Yesterday was a perfect day at the Raulston Arboretum for seeing spring blooming trees and shrubs. Just a few pics below.
The empty garage was so satisfying, but the stuff in the driveway had to go somewhere....one garbage day and one yard sale will fix the current state of restored (but much better ordered) clutter. Yesterday was a perfect day at the Raulston Arboretum for seeing spring blooming trees and shrubs. Just a few pics below. Loads of daffodils, spirea, magnolia, forsythia, camellia and flowering fruit trees.
0 Comments
I did something historic yesterday - I cleaned out the garage. Sue didn't pass out from shock when she came home, but nearly. The problem is that the contents are now all there in my driveway. But I like the new-found roominess of the garage. So I've got a big challenge on my hands....(for one thing, I can't dive into transplanting with all that crap in my "greenhouse" area!) Meeting some friends today to share some tomato seed - the Raulston arboretum was a great suggestion, since the flowering fruit trees should be in perfect display. More basketball throughout the day and night of course for those much needed rest breaks! Baby dwarf varieties sunning themselves Happy Hot Peppers now living outdoors Lettuce nearly ready for the garden
Before I start moving the greens here and there, how about a look at how quickly they've adjusted from going to a 1.5 inch packed cube to a 4 inch pot (though still packed a bit - 8-10 plants per pot). The red lettuces are looking particularly nice as they start to color up. First look at the garlic we planted last fall as well. Just a quick clip. Now I gotta go clean out the garage! Going in to work at this time of year is a time of anxiety for gardeners who have seedlings starting to spend the days out in the elements. So it was here....the tomatoes, the peppers, the eggplant, the flowers and herbs - made it through last night fine and when I got home I found them appropriately dry (always good to let the surface of the soil dry a bit), but happy.
Looking at the long term forecast, transplanting will really get serious starting immediately. I've got the Reemay (frost cloth) at the ready for those overnight frost scares that happen each year. More pics and vids to follow - the lettuce and spinach LOVE this weather and seem to be doubling in size daily. The plants are a bit young, but I think it worked well enough. Here is a video of taking the dense planting method into the transplanting stage. I will probably do another take in a week or so with larger seedlings to work toward better closeups...but for a first take! Well, you be the judge! All comments or questions welcomed! Must: get supplies, clean out garage, unload supplies, wait for camerawoman to get home - and start transplanting tomatoes. Then post video.
Interesting day - between work tasks (telecommuting is great!!!), got corned beef going in the crock pot and grapes in the dehydrator (first time we are using this new purchase)...seedlings are now on tables in our natural area in front of our house, which gets nice filtered sunlight. Stay tuned...more to come! Everyone who gardens knows this season - the garden a bit too wet/mucky to dig and prepare, the weather a bit too cool and unpredictable for young, tender seedlings. It is that antsy feeling between planting the seeds and diving into the transplanting and gardening activities. The buds on the flowering fruit trees are swelling but not quite yet open. There are signs of life in the perennial beds - Solomon's Seal and Bleeding Heart shoots just poking through the soil.
That's where I am at the moment. There is a mountain of work now complete and a mountain of work to come - but right now it is about patience and waiting. Yesterday I started thinking about greens - young greens in salads, more mature greens sauteed in a bit of olive oil and garlic to provide a bed for grilled fish. So I found myself at the Johnny's Selected Seeds website ordering things like Broccoli Raab, Mizuna, and Pak Choi. I hope to grow these amongst our lettuce, spinach and chard. I also purchased some Brussels Sprouts seeds to see if we can grow them, sinc I know, I know....you are anxious to see how I get from point A (40 seedlings stuffed into a 1.5 inch cell) to point B (happy seedlings basking in the roominess of a 4 inch pot!). Looking at the weather and my schedule, I am thinking that transplanting will be the thing to do on Wed or Thursday. Last year I started with peppers and eggplant, but this year I will start with tomatoes.
The cool weather is clearly just what the beets, lettuce and spinach enjoy - they are growing very fast. We can taste those fresh salads now! Nothing more to say right now. As Mondays go (especially Mondays following a "spring ahead" with the clocks), it was a good one! It is going to be another day of gardening odds and ends (and basketball!) - also going to get serious about the tomato article for an upcoming issue of Edible Piedmont. Since eating numerous versions of the following on our Oregon/Washington trip a few years ago, this has become our Sunday morning breakfast staple. It is EASY. Biggest payoff of effort vs enjoyment in the culinary world, I suspect. Preheat your oven to 425 - put an oven-safe skillet (appropriately sized) with 2-3 tbsp butter, into the oven as it preheats (watch to make sure the butter doesn't burn while you do the following). In a bowl, mix together egg, milk and flour with a whisk until smooth - use 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup flour per person. (you can do up to a 3 person Dutch Baby in a 12 inch skillet - use a smaller one for 1 or 2 people, of course). Use the fruit of your choice - fresh blueberries, black berries or peeled apple slices - or a combination. Lay the fruit in the bottom of the heated skillet with the melted butter until the bottom is covered - sprinkle liberally (we use lots!) with ground cinnamon. Return to oven until the fruit is sizzling. Pour the batter over the sizzling fruit. Bake for 20-25 minutes - it will puff up and brown nicely. Serve with maple syrup. This is so quick and easy and good - you can have it in the oven and baking in the time it takes for the oven to preheat. With the exception of some special tomato plants I am going to grow for a friend (and ship her the plants), the seeding into flats is now complete. Yesterday and today I filled in holes of poor germinating seeds and planted the experimental and various project seeds.
What comes next? Hoping it dries out enough to dig some garden rows in preparation for settling in the greens and beets, prepare the rows for potatoes, beans and basil, and pre-seed squash and cukes into 4 inch pots so that they are ready for planting when frost threats are gone. Today will be a good day to turn the original compost pile and find a final spot in the yard for our new Tumbleweed composter...and start to feed it with last year's leaves and kitchen scraps. It is a day of some sun, some clouds, and occasional sprinkles, so the seedlings are |
LinksArchives
December 2015
Categories
All
|