around where I wanted them, and even then one won't do what I want. I gave up...

We have been blessed with a good morel mushroom season this year. Last year was a total bust with not even one teaser to taste. This year we have enjoyed many meals of these spring delicacies dipped in egg and cracker crumbs and fried in pure butter. The area cardiologists are going to stay in business!

On this day, we hiked appoximately 5 miles. I wish that they were easier to spot, but they are often covered with leaf debris. My husband has an unbelievable eye for them, spotting them when only a speck of the spongy part is visible. Amazing! He says it adds to the joy of finding them

My youngest daughter, Lauren, my husband, Bill and one of our dogs, Riley.

See the toad? He was the greenest toad that I had ever seen. I am used to the gray variety that populate our yard. The tree trunk was just interesting. :)

The river is still pretty high. It is slowly going down and will be ready for kayaking soon.

Lauren always likes to play in the water!

I seemed to have much better luck at finding inedible fungus. Perhaps some of these are edible, but I don't know. Therefore, they remain classified as inedibles to me. I would sometime like to explore more wild mushrooms. They make for interesting pictures anyway.
We also found lots of ticks! We are still picking them off of Riley. They were more plentiful than the mushrooms!

Heading home with our bounty. Riley at the heels of his best bud, Lauren.

Busy weekend

2011-05-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

This was a full weekend of yard and garden work, and I loved it! However, my body is acutely aware of the fact that I am no longer 25...or even 35 for that matter. It is a good soreness though, knowing that I accomplished much of what I set out to do.
With such a rainy spring here in Illinois, my spring garden planting has been delayed. I was able to plant onions (a general red and a Stuttgarter variety for storage), Detroit dark red beets-2 pkgs., carrots (two types of which I will have to double check my variety names), edible podded peas, Green Giant-15 plants and Italian Romanesco broccoli-30 plants that I had started from seed, lettuces, spinach, and radishes. The raspberries had a lot of dead canes which I cut back also. My arms look like I have been in a cat fight. :) Some weeding was thrown in there for good measure as well.
The paths between my raised beds are very weedy, and I need to work on controlling that as well. I have saved up newspapers and plan to layer them in the paths and cover with straw.
I am hoping for a good year for gardening!

And the hardening off begins....

2011-04-30T09:15:00.000-05:00

I started hardening off my plants today. I have put them on the east facing porch of the house. It is terribly windy here today, but I think that they will be okay. They don't seem to be getting blown around too much.

The 5 flats on the right are all tomatoes. I have given some away already. I usually plant 40 plants, have reserved some for a neighbor, and think that the rest will probably go out on a table in the front yard for sale.

This is my "mystery" flat. When these were just starting to germinate, I tipped the container over, and ended up with a heap of dirt and seeds and no way of telling what plants and seeds were which. My prized Black Krims were in this mess. I just dumped everything back into the pot, replanted the four plants that had sprouted, and hoped for the best. They did well. Any guesses as to which is which? The choices are: Black Krim, Amish Paste, Juliet, Jelly Bean, and Marcellino. Unfortunately, they all look the same. :)

Morel mushrooms

2011-04-26T19:00:00.014-05:00

After a dry mushroom year last year....we literally didn't see a single mushroom...Bill brought home this bunch. From the posts on my friend's facebook pages, this looks like it is a better year. I have heard that when the lilacs bloom, that the mushrooms are also out. It has proved true this year. A good rule of thumb to remember...

No, these are no low cal snack! Dipped in egg and crushed cracker crumbs, then fried in real butter. Paula Dean would be proud! They tasted wonderful. It is probably a good thing that there weren't more of them to eat.

Easter Eve

2011-04-23T21:48:00.002-05:00

My messy potting area. I pot plants about as neatly as I cook, but I have been told that I am a good cook, so how about a messy gardener is a good gardener? :)

My seedlings under the lights. I have repurposed a lot of yogurt containers this year. The bottom row in the picture on the left are my many, many tomato plants. Not all of my varieties germinated this year, but what did grew well. The picture on the right are the tomatoes. They look small, but when I pot them up into bigger containers, I plant them deep which encourages a better root system. They will be bigger again in no time.

I usually don't leave my seedlings on the heat mat once they have germinated, but the peppers seem to be growing so slowly that I thought a little extra heat might be helpful. The temperature in my shed is low to mid 60's so it can't hurt.

The lilacs are starting to bloom. We are fortunate to have a hedge of lilac across most of the back of our property. The scent in the spring is awesome. The rule of thumb around here is that when the lilacs bloom, the morel mushrooms are also out. We haven't mushroom hunted yet this year, but people are starting to find them. Yum!

The maple tree is full of seeds this year....all I see are all the baby maples sprouting in the flower beds. :(

Potting "up"

2011-04-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

It has been a crazy time around this house for the past month or so, and I feel like my time in the potting shed is so limited. I was able to get out there for a bit on Sunday and transplanted my pepper seedlings and some of my tomatoes into bigger pots AKA potting up.
Many of the peppers did not sprout which was disappointing. I do have Sweet Chocolate, Big Dipper, and Pepperoncini plants though. The tomatoes are doing very well. I am thinking of selling some of the plants this year since I have so many. I have never sold any of my plants before. I love being able to share them with friends and family. I believe that I might be able to sell them to strangers though. A bit of extra spending money... :)
I didn't get my Sunday growing and blooming picture updates taken either. I guess that I will just have to say I missed a week. It wasn't for lack of thought and wanting to....just a lack of time to do it justice.
Hang in there...more pics will come soon.

Weed killing and infestation update

2011-04-13T09:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday commenced the first grass moving of the year. When you have two hounds that daily "fertilize" your backyard, things tend to get a bit clumpy out there. :) I also broke my own rule about non organic weed killers and fertilizers this year. My husband goes so far as to personally cut out dandelions as they appear. We usually just aerate and overseed as needed. Over the years, the crabgrass and clover has gotten WAY out of hand! Walk in our yard and you run a high risk of getting stung by all the busy bees gathering pollen from the clover flowers. Well, this year I am taking action. Bill applied the crabgrass killer....sorry earthworms....and the weed killer is coming next. The downfall to all of this is that once we kill the bad stuff, there will be a lot of bare areas that will need to be seeded and will not be able to for quite a period of time. This will be a challenge because weeds love to grow on bare areas of soil!
I checked my seedlings this morning and the infestation seems to be better and the plants are looking much healthier. Thank goodness...I was getting worried.

Seedling update and spring blooms

2011-04-11T21:02:00.002-05:00

Ah....spring is certainly here. Even if there is a chance of a rain/snow mix Friday night.

I heard a frog "singing" outside my dining room window last evening. The frogs always make me think spring.

Toward the end of this winter, I started to have problems with an infestation of my Gerbera daisies. I thought that I had that problem under control. Seems that I was wrong. I went to check on my seedlings tonight and found that my little seedlings were literally being sucked dry. The tomatoes were wilting. I am very protective of my seedlings since I grow varieties that I cannot find at the neighborhood nursery and losing seedlings corresponds to losing a harvest. I sprayed them with my Ortho spray and now am hoping for the best.

The warm temperatures of the last couple days have really caused things to bud, blossom, and grow.

(L) Maple seeds AKA helicopters :) (R) Cherry blossom

(L) More cherry blossoms - I'll bet the birds can hardly wait! I hope to outsmart them. (R) Spider on PJM Rhododendron

(L) The peony on east side of house is sprouting much slower than the one on the south side. This one was from a friend and is supposed to have pink flowers. My south side peony is knee high now and will have white blooms. (R) Peach blossom. This is the first year that our two peach trees have bloomed. I am hoping for peaches this year.

(L) Additional peach blossoms (R) Lilacs

Tulips - they seem to have much smaller flowers this year. They also appear to have been frost bitten as pictured on the left.

Grape hyacinths - these always remind me of our dear neighbors from the first house that we lived in when we first got married. They grew these. I think of Ken and Edna everytime I see these.

Dwarf Fothergilla - their blooms resemble a bottle brush

Spouting seeds

2011-04-03T10:17:00.001-05:00

The seeds are sprouting very well. Yes, they do look crowded, but I purposely planted them like that. Once they get a set or two of true leaves, I will transplant them into their own cups. I really wasn't sure how well they would germinate. The alyssum sprouted very quickly. I am definitely a fan of heat mats.

Pictured above are alyssum, broccoli and several varieties of tomatoes.

Above-Various tomatoes, broccoli and a couple pepperoncini plants just starting to emerge. Note the leaning broccoli. They were on the edge of the flat and leaning toward the light. I keep the florescents directly over the flats, but the plants on the edge have to be rotated to the middle to keep them happy. It doesn't take long at all for them to start their lean.

There is a story to this set of cells. I was moving the cells that had sprouted out of the covered flats so they could get air and this group dumped upside down like a slice of buttered bread. I was sick! There were so many varieties of tomatoes in here and no way to tell what was what. I salvaged the seedlings that I could and just scooped the soil back into the container, replanted the seedlings, and hoping for the best. My beloved Black Krim tomatoes were in this bunch. Note the markers all bunched together. These seedlings could be any of these types of tomato. If they make it, I will have a surprise.

Sweet William sprouts

Coleus and one salvia sprout.

What's growing on?

2011-03-27T19:49:00.024-05:00

(L) Bulbs that I planted years ago and now can't remember the name of. (R) Butterfly bush starting to leaf out

The lilacs are starting to leaf out as well and showing the beginnings of flowers. Can't wait...they smell awesome.

Eastern Redbud...easily my favorite springtime tree. The flowers come before there are even leaves on the tree and will cover it with pink blooms.

(L) Another shot of the redbud. (R) Peach tree leaf bud.

Top left, Sweet Autumn Clematis Top right, asparagus

Bottom left, Peony Bottom right, Lungwort

Apple tree bud

Daffodils :)

(L) Viburnum (R) Hosta - seems pretty early for it to be poking its leaves out so far in March

More pics to come....I am having trouble with getting my pics to post as well as arrange. :(

Seed Starting Sunday

2011-03-27T17:20:00.002-05:00

With just six weeks until Mother's Day, I got busy starting seeds today. Our last frost is around the end of April to the beginning of May depending on what source you look at.

For me, there is nothing quite like being in the shed playing in the dirt. I can get lost for hours out there. Somewhat like I did today... It is therapeutic for me to be out there with nothing but me, dirt and seeds. My husband always tells me that when I am in my shed that I "glow". It just makes me happy.

I am trying to use up all of the old seed that I have. Some of the seed that I used is from 2006. The only new seed that I planted today was a pepperoncini pepper. I didn't have any of those. I have a bad habit on not being able to throw seed away. I have a pepper seed that was sent to me as a freebie that has never germinated for me yet I continue to try every year. Inevitably, I plant enough seed that does germinate that causes another quandry....the inability to throw away a green plant. I love to be able to give away my extra plants. I have had many people tell me that I should sell my seedlings, and I just cannot do it. Another thing that makes me happy....

I am about as messy of a gardener as I am a cook. That means I'm good right?

I look at these tiny tomato seeds and it amazes me every time that this one little seed has the potential to grow into a plant that will produce multiple tomatoes and grow as tall or taller than me.

My first flat on the heat mat and going under the lights. Once they germinate and get a couple sets of leaves, I will pot them up in separate pots. Since I am using old seed, I'm not sure what my germination rate will be, so I overseeded. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I had to cut my popsicle stick labels in half in order to get the plastic cover on the flat. So much for looking pretty.

To the right is my lettuce that I have been growing.

Seeds planted today:

Tomatoes

Pink Brandywine

Gold Medal

Huge Yellow Oxheart

Roma

Black Krim

German Pink

Amish Paste

Black Cherry

Yellow Pear

Crnkovic Yugoslavian

Italian Heirloom

Jelly Bean hybrid

Juliet

Marcellino

Sheboygan

Viva Italia

Peppers

Pepperoncini

Big Dipper

Buran

California Wonder

Jalapeno

Golden Marconi

Sweet Chocolate

Yellow Star Hot

Broccoli

Romanesco Italia

Green Goliath

Herbs

Cilantro

Oregano

Italian Parsley

Flowers

Alyssum - white and purple

Blanketflower

Early Sunrise Coreopsis

Mixed Hollyhock

Mixed Sweet William

Salvia - Blue Bedder Sage

Coleus

Gerbera daisy infestation update

2011-03-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

My gerbera daisy infestation was not doing well. I tried the homemade concoction of water, vinegar and baking soda, but then my sprayer broke. Truthfully, I found it to be a pain to wash each leaf by hand. My diligence went to the wayside and the bugs won....big time! They seem to only like my daisies because I have a variety of other plants in my potting shed that are totally unaffected; even ones that were sitting right next to them.

I broke down and bought a commercial spray that is supposed to be environmentally friendly....

All I can say is, I hope it works. I gave them a first application last night. They do look somewhat less infested?? Perhaps that is my wishful thinking. How these poor plants are continuing to grow and remain green is beyond me.

Feels like spring

2011-03-20T18:40:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful outside. I spent the day working in the yard...cleaning up dog deposits from over the winter, cutting back asparagus fronds, ornamental grasses, butterfly bush, and various other perennials. The sun was out for a better part of the day. The neighborhood seemed to come alive with the warmer weather. Boys playing basketball, the sound of a tiller opening up the winter crusted earth, and kids playing. There were also breaks from the work to visit and catch up on the neighborhood happenings. I even got a blueberry cobbler!

Upper left is my asparagus bed prior to cutting it back. The cattle panel fencing is leaned up against that chain link fence to keep the dogs from walking in the bed. Small nubs of asparagus are starting to come up. The upper right is one of my ornamental grasses prior to being cut back to the ground and the bed cleaned up. The grasses that aren't so close to the house usually get burned back. It is so much easier and quicker.
While I was was working in the asparagus bed, I noticed quite a few earthworms.

There is still so much more work that needs to be done, but it sure felt good to get a start on it anyway.

The crocuses have finally bloomed...

2011-03-18T16:46:00.001-05:00

I came home to a wonderful surprise this afternoon. My crocuses are blooming! Is it just me or do they seem to be late this year? It seems that they are usually blooming the end of February into early March. The daffodils are budded and will be blooming soon also. Goodbye, Old Man Winter....

What's growing on?

2011-03-13T13:40:00.002-05:00

I took a walk around the yard today to see what was emerging from it's winter rest. It was in the high 20's while I was out. At this time of year, a week can make such a difference in what the landscape looks like....that and a few warm days with sunshine. I like to wait to take the leaf cover off because of the extremes that March can bring so the flower beds still look a little grungy.

Crocus getting ready to bloom soon

Foxglove

Daffodils....the yellow is so vibrant when they bloom that I can see them when I turn onto my road.

Onion chives

Now everyone can see my worst flower bed....this is one that is getting a total overhaul this spring. Too crowded and too weedy last year. The surprise (resurrection) lillies and what I call roadside lillies (the orange ones) are really starting to grow.

Peony buds

Lilac buds....these grow along almost the length of our lot line. When they bloom, the fragrance is incredible.

Maple tree flowering....I hope the neighbors weren't looking when I took this one. I had to climb and stand up on the LP gas tank to get close enough.

Top left, Shasta daisies....top right, grape hyacinth

Bottom left, daylillies....bottom right, columbine

Soon, this will be a mass of bright red tulip blooms

2011-03-11T21:16:00.000-06:00

Boo for me! It has been two weeks since I have posted...need some slow down time. Between travels and driving to work, I have put 3,500 miles on my car in about a six week time period. No wonder I haven't blogged!
Our snow is all gone now with temps generally in the high 30's to low 50's. I swear that the grass is greening up already! We have yet to have many good spring thunderstorms which always make the grass look greener to me. I have attended a storm spotting class in the last week, so I am ready to be out there.
I am hoping to get outdoors this weekend and get some pictures of the "growings on" here. Spring is almost here....

2011-02-27T08:57:00.001-06:00

After a Winter Storm Warning Thursday night for 5-9" of snow and waking up to only 2"....what a disappointment....that melted when the sun came out, to enough Friday night to make everthing white again only to be melted again, to a 100% chance of thunderstorms tonight. Yes, it is starting to feel like spring is trying to take hold in the Midwest.

Trusty red ruler out to measure the latest "storm".

The snow must have come straight out of the north overnight by the look of the oak tree.

This snow was heavy and wet. The pretty kind that makes everything have a layer of white on it making the landscape look like a Christmas card. Lauren must have thrown a heart rug down on the patio which made this pretty snow heart....sans Riley's paw prints as he ran through....

The garden blanketed in snow....soon....

Bulbs coming to life

2011-02-20T16:00:00.001-06:00

I was catching up on some of the blogs that I like to follow when I noticed that May Dreams Gardens, who is also zone 5, noted that her crocuses were up. Of course that sent me straight outdoors with my camera in tow looking for signs of bulb life in my gardens. This is what I found....

The crocuses are coming up! This piqued my curiousity about the daffodils....

They too are starting to grow. I found this under the mulch still. I could see mounds in the mulch that were covering the emerging leaves.

Spring is coming after all....

Outside walkabout

2011-02-19T17:10:00.000-06:00

I came home from a trip for work to find that our snow is gone. It was a good opportunity to check what was going on out there.

My onion chives are greening up. I checked these first knowing that if I need to see some promise of spring, these are always a good standby.

These "surprised" me....my surprise lilies AKA Resurrection Lilies are coming up already. They are up next to the south side of the house so they do get a bit more warmth.

Bearded iris

Foxglove

A couple of several mouse runs that I found.

What's bloomin'?

2011-02-19T14:59:00.000-06:00

I have a couple plants that are blooming right now in my potting shed. Both of these are plants that I had outdoors last summer and brought indoors in the fall.

Sweet William

Gerbera Daisy....this is probably one of my favorite flowers.

Lettuce update

2011-02-19T14:44:00.001-06:00

It seems that my lettuce seeds are having a poor germination rate. It has been 2 weeks since I planted them, and very few have sprouted in either container. I was looking online and lettuce seed is supposed to have a 5 year viability and my seed is from 2007 and 2009. It is around 62 degrees in my shed, so not too warm for lettuce. Not sure what the problem was. Perhaps they will continue to germinate. Not holding out too much hope...

White flies

2011-02-19T14:25:00.000-06:00

My gerbera daisies have been infected with whiteflies. Lack of constant attention and a bit of drought stress probably didn't help. I was looking online for an organic homemade remedy and found one from The Greenhouse Catalog that I am going to try. One gallon of water, 2t. dish soap (it didn't specify a particular kind or brand), 2 t. baking soda, and 2t. vinegar. After mixing mine, I would definitely recommend putting in the soap after the water. I put the soap in and then the water and ended up with a lot of suds that I had to wait to go down to add more water. I am interested as to why the vinegar and baking soda in the same amounts. One is alkaline and one is acid...wouldn't they cancel each other out in some way? It has been a long time since my chemistry days. My infestation is small, so spraying each leaf, top and bottom, every 3-5 days should not be too bad. It did mention that the temps should be under 80* and not drought stressed (mine are getting regular water now) in order to prevent damage to the plants. I will keep you updated. :)

Spoke too soon....

2011-02-13T19:03:00.001-06:00

It looks like I spoke too soon on the lettuce. I was working on cleaning up the potting shed with my youngest, Lauren, today when I noticed just the start of seedlings coming up. I planted these seeds one week ago today. Granted they are very small, but it is the first thing that I have had growing so I am a bit excited. :) I almost need a pointer or an arrow to show the sprouts, but they are there....

Spring fever

2011-02-13T09:10:00.000-06:00

Spring fever has hit central IL. Funny how it gets around 40* in the winter, and everyone thinks it is warm. :) It is just the opposite in the fall...we think we are freezing at that temperature. Today the forecast is calling for 47* and mostly sunny with temps rising to 61* by Friday. It is hard to believe that not quite two weeks ago we were experiencing a blizzard with 12 inches of snow! Even with the warmer weather and the melting snow, everything is still covered in a blanket of white. I had a dream that my chives were sprouting the other night. Let the gardening dreams begin.
The lettuce seeds have not yet sprouted. They should take 10-14 days, so I have up to another week to go. I keep checking for that little bit of green....

Indoor lettuce planting

2011-02-06T13:36:00.001-06:00

There is a foot of snow outside and the gardening bug is starting to bite. I thought that I would start some indoor lettuce in my shed. I have done this before with some pretty good results. It is always gratifying to know that you grew your own food, and knowing that it wasn't contaminated with goodness knows what toxic chemical is a definite plus!

I start with a woodburning tool to burn holes in the bottom of my plastic containers. This tool works wonderfully! Be careful though, plastic fumes are toxic. You will want to do this in a well ventilated area. Long ago, my great-gramma used to do the same thing with a nail that she would heat up.

The result of my hole punching. Ironic that I am recycling spring mix lettuce containers to plant my lettuce in. :)

Container filled with soil and ready to plant. I have turned the lid upside down to use as a tray for water. All this recycling is good for my soul. :)

Two different lettuces in this container. My seed is getting older, so I overseeded a bit. The thinnings will taste great!

Another mix in this one. I planted all looseleafs to add to the romaine that I buy at the store for my salads. The colors from these varieties will make for a very nice looking salad.

2011-02-02T10:32:00.001-06:00

The snow has ended. The latest total that I saw for our area was 12 inches. I need to go out there and measure for myself, but at the same time thinking how accurate would it even be with all of the wind?

The driveway after Bill and I shoveled. One of the few times that I could rationalize a need for a snowblower. My back is telling me that we need one... I see the potential for snowforts here. The plow has not come through yet and this picture of the end of the driveway gives a good indication of the amount of snow we have.

The picture on the left is out the back porch. Now our beagle can make it out to potty. Always a good thing! The picture on the right is from my front door. Lots of snow!!

Snow drift coming off of the roof in back of the house. Lauren couldn't wait to smack it. :) Our a/c is almost completely obscured by the snow.

My queen of the mountain and Riley.

The birds at least have some water that isn't frozen to drink and a view of the snowy garden.

First set of blizzard pics

2011-02-01T22:15:00.002-06:00

Well, the snow started to fall here around 11 am. By 5 pm, Lauren and I had been outside scooping the driveway and playing in the snow and measured between 5 and 6 inches. It was hard to tell how much snow we really had with the wind blowing it around so much. I saw that we were having gusts up to 50 mph. The latest forecast is saying that the snow is at a bit of a lull with the expectation that it and the winds will pick back up with 10-14 more inches of snow tonight! :) Saw (and heard) some thundersnow tonight which caused quite a stir on facebook. Lightning is just so much more....well, light....when there is snow on the ground.

I mentioned that Lauren and I went out to play in the snow this afternoon. I think that I was as excited as she was! Above is a picture of the beginnings of a snow fort. The snow is very fluffy and did not pack well at all. I think she was just happy to have someone play outside with her. She made a snow angel in the back of Bill's truck also. :) Below are the two of us in our wet headed snow glory.

Another blizzard update....

2011-02-01T12:34:00.000-06:00

The snow has begun, and the wind is blowing. The Blizzard Warning is still in effect until noon tomorrow. I am fortunate to be able to work from home for the next couple of days, so I am snug in my warm house....itching to be in the snow! The latest forecasted snowfall total is 16-20 inches. There is even talk of thundersnow which excites me even more! I don't think that I have ever seen that in my entire life. Coupled with the wind, we really could have an actual blizzard! I haven't taken any pics yet. I will post them as I do.

Snow update

2011-01-31T22:12:00.000-06:00

Well, we have been upgraded (or downgraded depending on your view) to a Blizzard Warning. We have the possibility for up to 18 inches of snow with 25-35 mph winds with gusts to 40 mph. My oldest is thrilled that school is cancelled for tomorrow. My youngest was already in bed when hers was called, so she will get her surprise in the morning. She is an early riser anyway and likely won't sleep in. Sounds like the bulk of this storm is going to hit us tomorrow night. Thankfully, we are not forecast to get some of the ice accumulations that people south of here are supposed to receive.
I will be sure to get some pictures of this "historic snowpocalypse" to share with all of you. :)

Hoping for snow

2011-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

I confess....I am a gardener that also loves winter. I tend to be somewhat like a kid when it comes to a forecast of snow. My latest facebook status was, "Wondering if reverse psychology will work on snow storms? If I don't get excited and hopeful, maybe we will actually get a good storm. You know...expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised and all that? Now to work on the not getting excited part......." I get all excited only to be let down by meteorological error. Who wouldn't want a job in which you get paid to be wrong? Me...me...me!! :)
I woke up this morning to a Winter Storm Watch for the possibility of 12+ inches of snow. This is getting difficult...remember, I get excited for a forecast of 3-4 inches. 12+ brings me to a whole new level.
Before I get poo-pooed by the naysayers of winter, think of the possibilties a winter storm brings for gardeners.

Snow days in which to dream over brightly colored seed catalogs dutifully dog eared and full of post it notes.
Opportunity to plan and replan the veggie garden until the paper gives way under your eraser.
Time to enjoy the winter birds (and the neighborhood squirrel) that are thankful for your contribution of seed.
More time to clean and organize seed starting pots and etc. for the soon to come planting.
Freedom to read about new gardening techniques to try. Lasagna gardening has me intrigued.
Cookbooks to read for new ideas on how to use the abundance of zucchini that will send your neighbors diving for cover when they see you coming with a weighted Wal Mart bag. I confess that I have left them on porches and hanging from door knobs....

So, in the spirit of reverse psychology, there is no snow coming.....right? :)

Aging seeds

2011-01-24T19:03:00.000-06:00

Continuing to work on updating my spreadsheet of leftover veggie, herb, and flower seeds. Boy are some of the seeds getting old...a few from 2005 and 2006. I hate throwing seeds away. I feel like I am throwing away the promise of a possible new plant. When I use old seed, I tend to just seed a bit thicker than my usual and hope for the best. It makes me smile to see an "old seed" come to life. :)

Garden catalogs

2011-01-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

I gathered up my seed catalogs this morning....somehow I am missing a couple...Shumway's and Pinetree Garden Seeds. I bet if I looked in Lauren's bedroom, I would find them, but I don't feel like risking my life in the pit today. :)
I particularly like Baker Creek (all non hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated, and non-patented) and Seed Savers (for their work in the preservations of heirlooms), Bountiful Gardens (Safe Seed pledge and heirlooms). Not that I don't like the others, don't get me wrong. I order from them also. Some feature items or seeds that I cannot find somewhere else, and I am not as opposed to hybrid flower seed.

Today's snowfall totals

2011-01-20T10:16:00.002-06:00

I brought out the ruler to measure today's snowfall total....1 1/4 inches. Not a lot, but enough to cover the old melting snow that was looking dirty. I love fresh white snow! I am thinking that I need to find a ruler that photographs better...although my youngest daughter, Lauren, thought it was pretty cool that her ruler was featured on my blog. :)

The Weather Channel has an interactive map with the reported snowfalls from this most recent snow storm that I found interesting.

Robins

2011-01-19T20:23:00.001-06:00

Today I looked out the window and saw a bunch of robins. They must have been thirsty. They were drinking from the puddles made from the melting snow (FYI-the melting snow makes me unhappy. I happen to like the white stuff.) I had seen the first ones on New Year's Eve. I usually don't see any in our area until around February. A recent article I found stated that there have been more robin sightings in the central IL area than usual. I bet they will be glad when the ground thaws and they can eat worms again! :)

2011-01-17T20:05:00.001-06:00

Part of my lesson in not giving up hope...

I like to keep my spider plants outside in the summer...they do so much better with the humidity and lots of natural light. One of the plants I have had since I was in college over 20 years ago and the other I potted up, using "babies" from my main plant, for my husband when we were dating...also over 20 years ago. Obviously, spider plants are very forgiving! I made the mistake of leaving them out on night this past fall when we had a freeze. I came home to limp, brown leaves and both plants looked beyond hope. I couldn't bear to throw them away however. I brought them into the potting shed (which is heated), watered them, and let time pass.

One day a green shoot started on one pot. I couldn't believe it! For all practical purposes, these plants were dead! Now I have 2 plants that are starting to fill out a bit. Nothing like they used to be by any means, but getting there. I still have to finish cleaning out the dead foliage, but I am just happy that they weren't gone for good!

Backyard bird sightings

2011-01-16T19:30:00.002-06:00

There have been a lot of birds at my various feeders the past couple days. I decided to sit and try and catch some pictures of them. I'm sure that my neighbors probably thought that I had lost my mind if they saw me just sitting out in the cold!
There were so many cardinals in my backyard. I especially like seeing them in the winter with the snow cover because they stand out so well. My front feeders attract more species, but I had to sit too close and nothing was coming close. These pictures were all taken with a zoom lens in order to get what I did. :)

The challenges of a winter garden blog

2011-01-14T19:26:00.002-06:00

Although I am trying hard to maintain regular posts on my blog since New Year's (I hesitate to use the word "resolution"here...it seems a bit like a set up for failure to me), I am finding that it is difficult to work full time during the day and have something interesting to blog about since by the time I get home, it is usually dark or just about there. This is that "in between" time of the year in the midwest. In a couple of months, my potting shed will be coming alive again with potting of seeds to start new plants for the veggie and flower gardens. It has been a busy winter around here, and I haven't had much time to look at the brightly colored catalogs that make me dream of late winter seed starting and spring planting.

There are things that I need to complete prior to getting my seeds started:

Tidy the potting shed
Take note of supplies
Clean and sterilize seed starting containers
Check flourescent bulbs for replacements
Check seed spreadsheet for updates
Map out veggie garden plan
Order new seed as needed

Just listing this out has made me get the itch to be in the shed!

The sign to the right was given to me as a gift this week by a dear neighbor of mine. I can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it in the shed. :)

1.1.11

2011-01-11T14:00:00.001-06:00

After a late night of college football (War Eagle!!), central IL was blanketed in snow this morning. Not as much as I would have liked, of course, but beggars can't be choosers. At least it is prettier to look at out there. My attempt at showing the amount of snow on the ruler did not work as well as I had planned. Seems that we have about 3 inches with continued light snows. The wind is forecast to pick up with gusts into the 20 mph range later today and tonight.

Weather and such

2011-01-09T23:07:00.000-06:00

What is a garden blogger to blog about in the winter but the weather? Even though I love gardening, I also love the winter and the snow that comes with the colder temperatures. My theory is that if it has to be cold outside, it might as well be white rather than brown! I have often wondered if people born in the winter are more apt to be winter lovers themselves....
I have been watching the weather all day, hoping that the weather will soon be headlined with some sort of winter weather advisory, storm watch, etc. So far nothing... The plains and south seem to be active with winter weather. Send it here!
Snow is a benefit to the garden as well by providing insulation to plants and soil from the bitterly cold temperatures as well as providing water when it melts.
I am stocked up on bird seed for my multiple feathered friends who will find it more difficult to find food during the snowy times. I think that most of the birds in the area are visiting my feeders by the amount of seed I have been putting out. Chickadees, cardinals, dark eyed juncos, sparrows, finches, tufted titmice, and blue jays have all been seen recently.
With any luck, starting tomorrow night, they snow will begin to fly here in Illinois as well. This gardener is on winter break and is ready to play!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T13:40:00.004-06:00

So maybe I am one day late in the new year wishes, but the thought is there...

The new year brings with it a tradition of resolutions in which we all make promises to ourselves and/or others to better ourselves in some way. If I had to have a gardening resolution, it would be to keep my garden weed free. The past couple of years have not been the best for gardens in my area. When the garden isn't thriving, it is difficult to give it the attention that it needs. Hence, I had the weediest veggie garden I have ever had this past summer. My flower beds got more attention than my veggies. Next year will be better...

For now, the seed catalogs are trickling in with the promise of a new season of plants, and I am keeping annuals alive in my potting shed and even have a sunny orange bloom on one of my Gerbera daisies.

Christmas snow

2010-12-25T15:00:00.002-06:00

The veggie garden on Christmas Day. We had 7 inches of snow on Christmas Eve and December was the third snowiest on record for Peoria.

Apple harvest

2010-09-12T15:22:00.002-05:00

This is our one lone apple from our two apple trees. It is a Wolf River apple and a single apple from this tree can weigh more than one pound. I believe that this is the third year since we planted the tree.

Late season plantings

2010-08-01T20:36:00.002-05:00

Planted more seeds today hoping to get more veggies in before the end of the season. We planted one 4'x8' and one 4'x4' bed of flat podded green beans, one hill of patty pan scallop squash, 2 hills of zucchini, and one hill of yellow crookneck squash. I would also like to get some broccoli planted before too long also.

Harvest

2010-08-01T11:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we put up 4 quart bags of black eyed peas (harvest from one 4'x8' raised bed)and today are canning 5 quarts of green beans (also from one 4'x8' bed). We are going to replant two 4x8' bed of green beans in hope of a second crop.
The tomatoes are not turning red very well again this year. Lots of green tomatoes though.
The cucumbers on the other hand are doing terrific....I have probably picked 20 so far this year....and pickling will be starting likely this week.
I am going to go through my left over seeds and see what I can plant for fall....