Helping Bring Spring Along a Little Quicker

It's finally starting to feel like spring a little bit.  While we were in the deep freeze last week, my husband and I spent some much needed time in sun this weekend washing cars and sitting on the deck soaking up the rays.  In an effort to bring on spring, we are working on getting our veggie garden ready for the summer growing season and the seed start has begun.  I order my seeds from Botanical Interests, and in the most recent catalogue they provided a real cool guide on when to start certain seeds indoors.  Handy!

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First Planting

We have been working on the big dream garden for about 3 years now, and it's official we have our very first plantings!  I can't tell you how excited I am, it's finally all coming together.  Planted the garlic a week or so ago, and just this week we've added brussels sprouts, artichokes, broccoli, and cauliflower to the mix.  These guys like the colder weather so it's a great time to plant them.

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Veggies Galore

Started planting a few more veggies and fruits to give them a head start before everything starts going into the ground.

So hear's what we have so far this season...

Cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, red and yellow onions, artichokes, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.

So I wanted to give a few things some extra time to grow.  I could have just sowed these in the ground in a couple of weeks, but now I'll be ahead of the game a little.

Here's the method I use to sprout these little babies.  I take a paper towel, and get it damp, not dripping wet.  Place how ever many seeds you like on the damp towel.

Wrap them up in a little package, and place them in a labeled plastic baggie, and I just left them on my kitchen counter out of the way.

These cucumbers took about a week to burst out of their shells.  I like this method too because there are always some that don't sprout, and now you know which ones they are.

Took the little sprouts, and planted them in my homemade pots, and they officially have a great head start.

I did this with cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, butternut squash, acorn squash, watermelon, and some decorative gourds.

The big new veggie garden is well underway. The perimeter is just about finished, and ready for a chicken coop build and raised beds.  Much work to go, but we are well on our way.

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Starting seeds

It's official, I'm starting my seeds this year, and I'm getting the itch to get outside and plant.  Seen as how we got 15-18 inches of snow this weekend, nothing is ready to go outside just yet, but I have definitely gotten started.

First prep work was to get my seed pots ready.  I have been saving my family's cardboard toilet paper roles to use as my cheap seed pots instead of buying them.  I would like to mention, that I'm shocked how quickly we use toilet paper in our house, so now I'm also a little more conscientious about recycling these.

So I cut the roles in half, and started stacking them into my trays.

I went to my local hardware store, and purchased several bags of seed starting mix.  This really is the best way to go when starting seeds, because is just soil, and no compost material.

Filled each little cup with dirt, added water to the bottom of the tray, and used a squirt bottle to get the tops of my pots wet.

I used a paper bag cut into the right sized strips to separate and label what seeds I was planting.

This way I knew exactly what seeds I planted where.  I also decided to spread out my planting so all my veggies weren't ready to harvest at the same time.

Week 2!  I have sprouts on my cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli already, and just planted another row of all three, plus thought I'd try my hand at cauliflower, so I started those this week as well.

Also thought that I would try growing artichokes, and planted most of my herbs.  I have started basil, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and oregano.  Getting a few sprouts already.

Last but certainly not least, is the record keeping which is not the most fun, but the best way to figure out harvest.








The dream veggie garden is underway to accommodate all I'm planting.  Come on spring!

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Dream Garden Started

So it's official!!!  I have a new garden pad for this dream garden that I am putting in.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I was going to get our crazy hard dirt moved and level, so I finally bit the bullet, and hired my excavator, and in a couple short hours, I had a flat spot ready for my garden!

I would still probably be there with whatever piece of equipment that I would have rented, and it still wouldn't be flat.  While much work is still ahead, fencing, creating the perimeter with timbers, and finally raised beds with "good" dirt, it's started.  Final dimension is 40'x60'.

Here is an ultimate picture of the finished product!!  Looking forward to the work, and a dream come true!! 
The tomatoes and peppers that I started from seed needed to go into the old bed this year.  Made room for them, and just planted yesterday.  10 rows of peppers, yikes, better start getting recipe ideas and canning recipes together!

Happy gardening
-K-

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Dream Veggie Garden

I've always had this gardening dream, huge successful vegetable garden.  While I've worked to perfect this particular dream of mine, it hasn't always been so successful, like last year for instance when a large hail storm in early June took out my entire garden.  Needless to say, not too successful last year!  So this year I have started my seeds indoors as always, tomatoes and peppers, and they look fabulous.

This year I have a new garden planned, while the old one is still a fabulous working garden, I decided to change it into just a fruit garden.  I have tons of strawberries and have added blackberry bushes and raspberries as well.  The vegetable garden I have my sights set on looks just like this..



I even have plans for a fountain in the middle!  Thank you to Country Living Magazine for my fabulous inspiration.

Happy Gardening!

-K-

Peppers at 8 weeks

Tomatoes and Tomatillos at 8 weeks

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Seed Starts Indoors

My first blog post!!  Woo Hoo.  I've always wanted to grow my own fruits and veggies, and have that food supply my family needs, and I know there are no chemicals or pesticides used.  Plus I'm cheap, hence the seed starts indoors.  This saves me so much money, and for the most part I've gotten pretty good at it.  First thing I do is make pots.  I didn't want the plastic ones, and the peat moss pots can get pricey, and aren't too Eco-friendly. So I made them out of newspaper, and they are so easy and bio-degradable!  Added bonus, I have everything I  need laying around the house, newspaper and mason jars, no special equipment needed.

Grab my mason jar as the form and my newspaper

 Wrap the newspaper around the jar

 Tuck the newspaper into the mouth of the jar

 Carefully remove jar, flip it, and push down to make the bottom mostly flat

 

Take out mason jar and a perfect pot you have!!

 

 

 

 Here are some of my seedlings

 

 

 

 

I start tomatoes and peppers indoors.  I put several seeds in one pot, and when they get about this big, I make more pots, and transplant them so I only have one plant per pot.  I start tomatoes and peppers about the first of March.  This gives the plants time to get a good size before they get ready to go outside.

 

As ideas and projects start flowing, please give me any input on how to change and make it all better.  Happy creating!

 

-K-

 



 

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