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

Romaine Lettuce

Romaine is easy to grow. And if you plant early and harvest early, it won't be bitter. It needs plenty of water to keep from bolting and if you have a hot spell, it will be good if it is growing in the shade of other plants. You can plant later in the season for a fall crop too.

I love the dish they serve at the Hearthfire here in Bellingham. Whole leaves of romaine drizzled with blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with filberts. For some reason the combination of filberts and blue cheese is fabulous.

The nutrition of romaine is better for us than say, iceberg. Anything really green, such as kale and chard, is full of calcium. More calcium than you can get from milk products. I'm dairy intolerant, so a good source of calcium is important.

Raining hard here in Bellingham on Easter day. Can't wait to eat asparagus later with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandbaby. We'll have some ham and augratin potatoes too. Very good meal, and not one I have on a regular basis. The grandbaby is a little over two now, and has not a clue what the Easter bunny is, and what it has to do with the tradition makes little sense, but it's fun, I guess. And who doesn't like candy. Like my grandbaby says, "Canny, Mema, I love canny."

Best in lilles and Easter eggs, Flower

Time to Plant Potatoes

The old tradition is to plant potatoes on Good Friday, which is April 10th. April 10th is a big day for me, since I'll be reading poetry at Village Books in Bellingham. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to spuds. Spuds can be planted earlier than this, but this is a good time for us here in the Pacific Northwest as it has finally warmed up. We are expecting 70 degree weather in places. Here in Bellingham, maybe 62--I'm hoping for higher. It'll be a lovely day to cut the spuds so there are a couple of eyes on each piece and mound them in rows.

Some of the varieties you might try, yellow fin, russet, red potatoes. Buy them from you seed and feed store or do like I do and cut up the spuds that are going to seed in the cupboard or the fridge. The sprouts and the plant parts are poisonous, so don't eat them. I once thought the sprouts would be good to eat, so was ready to when I had a inner sense that it wasn't a good idea. I'm good at listening to my intuition, thank goodness.

Right now the grandbaby is banking on the brass bowl that I use for meditation and rituals. Perhaps a ritual in the garden is a good idea and we are close to the full moon. A ritual for the garden so it will grow well and the garden spirits will come and help the garden to thrive.

Spring Spirits,
Flower

Orange/White Narcissus

Here is a pretty spring flower and aren't we happy the bulbs are coming up, finally. And the flowering cherries are starting to bloom and even the wild cherries. The herons are nesting down by Post Point and everyone is out--because the sun is out. Now it is time to get to work, to turn the soil. I read once that it is better to not till too deep, you don't want to go beyond topsoil. If you have bad soil, like I do, just keep working on it. It will build with layers of leaves and food scraps, newpaper and manure. Be sure to bury the food scraps as the racoons and the rats will get in there and dig stuff up. I had a rat problem in the house I used to live in. And the racoons were out there every night trying to get in to the compost bucket.

Anyway, if you have crocuses and daffodils up, you'll be gardening soon. I have heard it is late for bulbs this year--still are having frost here in Bellingham. I haven't been to the garden lately, but will soon--with rubber boots so my feet dont' get too muddy. The soil is cold and wet still, not good for planting yet--but soon.

Have fun, Flower Power

Seed Starts

Well, we've had some nice sunny days which makes everyone want to get outside and play and maybe garden. The herons are making their nest down at the heronry at the slough and other birds too, getting ready for a new spring batch.

If you want to get some seeds started with your kids, you can buy these little peat pots that expand with water. A plastic greenhouse like storage pan you set in the window will make for a nice environment that will get the seeds to sprout. Once you have sprouts, you want them to have sun, but not too much heat. The temperature should be cooler so when they move outside, they'll be happy campers. Also if it's too warm they'll get leggy.

So put your peat pots in the flat container and then water them so they puff up. Then plant a couple of seeds in each pot. Your children will like to plant bigger seeds, such as sunflower seeds and beans. You might want to put in carrots and lettuce and onions and later transplant them to your garden. Later when there isn't a hail storm predicted or a new bout of rain showers--which is today. Ahhhh, spring--what a wondrous time of year.

Seed catalogues are a good place to look for new varieties and also just for inspiration.
Ciao! Flower

Spring Gardening

I suppose some gardeners have their plots ready to plant. They've added the chicken manure and had sifted out the roots clumps missed in the fall. I have done nothing--I admit it, I'm a bad gardener. I've been socializing, working on my writing and art, and learning to tango. But the truth is, when spring comes, the urge to get my hands in the soil becomes too strong to resist.

One of the first things to remember is, plant after the soil has warmed. If you plant too soon the seeds will rot in the cold, damp soil. You can plant indoors or in your cold frame. This will satisfy the early bird gardener. I've always found it interesting that the longer I wait, the faster the seeds sprout and the more quickly they grow.

Two early plants you might want to experiment with are peas and potatoes. Peas will need the soil to be warmed a bit too, as they also can rot. If you have trouble with birds nipping off the sprouts, cover your row with garden cloth, or you can cover the plants with upturned recycled plastic containers. I do this with zucchini so the plants aren't mowed down by slugs. The clear plastic makes like a little greenhouse for the plant to get off to a more flourishing start, too.

Okay, if you want to get out there--do. Have fun.

Ciao! Flower

Green Coral Lettuce

Section off part of your garden for greens. This might include spinach, mixed greens, lettuce, kale, chard, etc. I was always told not to use etc. in my writing, but hey, I don't recall all the names of greens and it's easy to look in the catalogue and pick out something new to try. Remember some are peppery and some are bitter. You could acquire a taste for bitter if you are a person who loves sweets. It's good to eat the bitter to counter the sweet--good for the body.

Well, my garden friend was heading toward the garden the other day and when I saw him I felt glad that he might do a little work on my plot--which he said he'd help with this year. I also felt the ongoing garden guilt I feel when I don't pay enough attention to my garden. My life is very full, as is yours, I'm sure. So unless gardening is something you spend all your time at, time in the yard may have to be scheduled. This seems ridiculous to say, but the weeks fly by with all the things on the list: groceries, work, kids, friends, husbands, lovers, etc. Oh, there's that etc. now. Yes, staying busy is good, but let's not forget how good it feels to get our hands in the soil. Grounding. And now, it may be even more important to substain ourselves at our own hands.

Order seeds now from seed catalogues and then, when the soil is warm, and/or when your newspaper pots or peat pots are lush with seedlings, go out there and plant. Preparation of the soil is hard if you're having lots of rain and the soil is cold and soggy. So don't get discouraged, just keep at it when you can. Happy spring--almost.

Ciao! Flower

Daylight Savings

Doesn't that just say spring? And how many of you are out there, probably more than I can imagine. Still cold here, and a prediction of snow--but hey, there are things to do. Clean up for one, stuff that's blown around in the community garden during the winter. Sometimes a neighbor's stakes or netting ends up in my garden. I'm hoping to do a better job this year with the weeding. And the dirt, well my friend Mike says he'll add chicken manure. I think that will be the ticket. Perhaps a little more roughage, leaves or something.

So imagine what you'd like to grow and plot it out on paper. Some folks like to keep a journal of the garden. This can be good later if you can't remember what you've planted. At the Kingston house we put in a lot of fruit trees, and later when we asked each other, now which one is this--we couldn't remember. So there was the journal I'd drawn out and everything in it was clearly marked. Remarkable feeling to be to be organized.

What do you want to grow this year. Try lots of easy things, and then maybe something exotic. Last year I grew a zebra stripped tomato. Interestingly, the strips went away as it grew. I was a little disappointed. The heirloom tomatoes don't grow well here in the PNW--just not a long enough season. They are so heavy with moisture and plump, they just get blight easily.

Well onward to dreaming with the seed catalogues.

Ciao! Flower

Early Garden Tricks

I like to plant early--in fact, everything I do I'm in a bit of a rush. I'm actually cutting out coffee for just that reason. Perhaps I could slow down a bit, have a little breathing time. Anyway, if you want to get a jump on spring, don't forget the coldframe. Perhaps it should be called a hotframe. What I mean is, you can put a piece of glass, an old window works well, up against a south facing wall and plant some greens or some radishes, or start something, like lettuce plants. If you block the ends with plastic, you'll get a nice little hothouse and you'll be surprised what happens. If it is against a cement foundation, the cement will heat up. You can put brick against the wall too, they will hold extra heat. Have some fun with this idea. And look at these simple instructions: Building a Garden Cold Frame

Ciao! Flower

Kale Seed

If you left you kale to seed last year you will have plants coming up in the spring. Weed them out except for the number you want to transplant into a row for this year. Kale has the highest calcium content of any green. I eat greens in the morning with my eggs. Lately it has been kale from the coop, organic. Lots of times it's spinach with goat cheese.

Try different types of kale in the garden, there are curlie types, red kales, purple kales. Kale is delicious sauteed with a little tamari and raisins. Very delicious.

Happy Gardening, Flower

Snow Pea Plant

If you like to eat peas, plant a mess of them in the early spring. I have a special planting method that works well. Dig a trench one inch deep and as long as your garden row and about 8 inches wide. Now broadcast plant a mess of peas, I mean pretty much cover the floor of the trench with pea seed. Now cover it and tamp it down.

Along this row insert the stakes you will string your climbing wire or string along. Sometimes I use sticks from the brush trimming in the yard. Just stick them along the row every six inches or so. The peas will grow up these sticks.

When the peas come up, there will be a lot of them, which you want. You can also stretch mess along the row. The peas can grow tall if supported correctly.

Peas and new potatoes, ahhhh, my favorite. Try it, you'll like the results. Lots of peas in the early spring. Plant again in late summer. I like the sugar peas, snow peas and little marvel.

Flower

Potato Lore

what came home
Originally uploaded by kingstongal

Growing potatoes in tires is something I've heard about doing, but have never tried. I've heard that you start with one tire--plant the spuds in nice soft soil in the center. The sun heats up the tire and the plants grow well. When the spuds come up, place another tire on top and add more soil. The potato plant has to grow up through the soil and all along the stems potatoes, producing a tremendous crop. I've also heard you can grow a mess of fingerling potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done either of these two potato growing things.

When I lived in Yakima I experimented with growing potatoes under straw. They didn't do much--although I got the theory. And I tried digging trenches and putting the spuds in and covering them with a mounded dirt. They didn't grow much differently than the usual method: spread the spuds across the area you want to plant, remember to have at least one eye per plant, and mound the dirt over each tuber. There should be a foot between each plant. Then just keep weeding and mounding the soil over the spuds as they grow.

It's important it is to rotate your crops, because they'll get stuff if you don't, like potato beetles. It's no fun having potato beetles, believe you me. You can pick them off, but they are nasty and who wants to deal with that. You can throw them to the chickens, if you have chickens. If not put them in a sack and throw them away.

Okay, more potato lore forthcoming.

Flower Power