Sweet Peas

I was thinking about the vines, peas and beans that grew on the neighbor's fence in the first neighborhood I have clear memories of. It was during that period of my life that I had my tonsils out, my leg dislocated, and I jumped off the neighbor's garage. I was a fearless child and full of rebellion. And yes, I was only 5 or 6 years old. I'd eat the peas off the vines, the raspberries too, while the rest of the kids played in the back yard. I got caught, which wasn't unusally for the pranks I pulled, but there the mother of my firends was leaning out the kitchen window telling me not to pick the peas. It happened with the raspberries and rhubbarb.
Grow your own, I say. Yum.

Flower

Tomatoes

I've been growing tomatoes since I was in grade school. Then they grew next to the pool where my mother grew petunias. I lived in Spokane and frosts came early, so I pulled my plants and hung them in the garage. We frequently ate tomatoes with our meals, straight from my little plant.

Now I live in the pacific NW. Here, the rain and cooler marine air keeps the tomatoes from thriving in the same way they do in warm climents. You can make little hats for your plants or grown them under a plastic covered roof. Just fool around, remembering to plant in warmer parts of your yard, such as the south side of your house. I keep my under eaves--I have to water oftern, since the rain doesn't hit there--which is the point. Avoid blight!

Happy gardening! Flower

Sugar Snap Pea Flower

I've grown bush peas and climbing peas, sweet marvels and sugar snap peas. I like them all, but since I don't get to my garden as frequently as some, the sugar peas are better for me. They last longer before getting too starchy or stringy. I love them in salads, steamed with new potatoes, or just raw. The deer like them too, so I put a fence of clear fishing line around my garden. You can't see the line well, so it doesn't interfer with your landscaping. The deer bump against it and back away. Be sure to space the fishing line so the babies can't step under it. I anchor it at the corners onto bamboo poles. Enjoy your garden and the spring weather.
Best, Flower

Carrots

I could grow good carrots in Spokane. They'd grown long and fat and taste fantastic. And they'd winter over, covered with a pile of maple leaves, they wouldn't freeze. I'd get on my rubber boots and go to the garden in the winter, remove the snow, turn back the leaves and dig a bucket of carrots. Fresh and crisp and cold. Here in the PNW, carrots get a little fly worm in them, so there are these tunnels through the flesh and everything is ruined. This year I'm trying planting in a planter with cloth over the top--it's that cloth that breaths, light as a feather, lifts with the growth of the plant, and doesn't let the flies in. We'll see what happens, You seed rather heavilty, so the plants grow close together. Yeah, I have my peas and tomatoes in too.
Happy Gardening, Flower

Sweet 100s

There are many varieties of sweet cherry tomatoes fo choose from. Jolly Elf, Sweet Hearts, Flamingo, Sweet Pea, Red Currant to name a few. When my daughter was in grade school her granddad brought her regularly baggies of cherry tomatoes. She loved this ritual and loved to eat the tomatoes. Now I'm thinking about my grandson--perhaps this year I'll plant more cherry tomato plants than I generally do. I usually put in three plants, and because of the climate here in the Pacific NW, I use fast growing varieties--such as the Early Girl and Big Boy. There are others that you can find at farmers markets that are vintage--many people like the heavy fruit of the Brandywine. It's delicious, I must say, but around here, I have little luck with it since the growing season is long and we tend to blight easily from the rain. Have fun choosing your tomato plants, and put in more than you think you need. Even the deer like them.

Keywords: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grand children snacks, childhood snacks, Early Girl, Big Boy, Brandywine

Egyptian Walking Onion

These are very cool. They spread beneath the ground and then at the tops of the stems, many little onions grow. They are a relative of the Catawissa onion. The topsets are a distinctive red color and are spicy in flavor. The bottom onions are hot and delicious in cooked foods. You can buy these specialty onions at www.territorialseed. com. I grew these onions in my garden in Kingston. The person who turned me on to them said, just bend the plant over and step on it, snub it around and it will plant the sets for you. I'd prefer to eat part and replant the other part. They are 250 days to harvest and are planted in the fall.

Keywords: Catawissa onion, Egyptian Walking Onion, Multiplier Onion

Broccoli & Broccoli raab

Both are easy to grow in your garden. Broccoli Raab takes only 40 days. I like it because you can sow all summer and pick greens when you want to have a little to stir in with a quick dish. I'm a single person, so I don't need to grow much of each plant. The down fall of any of the Brassica plants (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, pac choi, rutabagas and turnips is that they get aphids, cabbage worms, loopers and root maggots. If you are an organic gardener you will spray off these critters with a hard blast of water, you can also cover your plants with netting so the moths fluttering near your plants won't be able to lay their eggs. Also you can spray with Bacilus thuringiensis.

Keywords: broccoli, broccoli raab, brassicas, insect control, stir fry

Children's Garden

Children love to garden. I remember as a child planting beans at school in Dixie cups. It was always so exciting to see the bean sprout and begin to grow. I also recall growing many sweet potato plants in my bedroom. To do this, take a sweet potato and stick toothpicks around it about midway between top and bottom. Balance it in a canning jar of water and wait for the sprouts to grow beautiful vines. This is a great project. And don't forget the sunflower seed, a child's favorite.

Keywords: children gardening, child gardens, pea patch, my kid loves peas

Lettuce

Loose leaf lettuce. Plant continuously so you have salads all summer. There are many varieties to choose from. Try red leaf, butter lettuce, a mix of many greens is fun too. Cut them when they are small, this way you will avoid bolting greens. And the more you water the less likely they'll turn bitter. I love a salad of fresh greens mixed with flowers from the garden, pansies, calendula, rose petals. If your kale has wintered over, you might have white or yellow kale flowers. Other flowers work as well. Look them up in an herb book so you don't mistake a poisonous flower for an edible one. Remember to never eat potato flowers, tomato or pepper. They are all of the nightshade family. Happy Gardening, Flower

Spring Snowshoeing

This was early April, and now in late April we could begin to plant our gardens--and many have. I'll probably wait until May. Someone said the other day that she never plants until Mother's Day. I think that may be a good rule of thumb, since often I get too excited and plant early and seeds rot. I love spring peas, so that will be my first item I'll put in. My friend Mike said he thought he'd go over and start pulling weeds. We did have several days of 60-70 degree weather, but it's colder again and even a prediction of snow. My friend, who's in this picture, said he was in sleet the other day. That was nearer to the Olympics, but there you have it. Late spring coming.

Ciao! Flower

Sunshine at Last

Yesterday and the day before, nice weather--between 60 and 70 degrees. Now I can get to the garden. I always think I should go earlier, but seeds rot when planted too early. I've had to replant many times and interestly enough, plants that winter over seem to thrive early, but seeds planted early seem to be stunted and grow too slow. So if you can wait, wait. I'll be turning over the soil soon and getting my starts or seeds in. I live in an apartment, so not enough room to start plants inside, but I used to do this--either in the sunny kitchen window or in the little greenhouse. Lots of times I use the cold frame to start early greens, radishes, and other starts that like cool weather.

Once it turns nice, the contrast with cold gray weather is so obvious, I'm always surprised I've survived the winter. Perhaps I'll go to Arizona next winter, get out of the wind and snow.

Have fun, Flower

Tropical Plants on Your Patio

Well, we're a long way from warm weather plants, weatherwise that is, plants to sit on the porch and enjoy during the summer, and we're a long way from St. Vincent where my friend shot this lovely flower on a winter trip to warm weather and beautiful blue seas. My sister had a nice hibiscus plant she kept on the back porch and all summer it bloomed large orange blooms. Each day she had to pick off the withered flowers, as they come and go just like that.

Add to your vegetable garden with blooming plants.

Ciao, Flower