It Begins....Gardening 2012

Yes, it is that time…already. 

 

Last year we had no idea what we are doing, and so we started our tomato seeds late and paid for it the rest of the season – by the time most of the plants matured, it was so hot none of the blooms could set and give us fruit.

Not this year!

DIRT. Kinda important. Organic!

Jan 4^th I was putting these bad boys into their transient homes before they move into the garden.  Last year we had no idea what the crud we were doing, and have come a long way since then.  We also discovered North haven Gardens, THE BEST GARDENING CENTER EVER, and they have helped us quite a bit. They have possibly the most knowledgeable people ever on staff, and they all are more than happy to talk to you for as long as you’d like.  One time a very nice lady walked around with us for 40 minutes, just giving us tips.

Moisten the dirt well, like a wrung out sponge, with warm water before filling pots. Yes, that is the same pot I make my soups in.  Don't judge me.

My boring, Home Depot Burpee varieties.

Seeds, getting ready for lift-off!I put around 3 per pot, use the end of a pen to make holes 1/4 inch deep and lightly cover with moist soil.

  Last year, we got started and there was so much to do and learn, and seed catalouges are HUGE and very scary. So we went went to out local HD and picked stuff out that bc it was already weeded down to varieties that do well in our area.

This year, seed catalogues are still scary but we have NHG to go to now, and they have all kinds of fun things to choose from.  We actually have issues narrowing it down.  We went with a purple variety, a pink brandywine, and yellow, cuz - color!  I admit I was imagining a very pretty bruchetta for some party. Or myself on a Friday night. Whichever.

My new, fun heirloom varieties!

Secret Weapon - Heat Mat

Seed Incubation! No light, but lots of good heat and covered to retain both heat and moisture.

Ok, these are more heirlooms but not tomatoes, I admit it. But do you SEE that melon on the left?! I'm so excited, I could care less what it tastes like - I just want to see it growing in the garden.

Anyway, Changes this year:

-          - No dumb peat pots. I hate those things. Roots grown into them so you can’t remove it, but they rarely truly break through the pot, and they aren’t dissolving, either.  We found lots of remnants when we ripped out the summer stuff to make way for fall. We use plastic pots from plants we bought at Lowe’s and transplanted.

-          -  No peat pellets, either.  They offer nothing except structure for the newbie plants.  We prefer a seed-starter mix, preferably organic.

-          -  Heat Mat – this keeps those little guys warm and tricks them into thinking it’s spring and they should sprout.  I planted the seeds and they had germinated and grown after just 3 days.  The package says 7-10 days.  Crazy.

-          - Fun heirloom varieties this year

-      - This year I'm keeping a journal, bc after all the work last year, I have no idea what we planted when and what we tried, and what worked...etc.  I'm all proud of myself, envisioning a library of yearly gardening knowledge, my future children fighting over them when I'm too old to continue.   But there will probably be food replicators just like Star Trek by then.

-          -  We’re actually doing this on time

So yeah, LOTS OF TOMATOES. Considering David doesn’t really like fresh tomatoes, this is really just a gift to me. And all of you too, if you live nearby and I can bring myself to share, cuz fresh tomatoes are just so, so good.

Dirt under the fingernails in January. It's gonna be a good year.