March 1, 2008

grow plants, grow!

Notice the condensation inside these bottles. Its nice and warm in there! Today I have exciting plans! I’d like to find another 4 or 5 plastic bottles and start seeds for broccoli, a couple types of lettuce, endive and arugula. Well, maybe not so exciting, but its almost like gardening. winterplanting

February 29, 2008

one week update

This is the one week update for my winter sown bottles. No sprouts yet. No, I didn’t expect there would be any yet. Just thought I’d check. I was impressed with all the condensation droplets inside the bottles. Since the temperature is in the teens now (11 F last night!), it seems to be staying MUCH warmer inside the bottles. Grow seeds, grow!! winterplanting

February 23, 2008

winter seed bottles covered with snow!!!

Nine inches of snow are now on top of my seed bottles. Where is spring???? winterplantingS&P

February 22, 2008

winter planting

Finally – I got to this project I’ve been looking forward to. A dozen milk bottles, a dozen packets of seeds, and a bag of dirt. It felt good to get my hands dirty again. Even if it was in the kitchen sink. I found this method of planting at wintersown.org, My Skinny Garden, and A Gardening Year and am giving it a try for the first time this year. I have read that it works great for perennial flowers like black-eyed susans, coneflowers and hollyhocks. I wondered if it…

January 16, 2008

collecting plastic bottles

I’m going to try winter planting this year in plastic milk bottles. (Several bloggers have posted about doing this recently: wintersown.org, My Skinny Garden, Old Roses.) So, since it was recycling day in my town yesterday, I drove around and collected a dozen empty one gallon milk bottles. I have ordered a few types of seeds that I hope will do well with this simple method of planting:Purple coneflower (Echinacea)Zebrina hollyhockRudbeckia I’m wondering if any vegetables/herbs would do well:onions (from seed)dilllettucebeets S&Pwinterplanting

September 21, 2007

fall sowing

My fall seeds are all in the ground now. I guess these are the last seeds I’ll plant this year (except for the garlic). Sad. I planted Sparkler and Round Black Spanish radish seeds. Also, shell peas and snap peas (probably too late for these). And lettuce (Bibb, Black-Seeded Simpson, Merveille de Four Seasons, Quattro Stagione, and Prizehead) and escarole (Natacha, Blonda, and Full Heart Batavian). S&P

July 21, 2007

fall broccoli started

I’m looking forward to a fall crop of broccoli, though I’m hoping I haven’t started these plants too early. I didn’t expect them to grow so fast. We’ll see. Brassicaceae

July 16, 2007

planting fall broccoli

I’ve decided to try planting seeds indoors for a fall crop of broccoli, since my spring broccoli was so tasty this year. I picked up a package of Green Goliath broccoli seeds and potting soil at my local hardware store. I found an old seed tray in the garage. I’ll keep the seedlings inside by a south facing window. This spring was the first time I’ve planted broccoli and even my teenage son enjoyed it. He agreed it is better than supermarket broccoli. The small plants I bought in May…

June 12, 2007

planting potatoes

A couple of weeks ago, I planted potatoes for the first time by sticking 15 store bought potatoes about 4 inches down in the ground. Many sprouted nicely. But then yesterday I read that potatoes should be planted deep and gradually covered over with dirt as they grow. So, I dug up my potatoes and replanted them 8 inches down using the trench method: Trench method: “Dig a shallow trench about 4 inches wide and 6-8 inches deep. Plant your potato seeds (8) inches apart in this trench. Place the…

June 4, 2007

planting more lettuce

I found a few bare spots of dirt by my patio and so I decided to plant lettuce there. Why not?! Its an interesting and edible ground cover. We have several in ground planters alongside our patio/driveway where a couple of large deep-rooted plants are growing (climbing rose, honeysuckle and an espaliered pear tree). I added potting soil to the top few inches and planted hot weather varieties of lettuce: a mix called heatwave blend that contains black seeded simpson, oak leaf and other types of lettuce. I’m on the…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost

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