November 17, 2019

choosing tomato varieties

All America Selections (AAS) is a great place to start when looking for new tomato varieties to try. It’s is a national, non-profit plant trialing organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties and selects winners with superior performance. I toured a dozen seed breeders in CA with AAS last summer and they are a fantastic organization. My wish list has a bunch of AAS Winners that I’d like to try out next year. First, Mountain Rouge, a brand new 2019 AAS Winner. I visited its breeder, Bejo USA, last summer and…

September 14, 2019

another full harvest moon

Its a full harvest moon tonight. I’ve pretty much harvested everything for today by now. Its chilly. Time to hang out inside. OMG old times with Neil Young! Harvest Moon. Come a little bit closer Hear what I have to say Just like children sleeping We could dream this night away But there’s a full moon rising Let’s go dancing in the light We know where the music’s playing Let’s go out and feel the night Because I’m still in love with you I want to see you dance again…

August 15, 2019

arial garden photos

A drone pilot came by my yard and took some photos of my garden. Its wonderful to see my favorite spot from a different angle.

August 8, 2019

veggie trial tour next week!

I’m getting ready to travel to CA to tour nine vegetable breeders to checkout their new offerings!! I am so excited. The tour is hosted by All America Selections (AAS) and the National Garden Bureau (NGB). The breeders we’ll visit include Syngenta, Bejo, American Takii, Sakata, Vitalis, PanAmerican Seed, Seminis, Seeds by Design, and Terra Organics. I’m planning to post daily with beautiful photos and information on their new vegetables. It’s so important to develop new plants that are resistant to diseases, perform better, and are just plain fun for…

April 25, 2019

digging parsnips in the spring

On Easter morning (April 21) I dug the last of my parsnips. I’ve never overwintered them before but was told they are really sweet in early spring. So I left half of my crop in the ground last fall. And, yes, they are excellent after overwintering! I roasted them with some red potatoes, and added olive oil, smoked paprika, and curry powder. Really delicious with our Easter dinner. Easter morning I also dug a couple overwintered leeks (I have to remember to go dig the rest of them soon), and…

April 25, 2019

I just noticed…

I guess I’m a bit slow, but i just noticed that Feedspot gave this blog an award. Top 30 Organic Gardening Blogs!! Nice. I appreciate that. And they gave out cute badges. I like that too! Thanks Feedspot! And here’s a more current list at Feedspot with more than 100 nice gardening blogs. So much to read!

April 24, 2019

planting peas

I planted my peas today. I started them indoors in big flat boxes and cut off paper bags. I’m a fan of planting indoors, mostly because I can watch them grow. But also I can baby the seedlings, making sure they get the right amount of water and light (under plant lights). For peas, another reason for planting inside – my voracious chipmunks. There are so many chipmunks in my garden and they have, in the past, gone right down the rows and dug up and ate every newly planted…

April 3, 2019

more baby chick pictures

I bought a batch of 15 mixed layers from McMurray Hatchery. They say they are a mix of at least 5 good laying types plus one exotic layer. I can see that the single fancy bird is silver and has very pretty feathers. I don’t know any of the breeds. If anyone can tell the breed from looking at a chick and you recognize any of these – let me know!! They are two days old now and are being very good. There was one chick who kept pecking other…

April 3, 2019

baby chicks!

I got a box full of one-day-old baby chicks in the mail today. 17 of them! They are very tiny and very cute. They are now under a red heat lamp in a dog crate converted into a chick incubator.

March 31, 2019

winter bed

Whenever we get a couple days with night temperatures above freezing I open up my winter bed. It’s not as full as last year since I planted late in the fall, but there are lots of greens coming along. Spinach, lettuce, bok choy, and cabbage. Some overwintered rosemary. I was impressed with my kalettes that didn’t mature last year, but look good now.

weeks and counting until my last spring frost