My Bit of Earth

Radijzen, Radis, Rettiche, Ravanelli, Rabanos

That's "radishes" in Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.  Why in five languages, you ask?  Somehow it seems like a fitting representation of just how many I have.

I've picked more than fifty so far--mostly the 23 day "French Breakfasts".  Thankfully I planted a few different kinds so, although the first wave has seemed huge, I think we may get a short break between it and wave number two--which I think will be the 32 day "China Roses"--and again between wave two and wave three--the 52 day "Champions".

Not that I'm getting tired of them yet.  Actually, tonight I stumbled on a very nice way to eat them, courtesy of La Tartine Gourmande--on crusty bread with a little creamy cheese and salt.  (The soup recipe at the link isn't bad either.)

And because radishes are the only thing I have blooming as of yet, this is my post for this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Go over and check it out to see what's blooming all over the would this month.

Just About

My Cheap Little Hoe

I've been trying to really keep on top of the weeds this year.  I get in and hand pull what I can, but lately I've noticed quite a few baby weeds that are too small to really get a hold of and rip out.  And they really don't need to be pulled up root-and-all, just kind of scratched off at the surface.

I tried using one of the long handled hoes from the community garden shed to accomplish this, but--between the size of the head and the distance between me and what I was aiming for--I kept knocking off parts of plants I wanted to keep.  I quickly decided I needed something I could use closer to the ground, a little hand-held hoe.

I actually have never purchased a hoe before.  However, in a nice coincidence, the week I needed my first hoe was the same week Nice Carol at May Dreams Gardens has been celebrating hers.  From the history of her hoes, to gardening lessons that can be learned from hoes, to her entire (count 'em, 21) hoe collection, Nice Carol had me all inspired to go find myself a pretty little hoe with some character and history and...character and all of that, and take some pretty pictures of it to enter in her Garden Bloggers Hoe Down.

My favorite little nursery rarely lets me down for such things, but today they had nothing.  Our local hardware store and another nursery were similarly bereft of hand-held hoes--and I'm not saying they just didn't have a pretty one, I'm saying they didn't have one period.  Finally, at the last hardware store I could think of, I found this one.  Ninety-nine cents...a little ugly and plastic-y...but probably the only hand-held hoe in town...sold!

After having a go with her, I still don't think she's a "Pretty Woman", but she certainly does the trick as far as the teeny weeds go.

If you're so inclined (and want to see some classy hoes in addition to my sweet little cheap one), check out Carol's Garden Bloggers Hoe Down.

Planting and the Weather

The weather has been so weird.  Yesterday evening it was so hot and sticky that just sitting in our living room, even with the windows open and a breeze, was stifling.  Then we had hail and rain and tornado warnings all night.  This morning it was chilly, but looked like it would warm up so I went and bought some veggies to plant.  Of course, then it never did get warmer, but just windier.  And tonight I'm sitting in my living room again, only this time with the windows buttoned up and under a heavy blanket.

That's Kansas for you.

I did go ahead and put the veggies in the ground though.  It's supposed to get warm again after tomorrow, and I figured it was better cold in the ground than just sitting out.  Plus the newspaper and straw I covered the garden with (which I just dug right through for planting) is currently forming a small barrier around each plant.  I'll have to remove it eventually or I think I'll start to have problem with pests and the like, but for now hopefully it will help keep my ickle planties a bit protected.

Click onward to see this year's map of what's what.

Cabbage Nibbles and Terrier Quibbles

I was at the Burrow garden tonight and discovered some chewed on cabbages.  Just a little, and just on a few leaves--not enough to make me really worried, but I'd rather nip it in the bud.

The Problem Solver says I need to start looking for wee caterpillars and picking them off.

In other news, Moe does not get to go to the community garden again on nights when watering is going to take place.  It seems his one moment of fame has gone to his head, and he now thinks ice-pick barking at the water hose is cute all the time.

Not so much.

My First Red Riding Hood Tulip

Yup, it's pretty much really that color.  And between the color, the shape, and the pretty, pretty leaves, I may never grow another kind of tulip.

In other news, I murdered thinned some baby carrots this evening.  As I was pulling out each of the teensy seedlings one by one, I pondered the fact that--sometime during the past few years, without realizing it--I must have learned just a little patience.  Here's the before and after.

Bloomin' Gorgeous

I was outside this evening, basking in the wonderfulness that is a nice day in the Spring, when I started adding up all the bits of this and that poking up within the perimeter of our house.  I decided it would make a nice little photo grouping, so here you go....

Little Things and Old Friends, All Popping Up

Although it still seems too chilly to be mid-April, tonight I was working outside a little and noticed that Spring seems to be thinking about starting.

First, at the Burrow garden I've got a few wee peas popping up.  I was a little worried about them--the radishes, carrots, and other things I planted at the same time started coming up last week, I was afraid the peas might just be rotting--but they were just taking their time.  They kind of look like tiny aliens popping their heads up out of the dirt.

Second, around the house some of the things I've planted in years past are starting to come back.  Although I really haven't put in a whole lot that's survived here, it makes me think about how much fun it would be to live in the same place for 10 years--seeing what comes back, seeing what doesn't, seeing what skips a year or two.

As it is, the mint along our fence is starting to fill in.  It was probably the first thing I planted at this house, and the original cutting came from Nice-In-Laws' plants.  When I took it, I was warned to be careful because mint is very hard to kill.  Here, the morning glories keep it pretty much in check, but it still comes back every year.

Also, the little grape hyacinths I planted the first fall we were here are starting to randomly pop up.  I planted them in what I've come to call the "Spot of Death" (a super clay filled spot in front of our kitchen window) so they always come back in splotches, if at all.  But there were enough to make a teeny bouquet in a shot glass that's been just the right size to carry from room to room with me this evening.  In the same spot, one solitary red "Triumph" tulip (out of the 25 I planted) looks like it's also going to make it's yearly appearance, although it hasn't bloomed yet.

Lastly, my Meyer lemon tree--which was my Christmas present from Sweet Husband the first year we were married, and has spent the past three years looking like it belongs in a Charlie Brown cartoon--has found a spot it loves in our sunny bedroom.  There are probably 30 blossoms forming, making the greatest smell to fall asleep to.  Cross your fingers--maybe this time I'll finally get some lemons!

(Because I just discovered it and it looks like fun, I'm adding this post to this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens.  Go check it out to see what's blooming right now all around the world!)

Golden Trumpets

My first "Yellow Trumpet" daffodils opened today.  I've seen others open around the neighborhood for about a week or so, but I think I planted mine in a spot that takes a bit longer to warm up. 

When I planted them (here), I also started some indoor bulbs for forcing.  Not for the first time, it didn't go so well.  The little daffodils were all tall and stringy, and the hyacinth never bloomed at all.

Maybe bulbs just really need to live outside.

Cabbage (and Brussels Sprout) Protection Cages

One of my favorite things about the community garden is that (aside from the uber-minimal $30 a year fee for water, I suppose) there are so many bits of this and that lying around that you can really just about garden for free.

Case in point--last year I planted some cabbages which were promptly torn to shreds by the bunnies in the neighboring field.  This year I decided some protection was in order, so I stole a few pieces of chicken wire from the garden shed and made these cages.  They're basically just tunnels staked into the ground on the sides and bent down at the ends.  We'll see if they keep the rascally rabbits out.

Community Garden Workday

This morning was the community garden workday.  With a bit of help from Sweet Husband, I got my plot dug, tilled, composted and ready to go.  Of note....

• I decided to try some newspaper--overlapped and laid down about 6 or 7 pages thick--as a weed barrier this year.  I didn't have enough paper to cover the entire garden, but I at least covered the areas that I don't want to plant yet.  After wetting the paper, I recovered it with the straw that's been on the garden all winter.
• The garlic that I planted last fall survived the winter, and is putting out nice green shoots.
• I planted peas and onions, which were part of the plan; and Brussels sprouts and cabbage, which were not.  The sprouts are called "Bubbles"--I'm such a sucker for a plant with a good name!

Planting Around the House

I was feeling pretty nasty this morning (more of the ongoing saga of my stomach), so I called in sick to work.  After spending the morning sleeping though, I was beginning to perk up.  I got up to let the dogs out at about two, and realized it was a bona fide gorgeous day.

It was so nice out in fact, that decided to do a little puttering in the yard. 

First and foremost, I am excited to report that my "Morden Sunrise" rose survived the winter in its pot and is putting out new green shoots.  (See picture.)  Its mate (which got a late start) died in the heat last summer, but this one has now survived an entire year of Kansas weather.  I think I've found my winning outside-all-year-in-a-pot Kansas rose bush.

As for the planting though, I got in a ton of root-and-salad-type veggies.  No real plan, I just put down seeds pretty much wherever I could find bare dirt (including some lettuce around the base of the rose bush, and some radishes in with my tulips).  If I can keep Moe out of it all for a few weeks, I think it will work well.  (He doesn't understand why he can't help....)

To see what I planted, click on.

Happy Spring!

It's the first day of Spring--and while I didn't play hooky to go plant peas as I might have liked (that will have to wait until next weekend unfortunately)--I did notice that some of my bulbs are coming up. 

I'm happy to see them.  We have a few wily squirrels that live in a tree near our house, so I was a little worried that the bulbs might have become a wintertime snack. 

The leaves of the 'Red Riding Hood' tulips are going to be just as pretty as I hoped they would be.

Gardening Season Begins!

Although you'd never know it from the temperature outside (15!) or the little crust of snow we still have on the ground, tonight I received confirmation that Spring is indeed on it's way, in the form of a phone call from our wonderful community garden master.  Our annual organizing meeting is Monday!

Frankly, I hadn't even thought about it yet--which just shows how cold and nasty it really has been--so tonight I sat down and came up with "the plan" for the year.  Of course, it will it's subject to change.  As much as I thought she was totally cool, if by some miracle my nearest neighbor in the community garden decided not to garden this year...and if by even greater miracle no new person came along and wanted her plot...I think I would try very hard to snatch it up and plant some broccoli and Brussels sprouts and things of that nature.  Heck, if I could add her bit to mine I might even go crazy and try something like corn or the watermelon patch Sweet Husband is always trying to talk me into.

But more realistically speaking, I think I'm going to forgo flowers to a certain extent this spring and grow arugula, carrots, radishes, potatoes, and some chard in my big raised bed at home.  Then as that stuff starts to get sketchy I can pop some milkweed in its place and see if I can't attract some Monarch butterflies this fall. 

I'll grow some Sunflowers again, although maybe this year I'll actually plant red ones rather than just imagining that I did!  And of course some morning glories on our fence, which, based on the way they got busy on their own last fall, I may not even have to re-plant.

In the Burrow garden (a.k.a. my plot in the community garden) I'm going to try eggplant and peas for the first time, but I'm skipping the green beans, soy beans, and any form of pumpkin or squash.  (Ah yes, the pumpkins...I'm still bitter.)  Here's my basic thought:

It looks like I'm going to have a ton of garlic, but, since it has long shelf life and we're big fans of it, I think that will ultimately be a good thing.  (And at any rate it's already in the ground so no changing that up now!)  I'm not sure exactly how much room I'm going to have in the middle, but (as I've said before) it seemed to me that the people who did better last year planted much more intensively than I did, so this year I think I'm going to try to err on the side of smushed.

*Phew!*  Alright, I have a plan...gardening season can officially begin!

Indoor Gardening

The other day I was flipping through some gardening blogs and saw "Calendula and Concrete" was organizing her seed stash.  I totally dig her organization system.  No fancy note cards or fruffy boxes to get muddy the first time they're taken outside--just fat binder clips organized by the time the seeds need to be planted.  Less is more.

While my little ex-chocolate-box'o'collected-seeds is not nearly as extensive as her collection, I went through all my tiny packets this evening and sorted into flowers, early vegetables, and late vegetables.  Very nice!

And as I was pittering around in the kitchen, I noticed my daffodil bulbs (the ones I potted up in September) are finally blooming.  This picture doesn't show it, but these "miniature" daffodils are almost two feet tall.  They look kind of silly with their teeny blooms on top--the stems just kept growing!

But they do smell awfully nice.

The Burrow Garden in January

We're having a heatwave (40 degrees), so Sweet Husband and I took the dogs for a walk down to the Burrow garden late this afternoon.  I think the bitter cold these past few weeks might have finally done my trusty little rosemary bush in.  It was still alive, but the leaves were starting to brown.

The only thing that was really thriving was this sage growing in the communal herb garden.  No one mulched it or anything, so I was kind of surprised.  It made me want to plant some next year if just to have something to look at on a warm day next January....