Tag Archives: garden

I’ll take Composting for 1000, Alex.

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Imagine the scene. Daisy, the compostermom, guardian of all things family, school, garden, and coffee, passes the Jeopardy test and gets on the show. A leap of faith, maybe. I do very well in the privacy of my own den, I’ll have you know. 

The first commercial break is over, and Alex comes over to talk to the contestants.

“Daisy, it says on my card that you feed your family dandelions.”

“Yes, Alex, but only in season.”

Alex turns his patented reaction face toward the camera, which cues the audience to laugh.

“In season, Daisy? When are dandelions in season, and how do you serve them?”

“They’re in season in spring and early summer, and they’re good in salads, pesto, soups, stews, herb mixes…”

And Alex moves on.

 

It’s true, readers. Dandelion greens are edible and delicious. I had leftover pasta with dandelion pesto for my lunch at work today, and my coworkers were suitably curious. I was eating veggie today purely by accident (I wasn’t enthused about any of our leftover meat), with my pasta + pesto + leftover green beans. It was delicious.

As the dandelions fade away, there ought to be fresh lettuce and spinach in the garden.

Meanwhile, I’ll take Eating in the Wild, Alex, and I’ll make it a true daily double.

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I’m not done yet -or- Chores Unfinished

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The rose trellis is the wrong trellis. It’s too tall and too wide. If it’s straight, the window opens into the trellis and causes all kinds of havoc.

Wrong Trellis

Wrong Trellis

I have a better trellis, one that stands tall and doesn’t overlap the window. This task, my friends, is not done.

This “box” area needs a new look. The hostas will move to a new home under the lilac tree. New seeds or shade-loving plants will populate the box. Someday.

box awaiting work time

box awaiting work time

This new plot needs weeding. I need to take out anything that isn’t asparagus.

Asparagus and Friends

Asparagus and Friends

There’s more, people, there’s more. In fact, I have more pictures – and I really don’t have time to upload them and show you. I think, instead, I’ll do something I can finish – like feed the bunnies. TTFN – TaTaForNow!

 

 

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Guerrilla Gardening

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I do my gardening in the open, mainly. Tomatoes behind the garage, ever-growing raspberry patch nearby. Lettuce, spinach, dill, a few more herbs, and squash are all in place. Give it a few years, and we’ll have asparagus, too.

I enjoy hearing stories of unconventional gardening. My latest fun forays into serving dandelion dishes can be part of this. I don’t grow these greens on purpose, but they do come up in generous quantities.

The walking onion is its own guerrilla plant, too. This year’s crop is taller than ever, and I don’t know why. But anyway, when the onion reaches its full height, it develops a bulb. The weight of the bulb pulls the green stalk to the ground, where the bulb sends out roots into the soil and begins to grow again. I intentionally brought a few over to this corner of the garden, and the onions seem happy campers – or hikers – there.

Walking onion grounds

Walking onion grounds

Bulbous Entity

Bulbous Entity

And new guerrilla onions.

And new guerrilla onions.

I didn’t plant these! I may have planned them, though, I must admit.

Seed bombs are great fun if you’re really brave. According to The Maker Mom, a seed bomb is “a hard ball made up of seeds, compost and clay that can be tossed into a garden or, even better, a vacant lot to create green space.” Her son made many seed bombs to raise money for – well, here’s her post. She said it best. 

 

 

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To Be is To Do, To Do is To Be

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Do Be Do Be Do!

Long ago, when Amigo was a baby, I had a sweatshirt that proclaimed to the world:

shirt

 

Mine was white, not black, and credited Plato rather than Sartre with the second form of To Be. And so it goes as I give away the source for my latest posts announcing what’s done and what’s still To Do (be do be do).

With the help of a rake and a light rain, I managed to get the stepping stones a.k.a. old boards out of the garden. Now I can turn the soil, if the weather will ever cooperate. If not, it may be another year to plant no-till style.

Boards!

Boards!

More Boards!

More Boards!

Then the seeds will go in, and hopefully the seedlings will follow sooner rather than later.

Those patches of brown may look more like patches of growth soon.

 

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To Do is To Be, To Be is To Do

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And I still have a lot to do to call the patches of dirt “Garden.”

The soon to be asparagus patch looks lovely in its shades of brown: peat and topsoil. I hope this will do double duty by supporting asparagus plants and assisting the rest of the yard in absorbing water, therefore preventing the OkayByMe Swamp from turning into Lake OkayByMe.

Shades of Brown - so pretty.

Shades of Brown – so pretty.

It wasn’t easy to get this set up. We bought the peat and topsoil from a local place and brought both home. I felt rushed because our street was about to be torn up, and I wanted to get the materials while the minivan could still get in the driveway. Poor old mini: with ten bags of topsoil in the back, we feared it might try doing wheelies before we got it home.

Then there was the surprise. Most of the bags were that wonderful deep brown color, almost black. One, however, had been exposed to a little too much – heat? humidity?

Terrarium in a bag!

Terrarium in a bag!

Chuck asked, “Should we return it?” I said, “Nah. We have a compost bin.” There really wasn’t much wasted. After I tossed a few handfuls of moss, etc., into the compost, most of the topsoil remained ready to use.

So here it is, folks. The next step on my To Do List: plant the asparagus crowns. Then: wait. Two years, perhaps three, until the asparagus matures enough to harvest. But then, when it’s ready, I’ll have fresh asparagus every spring. Yum.

And I still think shades of brown are prettier than any number of shades of gray.

Soon to be Home to Asparagus

Soon to be Home to Asparagus

 

 

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In Which Daisy’s Green Thumb Turns Brown

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It was a gift – a gift from a generous and appreciative parent of a student. It’s a nice plant, supposedly one of the impossible to kill varieties. You guessed it, readers. I’m good at growing outdoors, but indoor plants tend to fade on me – fade to brown, not black. This one started looking really sad on its cubicle shelf, so I brought it home for some TLC.

This is embarrassing.

This is embarrassing.

It didn’t take long. A good watering, a little time with real sunshine, and there is recovery in the air – er, in the pot.

Now that's better.

Now that’s better.

The tiny tomato seedlings weren’t so lucky. Transplant shock plus a sudden transition to outdoors and the Romas and and a few Beefsteaks choked. I guess I’ll be a customer at the Memorial Gardens’ heirloom variety sale again.

RIP, tomatoes.

RIP, tomatoes. We hardly knew ye.

The pepper plants still look good. We’ll have a good variety of peppers, sweet and spicy, come September.

Peppers!

Peppers!

The scallions, on the other hand, have never really picked up. They are thin as embroidery thread and starting to lie down in their dirt.

Scallions - not stallions

Scallions – not stallions

I guess I should stick with what works – and that’s the wild walking onion crop that is already going strong.

These onions were made for walking!

These onions were made for walking!

As for the rest, it will wait until I’m a little more certain that spring is really here.

 

 

 

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To Do in the Dirt

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To do is to be. 

To be is to do. 

Done:

  • Rock garden has its fun rocks (the big ones) in it again
  • Mock cherry tree suckers lopped off
  • Dead mums from last fall cut down (they are so hardy it’s snowing before they die)
  • Peat covers the area destined for asparagus
  • The mess near the small compost bin has been raked and redeposited in the other compost bin (dang raccoon)
  • Tiny tomato seedlings are in better pots now
  • Mini greenhouse shelves are on deck (that means they’re outside, people, not waiting to bat)

To Do:

  • Turn soil
  • Mix in suitable compost
  • Spread topsoil over peat for asparagus
  • Pick up boards-slash-stepping stone paths and re-arrange them
  • Create the new “floor plan!”
  • Find any stray rock collections in the basement (I know of at least one box) and add to rock garden

Do-be-do-be-do! And this is only the beginning!

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As seen around the Interwebs

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The majority of these conversation starters turn up on Facebook or Plurk. If it makes me laugh out loud, it’s good. If it makes me think, it’s even better.

delicious

delicious

I’m growing a few of these. Rosemary, Dill, Sage, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and unintentionally, mint. Believe me, the mint is tenacious. The others are either in my spice cabinet or could get there on my next trip to Penzey’s.

Ah, yes, the quotable unquote.

Ah, yes, the quotable unquote.

My fair state’s standardized tests will be changing dramatically in 2014. I’ll reserve judgment until I see how well the new creation assesses my students.

living art frame

living art frame

Meanwhile, I’ll resist signing up for Pinterest. I might find something like the living art frame above. And if I find the directions, I might feel like I really need one. Or two. Resist, Daisy, resist!

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Sowing Seeds in the Snow

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The remnants of snow, I should add. We had a soggy inch or two on the deck and driveway a few days ago, followed by a little rain-mixed-with precipitation. Cold, damp, and just not feeling like spring, this weather.

I take a little encouragement from the green that’s popping up on my shelves. The seedlings are trying. They’re really trying.

Tomatoes, can't you tell?

Tomatoes, can’t you tell?

The others are struggling a little. They’re starting to get the typical indoor stems – weak and thin, that is – and leaning desperately toward the window in hopes of capturing a little sunlight.

Lean to the left!

Lean to the left!

I do have a few solutions to this problem. Watering takes place in the kitchen to minimize dripping on the wood floor. When I’m done watering, I rearrange the containers so they get a different angle at the available sunlight. Don’t laugh – it works, sort of.

As for the wimpy indoor stems, they’ll strengthen when the weather improves and the temperatures go up. The plants will take daily “field trips” outside to build strength and adjust to outdoor conditions, including developing stronger stems. Barring warmer temperatures, a fellow gardener recommended setting a fan to blow on the seedlings. I’ve never tried this, but it makes sense. The breeze will simulate outdoor conditions and stimulate thicker stem growth. Right? Maybe. I’ll try it.

For now, it’s watering time. Just think of those mouthwatering tomatoes that’ll be here in late summer.

 

 

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Is it Spring Yet?

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Hearing this variation on “Are we there yet?” from my internal gardener, I wake up each morning and wonder when the snow will be gone. It’s been melting nicely, assisted by a light rain a few nights ago. The garden plots will be moist and well-watered before I even get the rain barrels set up.

A few days ago I announced to the family that I was going to play in the dirt. They looked outside at the still snow-covered backyard and expressed their disbelief. I tricked them; I was going down the basement where I had seeds, a package of potting soil, and a variety of containers. Now I have tiny, and I do mean tiny, tomato and pepper plants doing their best to reach for the sky. If we have decent temperatures, I can start putting the seedlings out on the deck by day and bring them in every night.

It’s a simple pleasure, really, this watching the plants grow. Every spring brings with it the potential for growth, literal and figurative. I watch the seedlings get taller and stronger and eventually put forth fruit. I see my own growth in planning, planting, and following through with the long-term process of watering, weeding, and caring for the plots. The personal growth also comes from the act of slowing down. Teaching is a fast paced, high stress job, and I enjoy every minute of it. When a school break arrives, I take the time to slow down physically and mentally. During summer, the longest break of our agrarian school calendar, the garden reminds me that some things can’t be rushed. These biological processes will happen, and they will happen at their own rates.

Meanwhile, I’ll relax with my laptop and blog about it. Okay? Okay.

Tomatoes, can't you tell?

Tomatoes, can’t you tell?

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