March 6, 2016

2016 planting list

Finally I have time to start my seed planting! I started flowers in milk bottles outside a few weeks ago, but today I planted lots of seeds in seed trays. I am going to be planting more flower seeds this year – for my bees. BTW, all my planting times come from the Skippy’s Planting Calendar apps. February 14, in plastic bottles outside Anise Hyssop Wildflower mix, Save the Bees Wildflower mix, Bring Home the Butterflies Wild NE Aster, small white March 6, indoors under lights Heliotrope Bunching onions, Nabechan…

February 14, 2016

it’s time to start planting!

The first event on my planting calendar is winter sowing. Many flowers need a cold period and winter sowing in plastic milk bottles is an easy way to start these seeds. I used Skippy’s Flower and Herb Calendar App to make my sowing calendar. I have a large new bed at the front of my vegetable garden that I want to fill with flowers for my bees (and me) this year. So, I’m looking forward to starting lots of flower and herb seeds. Today I planted seeds in four bottles:…

January 23, 2016

new app! — flowers and herbs

Our new app is out! A planting calendar for Flowers and Herbs. $1.99 at the apple Store. 60 varieties with sowing times and methods. The calendar starts soon with winter sowing of varieties that need cold stratification. Apple store link: Skippy’s Flower & Herb App

January 13, 2016

Skippy’s Vegetable Garden 2016 variety list

Arugula Basil, Eleonora (downy mildew resistant) Basil, Superbo Basil, Dolce Fresca Beans, green, Maxibel Beans, green, Fortex Beans, green, Jumbo Beans, pole, Wax Beans, pole, Shung Wang Chinese Beans, pole, Gino’s Italien Beans, shell, Jacobs Cattle Beans, shell, Black Turtle Beets, red, Merlin Beets, red, Red Ace Beets, pink, Chioggia Beets, gold, Touchstone Bok Choi, Mei Qing Bok Choi, Win Win Broccoli, Diplomat Broccoli, Bay Meadows Broccoli, Mini Cabbage, napa, Mini Kisaku Cabbage, savoy, Alcosa Cabbage, red, Red Express Carrots, Bolero Carrots, Oxheart Carrots, Nelson Celeriac, Brilliant Cilantro, Calypso Collards,…

January 8, 2016

my 2016 variety list

I’m getting my 2016 variety list together. It’s so exciting to be thinking about planting again! I can’t wait. I went through and sorted my old seeds, threw out seeds that were old. Especially the carrots and celeriac. I like to start fresh with those. Most of these seeds I have already, but I’ll still end up with a good order to place. I’ll see if I can get everything I need from one or two companies: FedCo and Johnny’s. I put a link to this list on my side…

January 7, 2016

get ready to plant seeds!

We have an update out for Skippy’s Vegetable Planting Calendar app. It now has 50 vegetables to select from. If you haven’t tried the app, it’s very easy to use. Select from Spring, Fall, or Winter planting season (or all three), enter your frost date, select the crops you plan to grow, and the app creates your personalized calendar. Your planting tasks will be listed by the week. It includes sowing, transplanting, and succession planting dates. It’s a cute little tool to have handy on your mobile device for only…

January 2, 2016

2015 garden review

I’m working on reviewing crops I grew in 2015 and listing what to do different (or the same) this year. The list is long so I posted it here: Kathy’s 2015 crops review. Once I finish this, I’ll draw up my 2016 garden plans. 2015 vegetable garden crop review Apples: My four little trees are in their second winter. I picked 5 apples from one tree last year, but the trees are all small and need to grow. They seem healthy. In the spring, I sprayed with horticultural oil. I…

December 31, 2015

how are you planning your next vegetable garden?

We need a new poll! I just got the MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) Newsletter and their top item today is about garden planning software. They site this link for 10 Best Vegetable Garden Software of 2016. Except when you get to the link, it says it was last updated in 2011. Five years ago!! I wrote to MOFGA, Jean wrote back immediately! and we agree, we need a new review of Planning Software. So, how do you do your garden planning? Me: I like to use paper…

October 26, 2015

notes on Skippy’s planting calendar app

– Use app for planning your 2016 garden: A gardener emailed me that she is already using Skippy’s planting calendar app to set up her vegetables for next year (she says: “early but I want an easy place to remember what I want to order”) – Fixed glitch: The app had a glitch with the season transition. It was opening but displaying nothing. We’ve fixed this and an updated version is now available for download at Apple App Store updates. – Android available: We’ve released an android version of the…

October 17, 2015

garlic sources for planting

Here’s the list of garlic seed sources that people have recommended so far from my post a few days ago. They look awesome! I can’t wait to try out some new sources. If you have one to add, let me know and I’ll include it here. Pacific Northwest: Filaree Garlic Farm – So many! This source was seconded and thirded! Washington State Adaptive Seeds: Good selection, also grey shallots, free shipping over $50. Oregon Territorial Seeds: Oregon Colorado: The Garlic Store Potato Garden New England: Fedco bulbs division: Maine. Ordering…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost