The Joy of a Seed Catalog....in January

 

With January quickly coming to an end, it's time to start planning this years' vegetable and flower garden.

 

I know it must sound silly, but I actually get giddy thinking about the new seed catalog. Do you get excited thumbing through the pages?

 

 

Yesterday, the much anticipated catalog arrived !

 

 

I started ordering my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds when I still owned the farm. Click HERE, if you would like to order their free catalog, or just browse the online catalog.

 

 

So tonight, after dinner, I will begin my 2015 Garden Plans. I know my eyes will be bigger than my budget.

 

 

What fun it is to grow something new from a faraway land, like the Kajari Melon. It is believed to originate in the Punjab region of India.

 

 

In the meantime, I still have a few herbs growing.

 

 

 

Even with the temperatures dipping in the 20's, I have managed to keep parsley, cilantro, chives, and sage growing. I simply cover them with a large clay pot, protecting them during the night.

 

 

The Iceland Poppy (Papaver) offers some cool weather blooms.

 

 

Also, the ornamental cabbage thrives through the cool nights.

 

 

And best of all, I will soon have a pot of blooming narcissus

to cheer me on....

 

Meggie Mac

An Early Morning Walk Through the Garden

Many mornings I start my day by having tea on the side porch. It is a place to watch the sunrise and plan out my day.

When I moved to Das Kleine Haus last August, there was virtually nothing but grass and weeds, with a dividing wire fence.

Working with the two spaces since early January, a new garden began to take shape.

The existing wire fence is now being used as a trellis for my cucumbers....

                       It won't be long before I can add them to a salad or make Icebox Pickles.

Have you ever grown fennel? This is my first year to give it a try. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw.

The fennel top reminds me of a delicate fern. Eventually it will flower and make seeds.

The dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice used in cooking and sweet desserts.

I've also planted a fig tree that is producing a few figs. 

With the help of my handyman, Benjamin, and my pick-up truck, I have toted all the landscape rocks, pavers, new soil, and decomposed granite to the house.

 

                         Some of the daylilies I brought from the farm, have begun to bloom.

Most of the plants were purchased this spring.

The lean-to greenhouse is almost complete. The decorative trim, in the photo, is re-purposed from a previous project at the farm.

Projects are slow going because the carpenter is available only on Saturday. Here is where I will plant the seeds for next year's garden.

As you can see, he is a bit of a perfectionist. I asked for a place to set my seedlings on....this is what he came up with for the tiny space.

He said he angled the corner so I wouldn't bump into it. I'm so impressed!

Would you not agree....gardening is a great way to work out the daily stress of life?

Meggie Mac

 

 

 

Inch Worm...Inch Worm

The tiny worms I found in the greenhouse this morning were not so cute to me!

While they may have been counting flowers, as in the YouTube, they were also eating the first leaves of the newest pepper seedling emerging from their starter pods.

In doing some research on the Internet, I came across this article that has the explanation of how it probably happened. The worms have dined on the tender top two leaves.

The tomato plants fared better because they are a couple weeks older.

There he is hiding on a window!

My conclusion to the infestation may stem from the new grow lights I installed a few weeks ago. Apparently they attract moths at night, which in turn lay eggs. The natural process is for the eggs to hatch into larvae.

Have you ever lost newly sprouted plants this way?

Meggie Mac

Tomato Plants Are Growing



Ranunculas in the Greenhouse

With all the rain we had last week, the weeds are doing great!

So are the flowers and grass....

The variegated cannas, waking up from their winter nap, have spectacular foliage all summer. Later, when the nights warm  up, they will have orange blooms.

The bees love the blooms that the pittosporum has in the early spring.

They also can't resist the flowers of the honeysuckle vine.

I like my flowers to spill over and creep outside the edge of the garden beds. Here the honeysuckle is sending out runners in the pittosporum. Don't you think they look nice together?

Do you recognize these buds?

They belong to the trumpet vine. It is ready to burst into bloom. Do you see all the buds?

About a week ago I showed the wild dewberry plant. They are now in full bloom. Next will come the dewberries. Then comes the dewberry muffins! And jam, too.

Can you believe the potatoes are this tall in March?

Back in the greenhouse, the tomatoes are getting stronger.

All 72 of them......and six varieties.

And 72 pepper seedlings are beginning to see the light. In a few days, another tray will be ready to come out and take their place in the greenhouse.

They are depending on me for their care....

Meggie Mac

Welcome to my Yesterday

Do you ever get overwhelmed in the spring? It seems you wake up one day and everything needs attention all at once.

The pasture is green, weeds are growing where they aren't wanted, the greenhouse is calling out loudly each day, and it's time to transplant flowers and apply mulch. The list is long and the days are too short.

Yesterday was one of those days....

Maybe you would like to follow me around with a few photos.

The first thing I did in the morning was to check out the stock pond. It took a hard hit last year with drought. The water level is still down about 8 feet. I'm hoping the rains in the next few weeks will take care of the problem.

Everything you see that is brown, is usually covered by water.

You don't want to get too close to this plants. Do you see the barbs?

After mowing the tall grass in the corral, I decided to work in the greenhouse for a couple of hours. I needed to re-arrange the plants and add the new grow light on one of the tables. I have another 72 seedlings that are ready to go under a grow light.

Some of the tomatoes are adding true leaves...they also need a little more soil added to the pots.

The impatiens flowers are almost ready to set in the flower garden.

Another succulent is about to give the greenhouse a new bloom.












The rest of the day was spent preparing an old flower bed for some daylilies I need to move this week end.

Let's take a quick trip around the farmhouse and see what is putting on new foliage.

This is a Lady Banks Rose that is about to be in full bloom. It will be covered with hundreds of roses for the spring.

The Tropicanna - cannas are starting to put on foliage. If you are not familiar with this beautiful canna, click on the above link.

I'm hoping this will be a good year for the Lakemont Grape. It is already putting on new leaves.

Last year, I added a Mission Olive Tree  to the farm's list of edibles. I'm trying to grow a wide variety of plants to make this land more sustainable. This will be the first year it could produce olives.

Look at the LETTUCE! It has been exceptional this spring.













This is just a sampling of everything that is trying to take on the new growing year.

My day of gardening always ends with the washing machine, trying to get the dirt stains out of my jeans. After all, I will need them again today....

Meggie Mac