January 13, 2015

herb salts

Back in early November, I made several herb salts. I looked up several recipes and found that these mixes can be either mostly herb with a bit of salt for flavoring or mostly salt with a bit of herb flavoring. At first I used a recipe for the former: mostly herb. That didn’t seem the most useful for me, so I added salt. My mixes ended up with about equal amounts of salt and herbs. I use them whenever I would be normally be adding plain salt to a recipe…

January 11, 2015

updated planting calendars

I’ve just finished updated the planting calendars on my side bar. Its taken me a few weeks as I’m better with plants than HTML. I think the result is good, considering. The updated calendars have more vegetables and updated explanations. Also I’ve added dates for succession planting and dates for transplanting. I am looking forward to using them this year. Tonight I printed out spring, fall and winter planting calendars for myself. My first planting date is Feb 22, the date to plant onions and celeriac. I don’t know how…

January 8, 2015

eggs!

Today, for the first time, all four of my hens laid an egg! Yeah!!! I haven’t had any eggs for almost 4 months! After loosing a hen to a local hawk or coyote last summer, I purchased two young hens (pullets) in late August. The new chickens apparently disrupted things so much that my two one year old hens stopped laying. It took a couple months for things to settled down. Once everyone started getting along, I think it was too dark for them to lay. My run is covered…

January 6, 2015

January community garden plot

The low sun is making a prism of light across my camera lens. In the foreground my pear tree branches are budded and braving the cold. Winter rye is growing in a few beds, green manure to turn under in the spring. The garlic bed is covered with salt march hay and I’m imagining healthy garlic root systems. I see some arugula that is still green. My compost bin was full to the brim in the fall. I ended up with a big pile of debris that wouldn’t fit in.…

January 2, 2015

plans for another year

I drew up a couple diagrams for this year’s gardens. In planning for a new year, I always move everything so nothing grows in the same location as last last year (crop rotation). Along with rotation, I want to do a few things different this year. For my home garden: – I’ve moved the tomatoes to a bed that didn’t have the store bought compost that made them sick last year. Last year, all my tomatoes had spindly growth, curled leaves, and very few tomatoes. I hope the move will…

December 26, 2014

seed sorting

I’ve been reading piles of seed catalogs this week. They keep arriving in the mail. I circle and make wish lists. If I ordered everything that’s caught my eye, I’d go broke and have closets filled with seeds. Plus I’m sure I already have many of these seeds. So today I’m sorting my old seeds. My seed baskets are a jumble after a busy year. I’m piling the same types of seeds together. Lettuces, tomatoes, squashes…. The seeds I remember not sprouting this year go in the trash along with…

December 25, 2014

Christmas Day

Pictures of my garden on Christmas Day. Happy Holidays all! I hate to show it, but here’s what the voles have done to my tunnel. I was told that castor oil is the solution to voles in winter tunnels. I see several web sites that explain how to use it. Next year I will have a beautiful tunnel!

December 23, 2014

what is the #1 mistake that new gardeners make?

I was asked a question the other day by a blogger. “What is the #1 mistake that new gardeners make?” My answer: Mistakes are how you learn!! The #1 mistake is not having tried gardening earlier because of worrying about making a mistake! That said, I have found that the most important things in getting a large harvest are making sure you have (1) regular irrigation, (2) appropriate soil, and (3) at least 4 hours of midday sun. Also think about growing what you like to eat and including a…

December 12, 2014

chicken cam testing

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December 1, 2014

necklace giveaway results

It was fun doing a give-away. I wish I could give a necklace to everyone who entered a guess. The contest was to guess how many dried red chilies were in my chili bowl. The answer: 248. I think a lot of people guessed low maybe because smaller chilis tended to be at the bottom of the bowl. Anyway, the winners are: The winners are Barb (273), Tomato Thymes (156) and Sarah (150). If you are a winner, please email me at kathy@skippysgarden.com and let me know your mailing address.…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost