Seeds and Progress Reports

I placed several seed orders yesterday. The first order was through Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds which was mainly my tomato order (thanks for the holiday present parents!). The second order was through Prairie Moon Nursery- a native seed & plant company (thanks for the birthday present hubby!). I'm hoping to expand my native plant population and I have some newer beds that need some part-shade plants. Since most native seeds need to go through stratification (a 30+ day cold/moist period) in order to break dormancy I need to get those in the fridge as soon as possible, since it doesn't look like I can rely on these "winter" conditions to take care of this process. And lastly, I made a plant and seed order through Select Seeds, which focuses on heirloom flowering plants. I will post my seed lists as they arrive. So, what to do with all of these seeds? I thought I'd share how I organize them. I've done many things, but this method just seems to work for me.

Chuy demonstrating my madness.

As you can see I have lots of seeds already. They are organized into 3 boxes: box 1 labeled Spring Seeds. Box 1 includes seeds to be planted in fall as well or seeds that need to be stratified or perennials that need to be started early and of course the usual spring/fall crops- peas, kale, spinach, lettuces, onions, etc.

Box 2 is Flowers and Herbs. Within this box I have dividers made of cardboard or index cards that separates annuals, perennials, vining flowers and herbs.  Box 3 is Summer Veggies with seeds categorized by likeness- all varieties of beans together for example. 

These boxes work well for seed packets, but each year I collect more and more of my own seeds in various containers so the boxes get a little less organized each year. 

Starting Seeds

I've begun starting seeds for the season. I'm trying something new this year. While I've always purchased a soilless mix to start in I've decided to try and start my garden seeds in free compost this year. My chickens make amazing compost. The only initial downside I've observed so far is that there are some seeds germinating that are of unknown origin. So- I will be getting some surprises in with what the labels indicate. 

tofu tubs make good starter containers

Started: leeks, parsley, wild ageratum, wild hydrangea, tronchuda cabbage, perpetual spinach, dinosaur kale, Skippy violas, White Hollhocks.

Chilling under the windowwell cold-frame: McKana Giant Columbines, Swamp & Butterfly Milkweed and Reugen & Soul (white) Alpine Strawberries. 

Seed Thievery 

There's an old house along the main street in town with wonderful hollyhocks. One holly crossed the road and planted itself in the rocks at the ice cream parlor. I admired the tall white holly all summer. When the store was nearing closure for the winter we went in for an ice cream and I stole seeds from that plant- gently wrapping them up in my napkin and forgetting about them in my car. A couple of weeks ago I rescued them from my car, soaked them overnight and plopped them in some compost and here we go. It will be interesting to see if they all bloom white or if they were able to cross-pollinate with the hollys across the street.

Hollyhock babies.

Progress Reports

#1: Window Farm. While it was fun I'm not overly impressed with the garden tower in the kitchen. This project was my version of the hydroponically-based "window farms" you can find directions for online. They are in an east window but are still generally lanky and not very productive. You just can't beat growing things outside. Imagine that? 

Top tier: spinach seedlings. Middle: parsley. Bottom: spinach transplants.

#2: Overwintering Marine Heliotrope- very successful and it has bloomed twice and smells amazing! This one is in the southern window of my kitchen.

Heliotrope

#3: Plectranthus cuttings & cabbage experiment: The plectranthus cuttings have been in the same container, with water top-offs, dead leaf pruning and flower pinching all winter long and are doing wonderfully. These are also in my south kitchen window. I'd never buy these again. They are WAY too easy to keep- whether as a plant in a container with minimal light & water or as cuttings. 

I noticed my cabbage had baby roots on it about a week ago so I stuck it in some water- the roots are growing, the leaves are growing back and there are new buds sprouting too. Just for fun. 

#4: Growing cilantro from seed indoors in winter: thin and lanky- not expecting much to come of this

That is it for today. The office kitty (Tabatha) says it's time to say good bye. 

Fall: Gathering, Bringing Indoors & Cooking

We are having the most lovely fall days in the 70's. There is nothing to complain about when you look at a forecast that says everyday will be 70 for the entire week! The Bur Oak has begun dropping its leaves.  A few dogwood leaves are reddening. A pile of buckeyes lay on my kitchen table squirreled by some little person in my house. Carrots, kale, spinach, rutabaga, lettuce, green onions and leafing cabbages are sprouting in the fall garden.  I use to wait until the last possible moment when threatened by an overnight killing frost to bring in all of my houseplants and such. Not anymore. It's too much. I get crazy. So that project started today. The succulents and cacti come back to their windowsill residences. The lusher houseplants find their old stands. Annuals of various sorts (begonia, avocado, coleus, sweet potato vines, bromeliads, chili peppers, tender salvia, elephant ears, plectranthus, etc)  move into the basement to eek out a poor existence under shop lights. Such is life. Some days you have sunshine and others not.

Agaves, Jade, Hobbit Fingers Jade, Mother of Many in the window.

I also collected more annual seeds from things I hadn't yet: marigolds, petunia, celosia, gomphrena, star zinnia, purple prince zinnia. I make little paper packets for the smaller seeds, reuse envelopes, jars, old medicine bottles and lunch bags for others. 

After letting them dry a bit they will be contained & labeled. 

So, I've read about and watched youtube videos about Window Farming. The idea is growing some of your own food, in windows, in urban areas, hydroponically. I was trying to think of why you would want to do it hydroponically (that is, with a nutrient solution/soilless) and the only benefit I can see is less mess (unless you spill the solution). With hydroponics you have to check to make sure you are maintaining a proper pH and nutrient balance. Soil can certainly lose nutrients with use and either way the plants will show you this. So, I was considering trying it out using 2 liter bottles, but with soil. I had two mismatched bottles (mistake number 1), but thought I could still configure a way to stack them, which I did, but the hole on the bottom of the top one didn't fit perfectly with the bottom and so leaked, but not necessarily into the bottom one, which is the point. I'm not giving up on the idea. The have soil and seeds (mesclun mix and wild basil) and are growing so far so....look for updates. Oh, and for now, I've separated the two bottles until I'm ready to do more upgrades. Here are the bottles:

The plants are suppose to grow out of the cut out parts of the bottles.

Cooler weather also makes me want to cook and cook comfort food. A friend turned me on to this book:

I've really gotten into it. I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know about how to make a good veggie burger, french fries in the oven and homemade buns. Attempt #1: Easy Bean Burger, Spicy Fries and Whole Wheat buns turned out divine. Here they are:

Good buns.

Easy Bean Burgers with red beans pre-cooked.

All together now. Yum.

Now, I wish I could say most of the ingredients came from my garden, but only the parsley and potatoes were locally grown. Although, I am growing winter wheat, but for a green manure/chicken food. I continue to experiment my way through this cook book. Tonight is falafel burger night. 

Winding Down or In?

Not surprisingly I'm getting ready for bed about the time the sun is too. I'm fading with the Caladiums. I can't deny the circadian rhythm inside of me. I also start squirreling this time of year. Shorter days lead to more time to think, create and plan. So, what do I want to do next year? What improvements? What investigations do I want to carry out? Well, let's start with the actual events. The potted Caladiums are still doing well, but the in-ground ones have decided to call it quits with the drought. So...time to pull 'em up. Make sure to nab these before you can't recognize where they were. The leaves decompose very quickly. I started pulling them this weekend. I wait until the leaves are browning and I know the bulbs are storage-ready. I have 4 different varieties and started sorting them into separate pots for now. Later I will properly bundle them up for winter in the basement.

All is still well with this lovely gem. 

This is also the time to take cuttings for overwintering plants you won't dig up and will not survive winter outside. For me this includes: coleus, begonias, persian shield, plectranthus, geraniums and possibly some herbs, like favorite basils or mints. 

This plant was new for me this year and it had some obscure common name (no scientific), but I decided it was a keeper for my back patio hot-tropical gem-tone theme. 

It's also time to collect seeds. I've chopped all the heads off my Joe-Pye Weed. I have gorilla gardening plans to disperse this along a road leading into my hometown.  Leaving my legacy? Below is a million Brown-Eyed Susan heads ready for collecting.

Speaking of collecting...for the first time I decided to collect some lettuce seeds from some wonderful lettuce I grew this year. Specifically, I fell in love with Winter Density. It is a cos-type. When the flowers had turned to parachute-filled heads (like a dandelion) I cut them, hung them upside down in a paper bag and stored them in the coat closet until today. I have a flower bed along the south side of my house that does nothing all winter. So, I chopped up the seed heads, tried my best to rub the seeds out (not sure about this technique) and sprinkled them all over the mulch and watered well. If I get lettuce there- hurrah! If not, I've learned what not to do. 

Other good activities this time of year- buy cheap plants. You can put them in now, water well so they take root and don't frost-heave on you or overwinter in a protected place outdoors or in the basement. Here are some recent purchases, some of which are already in the ground.

A wispy hosta and some lime ajuga. 

I didn't think I liked begonias until I realized (because mom gave me some free ones last year) that they are incredibly easy to grow in very difficult places. So, I got these at Wally-world for $1.50. They will easily overwinter in my basement and I save $ next spring.

It doesn't matter how pathetic they look now. They will flourish next year!

And now for an unplanned, although desirable garden project. It seems my chickens overstayed their welcome in the hood and got the po-po called on them for trespassing. So....they are confined for good (or at least until that neighbor moves). wink. I built this trellis gate to keep them in their yard, which has worked so far, although I don't think they are in love with the idea. 

And lastly, I leave you with this. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend 2 months in Africa. I feel even more fortunate that I was there on 9/11. Why? I didn't have a television, nor internet and only a radio through which I could gain the perspective of people a half a world away from the US. I found myself turning off the radio here every time 9/11 was mentioned this week. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to relive it. I don't want to see the images that played over and over and over on the TV here. What I do want is for us to move on and learn in a way that we have a hard time doing here. I had sent myself a postcard from Africa of what was important to me then. A reminder. The same things are still important to me. I love the picture on this card and I love the message I told myself. It is personal so I won't air it all here, but if you really know me you know that there are many things I find unimportant in this life and an equal number opposite. Obviously, gardening, eating good stuff and being self-reliant are some of those things. I keep this in mind as I continue on my path of learning and in this time of reflection and winding down for the slow season. 

Gorgeous.

The Dog Days

After at least 2 weeks of neglect it was time to get some chores done in the garden. It hasn't rained for 2 weeks and has been in the upper 90's and low 100's the entire time. I've also had visitors, but lets be real I just don't get into gardening in the middle of summer as much. I've got everything set up so it can kind of do its own thing in the time being, but in order to have a fall garden I can't slack for too long. I got up and out early to beat the heat and until my stomach said it was time for breakfast. There is a lot to do. Not entirely necessary, but I wanted or needed to be outside. I'm done with this air conditioning bit. Sweating got me thinking about "the dog days" and wondering where that came from. Seems it has to do with the brightest star, Sirius, in Canis Major and the idea that it brought about heat. I pulled this from wikipedia: Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium. 


I have noticed an air of hysteria around here lately. Anyway, the etiology of words and phrases interests me and apparently our "dog days" can last through September so we have a ways to go. Try to be kind everyone.
So...so much to do. This is a time of harvest, regrouping, prepping and replanting. My old camera also broke so I have lots to make note of here as it's been awhile since my last post (confession?).

HARVEST

Last spring and again in early summer I planted Danver's Half--Long and Cosmic Purple Carrots. I'd planted other carrots in the spring, but really decided they weren't worth much so I let them go to flower since the are a great food source for so many insects. Today I pulled out all of the carrots that had flowered and gone to seed and then noticed the Danver's were still harvestable- wow, another reason to love them. Typically, when a root crop is allowed to go to flower it is no longer good as a root crop. All the energy (sugars) are redirected from the root into making flowers and thus seed- progeny. The Cosmic Purple carrot bed quickly became identified as a great dusting bed by my 7 chickens and all but the few I got protected were harvested today. They are gorgeous. 

I grew a new-to-me lettuce variety this year called Winter Density. I love winter gardening so I had to try it out. It is also a keeper. It is a romaine-type and was thick and juicy and took a long time to bitter and bolt so I decided to collect some seed. I've never intentionally harvested lettuce seed before, but I have let my plants go to seed 1) because the colorful plants are pretty and 2) perhaps it is beneficial to some bug and 3) laziness. I'm not particularly fond of cutting old lettuce- it has sticky sap. The seeds also have parachutes and are tiny, so I'm not really expecting to get a ton of seed out of them, but I cut the head and tossed them in a paper bag to dry and collect. The seeds I purchased were more than likely not grown in a climate similar to mine so IF I have success collecting and regrowing this variety over time what SHOULD happen is that I end up with a genome better suited to my soil and weather, but nature is a moving target. There is no perfection. There are only transitional beings or death and extinction. It sounds so melodramatic, but it is true. Here is what lettuce seed looks like while on the plant and being harvested. 

Harvesting into paper bag.

Onions harvested this week and curing on the picnic table. I need to cut off the dry tops and store in the basement.

A friend asked how long these would last. Since nearly everything I cook starts with "saute 1 onion" I can't imagine I will have them long. I remember when I bought the small paper bag of baby bulbs this spring and it seemed like a ridiculous amount then. Maybe I will count them and remember to post when I'm done with them. Maybe.

Strung these bachelor buttons up to dry about 2 weeks ago and they are also ready to be snipped and stored for planting late winter. BB or Cornflowers will germinate in fall many times and overwinter. These plants are usually very hardy. 

Sorry they were spinning so it was hard to get a good shot.

I also need to start collecting Zinnias and Orange Cosmos seeds.

PREPPING FOR SECOND HARVEST

This is what it looks like where I tore out the old carrots. As you can see the soil level has dropped in the raised beds and each year I have to bring it back up. Today I just used whatever I had around- I sprinkled a little bone meal, I added a 5 gallon bucket of composted chicken manure and 2 wheelbarrows of crap from the back of the truck- old straw and some decomposing mulch. It didn't quite bring it all the way up, but some fall leaves will cover that. In rotating the crops this will be a site for a fall/winter garden (which it was last year). The 1 x 2's that are still there are what holds up the plastic sheeting that I use in the winter, so the 2nd tier of concrete blocks is really to hold up the plastic, the wood and create a little bit of a wind break since it is on the northern side of the bed.

After harvest. Before soil amendment.

After soil amendments- bone meal, chicken poo, straw, rotting mulch.

And now that it is prepared I can plant. I started 4 Okra plants a few weeks ago. I don't LOVE okra, but I do like it in the fall in a stew of mixed veggies with some slurry of warm and cozy sauce. 

And to end today's post...a friend bought me this handy little guide. It's is called Clyde's Garden Planner. You simply line up the red line with your expected frost date (there are 2 sides, one for spring and one for fall) and it tells you when to plant or expect harvests. I didn't think I would use it so much, but having it on the fridge is a constant reminder of what I could be planting. I like it mostly because it reminds me that I can plant for several harvests when I use to just plant seeds one time. This is what it looks like: