Happy Fall Season

This fall centerpiece is made of a pumpkin from our garden and pumpkins-on-a-stick grown from seeds our daughter collected last year from an arrangement at her workplace. We don't know the official name of the small pumpkin-like fruit, so we call them pumpkins-on-a-stick

Tonight at 11:09 pm is the official time Fall arrives. Of course Mother Nature doesn't always go according to our calendar...yesterday was 81 degrees in Michigan...more summerlike than fall...and another 80 degree is forecast for tomorrow.

Fall brings mixed feelings to gardeners...a sense of loss for food production, but a sense of joy that the work and responsibility for tending a garden is coming to an end. If the harvest has been preserved through canning or freezing, then winter days offer the opportunity to continue enjoying the fruits of the labor.

Wishing you all happy Fall season!

Waiting for Spring

There's not much you can do about hurrying up nice spring weather for planting. Let's face it. You are chomping at the bit after looking through those seed catalogs and you are ready to get some dirt under your nails. Alas, after looking out the window or walking outdoors, you realize there is no way that spring is close. (unless you live in a Southern state..)

So what do you do to chase away those can't-garden-blues? Now is the time to prepare for gardening such as:

1. Clean out pots/containers that you will need for transplanting.
2. Inventory for transplanting--such as germination mix, soil, ingredients for mixing soil, cell packs, warming mats, lights.
3. Clean and sharpen tools.
4. Find that soil report from the extension office.
5. Look over your journal from last year and make notes for improving this spring's garden. If you didn't keep a journal, look into ways of keeping one for this coming year. It can be a spiral book for jotting notes or something you use online. Decide what will work best for you.
6. Go through photos from last year and organize them into digital folders that make sense. Group photos of the tomatoes in one, beans in another, etc. You may even want to play with making a movie of your garden using Movie Maker or other programs.
7. Look for recipes you want to try this year using your fresh garden produce. (and please feel free to share them here for all of us. It's fun to experiement.)

Waiting for spring to arrive will drive many gardeners to start planting seeds indoors too soon. Oh yes, we are guilty of getting too anxious. Know when you can actually set out transplants in your zone without worrying about a heavy frost killing them. Then backtrack from that date so you can figure out by reading the seed packet the dates for planting the seed indoors. Seeding too soon can lead to plants overgrowing while waiting for the optimal planting weather.

Before you know it you will be out in the dirt again. Oh, maybe you should add to the list--buy some Ben Gay and and a hot pad for your aching back!

This is my DH's new idea for our Florida garden. (Do gardeners ever stop trying to improve their gardens?) He traded some handyman work for these steel planters. He is planning to use them as raised gardens next year. Before we leave for the North this spring, he will clean out this year's garden, then fill the planters with a mixture of soil and horse manure.

We have two 6'x10' planters with 10 inch sides with a walkway between them. DH painted them Rustoleum hunter green and they are shiny and attractive.

BTW, he installed the planters around the present garden. As you can see, the plants held up pretty well under the freezing temps. We have cabbage, romaine lettuce, several lettuces, and onions in this planting. The other planter has tiny lettuce plants that he just transplanted from the cells and cauliflower and broccoli.

Winter Time Gardening

Perhaps to us Northerners winter gardening is an oxymoron. Our gardens lie sleeping under the blanket of winter snow. However, those who live in the Southern regions can grow beautiful crops in the winter, rather than during the hot summer time.

My husband's dream has always been to garden 12 months out of the year. He is now able to do that since we are snowbirds who fly away to Florida for the winter.

Gardening in the South is different than our Michigan gardens, so we have had to re-think gardening. We are learning. This year will be the third southern garden he has planted.

So those of you who thought you wouldn't be reading about gardening in this blog in the winter are wrong. You can read about our Florida garden. Come along with us for the hopes and dreams, ups and downs of gardening starting all over again this next week.

If you are a southern gardener, we would love to get some gardening tips from you.

Kitchen Garden Day

Kitchen Garden Day is being promoted by Kitchen Gardeners International. They suggest on Sunday, August 23, to open your garden gate wide to allow people to tour your vegetable garden. No matter how large or how small, even if it is a few pots of vegetable plants on your back porch or patio, share your excitement about gardening with your friends, family, the neighborhood, the county. Well, you get the idea. This initiative promotes the idea of growing healthy food, saving money and energy (such as fuel, not your own energy...lol). It also hopes to encourage a new generation of gardeners and to re-kindle a flame in those who have dug in the dirt in the past. Besides, it would be fun just to get together for an afternoon.

According to the KGI newsletter "The United Nations has estimated that we will need to increase world production by 70% by the year 2050 if we are to keep up with population growth. Put in another, more sobering way, we will need to grow more food over the course of the next 40 years than we have produced over the course of the past 10,000 years combined." Having an edible garden will help to supply food to this growing world population.

For more information about the Kitchen Gardeners International go to http://www.kitchengardeners.org

I know most of you plant a garden as a hobby. Perhaps now you will realize that your hobby is an important contribution to your health, the greening of America, and to society in general.

If it is too late to make plans for a garden tour this year, put it on your calendar for next year.

KIDS LOVE GARDENING

Kids and gardening go hand in hand. Our grandsons' excitement about planting the garden is contagious. It is fun to share all the steps of planting the seeds, watching them "pop up", and transplanting them to the garden. The lessons learned from working in a garden are ones that are remembered for a lifetime.

Don't Forget the Soil

Soil is an important component in growing plants that flourish into food producing assets. We all grew up knowing that plants need sun, water, and food. But, I bet your first grade teacher didn't mention that soil, the growing medium, is important so the plant's roots can dig down to establish a path for food.



Take Soil Samples



Autumn is the time to till up the soil, especially clay, so the winter freezes and thaws can help break it up allowing better seed germination in the spring. If you didn't take soil samples to your extension service in the fall, do it now. With a trowel, dig about six inches deep into the soil. You can either place each sample from the different areas of your garden in a separate bag or combine the soils for one test. The University Extension Service will send you a report that includes a list of nutrients to add next spring before you begin planting. The test will also determine the pH factor of the soil and recommend steps for making it more alkaline or acidic.



Amending the Soil


Adding manure or compost makes a richer medium for growing plants. Composting is a collection of decayed kitchen scraps and leaves. When added to the soil this organic matter puts nutrients into the soil. Spring is a great time to rototill this natural additive into the ground without having to maneuver around growing plants.


Another healthy addition to your garden is earthworms. They help aereate the ground and the castings are rich in nutrients for fertilizing the plants. (One morning a few weeks ago, my husband told me at breakfast he had just ordered 2000 worms for worm farming this year. I about fell off my chair at this news as he had not mentioned a word of it to me. Needless to say, we now have 2000 of the dear creatures living in a Rubbermaid tub feasting on shredded newspaper, kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. Currently they are residing in our guest bedroom---but don't tell the guests..LOL. When it warms up in Michigan, the worms will be relegated to the out of doors. Yes, you can be sure you will be hearing more about this new experiment.



Gardeners and Hope


Something new and different is always expected every year with my gardener husband. I have noticed that every gardener is filled with hope and anticipation with what the garden will bring each year. No matter how great or how terrible was last year's harvest, every spring he vows that this will be the best season ever. And this spring, like every other spring, I always think so too.



I am so glad that you are coming along with us on our gardening journey this year. Best wishes to you all for a productive and satisfying gardening season.