tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86712970602053566182012-01-20T08:49:18.428-05:00New veganic gardener learns how to grow edible plants in zone 6b.Aubadenoreply@blogger.comBlogger1661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-713668405384507192012-01-05T22:22:00.000-05:002012-01-06T10:37:42.908-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! It was a wonderful holiday season for the grow peace family. I hope you enjoyed yours too. Winter has been especially mild so far, especially compared to the last two years. So we were able to enjoy a salad on Christmas day with fresh cut arugula from the garden! It was very simple, just the arugula, red onions, oranges, almonds and a vinagrette made mainly with fresh

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-18978611892631657282011-08-24T22:18:00.003-04:002011-08-25T10:24:01.689-04:00

I feel really bad about neglecting my blog all summer! I can't believe it has flown by so quickly. We've had lots of fun taking K. to the beach, boardwalk, hiking, and swimming in the pool. Unfortunately the garden was not as great as all that. It was another relatively unlucky year, with a 106 degree heatwave killing the blackberries again, a gopher devouring all my green beans and cucumbers,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-25937915987587038502011-06-10T12:08:00.001-04:002011-06-10T12:09:09.373-04:00

Last year it seemed the heatwaves killed off most of my strawberry patch. But I was wrong! To my great delight, we had quite a good harvest this year. To the left is the 1st ripe strawberry, picked on May 20th. Then over the next two weeks I picked all of these (and another bowl, but the picture is still on my camera): I ate them in several delicious salads and a heavenly chocolate

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-87902069978002171172011-05-10T22:24:00.004-04:002011-05-11T10:35:00.130-04:00

Check out my herb garden - it is growing wild! It isn't the greatest picture since it was late in the day, but that may be for the best since I need to get out there and trim them. I'm not really complaining though -nothing not to like about an abundance of herbs! I am going to try to use as many as possible over the next few weeks, before they get attacked by summer bugs. (I wish I could get

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-9200864744811603332011-05-10T22:04:00.000-04:002011-05-10T22:04:23.988-04:00

I'm so excited! The one edible ostrich fern I planted in 2009 has formed a colony. They all sprung up this spring. I counted about 8 crowns. Unfortunately, I missed the harvest window again this year. I swear the fiddleheads didn't unfurl until June last year, but as you can see above they are well past that stage already. That's ok - I read on garden web that you shouldn't really harvest them

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-28956649430521417482011-05-10T21:30:00.003-04:002011-05-10T21:37:59.033-04:00

I went hiking with the family at Washington Crossing State Park this weekend and found the cutest little treasure: an 18th century living kitchen garden. Here's the official blurb about it and some pictures I took: Johnson Ferry House This early 18th-century gambrel roof farmhouse and tavern near the Delaware River was

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-4382609822773204112011-04-20T22:12:00.004-04:002011-05-10T21:56:59.601-04:00

Today I picked a bunch of mache that self-seeded when I let a few plants go to seed last spring. Here they all are in the bed: And close up: Unfortunately I think they've already started to bolt. You can see the middle leaves are starting to get taller - that's going to shoot up into a seed stalk pretty soon. They were probably at their peak in March, but I missed it. So, I picked a bunch today

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-87939852744305209362011-04-13T22:00:00.005-04:002011-04-13T22:14:31.121-04:00

I'm so happy my seedlings are doing better this year, especially since it is my first attempt at growing tomatoes from seed. Here's some quick picks of my green babies: the whole setup mountain magic tomatoes red romaine (front) & swiss chard (back) gem marigolds, green romaine & ground cherries (l to r) gem marigold close up teeny ground cherries (back & right)

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-58318272697805329862011-04-13T09:19:00.008-04:002011-04-20T12:06:47.740-04:00

I just saw this article in mothering magazine about gardening with babies. Somehow it had never really occured to me that you could bring a baby that young in the garden. Of course, I'd already gotten excited about the prospect of feeding K. his first tastes of some vegetables straight from the garden I'd grown myself. He's 6 months now, so we've just started him on solids. And I look forward to

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-24862447140082451692011-04-05T20:53:00.000-04:002011-04-06T15:55:27.641-04:00

The bee balms above are a bit of a mystery. I planted the red ones from seed (monarda didyma) then realized they were a bit too far back, so I thought they might not do well in the shade. I purchased another plant that I thought was the same exact variety, and planted it in front. Well, it turned out to be pink! So now I have both plants intermingled there. Maybe one day I can separate and

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-90556294581450370132011-04-05T19:41:00.003-04:002011-04-07T13:37:47.586-04:00

You might remember the crazy rowcover structure I stuck to the fence with velcro, described back in this post. It resulted in decent protection. Above you can how the diva cucumber plants looked as of August 4, 2010. That's pretty good considering my cucumbers were a yellow spotted, shriveling up, powdery mildewed mess by Aug. 9th in 2009. There were just two major problems: 1) the Agribon didn't

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-87797799130273409832011-02-11T15:58:00.015-05:002011-04-09T10:38:27.848-04:00

It's that time of year again. I think I'm actually a bit late in planning even though it is only February, since I'm hoping to grow tomatoes from seed this year. It will be my first time so I need to learn more about the particulars, but I think I need to start the seeds pretty soon. I'm only going to do 2 tomato plants this year, since most of them did really poorly last year. That's also why I

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-43598948698065659702010-11-01T14:13:00.006-04:002011-04-13T09:22:54.879-04:00

So obviously I haven't updated this blog in quite a while. That's because I was growing this little fella in my belly! K. was born on Oct. 11, at 7:01 am. I took these pics of him in the garden last week when we had an unseasonably warm day of 75 degrees. Looks like he is fascinated by the nasturtiums - a little gardener in the making! I didn't do much in the garden this summer, since of course

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-52151572185737924102010-06-29T21:39:00.008-04:002010-06-29T21:52:58.389-04:00

I am simply in love with these hollyhocks! I grew the maroon ones on the left from seed last year, and purchased the black ones from Well Sweep herb farm. Neither of them bloomed last year, so I was very happy to see them this summer!Unfortunately only 3 plants survived out of 8 - I have no idea what happened to the other 5. The didn't grow back at all this spring. But what can you do - at least

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-44501327249180101592010-06-29T21:32:00.002-04:002010-06-29T21:37:51.178-04:00

I thought last year's turnips were pretty spectacular, but this year they really outdid themselves! I left my finger in the picture for size comparison. Just look at the size of these!!I only harvested the biggest ones that day. It was June 12th. There are still quite a few nice sized ones left in the bed for later - I'd say this was maybe a little over 1/3 of the bed. I think I'll pick them in

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-82007178674525182962010-06-29T21:24:00.005-04:002010-06-30T10:19:53.702-04:00

The sugar snap harvest was pretty successful this year, I guess as far as it goes with the short springs here that get hot so quickly.Above is the first harvest I got from the peas that were interplanted with trombocino squash in full sun. I picked them on June 12th, and pulled the plants out that same day because they already had started turning brown. Plus I wanted to give more room to the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-17312147142723808152010-06-19T11:51:00.007-04:002010-06-19T12:12:10.972-04:00

So I'm trying out new ways to control insect problems this year. Above, you see a low tunnel (at least I think that's what it would be called) that is covering two cavili squash plants, to protect them from Squash Vine Borers. I built it just like I did the others described in this post. In fact, I used the wires from the winter rowcovers and just moved them over. The only difference is this

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-49725585472203612002010-06-06T14:56:00.005-04:002010-06-06T15:07:27.212-04:00

I'm really thrilled about this plant, especially since I grew it from seed last spring. It only bloomed once last year, just two small flowers. Well, what a difference a year makes! It is gorgeous now.Some sites say this Malva sylvestris 'Mystic Merlin' is edible, which is why I originally bought it for my potager. But other sites say it is poisonous, so I'm not sure what to do! I think for now,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-28088353518741393992010-06-06T14:36:00.014-04:002011-04-09T10:44:45.986-04:00

The herbs are growing like crazy! The chive, sage, lavender, chamomile and thyme have all bloomed, and it looks like the oregano and marjoram will too any day now. I need to trim them and dehydrate a bunch, but I just haven't had a chance yet. I did harvest some of the flowers though. To the left is a bouquet of sage flowers. I'm not sure what to do with them, but they sure look pretty and smell

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-76680131881259236052010-06-06T14:27:00.007-04:002010-06-06T14:48:29.870-04:00

I can't even believe this harvest!! I got these two bunches, and then another four cups worth that I still have to eat.It looks like the plants are slowing down now - mostly just the smaller everbearing types are left. But there are definitely still some ripe ones that I need to pick tomorrow...

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-14442472056239582902010-05-25T21:15:00.002-04:002010-05-25T21:25:17.909-04:00

I didn't plant a lot of radishes this year. I thought I'd do a second batch but never got around to it. That's ok, I still got a decent harvest. They weren't nearly as big as last year though. I guess all the rain last year must have made the roots grow big. Here's the first batch I picked on May 9th - 3 Easter Egg in the top row, then I think a mix of Crimson Red and Sparkler White Tip:Then I

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-17084240496983979862010-05-20T22:29:00.002-04:002010-05-25T20:32:09.244-04:00

I didn't think they'd be ripe until June, but here are the first 4 ripe berries of the season. We ate these beauties on top of a nice tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes outside in the garden, with my favorite drink, a (vegan) NY Egg Cream. :-)Then, just a day later I picked about 8 more, but ate them before I took a picture. After it stopped raining for two days, I was able to pick this whole

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-22060661244797105152010-05-16T21:27:00.011-04:002010-06-19T12:00:55.023-04:00

Although I bought most of my plants this year, and direct seeded the rest outside, there were a couple that I started inside and grew under lights.These are most of them - Diva cucumbers & Cavili squash. The Diva seed packet went into great detail about planting them inside, so I didn't plant them outside like I usually do with cukes. I asked on Gardenweb if that was necessary- and another Diva

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-46151391519139214962010-05-16T20:42:00.007-04:002010-05-25T21:15:01.322-04:00

So here are the pictures of my long-awaited Cross Country Nursery order. I picked them up on Sunday May 9th, but it was too cold to plant them so I had to wait. These pictures were taken a week later right before planting on May 15th. I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed, especially in the tomatoes.This is the Ramapo, Snowstorm and Matina tomatoes. Granted, the bottom leaves are a bit more

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-6649915051437498402010-05-07T18:34:00.008-04:002010-05-09T18:33:31.988-04:00

Strawberries! Yay. I'm really happy they filled in so nicely compared to last year. There are tons of light green berries on the plants so I can't wait for June. You can't quite see it in the picture, but they are covered in bird netting for protection.There were even tons of them that sprouted out the back of the bed. I want to turn that area into a place where chamomiles and borage can

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-86017353647999431132010-05-06T21:21:00.009-04:002010-05-09T18:37:58.154-04:00

Nasturtiums are supposed to self-seed, but I read they are a little finiky and won't always do it. I wasn't able to save any seeds last year, because it was hard to get them ripe enough and I just didn't have the motivation to tie baggies on them or anything. So I wasn't sure what I'd get this year and bought seeds anyway.Now I'm happy to report at least a couple did self-sow. The funny thing is,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-5118668232795205732010-05-06T18:14:00.004-04:002010-05-09T18:39:23.579-04:00

The small and somewhat awkward paths in my haphazard garden have given me quite a bit of trouble over the past two years. If I had it to do again, I'd make them bigger and more unform. But as this blog shows, the garden was built very much bit by bit and without a real plan so I guess that's what happens.Aside from sometimes having to do a little dance not to step on plants, it is difficult to

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-12560528170548040442010-05-06T17:34:00.018-04:002010-05-10T12:04:22.956-04:00

I started a compost pile as soon as I moved into this house in 2008. Unfortunately, it didn't produce any useable compost until this year. I opened up the little bottom door and saw some nice brown stuff, but it was covered with lots of unfinished scraps. So my partner and I pushed the whole thing over, keeping the unfinished stuff in the top part with a shovel.Then we shoveled the finished

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-39583317659726473182010-05-05T22:54:00.008-04:002010-05-05T23:17:16.372-04:00

I've found two of these snail shells in my garden so far this season. I've never seen them here before. So far, both of them were dead, and all of my seedlings seem fine. I hope they don't end up being a problem because snails are so cute and the shells are really pretty.Then over the course of this past Sat. & Sun., I saw about 4 - 5 snakes. Actually, I thought the first 3 or 4 sightings may

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-52455742022116697152010-05-05T22:04:00.007-04:002011-04-06T15:56:58.353-04:00

Last year I planted a new bed of Calendulas (a mix of Oktoberfest and Flashback). Unfortunately, as detailed in this post, they ended up with some kind of disease. Over the winter I discovered that it probably was insect damage from the aphids, as well as thrips - because the markings on the leaves looked exactly like the ones in slide 31 of this pdf. So I had no idea what was going to happen to

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-83165519905189778822010-05-04T22:33:00.000-04:002010-05-05T22:53:17.475-04:00

I'll never forget trying to plant my fall crop of carrots and turnips in the heat and humidity of August 2009. It was backbreaking and excrutiatingly sweaty. Well, never again will I have to go through that, thanks to information about how to make DIY seed tape that I read on the gardenweb forums.I tried it for the first time this spring, and I'm happy to report it worked great! Here's what I did

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-82432040572872660282010-04-19T10:39:00.008-04:002010-04-19T11:34:55.070-04:00

Unfortunately, I'm not able to participate as a costume performer this year, but I highly recommend it if you can! I've been in 5 or 6 Earth Celebrations pageants over the years and it is always so much fun! Here's the info:SIGN UP TO BE A COSTUME PERFORMER, PUPPET VOLUNTEER, PARADE MARSHAL & OTHER ROLES FOR THE HUDSON RIVER PAGEANT- SAT MAY 22.TO RESTORE THE HUDSON RIVER SPECIES & HABITATS&

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-73515949056395290842010-04-05T13:22:00.005-04:002010-04-07T10:59:58.877-04:00

Whoa, talk about too much of a good thing! They have so many varities at Cross Country Nursery my head almost exploded trying to pick just a few. I ended up buying 2 more tomato plants than I had planned, and 3 extra peppers. I think I may have to nix my edamame test, and grow a few less chinese cabbage. But wow, will it be worth it! If we have a good season this summer, I'm going to have a

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-44834565102017913472010-03-07T16:51:00.018-05:002010-05-05T23:24:30.483-04:00

Well, it isn't exactly spring yet, at least until the equinox on March 20th. But this weekend was gorgeous - in the upper 50's and bright sun all day Sat and Sun. Unfortunately, I was stuck inside working. I managed to get out for a quick walk through the garden today though. Considering there is still about 2 inches of snow on the ground in shady places, I was surprised to see quite a few new

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-66455448925030083882010-02-12T11:55:00.003-05:002010-02-12T12:16:47.484-05:00

http://www.hsny.org/images/programs/exhibitions/treeproject/treeproject_press_release.pdf I'm super excited to be going to this exhibit at the Horticultural Society of New York today. It is a display of trees people have grown from seeds of second and third generation hibaku trees. These are trees that survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.Apparently, no one thought anything would grow again

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-91606249463586897442010-02-06T19:07:00.007-05:002010-05-05T23:25:17.338-04:00

Here's a few pictures of dishes I made with the nasturtiums I grew in 2009.First are flowers stuffed with almond pepper chreeze - these were so good!! I stuffed and rolled the leaves like dolmas too, and it was awesome. I used this recipe with some diced Italian frying peppers and ground black pepper to add a little heat.I also made nasturtium and potato soup using the leaves. The soup was quite

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-15830170791218078372010-01-24T11:01:00.014-05:002010-01-24T17:16:33.342-05:00

Time to figure out what seeds to buy and start growing inside. I want to grow everything, but I only have so little space this is really tough!2010 PLANTING PLAN1. BED ONE (large + fence) 42 x 94.5 = 3.5' x 7.9' = 27.6' = 27.5'Spring: lettuceSummer: Trombonchino squash, 2 italian frying, 2 green bell, 2 red or something bell peppersfall: nothing2. BED TWO (small + fence) 31.5 x 46 = 2.6' x

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-18589682679548348372010-01-18T14:23:00.012-05:002010-01-18T14:53:14.275-05:00

It turns out the carrots and turnips weren't dead afterall! It warmed up and hit 50 this Saturday, so I went outside to see if the carrots were still edible. To my surprise, the green tops had perked back up and looked alive! They were still damaged, but nowhere nearly as bad as the greens in the other bed (which are definitely still dead, or at least dormant).The next test was taste, and the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-81862841944547460882010-01-10T15:22:00.006-05:002010-01-16T09:57:44.422-05:00

Well, not a total fail - but definitely not a success! The plants under my rowcovers have been dead since it first dipped into the low 20's back in early December. Here is what the greens bed looks like today:Even the mache is frozen. So much for that!And here is the bed of carrots. The turnips look the same.I wish I had known this was going to happen, so I could have at least picked everything

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-84418230950127231002009-12-20T15:12:00.010-05:002009-12-21T17:14:41.246-05:00

OK, so it is actually tomorrow but I wanted to make sure I got something posted in celebration of the shortest day of the year. It is tough to think about, since we have two or three more months of the coldest weather to endure, but at least the days will be getting longer from now on!Above is a picture of some of my holiday decorations out front. I made these trees out of the tomato cages I used

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-48900986824263584252009-12-15T12:51:00.009-05:002010-04-27T13:02:22.306-04:00

I have two plants I needed to bring indoors for the winter - the bay tree and an orange thyme. As you can see above, I set them up in front of a sunny window, and added two regular desk lamps to give them some additional light. The very bright desk lamp to the right has a full spectrum lightbulb to mimic natural light. They seem to like it, and are doing well. I decorated them with some holiday

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-46552598641533122352009-12-09T12:51:00.015-05:002009-12-10T13:46:46.038-05:00

This year we made Farmgirl Susan's Green Tomato Relish (front) again, as well as a new recipe for Green Tomato Salsa (back). Once again, I got overwhelmed with all the chopping and my sweet husband ended up doing most of it for me.We used this recipe I found on the Gardenweb forums for the salsa, except I changed it to be 6 cups green tomatoes and 3 cups onions, (instead of 5 & 4) because that

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-72522439624556061762009-12-05T11:22:00.012-05:002009-12-05T12:00:21.324-05:00

Remember these Acorn Squash? They were an accident in my garden this summer, since I thought I bought yellow summer squash but apparently it was labeled incorrectly. Eventually, I realized, hey! these are acorn squash!The plant grew HUGE! It was way too much for my small garden, as you can see above. Then, to top it all off, evil Squash Vine Borers decimated the plant in August.The good news is,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-71617122234336648682009-12-03T13:40:00.006-05:002009-12-05T11:06:05.882-05:00

Here are the promised pictures of the food I made for Thanksgiving with garden produce. Turnip Mashed Potatoes with Turnip Greens:Baby Carrots Roasted with Brussels Sprouts, Rosemary, Thyme, Shallots & Garlic:Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the Arugula Salad with Pomegranates & Pecans, b/c my camera battery ran out and I forgot to bring a spare to my mom's. So instead here is the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-25156413313678080242009-11-30T17:56:00.012-05:002009-11-30T21:53:36.338-05:00

I just came across this article. It describes how veterans are growing vegetables in community garden plots at the VA in East Orange. I actually volunteered there many years ago, mostly helping with a literature review for a study investigating the causes of Gulf War Syndrome. I really enjoyed volunteering there, especially chatting with the veterans as I went about my research. Now they even

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-8452219710446990762009-11-26T11:23:00.009-05:002010-05-06T00:18:44.249-04:00

I'm so happy that my rowcovers seem to be working so far. Just look how lush and green the plants are underneath! Granted, it hasn't been that cold yet - after that one period of frost that killed the peppers, squash and tomatoes, it has been pretty warm since. Still, I think it is helping, and I can't wait to see how long they will stay green. Above you can see the bed with carrots, turnips & a

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-54054319342697354992009-11-21T18:19:00.008-05:002010-04-26T14:35:40.349-04:00

I've had this post half done for weeks, and just not gotten around to finishing it. I've also got several more on backlog about hot peppers and dehydrating, plus a couple of other topics. The good news is, there is plenty to keep this blog going through the winter months. Then, before we know it, it will be time to start buying seeds and growing them indoors next winter!So, today let's finally

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-28552092248941757362009-11-03T09:54:00.007-05:002009-11-03T10:10:27.364-05:00

Turns out it already frosted last night. I went out bright and early this morning to pick as much as I could before work, and discovered a light frost on everything. Above you can see it on the nasturtiums, already starting to melt in the sun around 7:30 AM. And here is even more on the shady side of the garden:Considering last night was only expected to go down to 42 degrees or so, and tonight

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-71596520098546517512009-11-02T19:20:00.003-05:002009-11-02T19:27:05.406-05:00

Oh no. I knew this day would come. There is still soooo much stuff left in the garden, it will take me a day to harvest it all!! Green tomatoes, hot peppers, lots more bell peppers, flowers...dang. And there is no way I can take another day off.This is why I really hate winter - getting home after dark. I can't pick anything if I can't see it. We really need to get some proper lighting for the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-30160126549284855432009-10-29T18:42:00.006-04:002009-10-29T18:50:50.876-04:00

Wow, I can't believe how much I picked today, and I didn't even get to any flowers.Here it is: bell peppers, italian frying peppers, lots of hot peppers, mustard greens, a couple radishes, basil, two kinds of mint and shiso leaf:The peppers and mustard greens I can handle, but the mint and basil are going to be tough. I've got to pick all of the good leaves off individually, then dry them. That's

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-65946258642862653732009-10-29T12:26:00.010-04:002010-05-06T00:19:36.471-04:00

You might remember this "Do I love my garden or what?!" post from last year's veganmofo. Well, it is kind of interesting to reflect on - things are looking better this year, what with my Agribon rowcovers instead of sheets.Still, I took today off from work (it was a slow week, so my boss was fine with it) just to work in my garden haha! It is bright and sunny, about as good as a fall day could be

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-18852669073016987882009-10-27T20:00:00.018-04:002009-10-28T11:30:56.936-04:00

Nope, I'm not kidding. Here is squash post #5.As you can see to the left, I had three more to deal with.Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make anything with them until a week after picking and the big one got soft. Whoops.But the other two were still good, so I don't feel too bad about letting one go into the compost, with everything I've used them for all summer.They ended up in a Zucchini,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-34228151155827560662009-10-24T11:44:00.011-04:002009-10-26T10:13:11.931-04:00

This is a picture of my strawberry/swiss chard bed on Oct. 11th. The strawberries are in the middle, and the chard is in a row at either end. Right behind the fountain is a row of Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, and in the back, a row of Five Color Silverbeet Rainbow Swiss Chard. Last year I grew the Rainbow, but it grew quite slowly and never got that big, although I did get a few harvests and it

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-32026089926938475432009-10-21T19:57:00.014-04:002009-10-22T17:32:24.972-04:00

I had this whole epic post about sweet peppers 3/4ths written, and then discovered that the central recipe for the post has disappeared. I have no idea where it is, and it is one of my favorite recipes. Boo!In the meantime I'll just have to post this quickie leftover from a September Sunday brunch. Which isn't so bad, since this New York style brunch (i.e., it happened in late afternoon) was

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-73597082901068990642009-10-18T19:08:00.007-04:002009-10-19T12:28:53.700-04:00

Just finished building two low row covers for my winter crops. I did it as described on page 89 of Eliot Coleman's book, "Four Season Harvest". Apparently this is a French innovation - to have little loops on each hoop so you can tie a rope to hold it down, rather than burying it with dirt. This makes it easier to harvest and vent.I used #9 wire, and bent it into a semi-circle shape a little

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-24251109582620150342009-10-17T22:22:00.003-04:002010-05-06T00:20:20.832-04:00

I just absolutely adore these flowers!! They grew so beautifully this year, it went far beyond my expectations.My garden is edged with a gorgeous array of spicy edible plants. It makes me smile every time I go outside to see these bright and sunny flowers.Even on rainy days, they are so brilliant amongst the green they practically glow. None of the pictures I've taken capture this effect as

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-89127756999373471692009-10-17T19:46:00.024-04:002009-10-17T21:14:08.515-04:00

Just look at these things!! They measured a full 32" long. The one on the right I definitely left on the vine too long, but I was super busy with those darn reports (which are finally done!) and just couldn't get to it fast enough.I made the one on the left into an awesome lasagna. I didn't use any recipe - just made it similar to the way I always make my lasagna for Christmas dinner, except I

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-11868175684666278692009-10-17T15:18:00.011-04:002009-10-18T13:51:17.945-04:00

As my husband and I were picking some dinner last weekend, it occurred to me there are a few basic guidelines I follow to decide what to harvest.Of course, when it comes to things like tomatoes or peppers it is a simple enough thing to know when they are ripe and ready to eat. So this is more for the trickier plants like herbs, lettuce, chard, or mustard greens that continue to grow through

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-32534004102668542312009-10-15T22:09:00.007-04:002009-10-18T13:54:28.862-04:00

The shiso started out innocently enough.Here it is on May 29, right after planting.Cute, right?And now, here it is on October 6th, MONSTER PLANT!!! It's trying to take over. And this is even after I trimmed off about 1/4 of it. Well that's ok. I've got it back there with the crazy other mint anyway. I left the flowers on it this year too, because it is an annual and I'd like it to self-sow for

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-68313661173066088942009-10-15T20:41:00.008-04:002009-10-16T16:03:45.110-04:00

So last night I was just about to fold up and put away that good ol summer staple to prevent burning hot steering wheels - the silver windsheild shade - when I remembered seeing this website: http://solarcooking.org/plans/windshield-cooker.htm.Aside from being a really wonderful organization that helps people in developing nations, the site has detailed plans to build a solar cooker out of the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-777421194089060142009-10-15T20:18:00.003-04:002009-10-17T21:37:56.812-04:00

This is just a quick post to catch up for vegan mofo. Although it is a super simple dish, minted corn is one of my favorite things to eat. It makes the corn so sweet, you barely even need butter (well, Earth Balance).Unfortunately I don't have enough room to grow corn, but I sure do have a lot of mint! In the lower right of the picture above is pineapple mint, which I planted last year. Right

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-31775806840071276312009-10-10T14:57:00.015-04:002009-10-10T16:04:17.801-04:00

So there the tomatoes are, on October 3rd - in all of the garden's late fall glory. I just love how the climbing nasturtiums are growing up amongst them.I'm also glad the tomato cages we built worked well. Sometimes it was a bit hard to fit my hand or the bigger tomatoes through the smaller holes, but not too bad. As you can see they haven't rusted at all so I think we'll get many more seasons

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-71395624383908368472009-10-10T14:05:00.020-04:002009-10-10T16:01:44.414-04:00

OK, so here are the promised 2009 tomato pictures. Here they are in the new tomato cages we built on June 6th, a few weeks after I first planted them. In the front, on the left is a yellow grape variety, and a red grape on the right. In the back on the left is Roma, and Rutgers on the right.The grape tomatoes finally started getting ripe on July 17th. I think these two were the 1st ones we picked

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-51590503902229639452009-10-07T21:18:00.003-04:002009-10-08T13:34:03.202-04:00

Ok, this one is really going to be short, still b/c of these darn reports. (almost done!!)Not even sure if this really counts as a blog post, but I'm going to fudge it a bit and say this does add to my veganmofo count.Tonight I had crispy tacos, one of my favorite things to eat. I hadn't had them in a long time due to fried tortilla-type things being off limits to my diet, so this was really a

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-48169727695470610822009-10-06T20:25:00.019-04:002009-10-06T23:18:00.703-04:00

Today's post is just a quick link to an interesting article dated October 6th, 2009 on Salon.com, by Sarah Karnasiewicz, "Eat the Weeds". (Unfortunately I'm still working on a stiff deadline for my 9-5 job and can't do too much on my blog.) This article is an interview with Landon Cook, a forager/cook/writer living in the Northwest US.Honestly, I haven't heard of him until today but I have been

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-62393362832670991042009-10-04T10:16:00.018-04:002010-05-06T00:20:54.720-04:00

Mostly everything in my garden is edible, even the flowers. However, this year I did make a few exceptions to attract more pollinators. So, when my cousin gave me a little pot of cockscomb seedlings this summer, I happily accepted and planted them.Well, little did I know how these were going to grow! To the above left you see them just planted on August 1st. Then starting to get some cute little

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-20838753538096653092009-10-01T19:39:00.024-04:002009-10-04T10:15:29.000-04:00

I can't even believe it myself, 3 squash posts in a row. And there are two more 3 footers growing on the vine, so there very well may be several more squash posts! But I'm definitely not complaining - I'm happy to have finally reached that 'so-much-squash-I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-it' point that so many gardeners talk about. Especially considering it didn't happen until late September/October,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-45060805452000481142009-09-27T16:56:00.008-04:002009-09-27T18:30:45.020-04:00

These two tromboncino were ripe last weekend. Although not quite as big as the 3 footer from my last post, they were still pretty huge!Just these two were enough to make squash carpaccio, cream of squash soup, and "crab" cakes.Unfortunately, there was a boo-boo that ruined the "crab" cakes. I started this recipe by grating the squash and heavily salting it, then letting it drain. Later on, my

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-7051239486951973322009-09-24T22:02:00.002-04:002009-09-27T21:18:00.631-04:00

It is a little depressing for me, since October means the end of major gardening season, but next week marks the start of another round of the Vegan Month of Food. I will be participating again this year, which means I have to write at least 1 blog post for every day of the week (not including weekends) throughout the month.Last year I was very productive, and managed to complete all 20 posts.

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-64738561560886051182009-09-16T22:25:00.020-04:002009-09-17T20:08:39.633-04:00

Yes, it deserves that many adjectives. Finally, after no sign of a single squash all summer, my tromboncino squash grew the longest one ever!!I didn't measure it, but it had to be at least 3 feet long. Here it is still growing on the trellis, close up to the left and a wide view of the whole plant below.I also had to take the obligitory 'it's bigger than my dog!' shot. (Don't worry, it was on the

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-84010075961811867452009-08-31T22:46:00.000-04:002009-09-24T22:34:32.208-04:00

Here's a panorama of the garden from just this past Saturday. Not as big as I hoped things would grow, but considering the terrible weather we had this year I'm pretty happy.Left side of the yard that we built last spring (2008).Right side that was all added this spring (2009).

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-28104965290094490932009-08-31T22:41:00.000-04:002009-09-24T22:34:56.558-04:00

Another quickie post: a collection of the past month or so's meals, all made with at least one homegrown ingredient (sorry for the bad lighting and blur, I need both a new camera and lighting source):Chreezy B.akon, S.pinach & T.omato (& spicy sprouts) english muffin sandwich for brunch. With homemade dill pickles, edible nasturtium & chipotle hash browns (not seen). Eaten outside in garden.

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-49611107614877283092009-08-09T23:49:00.014-04:002010-05-06T00:21:27.530-04:00

So many pictures, so little time! Once again summer has me outside and not on the computer. But, it has been a good month so I'm not complaining. Here's a quick slideshow of some garden highlights:J.J. taking time to smell the borage flowers.Somehow both pink and purple flowers grew on the same borage plant.Fresh picked blackberries went into my morning fruit salad for work.The nasturtiums are

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-88261080428826900772009-07-18T10:15:00.003-04:002009-07-18T11:30:33.528-04:00

I picked 3 more cucumbers this morning, which makes about 15 waiting to be eaten in my crisper drawer. Luckily, I just found this great resource:http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/recipes/I've never imagined so many things you could do with cucumbers! Everything from cucumber limeade to sandwiches to soups and even hot dinners! The recipes aren't tested or anything (and many not vegan)

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-40598804802995009792009-07-15T12:26:00.015-04:002010-05-06T00:21:54.408-04:00

This was last nights dinner. A little random, but it used up everything I picked from the garden. On the left was a quinoa, turnip green, smoked tempeh & almond dish. It was garnished with lightly sauteed red and yellow grape tomatoes on top. (we've gotten about 10 so far - I can't wait till the tomatoes really get going over the next couple weeks!!) The turnips were diced and sauteed in garlic,

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-66746781909266199302009-07-11T13:16:00.008-04:002010-05-06T00:22:23.897-04:00

The calendulas really exploded this week. The flowering ones in the front are a mixture of Flashback and Oktoberfest that I planted inside under the growlight setup back in April. Towards the back are some smaller plants that I direct seeded in May. I'm really glad I started the earlier ones inside! You can see it made a huge difference.The amazing thing is I took this picture on Tuesday, and by

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-40369100726459995192009-07-11T12:56:00.004-04:002009-07-11T13:14:05.228-04:00

I had a successful turnip crop last year, and sure enough, this week I pulled half the row and they grew beautifully again! Even better that last year - some were huge! I put my hand in the picture so you can see the size:I mashed them with an equal amount of potatoes, a little bit of Earth Balance vegan butter and Silk soy creamer. A good shake of smoked salt & black pepper = heaven! I even had

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-73428140658699041282009-07-11T12:51:00.005-04:002009-07-14T13:06:46.089-04:00

Good thing it is a beautiful sunny day here in the 70's, as there is lots to do!1. Weed & cover paths with straw2. Weed strawberry bed & mint/fern bed3. Trim herb bed which looks like a wild and crazy jungle right now4. Pull old peas & bolted lettuce then replant with new lettuce, beets & carrots5. Spray with more baking soda/soap mixture to keep away powdery mildew6. Fertilize with a little more

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-70925643765806621302009-07-09T20:36:00.000-04:002009-09-24T22:38:05.571-04:00

I just pulled this row of beautiful carrots on Tuesday. I planted them closer together than recommended on the seed packets, in two rows using a staggered pattern. So I'm really happy they grew this well! I think if I left them in longer they would have gotten bigger, but they were a little too close to my cucumbers. Happily there is still a whole other row, so this is less than half of what

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-78427736883984398392009-06-30T17:50:00.009-04:002009-06-30T21:02:58.658-04:00

http://www.northjersey.com/environment/environmentnews/NJs_alarming_bat_die-off.htmlWow, I hadn't heard about this before. I just found it from http://twitter.com/WildNewJersey. N.J.'s alarming bat die-off Monday, June 29, 2009 BY JAMES M. O'NEILLE-mail: oneillj@northjersey.comUp to 90 percent of North Jersey's bat population was killed off over the winter by an unusual

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-10515116592967742692009-06-28T10:57:00.010-04:002011-04-06T15:58:49.530-04:00

1. Pick up garden-quality straw (no or dead seeds) from local horse farm, then spread over paths and around plants (but not touching stems). This straw mulch will prevents weeds, reduce watering needs, and break down into the soil within a season or so, acting as a rich compost/fertilizer. I got this tip for a great new list I found: the veganic agriculture network. http://www.goveganic.net/

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-56486347742525584712009-06-22T21:12:00.000-04:002009-09-24T22:40:54.389-04:00

Well, looks like my peas are about done for this season. I pulled the bush peas out this weekend. The sugar snaps are still there, but only have a few flowers. I think the high temps predicted towards the end of this week will be the end.Overall, I'm moderately happy with the harvest. I honestly had hoped for more, but as you'll see from the pics below, I got enough for 3 big bowls. They were

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-21187400574318819392009-06-21T22:14:00.007-04:002009-06-22T12:44:21.420-04:00

Last summer I made my first and last order of live plants through the internet. Most of them died, so I won't do it again. One that has managed to come back strong this year though, is the Red Trumpet honeysuckle. You can see it in the background on the trellis in this post from last year. Now as you can see on the right, it has reached the top of the trellis.I have always loved honeysuckle, with

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-67321177069239514642009-06-18T15:11:00.004-04:002009-06-18T15:26:48.894-04:00

This has got to be the coolest and rainest spring I remember in a long, long time. I can't believe it is raining AGAIN today. It rained last Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun morning, Mon (a torrential downpour of course just as I had to walk outside in my work clothes & dressy shoes, with no umbrella - I got totally soaked) Wed and Thurs!! Forget trellises, I need to build an ark!I literally have not used my

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-54640732033675270502009-06-07T20:40:00.008-04:002009-06-21T22:10:58.823-04:00

It looks like a spaceship back here, there are so many shiny metallic shapes all around!We put more of the Ikea trellis from last year on the other side of the yard and built 4 huge tomato cages using these instructions: http://yourhomegardenblog.com/vegetable-gardening/constructing-tomato-cages-using-wire-meshExcept for one difference: the wire mesh in both home depot and lowe's was super rusty

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-82075538167815884012009-06-01T09:32:00.013-04:002009-06-04T12:29:30.114-04:00

Here's a good pic of the different kinds of radish I grew this spring. White Icicle, Easter Egg (white, pink, purple, maroon) & Red Globe. Most of the White Icicles ended up taking a bit too long to mature, so by the time they were big enough to eat, they had bolted and gotten woody. I think they'll be better in the fall. The Easter Egg & Red Globe, on the other hand - were fantastic - I picked

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-69672448631960324292009-05-25T10:28:00.015-04:002009-05-27T21:09:22.245-04:00

Wow, I planted my heart out yesterday. I was planting from 10AM until 7PM. But finally, everything I have is in the ground. Yep, the whole big list!I am soooo excited for it all to grow. I planted something in every possible inch of the backyard. If everything grows, I'm going to have veggies and flowers out my ears!Yesterday I also noticed the snap peas finally grew the first pod. Then this

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-59290576432078303162009-05-18T11:22:00.015-04:002011-05-10T21:35:07.324-04:00

Even though a Well Sweep is an old-time farming implement that made getting buckets of water out of a well easier, and has nothing to do with a broom, I can definitely still say this herb farm swept me off my feet! They had so many plants, it was completely overwhelming, in a good way of course. As you can see from the picture, it was herbs as far as the eye could see. They had literally every

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-76329228125660783082009-05-16T11:33:00.009-04:002009-06-08T20:41:37.026-04:00

Oh no! I noticed last night, the peppers I planted from Brock's last sunday are turning yellowish, definitely not the deep bright green they were when I brought them home. More like light greenish yellow, as you can see from the habanero picture on the right. The soil around them in one bed was looking pretty hard and cracked, too.I had some problems with peppers last year, so I'm not that

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-71680766657248042832009-05-13T11:21:00.008-04:002009-05-15T21:40:13.175-04:00

Wow, the pageant this year was just absolutely amazing. It was sooo much fun walking along the Hudson! The performances, particularly the river grass dance, boat dance, and harmonic convergence singers were incredible.You can see us in the back left corner of the above picture. Our costumes - Solar Energy and Tidal Energy, were new this year, so we actually were right at the front of the parade

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-81536752125193060642009-05-12T12:56:00.011-04:002009-05-12T15:17:15.085-04:00

Only for the headstrong. That's what one of my favorite musicians, dj Frankie Bones, used to say back in 1992 (except he was talking about hardcore techno, not gardening haha). I think he still does actually. In any case, it is probably one of the reasons I always liked him - I think I am a pretty hardcore person. What I mean by that is when I do something, I like to do it BIG. I don't like to do

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-73478957587960672522009-05-10T18:18:00.003-04:002009-06-18T15:34:47.164-04:00

Remember these chamomiles gone wild? http://grow-peace.blogspot.com/2009/04/herbs-gone-wild.htmlWell, that was NOTHING! hahaThey got so huge. It was like a city of chamomile back here until just now, I had to dig them out because they were taking up too much space and crowding out the other herbs. It was a job, let me tell you!!But, now I have tons of perfectly awesome chamomile plants!! I would

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-60802289832677918802009-05-09T09:05:00.005-04:002009-05-13T11:47:05.285-04:00

I'm so excited! Our costumes were changed last minute - I'm now Solar Power and my partner is Tidal Energy! It is so appropriate too, b/c my real name is Dawn, (and that's what aubade means too, a poem, song or dance - the last as I like to think of it - performed at or about daybreak). Also my husband surfs, and that is what originally brought us together - our mutual love of the ocean and

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-39652786775044888622009-04-24T11:46:00.012-04:002009-04-24T12:14:11.713-04:00

Happy Belated Earth Day! I am getting so very excited for my upcoming earth celebration - when I will perform in a pageant to benefit the Hudson River. These pageants are always so much fun. I've been dressed up as a garden spirit by Felicia and her talented crew of volunteers about 6 or so times before, for 2 Winter Parades, 2 or 3 Spring Pageants, 1 television appearance and 1 charity event.

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-22111090688678743922009-04-17T20:23:00.005-04:002009-04-17T20:51:13.787-04:00

So, I had all these previous posts with ambitious plans to plant by the moon phases, start this and that inside, blah blah blah. Well, most of it didn't happen. Haha I've just been too busy.But tomorrow looks perfect. I'm just about to finish a project I've been writing so tomorrow will be clear for nothing but fun. The weather report is looking great- in the mid 70's and sunny. (despite what my

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-57283435972931011472009-04-16T15:04:00.009-04:002009-04-16T15:21:05.928-04:00

Maybe I should be a bit embarrased to admit this, but I'm on a diet. Just started Weight Watchers at the end of January, since in my 30's the pounds started piling on. So far so good- I've learned a lot of things I never paid any attention to in my 20's - like the fact that olive oil is crazy calories! And that two cups of pasta filling up my whole big bowl is really too much to eat at one time.

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-52272752772362786432009-04-10T18:18:00.008-04:002009-04-10T18:40:25.979-04:00

Check out these chamomiles!!! So naughty, self-seeding all over my herb garden from one little plant I bought last year! Eventually I'll have to pull out some of them, but for now I figure I might as well let them go crazy and have a good time. This year I'll just make sure to cut all of the flowers before they dry out. Which is fine, since you use the flowers to make tea anyway. I just didn't

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-67113257863004047332009-04-09T18:33:00.006-04:002009-04-10T21:38:42.905-04:00

It's been just about 32 days since I planted all those peas. I thought they were all doing pretty well. They look healthy and some are now about 3-4 inches tall.But then I just looked at this post about the same dark-seeded early perfection peas I planted last fall. At 33 days old, last year they were WAY bigger than the ones I have now. I have them now on the same trellis, but they haven't even

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-69000412930326778412009-03-29T12:17:00.006-04:002009-04-04T15:46:53.464-04:00

There they are, along with my finger for size comparison. The origami pots didn't work out that great. It may be just because of the type of paper I used instead of newspaper- but they are breaking down. I don't think too many of the pansies grew, just the Johnny Jump Ups. I read that violets should be planted out about a month before the final frost date, which is coming up this week, but I'm

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671297060205356618.post-56684532089141773022009-03-28T23:03:00.005-04:002009-03-28T23:07:52.240-04:00

There it is in all its 2 24", 20 watt full spectrum florescent bulb glory, with the leggy lettuce seedlings underneath. Of course, after we finally finish it I read additional information that says you should use 40 watt bulbs, not 20 watt which is what I bought. Gah. I really hope it is enough and I didn't waste my money! Guess we'll see.

Aubadenoreply@blogger.com2