So where am I? What am I doing? Finally, an update!

Well, if you follow my posts on Twitter, you know I'm laying low since the beginning of May. I went on vacation, visited my family out of state, and hurt my neck while kayaking. So my computer time has been limited, although I'm still gardening with my husband's help, and under his supervision I'm taking it easy. And hopefully with the help of physical therapy, this stiff neck will finally go away.

So what have we not written about? More lessons for the amateur gardener, of course.

My tomato plants had a growth spurt indoors during the April heat wave, and since I didn't plant them before vacation I returned home to a mini-jungle in the family room. Most of them are on the ground now, with the exception of about a dozen that will go in this weekend. Yes, a dozen...for a family of 2, LOL...Why? Because I can't bring myself to throw away the weaker plants and end off planting everything I have. My husband jokes that we'll have to set a table in the driveway this summer, giving away free veggies to the neighbors.

Another lesson? Hardening off veggie plants takes more than a day or two. Just ask the sun-scalded pepper plants that were in the ground before Memorial Day. I was a bit smarter this time though, and only put out 4 plants to start. But I still feel guilty, and apologize to the poor things every time I water them. The rest of the peppers are now in the ground too, planted on an overcast day, and covered with a row cover until I feel it's safe...plus day temperatures in the low to mid-seventies is helping too.

Now, repeat after me: do not overwater the cucumbers, do not overwater the cucumbers, do not overwater the cucumbers. I have yellow leaves on mine, and the rain on the forecast won't help that. So I'm hoping for drier days after tomorrow; a boost with fish emulsion might help, but just in case, I might start some new seeds on the ground or pick up extra starts at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Squashes are in, both zucchini and yellow squash. I still have the watermelon to transplant and narstitiums seeds to plant, on loamy ground this time (last year I started them on pretty fertile ground and yes, if you do that you won't see flowers, just foliage...which was fine, because it kept the weeds at bay).

Marigolds, cosmos, calendulas are planted. Moonflower, passiflora, and morning glory need to be transplanted and trellised. And I better not forget the sunflowers this year. And the herbs? They're everywhere. Chives and sage are in bloom, pretty light purple flowers that grace the entrance to my kitchen. Mints are in pots: chocolate, orange, mojito mint. Pinneaple sage and lemon balm for teas, also in containers. Chamomile, lavenders in a raised garden. And lemongrass and lemon verbena that need to be transplanted. And a bay laurel, new this year.

I'll post pictures soon, especially now that my new raised garden beds are almost all planted. In the meantime, back to the garden.

It's springtime in New England! Or is it?

I find that the more I get into gardening, the more I feel the need to rant about New England weather. It's April 9th; I've been to my first Red Sox game (sure sign of spring!) but had to wear several layers and wool socks. Next day, bang!, it's 60 degrees. Weather for the upcoming weekend? Rain, and temperatures back down into the 40's...

Ok, so maybe this girl that grew up in much warmer weather can't deal with Mother Nature's mood swings...or maybe she can, but she's just inpatient to get out there and get growing. Peas are planted and have sprouted; lettuce seeds were sown last Sunday, only to get rained on hard the next day (note to self - check the weather forecast before planting outside).

Hopefully, with dear husband's help (who gracefully covered the planted areas with row covers during the first downpour, after I phoned him in a panic from work on Monday), we will still grow lettuce in raised rows and not end up with a whole bed of mesclun mix...but if we do, that wouldn't be a bad thing either. I just can't wait for them to sprout and see where the seeds ended up in the raised bed.

By the kitchen door, the herb garden awaits new seeds and plants. The chives are up and the sage and oregano are greening up...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the tarragon in the backyard garden...while turning the soil and cleaning the beds on Sunday with hubby, I looked up just in time to see him pull the whole plant off the ground, thinking it was dead, instead of dormant...3 year old plant, time to divide it anyways, but it was done rather forcefully, nowhere near the gentle ways I treat most of my plants.

The flower beds will be next...need to clean those up and divide all the hostas by the driveway. And there's lots of them, pretty old too...we've been in the house for three years and I have a feeling the previous owners didn't spend enough time dividing perennials. And the rhodies that were affected badly by winterkill...need to get someone to take a look at them too.

So I e-mailed my garden lady, who last year had a small crew take out about 12 small bushes around the foundation, cleaned the mailbox bed by pulling an old overgrown, creeping juniper that I couldn't figure out how to make look better, and pulled the roots off that belonged to four half dead arborvitae that my husband had cut down from the back of the garage with his chainsaw.

So yes, it is springtime. Cleaning the yard, sprucing up the grounds, planning for new veggie beds, dreaming of grilling and eating fresh produce from our garden...it's the yearly ritual, a circle that will repeat itself over and over, year after year. And the weather? Well, that's just so New England. You don't like it? Wait a minute, blink, and it will change.

Of tools and trinkets - what gardening should really be about

Late in the winter and at the beginning of every gardening season, gardeners like me are dazzled by the contents of seed catalogs and gardening magazines, dreaming up of the perfect garden. Memories of neighborhood gardens that we walked by the previous year or even garden displays at our local home and garden stores get our imaginations going in high gear, like a double shot of espresso in a caffeine-free person, if there's still such an unlucky fellow out there.

This year, not satisfied with the garden research I've done while waiting for spring to show up, I decided to follow a group of gardeners, garden designers, gardening bloggers, and gardening enthusiasts on Twitter.

My biggest takeaway from reading their 140-character posts of gardening wisdom? The resurgence of Victory Gardens and the $25 VG quest. Yep, growing a vegetable garden in your home and doing it for $25 or less...really great ideas. I won't go into details about this, since this is not the real subject of my post, but I will give you where to go and get more information:

Start by exploring a great blog on Victory Gardens: Red, White and Grew; then join the $25 Victory Garden Group on FB: The $25 Victory Garden.

Find fellow gardening tweeps at the Twitter for Victory Garden Twitter Group and the Green Thumbs Gardening Group. If you're interested in learning about yardsharing you just must join Hyperlocavore. And those are just a few places to get you started.

Over the last three years, I've spent a pretty penny on gardening books, tools, supplies, seeds, and plants to quench my annual garden fever. Most things I got the first two years, but even now there are things that catch my attention besides seeds: raised bed kits, fancy grow light systems, rain barrels, potting benches, composting systems...the list could go on, and on. And the smart thing will be to do what I did two years ago when I wanted to get a cold frame - look for a more economical way to get a similar product.

It's easier than it seems as proven by my own experience: I researched cold frames and found free plans online. My father-in-law is a handyman and knows how to build stuff. My birthday is in May; I hinted during our Easter lunch that I wanted a cold frame for my birthday present and left a copy of the plans on his kitchen table. Then, voila! I had my new cold frame just in time for hardening off tomatoes and peppers.

This year I'm getting gardening books from the local library. I did buy a new book with a gift card I got last Christmas. Other garden-related Christmas presents I received: a new heating mat, 2 books, row cover fabric and hoops, and a set of 4" self watering transplant pots from Gardener's Supply.

Ok, I'll admit it - it's easier when you have family members that support your gardening "addiction". But from what I've been learning from other people's experiences, we can all save some money by doing simpler things - getting seeds through swaps, recycling pizza boxes and cake plastic toppers as seed-growing containers and domes, asking around for free compost, yardsharing...and again, the list can go on and on.

And at the end, it's you and your soil, your plants, your "babies" - love them, feed them, and talk them into growing tall and strong, and providing healthy, flavorful food for you, your family and friends. Help others get started in gardening, hone your own skills, look for ways to make your garden bigger and better.

Gardening should not be about spending tons of money - in the end it should be about growing your own food and becoming engaged with a growing community of people who love what you do. Be smart, be resourceful, and keep on learning: learn from others and from your own experiences. There's always room for growth.

It's Spring! Time to review what I have learned so far...

So in preparation for a new gardening season, and with the little time that I have left to putz around before the real work starts, let me go over the things I've learned as a new gardener...

1. It's all about the soil - nourish your planting area with organic materials like compost, which improves the soil texture and its ability to make air, water and nutrients more available to plants.
   
2. Plant in raised beds and keep them about 3 feet wide for easy maintenance.
3. Grow organic - do you really want to add chemicals to the food you and your family will eat?
4. Companion Planting - the most wonderful way to keep the bugs away. It works and your veggie garden looks pretty too.
5. Water early in the morning, not in the middle of the day (hottest part of the day) or early evening hours. Water deep, close to the roots.
6. Mulch your plants to keep weeds at bay and moisture in.
7. Don't plant your cucumbers until the soil is warm and danger of frost has passed.
8. Don't start your seeds too early
9. Use sterile, light seedstarting mix for your seeds. Moisten it well and then wait a bit before putting the seeds in.
10. Some seeds need light to sprout, some need darkness. Read the package instructions and research what you're planting before you get started
11. Some seeds need special treatment before planting: soaking, freezing, cold... Again, research before you plant.
12. Tomato, pepper and eggplants love heat - heat the flats from the bottom by using a heating mat
13. Use a plastic cover on your flats to keep moisture in when you plant the seeds. It will need to be removed later on, when the seeds germinate and the seedlings poke through the ground.
14. Save excess seeds. Protect from moisture, air and light. Keep in cool place. I have reused some seeds for 2 to 3 seasons now.
    
15. Do a germination test on your older seeds - moisten a paper towel, put about 10 seeds in, fold and put inside plastic sandwich bag. Check in a few days to see if they sprout, and how many do, so you can have an idea if you need new seeds.
    
16. Do not fertilize until the seedlings have their first set of true leaves.
17. Transplant into bigger pots to allow for better root development
18. Before planting in the garden, get the plants used to outside weather conditions by bringing them out for a few hours each day, increasing their exposure to the elements slowly.
19. If you use a cold frame, make sure to prop it open on warmer days, so you don't bake your plants.
    
20. Brush the top of your tomato plants daily to encourage better growth.

So there, 20 things I have learned to do after 3 years of trial and error in my veggie patch.

New for this year: an expansion of the garden, building new beds, bigger herb garden and composting...stay tuned...

What's Happening Inside - the prep work

What to do while the snow melts? Research, read, plan...I have plenty to do for at least a few weeks before I can start playing in the dirt...Here's one of my work areas:

Funny thing is, as the years go by, I use more space inside my house for seedstarting. Year 1-the kitchen, Year 2- the kitchen and the family room facing the backyard, and this year- kitchen plus small nook off the kitchen and the family room...what's next? Living room, bedrooms upstairs? Don't think so...But if everything goes as planned and we get the shed we need, I might convince my husband to add a small greenhouse on its side.

More things happening inside:

My loving husband gave me an AeroGarden for Christmas. I set it up the day after Valentine's Day, on 02/15. Here are a few pictures:


After the easy assembly, the herb pods went in and got covered with the plastic domes.


Fill the tank with purified water (couldn't use well water, not sure why), plug it in, and forget it.


A week later, we had a few seedlings, so I took the domes of those herbs.

On week 2 and 3, I forgot to take pictures. But this is the way they look today, 4 weeks after I planted the herb pods:


I had to raise the lights one notch today...the dill is pretty tall.



I also planted some lavender seeds in a pot, and gathered all my gardening books and magazines to bring to the work area.



And here's the reminder on why I really should not go to B&N or shop Amazon this spring - I don't need any more books on gardening...I've acquired quite the collection during the past 3 years...this year I also borrowed a few from the library, and there's a few that are not pictured here because I lend them or they're by my night stand:


Do you actually think I'll have time to read all that? Of course not, although is tempting not to cook, do laundry, clean or go to work just so I can read them...I do go through them, re-reading my favorite parts...and they're good reference material throughout the gardening season. But seriously, I don't need anymore, at least this year.

What's Happening Outside - The Kitchen Door Herb garden

Wandering around today, checking what's going on in the areas that no longer have snow. Boy, do we have some work to do once all the snow melts...


The chives are sprouting, yeah!



What made it through the winter, which needs some trimming: sage, oregano, thyme and maybe a little rosemary. Will need some cleaning, add some more dirt, plants and redo the edging.

Inspiration for this year

Here's what we harvested at the end of last year's season, before the last frost. I took this picture with my then-new digital Pentax, which I plan to use a lot this year. The heirloom tomato mix did really well, but I was disappointed with the yield of the paste tomatoes. I will be trying an heirloom variety this year, the Amish paste. Loved the Green Zebra's, which was my favorite, for yield and flavor. The cherry varieties always do well, and last year I kept the plants trimmed up to 6 feet...nothing like the year before, when I forgot about them come August, and they grew and cascaded back to the ground, sending new shoots everywhere.

A few pictures of how they all started...I'm still holding out another week before starting my tomatoes this year:


My seed packets from last year. Going with heirlooms this year, not using Burpee seeds although I might try to see if any leftover seeds from the heirloom mix package are still viable.


The first seedling last February...stay tuned, I will be posting this year's pictures soon.