It's still snowing, but in my mind it's garden time!
Although it's snowing out there, it's that time of the year for me to think about the garden. In years past, I have germinated the seeds myself and then thinned out the seedlings, or bought young plants from a nursery. Generally I have found it less expensive to go with seeds and I can usually find a wider variety of herbs, vegetables and heirloom tomatoes. The down side is the amount of space and time required to get the little buggers going and acclimated to outdoor conditions.
Also, for some reason I haven't been able to find garlic chives out there the past four or five years--seeds or young plants. Anyone else out there that hasn't been finding them in the past years? I'm thinking I'll have to do some mail order this year. My youngest loves chives, but doesn't remember the garlic variety that I used to grow. And he loves garlic, so...
Just wondering how other SE folks grow (you people in warmer areas; let's just say I'm jealous while I choke on a snowball).
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16 Comments:
I ordered seeds from Burpee last week while I was watching the snow melt. Before I retired I had a big garden, this summer just peas, green beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, pattypans, some annuals along with the herbs and perennials
NanaJoie at 9:07AM on 02/20/09
I have a yardfull of garlic chives here in Atlanta...you are welcome to them!!! :o)
juliebugsmama at 11:24AM on 02/20/09
@dhorst - we're doing the same thing over here on this side of the state!
My husband & I have begun making our list of things we want to plant. We start from seed too....and find the same space constraints you do.
I think this year he's going to try to build a double decker contraption to hold more seedlings. I just love the satisfaction of growing our own food from seed...watching it pop out of the dirt for the first time.
Last year was our first year in this house, and with our new garden space...so we already know we need to do some amendments...part of our garden spent quite a bit of time being very wet! We already have strawberries in, we plan on letting them expand this summer. We're also doing our usual tomatoes, cukes, carrots & hot peppers. I'd like to add a few more veggies to the garden this year....just haven't decided yet!
My herb garden did pretty well last year.....hopefully my lavender, thyme & sage wintered over well. The mint always does well. I plan on putting more parsley, basil & oregano in this year too.
I can't wait til this snow finally gets out of here!
mepolo at 11:27AM on 02/20/09
I'm going shopping today to get basil plants started early. Love that fresh basil on a homemade pizza.
dmcavanagh at 11:27AM on 02/20/09
@dhorst~ you can get seeds for garlic chives at walgreens, home depot and kmart. i love them. walgreens can be a hit or miss.
dearrie at 12:14PM on 02/20/09
Last week I was on vacation. Wed. heer in south jersey it was 65 degrees. So I got out the tiller and tilled the daffidil bed and the tilled where I am going to plant strawberry plants. Last night I think the wind blew 60 mph and right now it is 30 degrees with a wing chill of 20. Sigh, I want it warmer.
jcreamer58 at 6:21PM on 02/20/09
Im attempting to start from seeds this year - I just bought seeds for basil, mint, tomatoes and green beans - wish me luck ****
hammondcheese at 8:11PM on 02/20/09
@dhorst! isn't it wonderful to have all of this ahead of us.... my 84 year old mother and i just started contemplating our planting list.... we always buy organic seeds that are not genetically engineered. this is very important folks. the huge seed companies have screwed around with so much. stick to organic and not genetically engineered if you can. if you're going through the trouble of planting a beautiful, luscious garden - start with the best and purest seeds.
i can't wait!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait.
pooch at 8:38PM on 02/20/09
@pooch~ i feel the same way. i now live in my grandparents home and the garden has been going since 1950. my neighbor sticks his head over the fence every summer and say's my grandpa would be proud. brings a happy tear to my eye. i can't wait for that first salad.
dearrie at 9:27AM on 02/21/09
@dearrie - what a legacy - you should be proud, too. yes, it's a very rewarding activity. like being in nature's supermarket!
pooch at 9:40AM on 02/21/09
I've got my seeds, but am still working to clear out the patch for my veggie garden. I have several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, lemon cucumbers, and some melons.
I'm reading through some of the local Master Gardener information about starting vegetable gardens, but am getting excited!
Just need to find the energy to finish pulling the weeds!
mcanna at 12:38AM on 02/22/09
@dearrie~thanks. Hopefully I will find garlic chives at Home Depot this year. Maybe there's been some leprechauns filching them off the shelves just before I get there, the past few years.
@pooch~this is the year for me to try some organic seeds. I usually grow several different varieties of tomatoes (including some nice heirlooms), and last year I only grew a couple of tomato plants. MISTAKE! Boy was I unhappy buying instead of picking my tomatoes.
@dmcav~I was really wishing for some basil to throw on my pizza last night!
@mcanna~lemon cucumbers?? Do tell, please!
About 15 hours after I submitted the original post, I was out snow blowing 12+ inches of snow out of the driveway. It was kind of surreal to have that amount of snow and at the same time think about the future garden and gardens past. Favorite past garden memory while I was blowing snow? My oldest son and his friends picking and tasting different herbs and the the triple dog dare of eating jalapenos and thai chile peppers straight from the vine. Their faces were so red as they gasped from the heat and laughed at each other.
And like pooch..."i can't wait!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait!!!! can't wait."
dhorst at 6:29AM on 02/22/09
we had a thaw here (Michigan) last week, and I was thinking gardening. My mail order seeds came in January, and are hibernating in the fridge with the rest of my seeds.
this will be my first year germinating my own tomato seeds, so i'm crossing my finger that i do it right.
being an apartment dweller, my gardening is limited to the balcony, but i can cram a lot of stuff out there! i'm still trying to figure out a way to grow some beans or peas out there with the tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs.
and then we got 4 inches of snow last night! so much for thinking spring!
redhead at 4:50PM on 02/22/09
Well this morning I headed out to Home Depot and got some seeds. The store was in the middle of switching seasons and had moved the seeds from the warm inner store aisles and had them outdoors with the fertilizers. Brrr. It was only 15 degrees out and by the time I finished picking out what I wanted, my fingers were numb. Was it worth it? Yup! This will be something fun for me to do while my husband's out of town next week.
I'll be rigging up some grow lights on some shelves in the basement with heating mats to speed along germination. I'm also going to hang some computer fans from the shelves so there's good ventilation once I have seedlings.
And what did I get for seeds? Lemon basil, lime basil, genovese basil, oregano, dill, marjoram, thyme, chives, GARLIC chives; ), scallions, mesclun mix, buttterhead lettuce, too many varieties of peppers, cherry tomatoes, romas, and pickler cukes. I'm going to have to hunt down @mcanna's lemon cucumbers. And if I know me, I'll be starting some other things as the weather warms. Happy growing!
dhorst at 5:36PM on 02/24/09
I'm itching, too dhorst! My SIL is an awesome gardener. Has a degree in horticulture, among her many degrees, so I'll watch and learn. That is her passion, not just a hobby like it is for me. How do you get a hor ti culture? Oh, never mind. ;-)
PerkyMac at 5:57PM on 02/24/09
@dhorst~you found the chives, that's great. never had lime basil before, i think i need to go shopping.
dearrie at 6:39PM on 02/24/09