Pre- Garden Planning: Bones

Robin from the Gardener of Eden post about garden planning really inspired me this weekend.  The first thing I do when I begin my planning is to get a picture in mid winter of the gardens bones.

The area that I'm concentrating on is shown above.  The paved area is the foundation from a falling down shed that was there when we moved in.  It's a 10' x 10' square that we don't use as it is too hot for seating.  The back right is the Postage Stamp Potager.  The dayliles and iris it's foreground are slated for removal this spring.  The area to the right contains daylilies that are crying to be divided.  The bottom left show the stump to one of my much loved Burning Bushes.

The bones for this area would be the ornamental grass, butterfly bush, dappled willow, three arborvitae, concrete pad and the fence.  When viewed from the deck I get a better perspective on the vertical needs for the PSP.  This year I am GOING to use the fence for vining crops.  Other vertical elements will be bamboo teepee's and inverted V trellises for pole beans.  Cherry tomatoes will be trained up 6ft bamboo poles and severely pruned. 

The PSP in it's current condition.  The 'Broadway' rose in the center bed is going to be kept.  Despite having to compete with the yearly jungle, it gets better and better each year.  The paths will need to be rethought and redefined this year.

The front area containing the jungle of daylilies, iris and perennial weeds I can't easily remove, this will give me an additional 54- 72 sq ft- that's at least a 1/3 increase in space! 

I'm thinking of a container garden for the pad.  The back row would be 3- 18" pots, the middle row would be 3- 16" pots and the front row would be 4- 14" pots.  This would give me great place to try new varieties and combinations.

Now that I've got a handle on the areas bones, I can start translating the ideas from my head to the actual plans.

Second Seed Order of the Year

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

I've never ordered from them before, but they emphasize varieties that perform well in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.  Since I live in the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic, that puts me right in their targeted range.  I decided last year that I was going to start tapering off from ordering from Northern based seed companies and go for varieties are more suited to my climate.  It was a very 'Duh' moment.

The varieties I have chosen are either directly recommended for the area or bred at Even Star farms over in Eastern Maryland. 

Model: 49236    Amy's Apricot TOMATO, CHERRY 0.08 g 1 x $2.50

Model: 24110     Even' Star Land Race Collards COLLARDS 1 g 1 x $2.50
Model: 25110     Even' Star Smooth KALE 1 g 1 x $2.50
Model: 62951C  Wild Garden Lettuce Mix 7g 1 x $5.50
Model: 13603    Lazy Wife Greasy BEAN, SNAP (POLE) 14 g 1 x $2.95
Model: 62110    Thai Oakleaf 88 (Thai 88) LETTUCE, LOOSELEAF 0.5 g 1 x $2.50
Model: 61101     Broad-Leaved Batavian ENDIVE 1 g 1 x $2.25

Yes, that's seven grams of 'Wild Garden Lettuce Mix'.  .5 grams goes for $2.75, and seven grams for $5.50, I decided to get the larger pack so I can share what looks to be an awesome lettuce mix.

If this warm weather keeps up I may try planting soon...



Talk About Service!

On Wednesday night I placed my order from Baker Creek.  When I got home from work today their was a package waiting for me.  I was quite shocked to see it was my seeds.

Considering I placed the order Wednesday night, it took less than two days for the order to be packed, mailed and delivered.  I have never received any order this quickly.  I need to wait and see how the seeds grow, but so far this experience has been awesome!

The free seeds were 'Reisenstraube' tomato, not something I need, but I'm sure I can find someone who wants them.



First Seed Order of the New Year

Thanks to the gift certificate I got for Christmas, I placed my first order of the new year.  I haven't ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds since 2004.  From what I read on-line their seed quality is still good and I have to admit that their selection is amazing.

Redman Super Cactus- Zinnia   FL820    1 x $1.75

Candy Cane Select Mix - Zinnia   FL813   1 x $2.50

Bon Bon- Zinnia   FL827    1 x $2.50

Dwarf Villa Roma White/Rose - Sweet Pea   SW163    1 x $2.50

Spun Gold - Marigold   FL469    1 x $2.50

Ivory Pear- Tomato   TW122    1 x $2.50

Purple Pear- Tomato   TP145    1 x $2.50

Marbles White-Yellow- Four O'Clock    FL445    1  x $2.50

Siamese Dragon Stir Fry Mix   SB106    1 x $3.00

Gentilina- Lettuce   LT130    1  x $1.50

Subtotal $23.75

The two tomatoes are new this year and unusual colors for pear tomatoes.  The zinnia's help to feed my zinnia obsession   The sweet pea is super dwarf and new this year.  I have been looking for Spun Gold marigolds for over 15 years!  The Siamese Stir Fry Mix is way out of my comfort zone, but the spicy leaves are supposed to be good raw in salads as well as cooked.  The lettuce is an Italian variety, a nod to my roots.  The four o'clock is for my obsession with stripes and spots.  Not bad, I was able to rationalize the entire order!

 

It does pay to procrastinate.. I left the order in my cart, and they sent me a 10% off coupon after a few days to help entice me.

 

Now if I can only narrow down my Southern Exposure Seed Exchange order...

Good Bye 2011,,, Don't let the door hit you in the */@!

Let's face it, 2011 was a very challenging year.  Floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, snow in October... Mother Nature must have been very pissed last year!  One great thing about gardening, the grass is always greener the following year!

I've got a long list of resolutions this year.  I won't bore you with them.  I can sum them up as all working towards being a better gardener... becoming greener, less procrastinating, finally realizing I can't grow hundreds of varieties on a postage stamp...

I placed my free tomato seed request with Wintersown yesterday.

I decided to be adventurous and try two of their blends.

Here's what I requested-

Beefsteak Striped Blend ~ Assorted striped beefsteaks, colorful, pretty and very delicious, nice for salad or slicing, yummy! IND, about 80 DTM

Belmonte ~ Pink ribbed beefsteaks can weigh over a pound, delicious heirloom from Calabria, Italy, IND, 72+ DTM

Break o'Day ~ Pretty red 8 oz. globes, all-purpose fruits are related to Marglobe, great old-time flavor, IND, about 70 DTM

Italian Red Cherry ~ Beautiful red cherries with pointed ends are sweet and delicious, nice for containers too, DET, 65+ DTM

Sunspot Yellow and Orange Blend ~ Many yum sizes and shapes, grow out and save seeds of the best for your own backyard blend, IND, 72+ DTM

Victor ~ Rare, AAS winner (1941), crops early with beautiful and delicious bright-red fruits, about 4 - 5 ounces, DET, 60+ DTM

I already have a lot Victor seeds, I want to compare and see if their is a difference between my two sources.

I'm also getting orders together for Baker Creek and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  I got gift certificates to each of these for Christmas.

Hope you all are having a Happy New Year.



Best of 2011

Now that the year is almost over, I wanted to share the 12 best, flowers and vegetables from this year.

Four O'Clock- Salmon Sunset

Tomato- Victor

Marigold- Janie Primrose

Cockscomb- Toreador

Celosia- Fresh Look Red

Lettuce- Ruby

Pepper- Tennessee Spice

Echinacea- Powwow Wildberry

Pepper- Northstar

Tomato- New Big Dwarf

Zinnia- Oklahoma Salmon

Zinnia- Magellan Coral

 

I'm Back...

I can't believe that I haven't posted since late September.  I was already starting to go through garden 'burnout', but the snow storm on October 29 put me over the edge.

We had the highest snowfall total in this area over 10 inches.  All of my supports snapped due to the weight of snow and green foliage.  My pole bean seed harvest was practically zero thanks to this.  The worst was the damage to the shrubs.  My matched set of burning bushes is down to one.

This picture is from last year.  The torches on other side are 5 ft tall, so you can see the scale.  The branches cracked at ground level or below, when they were cut out there was nothing left.  I'm leaving the stump to see if it will regrow, but it took 14 years to get it to this size!  While this was the worst of the damage, there was a lot less serious in other parts of the yard.

Well, that was then, now I am enjoying the fact that I have an unobstructed view from the kitchen window.  I do miss seeing the winter birds who were always in and out of the bush...

Happy Holidays to all!