Expansion

Seriously, I think I’m going to need the whole yard to be my garden.  I mean, I sort of intended for that to be the case some day, but not this day, or this coming year rather.  However, the more I looked at the seed catalog, the more I wanted to plant.  I literally ooo’ed and ahhhh’ed over the pictures and descriptions in the catalog.

Here’s my awesome list of heirlooms to be planted this year:

• Golden Beets
• Purple of Sicily Cauliflower
• Cosmic Purple Carrots
• Country Gentleman Corn
• Brune D’Hiver Lettuce
• Stuttgarter Onion
• Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach
• Butternut-Waltham
• Black Cherry Tomato
• Beefsteak Tomato
• Pilcer Vesy Yellow Tomato
• Orange Bell Pepper

• Basil Fine Verde
• Cilantro
• Dill Bouquet
• Oregano Vulgare
• Giant of Italy Parsley
• Stevia

Total Cost = $40

Aren’t the names pretty!?

I definitely can recoup that, probably just in tomatoes alone!  It’s helpful that I also saved some seeds from last year that can be reused.  Apparently seeds can be saved for up to five years as long as they are stored correctly.  So all the seeds I saved from this past year should be good.  They just need to be sealed and in a cool, dry place.  Check, check, and check.  I have golden squash, rainbow chard, and globe carrots in the heirloom variety.  Leftovers as far as the regular seeds go include green beans, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, lettuce, and zucchini.

And now I’ve just concluded the only other thing I need is pickling cucumbers.  I might as well put them in with the big seed order.  De Bourbonne Cucumbers added to the list.

New Total Cost = $42

Done and done.  Garden goals continue to be met.

Are you planting a garden this spring?  Do you know what you’re planting?

Gearing Up For Gardening

How’s that for rushing things?  I do apologize for that.  I don’t like to wish my time away.  That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the planning for spring though!  Today was the first cold day after some unseasonable warm weather.  I thought that was a perfect time to think about spring!

I already set some goals for my 2012 garden way back in early October.  Now the action has begun.

Garden journal, check!  That was an easy one.  Now actually using it throughout the season, that’s a bit harder.  However, the good news is I’ve already transferred last years planting and garden layout from the folded paper to the official journal.  I’ve also started a list of what I’d like to plant this year (it’s longgggg) and where I plan on planting it.

This lead me to sweetly asking Steve to help me dig two more garden plots and he so graciously agreed.  Yippy!  I promised they didn’t have to be raised beds this year and that seemed to the the trick convincing him.  Cross your fingers we find time to do it when the ground shows the first sign of thawing!

Plant more heirlooms, well on it’s way to being checked!  A few days ago I got my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog (which by the way is completely FREE)!  I was giddy when I saw it in the mail.  I had completely forgotten that I even requested it.  If you are even considering planting heirloom vegetables or flowers, request it today!  Even if you just like pretty pictures it’s worth it.  They are frame worthy and make my mouth water.  They may have also contributed to my growing wish list of seeds!

Tonight I also subscribed to the quarterly Heirloom Gardener magazine and bought The Heirloom Life Gardener.  If you order together you save $12.  It’s a steal.  I’ve been reading not only about heirlooms, but also about seed saving and food politics.  It’s fascinating and these purchases should be a wealth of knowledge!  I’ll be sure to share some tidbits with you as I learn more.

While I know you’d just love to read more of my gardening ramblings, I must go work on garden goal number 3, tracking the cost/savings of the garden.  It’s time to nail down the seeds to buy and how much they will cost! 

**Note:  I get nothing if you purchase products from Baker Creek.  I promote them solely because I have enjoyed their products and hope that you can do the same.

30 Minutes Movement:  Walking outside and breathing in the cool crisp air.  As usual I didn’t want to go, but once I was moving the walk was very enjoyable!

Activity Factoid:  Some physical activity is better than none.  Studies show that benefits start to occur after 60 minutes per week and increase as activity increases.

Source.