Square Foot Gardening

So I haven't been real on the ball this year with pictures and posts and such...... even though it may seem I have given up on gardening, I have NOT. I actually took a class on it last weekend..... and am considering joining a gardening club. Yes you read right..... gardening club..... but more about that later.



First let me say that I really need to be getting out from behind this computer more and into my garden. Second, I should mention that I don't always remember to photograph before pictures..... it always happens that half way thru my adventure, I think, OH (insert explative here), I should have taken a picture of what it looked like..... this is what kind of happened the other day, but lemme take you back a few days first.



Last weekend, Mothers Day weekend, I convinced my extremely tight pocketed husband to dish out 80 bucks for us to take a class on square foot gardening. He whined about it quite a bit, but after he did some research himself he found that this method could cure our yearly fight..... the one where I get full of wind, piss and excitement and plant a full garden.... but then by july, it is completely over grown. We fight because I just don't wanna get out there and weed, and our produce dwindles to the point where I end up at the farmers market spending way too much on stuff that sits in our drawers and rots until the following week, when it all starts again. Sound familiar to anyone????

So anyway, last weekend we took this class on "square foot gardening", but it had a twist. It was taught by a woman who uses biodynamic methods and although she follows much of square foot gardening rules, she also inserts some of her own thoughts and improvements. Rose is quite amazing as she travels the world teaching people to garden in this manor. In Guatemala, she has taught a village to not only grow and harvest for themselves, but they are now growing, harvesting, canning and selling to other villages. She is also traveling north to Canada to teach them how to grow as much as possible during their short summer season.

I found the class to be interesting and pretty informative.... however, I felt like there could have been some more to it. But I left with a sense of wanting to garden, NOW! So Tuesday of this past week, I headed out with the kids to get started. Problem number 1..... never and I mean NEVER go looking at plants before you get your plot dug and ready. I was thinking, well, let's get the plants so we know how much space we need... Not exactly.... instead I ended up with too many plants and the want to get them into the ground immediately. This affected the next step of the process which was to go to home depot and look for stuff to make the garden. I ended up using blocks, because I liked the idea that I could plant inside of the holes. Then off to get the organic dirt. I tried to do the math myself and thought I needed so much dirt so I considered ordering a truck load. So I just grabbed four bags and headed home. I couldn't understand how it could need so much dirt until after I called my hubby from home and realized, I was figuring out square footage but using the wrong numbers. I needed just 8 bags of dirt and should have bought them. BUT again, not using the noodle. I was so excited, I didn't follow the new square foot rules of just putting your garden ON TOP of the old one, so I began digging.... NOT GOOD! My poor garden was lumpy and wasn't mixed of the right things..... but I NEEDED to get those plants in! Seriously, I can only explain it like a drug. I just needed my fix. I needed those plants in the ground, on that day or else I wouldn't be sane. So I did just that. Now whether or not they are exactly like my class, I have to say NO. Will they work, I sure hope so!

Bye Bye Ivy

So my quest to lose all of the ivy around the foundation of my house started last year. I pulled a decent sized patch of it to build a patio of bricks. This was met by much protest by dear husband (dh). He said he liked it and didn't want it to go. However, ivy just was not fitting into my plan for a cute cottage garden. I like ivy but not where it was planted and not for what it was being purposed. SO, today as we were spreading the free chips we got from our fallen princess, I decided to pull another patch of ivy. It is the stuff that led up the walkway to the front door. Of course, dh threw a fit again and said he would not help with the extraction. To my surprise, pulling it out this year was MUCH easier than last. We were able to add chips and I think it looks FABULOUS! I guess you all can be the deciding factor on this one.

An Arbor Massacre

I know I haven't blogged in a while, although I've been thinking about doing it each week. Every week, Sunday rolls around and we have dinner at the in-laws and then prepping for the next week of business meetings, kids to school and grandma's house, etc. However, this past week a series of events has caused me much turmoil and as such, I felt compelled to get on and blog about it.

About a week and a half ago, my mom had come over for lunch. As she and I were sitting at the kitchen table, I saw a tree service pull up to the neighbors house. They spent a great deal of time walking around surveying a huge maple tree directly across the street from my house. She and I pressed our faces against the windows of my dining room and watched them walking around this gorgeous tree, hands flying in all directions, clip board in the arborist's hand.

I said to my mom, "OH NO!!!! I hope they are not going to cut that down! One of the reasons we moved to this neighborhood was because of the big trees!"

Mom replies, "I hope they aren't too."

Minutes later the chainsaws started buzzing and my heart dropped into my stomach. I left my salad sitting on the table and ran back to the window. Mom hobbled along slowly behind me.

"NO!", I yelled "They're cutting down a different tree!" There before us, was the men and their equipment taking down a small pine tree one neighbor down and across the street from us.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk" was all that came out of mom's mouth.

So I came to terms with losing that tree. It was a pine tree and I know how they drop needles in your yard, which is painful for shoe haters like me. I just was praying that the song and dance they did around the huge beautiful maple across the street ended with a conclusion that it MUST stay. A few days later, I watched a brigade of trucks and equipment march down the street and stop at "the maple". Fear and sadness swept over me and I felt invaded. I could understand what the French must have felt like as Hitler and his brigade marched down the Champ de l'Elysee.

I rushed to my bedroom window to snap a last picture of her majesty before I lost her for good. There she stood in her last picture of glory. I had to leave before they finished the job. It literally felt like someone punched me in the gut as I heard her beautiful branches being chipped to pieces. In the midst of all of this, though, I wondered how I could make it better for the tree and myself. So I sucked up all the energy I could find and walked across the street to talk to "the enemy". I asked if I could by chance have the chips. He said he was looking for a place to dispose of them and would be happy to dump them at my house for me. I walked away feeling better..... still sad that the old girl was coming down, but happy that I would be recycling her back into the ground in which she was born. So I left for the day, again, unable to continue listening to the sound of her cracking and crying as they chopped her to pieces. When I came home, I found a 15 foot round 7 foot high pile of chips in my back yard.

At first I was in panic mode, because dear husband, has been faithfully trying to grow grass and the pile was RIGHT on top of his newly planted, newly sprouting grass seed. However, after running like an idiot, in the rain, trying to spread the chips, I gave up and came inside to knit and make dinner. Go ahead and call me a spinster..... it is OK. I am warming up to it ;)

The next morning I awoke to see the neighbor starting to size up the pieces of this massive tree. He was planning on splitting the wood. I jumped into the shower and hurried into a pair of jeans and sweater before running out to photograph the beauty. I tried to get him to get into the picture with it, but he made me.... so excuse the roughness of my being. In chatting with him he said because the tree had several sprouts, when it rained the water pooled in the middle and was rotting away the tree. At first I had a hard time seeing this, but as they cut away more and more, I began to see the rot. If one of those limbs had come down, it would have been the end of someone's house. So I came to terms with the loss of that particular tree. I would have LOVED to count the rings, but the saws marred up the ends. My original guess was that it was here during the Revolutionary War. The owner of the property claims that it was a marker for the property line, I don't disagree, but that it was planted when the property was subdivided. That was in the 1920's. That I disagree with because this tree was MASSIVE!!! I am 5' 4.5" and so you can see it is at least 4' in diameter. Anyone know about how old this is? I'd be interested to hear who was off in their calculations. I speculated that when this old farm was subdivided, this tree happened to be in the right spot and they left it. However, there are other old massive trees around marking property, so maybe neighbor is right.

In anycase, I was finally at peace with the entire process, UNTIL TODAY! I awoke to the sound of the buzzing of the saws AGAIN! I wanted to die. It is like a funeral procession around here as those damn trucks make their way down the street. Russian Roulette..... where will they stop??? They took down a BIG BEAUTIFUL tree at the end of the street and the stomach ache came back. And then as if it wasn't bad enough, the brigade made their way back up the street, after destroying the first tree, and parked in another neighbor's yard. I lost it. I packed my kids up in the car and drove away. I couldn't take it any more. I called my best friend and sobbed for 5 minutes on the phone with her. I just do not understand people. I guess I am a hippie tree hugger after all because losing all of these trees was the worst thing that has happened in a LONG time to me. They weren't my trees, or my property, but they were. They housed the birds that fly thru my yard and drop droppings with wildflower seeds in them. They were a source of pollination for the bees to make honey. They provided shade to my yard. They were a source of beauty that I enjoyed looking at day after day. I had a flashback and imagined how the Native Americans must have felt when they watched the "white man" come in and desecrate the land, the trees, the animals and the life they loved so much. I cried a million tears today for the fallen trees and can only imagine how many tears they cried for their land and people.

When I arrived home tonight, I was pleasantly surprised that at the second stop of the murdering spree, they only took down a limb or two. I am just nervous that they'll be back. If I could, I'd tie myself to each of these trees, but it is not my land or my tree to save. I vowel, to replant more trees and bushes to make up for these losses. I wish this street had a sense of how these actions are harming the planet. We are knocking on Earth Day's door and yet the actions of the past week are FAR from planet friendly. I feel a bit overwhelmed as I consider all that I will have to do to make up for the indisecretions of others on this street. I got an email yesterday that gives me hope in accomplishing this mission. It was called "the daffodil effect" and was about a woman who hand planted thousands of daffodils by herself. She said that she did it knowing that by doing bit by bit, someday it would be magnificent. So my attempt at my cottage garden is going to start one plant at a time and hopefully eventually the green and earth friendly things I am doing here will make up for my fallen friends.

Gardeners Supply

I got my newest magazine from Gardners Supply. It is filled with all kinds of fun gardening stuff. Like colored tomato cages that reach to the sky, solar globes that recharge during the day and then shine at night, and my newest favorite, green artwork. When I say "green" I mean living artwork. It is a box made of cedar and is hung on the wall. There is a grid in the middle and water reserves above and below. You can place the box on a semi lighted wall where you'd plant ferns and other low light plants, or you can place them in a sunny spot, where you could plant anything else. So far it has received low reviews, however, I think one could, with some craftiness, attempt to make something like this at home....... I may because I think it is SO COOL!!! Here is a link to it.... http://www.gardeners.com/Living-Wall-Indoor/NewIndoorPlanters_Cat,37-085RS,default,cp.html#MyReviewHeader

If I attempt to make this, I will definitely post the progress.......

I've begun thinking about my spring garden. I am so looking forward to planning and actually the tilling of my ground. I am SURE when I am tilling and post tilling I will be M.F.ing the whole process, however, right now while I am home bound from snow and cold...... tilling ground sounds AWESOME!!! I am planning right now to do raised beds and I am hoping to finally put into place and use the square foot method. I hear it is the most productive and easiest to keep up with..... Lordie knows I need the help.

Tomatofest is BEST!

Friday, I went out to the mailbox to find an envelope from Tomatofest, the place from where I ordered my tomato seeds. I am so excited to get one or two started and possibly grow them here in the house. Although with my lack of success henceforth, I am wondering if I'll be able to keep them alive. The paperwork I received from them gave detailed instructions on how to get them started (not really the problem), how to harden them up a bit (not really the problem), and then how to transfer them (THE PROBLEM!). I am hoping I am able to pull these off this year, especially since I got so many cool varieties, and lots of heirlooms and all organic!! Here are the varieties I got:

1. Blondkopfchen: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- An heirloom tomato from eastern Germany. The name of this adorable heirloom cherry tomato means "little blonde girl".Our TomatoFest organic tomato seeds produce big, leafy, indeterminate, regular-leaf tomato plants that yield a phenomenal amount of 1/2", grape-sized, brilliant yellow/gold, cherry tomatoes in clusters of 20-30. The vines are large and sprawling, so give them plenty of space. Blondkopfchen is undoubtedly one of the BEST TASTING cherry tomatoes. Deliciously sweet with a slight citrusy tart finish. I have had this in our garden as our favorite snacking tomato for many years and use this cherry tomato for introducing tomatoes to kids who claim they don't like tomatoes. Just put this in your mouth and see if you can keep from smiling. For many years TomatoFest has been one of the few commercial sources for these special tomato seeds.A Non-cracking, disease resistant tomato variety that grows well in most climates including cooler growing regions.

2. Aunt Lucy's Italian Paste: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- Originally from Italy via Toni Casell's Aunt Lucy. Our TomatoFest organic tomato seeds produce indeterminate, regular-leaf tomato plants that yield abundant crops of 2", red, round, meaty tomatoes with classically delicious sweet/tart flavors so well respected with the old Italian tomato varieties. Fruit contains few seeds. A wonderful tomato for tomato sauce or slicing into a tomato salad.Rare tomato seeds. TomatoFest is one of the only commercial opportunities to find this heirloom tomato.

3. Black Prince: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- Originally from Siberia, this is one of the most popular and favored black tomatoes. Originally introduced from Irkutsk, Russia and is regarded as a "true Siberian tomato" that does very well in cooler climates. Until only recently this was considered a rare variety in the United States. However, it's popularity has grown so much in Russia that there is now a company in Volograd that is producing an extract of the Black Prince called "Black Prince Tomato Oil." The Black Prince tomato is said to have considerable health benefits beyond the presence of lycopene. These deep garnet round, 2-inch (2-3 oz.) tomatoes are full of juice and incredibly rich fruity flavors. This is a tomato that chefs I deliver to rave about for it's rich flavors. The small fruits contain deep rich colors on the inside. Perfect for patio gardens. Perfect for eating fresh, and in cooking in tomato sauce or other culinary wonders.

4. Red Pear: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- One of the oldest American heirlooms dating back to the 1700's. Big, prolific, regular leaf, sprawling plant produces hundreds of cute, deep-red, 1/2" x 1 1/2" pear-shaped fruits with wonderfully sweet and juicy flesh. A wonderful snacking or salad tomato that really fancies up a salad when served whole

5. Early Annie: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- A short heirloom variety that produces 3-inch, round, meaty fruits with few seeds. Particularly good for canning. Fruit sets all at once.

6. Long Tom: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- Old family heirloom originally sent to Ben Quisenberry by a friend living in Pennsylvania. Our TomatoFest organic seeds produce indeterminate, regular-leaf, vigorous plants that bear huge amounts of very long (up to 9 inches), meaty, red paste tomatoes with very few seeds. Their sweet flavor and meaty texture make this an excellent choice as a sauce tomato. Also good as a salad tomato or just for eating fresh off the vine. Tomatoes hardly ever crack. This is a superior paste tomato that is one of Gary Ibsen's favorites. Another wonderful novelty tomato.

7. Hawaiian Currant: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- A sweet red, pea-sized currant that holds fruit on clusters until all are ripe. A very sweet and tasty treat. Hawaiian Currant tomatoes are a sure winner in children's gardens around the world. All TomatoFest tomato seeds are certified organic. Go ahead, give them a try!

8. Big White Pink Stripe: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- Pale-peach colored 4-inch globe slicer with pinkish blush on blossom end and peach-cream colored flesh inside. Meaty fruits with tropical flavor similar to melon but slight sweet-tart tang.

And as a SPECIAL GIFT, they sent me another variety.....

9. Aker's West Virginia: (as described directly from the Tomatofest website)- A family heirloom tomato of Craig Lehoullier's friend, Carl Aker of Pennsylvania. Originally from West Virginia. These organic tomato seeds produce a vigorous highly productive, regular leaf, heirloom tomato plant that yields an excellent set of large, 10 to 16-ounce, deep-red, slightly flattened tomatoes in clusters of 2. Fruits show little or no cracking and have a well balanced sweetness to acidity. Delicious, robust flavors.

I am so excited to give them all a try!!!! Again, the website to order these and MANY others is www.tomatofest.com. I'll update you all on the progress, however, if I do not kill them, you'll know they are AWESOME seeds...... If I kill them, they are probably still AWESOME seeds, just not for those of us trying to cure a black thumb.

SNOW SNOW EVERYWHERE!!

Since winter can be a slow on the news of gardening, I figured this week, I'll post about the snow. IT IS EVERYWHERE AND A LOT OF IT! We received somewhere in the neighborhood of about

a foot and a half. Up north, just literally 45 minutes to an hour north, my friend has received over 3 feet and further north than her, even more. So strange how weather works.

In the meantime, I was able to get out with the kids to sled ride and build a snowman. The mercury in the thermometer finally moved from -22 up to 30 degrees. Perfect weather for playing in the snow. Now, no one should be surprised when I say, "I hate winter". It used to be my favorite season, but as I am aging, I find it less and less appealing. It could also be that I

went from being hot all the time to freezing even in summer...... so at-22 degrees, I feel like it is even colder yet. I do LOVE the first snowfall and really most snowfalls as long as I don't have to go out in it. I like the deafening quiet that happens during a big snow, before the trucks get out to salt. The snow on the branches and plants is beautiful, before the wind kicks up. But before long it becomes a slushy, dirty mess..... and it is cold to boot. So while I enjoyed my time in the snow, I AM looking forward to spring and even more towards summer!!!

The Snow is Falling.....

and I am nestled up in my house, reading gardening books. I am longing to put my hands back into the dirt and try for yet another summer to grow stuff. Recently, I found a great website where one can order Heirloom tomatoes and really almost any type of tomato that is out there. The website is http://www.tomatofest.com/ . They also have many varieties of organic tomatoes!!! I am so excited to plan my garden and get started seeding this spring!!!!

I checked some books out of the library and was breezing thru them to see what I could possibly grow in the shaded part of my yard. You know, where I did the patio and thought had partial sun, to find out once everything grew in that it is pretty much full shade. It receives sun only as the sun is setting. So I am looking for flowering plants that thrive in shade and survive the Pittsburgh winters. Not many out there!!! But while looking for them, I found "snow drops". I think I need to get my hands on some of them...... They bloom in January or February, I think, and they sound perfect for me as the blues of the winter set in!!! Flowers blooming always make me smile..... especially if I planted them!!!!

Turning over a new leaf in 2009

Happy New Year to all! It's 2009 and time to turn over a new leaf. As promised, I will be blogging on a weekly basis...... Although I am sure my readership is nill at this moment! And So It Goes!

This time of year my holly bushes are blooming quite nicely. I will be taking pictures of them soon and will post them. They look so festive, but are in very inconspicuous places in the yard. The crappy ivy kind of hides them under it's creepy crawly vines but when you get to the meat of the plant you see the cute little red round berries juxtaposed against the pointy dark green leaves. Such an awesome looking plant!!!

Aside from that plant though, my yard is sleeping until the spring when, hopefully, my 100's of red tulips, yellow daffodils and purple, yellow and cream crocuses emerge but not forgetting my beautiful purple irises.

I have also been searching for books about flowers and plants that grow in PA. Today I found two at Barnes and Noble, but didn't buy them. I am going to check them out of my library to see if they are worthy enough to purchase. This lady needs all of the knowledge she can find!!! If anyone reads this blog and has suggestions on good books to have, please let me know!!!

Till next post, Stay Green!