sunning seedlings

 
 
Such a nice day, my seedlings were sunning outside. It was near 60*F on our sunny patio. Still a foot of snow, but melting fast. My onion seedlings are growing and the celeriac have sprouted. My 6 year old onion seeds still haven’t come up. Last year they eventually sprouted, so I’m giving them more time.
 
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looking forward to an exciting new garden book….

 
 
Garden writer Niki Jabbour (Author of The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, 2012 American Horticultural Society Book Award winner) has put together a brand new book. Its titled Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden. It includes plans from really interesting food gardens – AND … one of them is MINE! (ah, well, Skippy’s, I should say…) Our section is titled “Urban Shade Garden”. It includes a beautiful diagram of my garden plan drawn by an artist. And Niki’s write up after interviewing me.…
 
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sweet potato sprouts

 
 
I count about 17 sprouts coming along. Some really small still. Last year I planted about 30, but they were too close. So about 20 should be good this year.
 
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winter

 
 
We have about 2 feet of snow everywhere. I have to use snow shoes to walk to the end of my backyard where I’ll dig my new garden in a couple months. Skippy and Suzie sink in up to their bellies in the snow. And my poor chickens haven’t been out of their coop in weeks. But the sun is getting bright. Its noticeably higher in the sky – coming up over the tops of the tall pines by 9 am now. Our forecast is for a couple more inches…
 
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onion sprouts!

 
 
My onion seedlings are up! These are all 1 year old seeds. The 6 year old seeds haven’t come up yet (but they did last year).
 
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2014 planting list

 
 
January (inside under lights) Sweet Potatoes February 8 (inside under lights) Onion, Frontier Onion, Pontiac Onion, Walla Walla Sweet Onion, White Wing Shallot, Prisma Celeriac March 8 (inside under lights) (Note: Many of these I mixed together to get more variety of fewer plants.) Parsley, Single Italian Pepper, Canary Bell (note: peppers need to be 75*F+ to germinate) Pepper, Sweet Yellow Chili, Thai Hot Chili, mix of Tepin, Jalpeno, Anaheim Broccoli, Romanesco Broccoli, Cook’s Super Blend Hybrid Broccoli, Diplomat Eggplant, Kamo Eggplant, Calliope F1 Escarole, Broadleaf Batavian Escarole, Natacha Endive,…
 
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the onions are sown!

 
 
I planted a whole tray of onion seeds today. Its exciting to have extra planting space to be planting for this year! The varieties I planted are on my 2014 planting list.
 
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one of these eggs is not like the others…

 
 
So, I’ve collected many pink-brown eggs and many green-blue eggs. In addition to these, I’ve found two specked brown eggs. I know Ginger, my Auracana, is laying the green-blue ones – because that’s what Auracanas (Easter Eggers) do. I know Penny, my Black Astralorp, is laying the brown-pink ones because I saw her pop one out and pretty much caught it as it ejected (!). I don’t know if Penny is the one laying the occasional speckled eggs or if maybe Bertha, my light Brahma, is laying them. A mystery….
 
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mini pies and Meyer Derby

 
 
My favorite dough recipe is this one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/apple-pie-recipe.html I like it for apple pie as in the recipe. Today we made a double batch and used half for mini pies with canned fruit and froze the other half. My favorite fillings for mini pies are canned cherry or blueberry. To make mini pies, I roll the dough in a square, slice it in three or four sections, dollop on the fruit, fold over the dough, crimp and bake. I’m looking forward to canning my own fruit soon for these little…
 
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Kathy Martin
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy


weeks and counting until my last spring frost

What I planted recently

Jan 21
thyme, lettuce, escarole

Feb 21
celery, celeriac, parsley, leeks

March 11
cabbage, kale, arugula



What I'm planting soon

April 1
peppers, eggplants, marigolds, beets

April 12
tomatoes, basil, sunflowers

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My garden this week

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17 years of archives!

Check out the food pantry farm I helped to start up:

Aurelia's Garden

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Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!

“I envision a day when every city and town has front and back yards, community gardens and growing spaces, nurtured into life by neighbors who are no longer strangers, but friends who delight in the edible rewards offered from a garden they discovered together.” – Greg Peterson

"What can happen to a seed is a miracle."

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