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My Biggest Mistake Saving Seeds
I was about to host a #supersowsunday discussion session on Clubhouse, and as thumbed through my seed binder, it became glaringly evident that I made a major mistake saving garden seeds. I need to backtrack and share what started me off on the wrong foot. Back when I first started vegetable gardening at this house, I remember buying a pack of tomato seeds from Burpee that was labeled “Rainbow Mix.” I believe it was in 2010 because my oldest son was old enough to be blasting his face with the water hose. This pack of seeds produced some of the most delicious tomatoes I’d ever tasted. Inside the packet were…
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Curious George Teaches Kids to Garden
I’m now into my second decade of watching Curious George on PBS Kids. My kids (10 & 13) are definitely out of the target age bracket, but we still have it going on the tv now and then. We have memorized most the episodes. We sometimes laugh as we try repeating “George speak”, and I secretly wish I were the voice actor for Curious George. I would be so good at it. This probably isn’t normal, maybe even a little strange, but we are in a global pandemic, and Curious George is like comfort food to us. As I reflect on this decade of watching George bumble through lessons about…
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Ordering Garden Seeds Online
In my last post I shared what seeds I had recently purchased for the upcoming growing season. Here in Raleigh, we are lucky to have an abundance of wonderful garden centers that offer fun varieties to try. This week I’ve been spending time on Clubhouse hearing from other gardeners about seed companies they like to order from. I’m going to compile a list of the ones that have unique offerings here and add to it as I learn of more. Tips to ordering online: Make a list in accordance with your garden size and budget. Before loading up your cart, make sure they ship to you! Several seed stores I’ve…
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Garden Dreaming
The weather in Raleigh, NC has been incredibly wet and cold, which has forced my garden dreaming indoors. When I talk about garden dreaming around this time of year, it’s in reference to the spring and summer vegetable garden. We have a 30′ by 30′ fenced vegetable garden, which also contains rose bushes, flowering perennials and a 300 gallon pond. The pond hosts fish, bullfrogs and a few aquatic and wetland plant species. The space dedicated to the annual vegetables seems to decline every year. My son has claimed one corner for his lamb’s ear, beebalm, tulips, irises, daffodils and a hellebore. He once had a bamboo teepee for pole…
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Week by Week Guide for Starting the Spring Garden
On this last day of January 2019 with a good portion of the country caught up in a polar vortex, I find myself longing for warmer weather and green vistas. Fortunately we have a mild weekend in the forecast. Mild weekends in February always get my garden gears going, but I have to remember that no matter what the groundhog says, there is more winter ahead. While it’s still too early to start any new crops outside, it’s not too early to put a few seed trays in sunny windows. Typically I start planting seeds indoors right around Super Bowl Sunday. In Raleigh, NC, our average last Spring frost date…
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Before the Last Frost (0 Weeks)
If you live in Raleigh, don’t plant today or tomorrow. I’m holding my breath for spring (and for the pollen to be washed away). If you have already planted, consider cloches or floating row covers to protect tender plants. I’ve used buckets, tarp tents, plastic cups, and cloches all to varying degrees of success. Yesterday I noticed that most of my pumpkin and watermelon seedlings were done for, so I will be direct seeding after this weather passes. My tomatoes and peppers are sunning on the kitchen table and will be moved back out to the deck for the day to keep working on hardening them off and making sure…
