[gardeners] Saturday and Sunday in the garden
Shirley,George (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 28 Jan 2001 15:40:53 -0600
Yesterday I picked a couple of cabbages and we ate one last night that I had
lightly steamed with a little caraway seed in the steaming water. Very nice
flavor. These little Savoy Express cabbages are just right for one meal for two
people and a small dog. Yeah, Sleepy loves cabbage and begs for it more than she
does meat. Along with some small but sweet raw carrots, and a grilled
butterflied pork chop with fennel, we had a nice meal. We just piddled around
Saturday because we had a big day planned for today. I did get out my seed box
and go through to see what we would plant this year. Reminded Miz Anne that she
hadn't planted the poppy seed in the fall so she cleaned out the front flower
bed, scratched the dirt up and tossed in a lot of different poppy seeds. If it
doesn't grow and bloom this year it will next year.
The lady next door is finally getting her garden started. By finally I mean her
husband has graciously allowed her to have a garden where he mows. She's gonna
have her grown daughters and me to help her so we're gonna do it with cinder
blocks, some top soil she's buying by the truck load and the big compost heap I
encouraged her to build two years ago. She came over for coffee yesterday
afternoon late and I pulled her a big bunch of green onions and went through my
seed box with her so she could pick out some green bean, crowder pea, and
yellow-eyed bean seed (thanks Allen Merten) to put in her garden.
Today we raked, used the leaf blower, and the lawnmower to get up what we hope
is the last of the seasons leaves. I even blew the leaf cover off my herb garden
and discovered about a dozen flat leaf parsley plants hiding under there. I have
got to thin out the Spanish and Greek oregano and the winter savory, they all
have a lot of old, dead stems and runners that need to go. I pruned the Thai
Hots back to green "wood" and hope they will come back when it is warmer. The
fruit trees have tiny little buds as does the sassafras, spring can't be to very
far away. When the fruit trees set blossoms they will be fed for the first time
this year. The blueberries will be pruned tomorrow as it surely looks like rain
this afternoon and I'm tired. Will also clean out the boysenberry and raspberry
beds and get ready to feed those babies in anticipation of a good crop.
Blueberries get their first feeding when the new leaves appear and that is
generally April around here.
I'm starting tomatoes, chiles, and eggplant tomorrow. Finally got all the seed
starting equipment sterilized and the lamps put back in my growing system. Will
be good to have growing things in my office again cleansing the air of the
emissions an old geezer and a young dog can give off. B-)
Will have to go get some more potting soil though, some little old lady that
lives her got into my stash and used it in her flower pots.
I poked around under the rosemary bushes and found 29 starts where I had layered
them last year. Some are gonna be really big "starts" as they are about 2 feet
tall now. I may try to bonsai a couple just for the fun of it. The two dozen
rose impatiens we rooted in the early fall are in full bloom in the green house,
lovely little things and should sell good in our annual "garage" sale of plants.
They are so easy to grow from rootings here, just cut off a "limb" and stick it
in the ground, give it plenty of water and a little fertilizer and in a couple
of months you've got a big planting of them. I'm seriously thinking of ordering
some seed from Burpee to see if I can start them that way. Some folks really
will pay good money for a twelve to fourteen inch wide saucer type pot full of
these rose impatiens. Burpee has one seed packet on page 24 of the spring
catalog that is a mix of all colors, rose, red, white. It's only $4.95 for 30
seeds but if I get 30 plants that will be a good seller and we can take cuttings
for the ones we want.
Better go check on that chicken and sausage gumbo that's been simmering since
this morning. Should be about ready to dish up a bowl or two. I'm experimenting
- made a real small batch instead of my usual huge pot full of gumbo. We haven't
been hungry during the day because we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this
morning right after early Mass. That is one big breakfast. Gotta go, happy
gardening and - Life is good.
George