Garden Geeked

Starting Seeds revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:46:00 +0000

In years past, I have started my seeds using those peat pellet kits you get at most home stores. You know the ones that come with a tray and a clear plastic dome to simulate a green house? They always start out nicely, however once they start, I never quite know what to do next. Do I leave the dome on? Where should I put them? Should I transplant them into bigger pots? What I have done in the past is leave the dome on longer than should be, and then once I take it off, just set it in front of a sunny window in my bed room. However, each year, my plants look sickly and small. So there I am in the spring, transplanting my sickly tomato plants in my tilled and ready to go beds, while next door, my neighbor has these healthy, bushy tomato plants purchased at a garden store. What am I doing wrong? Needless to say, the poor start that my seeds get, translate into late season fruits and a mediocre crop.

This season, I am trying something different. I was listening to a local garden radio show called "You Bet Your Garden" and they were talking about tips for starting seeds indoors. To sum up, window light, although may seem good enough, really isn't enough light for the young seedlings. So in order to deal with that, it is recommended to use fluorescent bulbs for light. Keep the light about 2" away from the plants and keep the light on them 24 hrs a day 7 days a week. You can read about it here.

I can adjust the distance of the bulbs to the plants with the chain.

So, what we did this year, is Mike made for me two shelves worth of fluorescent bulbs. I have 4 - 3 foot fluorescent bulbs on each shelf. He connected the lamps with pieces of sheet metal and then I can raise and lower the lights with a chain he attached to the sheet metal. This is great, as the plants grow I can adjust the distance of the lights. I keep the lights about 1"-2" away from the plants and I have the lights on constantly. They seem to be responding well to this set up.

Makeshift lights does the job - 2 bulbs attached together with sheet metal

So, based on a projected last frost date of April 21 (however I suspect this will be later this season with how cold it's been), I worked backwards with my plan of when to start different seeds. I started in the beginning of February with onion, broccoli, broccoli raab, celery and parsley seeds. Each week planting different seeds such as, pepper, radicchio, lettuce, swiss chard, tomato, kale, napa cabbage and brussel sprouts. Out of all of the seeds I started, all but pepper, tomato and lettuce are repeats for me. So needless to say, this will be an interesting learning year with all these new vegetable varieties.

Hoping that these tomatoes will look better than last year.

Radicchio - always tasty in a salad.

Onions - this is the first time I'm growing from seed. I usually start with sets.

Peppers and celery

Broccoli and celery

and more celery - I will have celery this year!

Rather than using peet pellets, I planted my seeds in those 6 pack trays and using potting soil. The potting soil needs to be saturated, similar to the peat pellets. I filled my trays with soil, then wet the soil a bit, planted the seeds and water some more. By doing it this way, the seeds won't float to the top as the soil is already a bit moist.

I will continue to share my experience on how this is all going. So far I'm pleased. Warmer weather can't get here soon enough.

Back to Eden

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:19:00 +0000

I have been inspired this year by a video that I saw called "Back to Eden" which you can watch here on Vimeo.

God is the great orchestrator of all on earth. And when we (people) try to take over, we mess things up. What I have gotten out of this video is that if we just pause for a moment and take a look around, we can see all of the answers to our questions by looking at God's amazing creation.

So, what does that mean for gardening? Well...if you look out in nature, you can see that God gives us all we need to grow crops, and grow crops well. It's when we try to over-engineer things that we make more work for ourselves. Tilling, weeding, pest control to name a few.

Additionally, over the years, we have become more accustomed to all things prepared, refined and boxed. Our taste buds know little anymore of whole, raw, organic, fresh food. We find something like a donut to be called a sweet treat, when an apple is what a sweet treat means. Sweet doesn't have to be bad for you, God didn't make it that way. He gave us taste buds to enjoy food. Indulge yourselves without guilt with a bushel of fresh strawberries, for example. Satisfy your crunchy craving on fresh baby spinach and baby carrots. Nibble on sprouted lentils It's all there for the taking.

So, what does this mean for me this growing season? Well, I am going to be adopting the principles from Paul Gautschi by focusing on a ground covering for my garden. I've been using raised beds for years and have been pleased with the success from them. Beds that are not walked on and I am constantly enriching with compost. I started falling back onto my old habits of tilling, which is really contradictory to God's plan. Tilling is really more harm than good. It breaks up all the good soil and worms that are busy keeping my raised beds soft and fluffy. That plus, without fail, a week after I till, I am out there weeding. One other issue I have throughout the season is watering. What a chore it is to make sure each day that my garden is watered. And if I miss a few days, the crops are stressed.

So my plan this year is to get a good covering on my garden which will keep weeds down, and the earth below constantly moist. According to Paul, and also Ruth Stout with a covering, one does not have to worry about watering. The covering keeps just the right amount of moisture in the garden during periods of drought as well as rains. The covering continues to break down providing the nutrients that are needed to keep the soil enriched and soft.

What I have done the past weeks is get a good 3" covering on my raised beds. I have about 200 sq ft of raised beds. I called our township borough to make sure it was ok to get some wood chippings from their compost facility. They were happy to ablige. So over the past weeks, Mike and I have filled garbage bags with wood chippings and leaves and brought them to my garden. The picture in this blogs illustrates what this looks like. I also have my compost bin constantly at work. One thing that my compost bin lacks is browns (the nitrogen) as we have no trees on our property or on our street for that matter. When Mike and I were pitching leaves from the compost facility into garbage bags in the dead of winter, I was amazing to see a warm steam coming from the composting leaves. The leaves were even hot to the touch! How cool is that?! God at work even in the coldest of days.

Birds eye view of my garden

tree chippings

more tree chippings, garlic is under there waiting for the warm weather!

There is never a wrong time to get your garden started with a good covering. I will be blogging about my experience of my Back to Eden garden this season.

This weekend I started some early seeds. Onions, (yellow and scallions), broccoli, broccoli rabe, celery and parsley.

Onions, broccoli, broccoli raab, celery, parsley started

Next weekend peppers and radicchio will be started. My goal this year is to see if I can grow, all that I enjoy eating. Years past I've focused on large quantities of the easy stuff. This season it will be more of manageable portions of we eat on a regular basis. Some newer endevours for me are radicchio, kale, brussel sprouts, chinese cabbage, dried beans, parsnips and winter squashes. Biting off more than I can chew? Perhaps, but with all failures, come growth and learning.

Sweet Puh-Puh-Potatoes?

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:56:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last post and shame on me for not sharing in this summers successes and failures as they happened. Tomato's were a flop this summer. I blame it on the rain. I usually yield about 30 jars of tomato sauce from the season. This year I ended up with a measly 12 jars.

But I'm not here to talk about tomatoes. I'm here to talk about sweet potatoes. Yesterday we got around to harvesting our first try at sweet potatoes. I read that the longer you keep them in the ground, the sweeter they get. I also read that you can keep them in the ground until one or two frosts. When you see the leaves starting to yellow, that's a sign to harvest them. When the leaves start to blacken (from frost), then you really need to pull them.

Anyway, it was a nice sunny Sunday, so we had at it. If you can see in the picture, some of the leaves are starting to turn black.

As you can see from the next picture, the vines really spread out from their original spot. When I planted them I had 3 rows of about 5 sprouts.

First we started by using a spade shovel and trying to scoop under where we thought they would be. We then had our first glimpse of sweet gold.

After pulling up a few, we realized that it was easier to pull away all the leaves and vines and we could get at them with less wrestling of the foliage. The leaves were a nice addition to my compost bin. Pulling out the potatoes, almost reminded me of harvesting carrots. They just popped right out.

Heck, some of them even looked like carrots.

After harvesting them, I laid them out in the sun to start the curing process.

After a couple hours, I put them in brown bags and now have them in the warmest room in our house (our bedroom gets the most sun and is nice and warm during the day). They should stay in a warm ventilated room (ideally between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but our bedroom will have to do) for 8 to 10 days. Although, you can cook and eat sweet potatoes right out of the ground, curing is recommend to both heal any injuries incurred from harvesting, and to enhance their natural sweetness. After curing, I will store them in a cool, dry place (basement) in brown bags.

I am looking forward to preparing them and eating them. I'm not sure if I will plant sweet potatoes again next season. They took up a good deal of space in my beds, and I was expecting (hoping) for a larger yield. I harvested about 20lbs of sweet potatoes.

The red potatoes that I planted this season, gave me a larger yield and less time in the ground. So they will definitely be in my garden plan next season.

I'll let you know how they taste!

Potato Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:22:00 +0000

What a surprise for me tonight when I dug up a potato after I had assumed my potato adventure this summer was a failure.

After battling Colorado Potato Beetle's back in April by picking them off and removing any leaves with eggs, I thought that I was doing pretty well. The plants were flourishing. Green, bushy and quite healthy looking. However, not knowing very much about what to look for with potato plants, I started to notice the leaves getting spots all over them. This was in June:

I thought perhaps that I had some sort of deficiency in the soil for the leaves to start looking that way. Anyway, as time went on, the leaves started to look worse and die off. What at one time looked like a flourishing crop of healthy potato plants, started to dwindle down to a sickly looking patch. Discouraged, I gave up hope and wrote off my potato trial as a flop.

Then the other day I decided to research what exactly are the signs to know when it's time to harvest potatoes. What I found out is that the plants die off and when they all die, then it's time to harvest them. I figured it couldn't hurt to just check it out to see. After all, I was going to have to clean up the potato failure anyway. So tonight, after picking some parsley for our rabbits, I took out a hoe and gently started to dig down into the earth. After going down about 6 or so inches, I hit something red. Could it be? Digging a bit more, sure enough, there in the soil was a red potato. And not just a wimpy little rotten potato, but a big, bright red healthy potato! Excited I ran in the house to tell Mike of my discovery. All through dinner I thought about the treasure waiting outside for me. How many potatoes where there??

After dinner, we went out with some bags and started digging. Being ever so careful not to cut into any potatoes.

Mike and I had a ball uncovering the "fine fluffy white potatoes" (must be said in an Irish accent).

And after about 1/2 hour we had about 25 lbs of red gold. We know what we are having for breakfast tomorrow!

So what I thought was a failure, turned out to be a great success. I hope that my sweet potatoes do as well as my red potatoes did. I'll keep you posted!

New Adventures in Pototoes

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:18:00 +0000

This is my first time growing potatoes. Hopefully it will be a rewarding first-time experience. I decided on red-potatoes and sweet potatoes. In our area, red potatoes are ready to start now. The sweet potatoes, I have read, are a bit of a warmer season veggie so I should wait until June to start those. That said, I have begun the red potato process and thought I would share with you my experience thus far.

I ordered a 2lb bag of Red Norland Potatoes from Henry Fields Nursery. I am not plugging them by any means, but I have had good success with them so far with everything I have purchased from them. I have purchased asparagus roots and blueberry plants and both came to me in great condition and both have been successful in their growth for me. I selected Red Norland potatoes as I read that they produce compact plants which are good for smaller gardens, which is what I have. I have also read not to use grocery store potatoes for growing as they are treated with a growth retardant. Also it is good to use certified seed potatoes that are meant for producing eyes on potatoes

When I got the bag there were about a dozen small potatoes in the bag with eyes started on each of them. You are not supposed to place the entire potato in the ground with more than 2-3 eyes on a piece potato. What you do is cut the potato so each cutting has about 2-3 eyes per cut. Each eye will produce a plant.

After I cut the potatoes, I placed them back in the bag to for a few days to heal and form a scab over the cut area. After that they are ready to be planted.

Today, I was finally able to get them in the ground. We have had so much rain this week that I was unable to plant them sooner.

To plant potatoes, you first need to dig a trench about 8" - 12" deep. You then place your potatoes with the eyes facing up about 10" apart"

You then cover your potatoes with about 2-3" of dirt (you don't back fill in the trench completely)

I ended up with 4 rows of about 5 potatoes per row.

(I am saving the other half of the bed for some sweet potatoes.) As the potatoes start to grow. You are supposed to do something called "hilling". Which is after the plants are 8-10" tall, use a hoe and pile several inches of soil up around the stems. The prevents exposure to the sun which causes tubers to become green and inedible.

Hopefully, they will do well. I am so excited to see what happens next!

The Blueberry Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:17:00 +0000

I am determined to salvage that blueberry branch that broke off from the plant that I ordered. So here the following is what I ended up doing. Hopefully it will not be in vain.

For those that don't remember from my past post, I had planted a bluecrop highbush about a month back only to find it battle damaged from small boys playing in the backyard:

What I ended up doing to the broken branch was take it inside and put it in a cup of water and put it in a window sill. I have been surprised with how the buds have continued to grow and new buds have since formed.

So what I ended up doing is potting the cutting in peat moss. I soaked the peat moss in water and then placed the moss in a pot. I then put the branch in the peat moss and covered the pot in a plastic wrap to create a sort of humid effect to help keep a warm moisture to aid in root generation.

I currently have the cutting in my window in my office and so far I am surprised with how much new growth it is producing. Hopefully though by placing it in the peat moss it will give me some root so I can get it back out in the ground outside. I will keep you informed of the progress or lack thereof. Wish me luck.

Busy weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:38:00 +0000

Oh my! What a weekend I had. We were supposed to have gone to Washington DC this weekend as I was registered to run in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, but we have been going non-stop and decided to stay put this weekend. That gave me that chance to work on the garden some. As a result I got quite a bit done.

On Saturday I worked on weeding and tilling up some of the beds a bit. Hard work for sure. I had put down compost from my compost bin in the fall, and so the soil is very rich and ready to go for the summer. I will add compost throughout the year as needed by just laying some on top and turning it in a bit. Anyway, I was able to weed around the garlic that is growing nicely as well as the chive and oregano. Also I cut back the dead from my asparagus and weeded around it. All in all quite pleased with how the beds cleaned up.

Here is the garlic that I planted in the fall:

While I was tilling up the beds, I decided to remove the strawberries that I had planted last year. I realized that for my garden, planting strawberries was a bad idea. I just don't have the room to support them. Perhaps when we have more land I will have a separate area just for strawberries. So for now I dug them up and decided to pot them, hoping that they will produce a few strawberries this summer in the pot.

And finally, for the end of Saturday, I planted a first phase of lettuce, some spinach, arugula, swiss chard and some cilantro.

All-in-all a productive first day.

For Sunday, (today) I first worked on getting my peppers into larger pots as they were just sitting in peat pellets.

After that I Matt and I worked on planting some flower seeds. So now they are busy "incubating" So they will be ready to go for the summer.

Matt counted them and we planted 80 flower seeds in all! The above picture is my indoor set up. This is our bedroom. Our bedroom gets the best/most sun so this is where I start all my seedlings. Mike made that little enclosed plexiglass box for me to help create a mini greenhouse for me to aid in germination.

I also finished tilling up the rest of my beds. This bed I will be planting potatoes. Which I will be putting red potatoes in the ground this week.

And finally, planted sugar snap peas, peas, snow peas, green beans, soy beans, parsley and transplanted the broccoli I started.

In hindsight, I am concerned that I should have held off on planting the broccoli outside, but if it doesn't take, I'll just start again with a direct sow in the ground.

Anyway, busy weekend indeed. I am quite sore from all that work. Getting old is no fun, but it was great to be outside and working in the dirt again.

The chilluns are growing

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:06:00 +0000

I've been tending to the tomatoes, peppers and broccoli seedlings in our bedroom the past month. Yes, perhaps I was a bit eager with starting them, but I don't mind watching them grow. A little taste of spring perhaps. Spring just can't get here fast enough. Anyway, the tomatoes are really starting to get bigger so I needed to upgrade them a bit from their original peat pellets into larger pots. (Makes me think of that book A Fish Out Of Water). Anyway, I did that this evening outside in shed. So here they are.

My plan is to have 8 tomato plants this season. The seeds I used were from several seasons back so I basically tripled up on each variety of them to be sure that I'd get some successful germination of each.

This weekend I will transfer the peppers to larger pots as well. (I just ran out or I would have done that tonight).

Additionally I ordered a Bluecrop highbush blueberry bush and that came in the mail a few weeks back. I put that in the ground a couple weeks ago.

I'm really hoping that I have success with it. I planted a raspberry bush a few years back and it's being growing like a weed, but has yet to give me any fruit. I'm hoping that the blueberry bush will give me some successes. I know that I'll have to wait a few years but I don't mind, I enjoy the process.

However, the other day, Matt was out playing with his friends in the backyard. I guess they didn't see my new planting. (My bad for not putting something around it). Needless to say, it has suffered it's first setback, d'oh!

I don't know what to say...I hope that it doesn't stress it out too much. I'm hoping I can salvage the broken branch. I put it in a glass of water. Who knows...maybe it will take root. I've had successes like that before.

Early Plantings

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:27:00 +0000

It's been a tough winter for me for some reason. Just didn't "like" it. But I think that towards the end I started to come to terms with it and accept the fact that like the trees, people too need a time of rest and hibernation. That said, I am still glad spring is close by. Seeds have been ordered and delivered to my door. Plans have been made for what I will be planting and my warm season crops that will need transplanting have already been started.

My plans for this year are to try out some new varieties of peppers, and add some new additions to my garden repertoire, that being, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and broccoli. Additionally I ordered a blueray highbush blueberry bush that I am excited about. I am hoping that with the volunteering that I will be doing with the Chester County Food Bank at Springton Manor this season I will learn much.

Here is what I plan on growing this season:

Veggies:	Herbs:
Spinach	Sage
Lettuce	Rosemary
Arugula	Parsley
Swiss Chard	Oregano
Asparagus	Basil
Soy Bean	Chives
Snow Peas	Cilantro
Peas

Green Beans

Sugar Snap Peas

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Zucchini

Yellow Squash

Peppers

Sweet Pepper

Red Potatoes

Broccoli

I already started the peppers, broccoli and tomatoes. I think I made my first mistake already by being too eager and starting the tomato seed too soon. Hopefully I can keep them going by transferring them into larger and larger pots before getting them in the ground. As you can see by the photo, they have already germinated, while the peppers are still yet to germinate (the top half of the tray). They don't go into the ground until May, which is two months out.

Broccoli was a late idea for me, but I figured I give it a try as its something that the boys enjoy (aka tolerate) and I've seen my neighbor grow it successfully. So I will try out three broccoli plants this season. The plan for peppers this year is to try out a new variety of hot called Aji, which I fell in love with while in Ecuador. I will need to see if I can find an Aji recipe to make which we had every night while there which we put on rice, popcorn, soup. A nice way to spice up things. In addition to the Aji, other pepper varieties this year are: Buran, Chervena Chushka, and Tollies Sweet. I ordered these from the Seed Saver's Exchange.

As for tomatoes, I am taking a risk by sticking with seeds that are 2 and 3 seasons old. Although, seems like they are germinating just fine. Focus is Romas for my sauces and then the beefy ones for salads and sandwiches. Varieties selected are: Roma, Beefsteak, Beefmaster, Early Girl and Rutgers. I was reading up on the difference between determinate and indeterminate varieties which was first brought to my attention at a Food Bank meeting. Roma's and Rutgers are determinates while the Beefsteak, Beefmaster and Early Girls are indeterminate. Just knowing this little bit of info will really help me in where to plant them as well as to prune or not to prune!

Next post will be on flower seed plantings.

Chester County Food Bank

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:21:00 +0000

I am going to be helping out by doing volunteering work with the Chester County Food Bank. In September, they came out to Matt's school to put in some raised beds. The school will be planting and maintaining the beds throughout the growing season. When the time comes to harvest the vegetables, they will give all the food to the food bank to help those in need in Chester County. The day that the Food Bank came out to set up the beds, I volunteered to help out with the students and was very interested in what they were doing. I wanted to get more involved so I contacted them and asked how I can help with other projects. I am now going to be helping with maintaining 20 raised beds at Springton Manor Farm in Glenmore, PA.

Today we started building the beds. We put in 6 of the 20 beds. These 6 will be double highs. The remaining 14 will be singles. This winter we will also be starting a nursery program at the farm. Here are some pictures of the bed construction project.


Matt helping with staking in the beds.


Time for a break with a visit to with the goats.

This is the nursery where we will be growing the seeds this winter.

The first 6 beds are done!

We have 14 more to go! Last season they planted without raised beds and the weeds were a nightmare.

A job well done!

I'm really excited about this project! To be helping out, giving to the community and to be doing something that I love love love! I hope to learn a lot this growing season from some really neat people that I've met so far!

Adventures in Asparagus

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:54:00 +0000

It's too soon to tell if my new addition of asparagus to the garden will be worth the effort. A veggie or fruit makes it into my garden when it meets at least one of these three qualifications:

At least person (or pet) in the house must like it.
It tastes better fresh then when bought in the store.
It's just too expensive at the store.

Well asparagus meets #1 and #3 of the above requirements. It's something that we rarely buy at the store even though Mike and I enjoy it. It's so hard to get asparagus the size we like it. Additionally, it's a bit on the pricey side, especially when it's rarely that good when bought from the store.

A friend of mine was telling me about how he purchased some asparagus roots and planted them this season. Hearing his story really got me curious and so I decided to do research of my own good ol' Junior and Archibald (Veggie Tales peeps will get that). I ended up purchasing 10 purple asparagus roots. Purple asparagus are sweeter than the green asparagus. Additionally, you can eat them raw. When you cook the purple asparagus, it will turn green (sort of like a lobster turning red when you cook it -- how's that analogy?)

Anyway, they came in the mail and to prepare the soil, I had to dig some pretty deep holes. At least 12" deep. I put root in each hole and then only covered them about 2".

I kept them watered and waited to see what would happen. A week or so later little baby asparagus started to pop out of the ground. First one, then another, then another. Pretty soon each of the 10 roots showed promise by producing new growth. I then filled in the holes a bit more and continued to keep an eye on them.

Several weeks later I have quite a pretty little addition to my garden, if not yet edible. The asparagus needs a season or two to produce more mature stems. At the very least, they are pretty. The good thing about asparagus is it is a perennial and will continue to produce for me.

Right now some of them are producing what looks like little yellow berries. I read that these will fall to the ground and help spread them. If it is doing this or not I can't tell as each week passes by, I see a new baby sprout emerge from the ground.

I put the asparagus in the same raised bed as I plant some of my herbs. I have to say out of all my raised bed, my asparagus and herb bed looks the best. I am eager to see how these veggies do this season and next season.

Why I run

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:27:00 +0000

A friend of mine had asked me a while back why I like to run. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that I wasn't able to answer adequately. Ever since then I've been trying to find words to describe why I enjoy running. I mean, running makes me feel good, but why? Why does it make me feel good? This was not so easy to answer. Well two weekends ago I had gone on a 10-mile run and it was then that I was able to formulate an answer to that question.

When I run I feel most at peace. I love being outside and when I run I feel the most connected to God. (Although after all these years of doing it, I finally realized that was what I was feeling) As I run on a trail and pass by the different trees and flowers and grass I take in all the different sights, smells and sounds of nature around me. The different colors around me in nature as well as the different surprises I see along the way are never the same from run to run. I think to myself, how can I get bored on a run when there is so much to beauty take in? God made this for us to enjoy and so often we are speeding by both literally and figuratively.

I hear my breathing and from it's slow, steady rhythm I start to calm my racing thoughts. I feel so alive and thankful that I have my legs to carry me, my arms to pump in rhythm with my legs, my lungs to breath in the fresh air and my ears and eyes to hear and see all things. Everything working together perfectly. On some runs I do a lot of thinking, while on other runs I don't want to think. But the beauty of it is, I alone, can choose. These runs are my brief adventures.

I spend time thinking about these wonderful gifts that the Lord has given us to enjoy and I am so thankful for them. Thank you for this breeze. Thank you for the river I run next to. Thank you for the different shades of green that I see. Thank you for blessing me with such a loving husband. Thank you for giving us two beautiful boys. It feels good to be alive.

I took some pictures of this particular run to try and capture some of the things that I see and experience.

This is the entrance to the trail I usually run. It's a mile in no shade to get to this point. My first gratitude, to enter the shade of the trees.

It's peaceful to be here. The shade provided by the trees is a welcome gift. On the left of the trail is the Brandwine River and I can hear the water flowing as I run along side of it. I wonder who is faster, me or the flowing water? :) Picture this same trail on a snowy winter day.

These next two pictures are a thwarted attempt of me exploring beyond. The trail is going to be extended, but must have JUST been fenced off. The week prior, I had discovered this and ventured out on the trail a bit. But alas, it is now closed off...

...so I head up this hill as I saw a mountain biker ride up here.

And I come across this! Another path that is an entrance to the state park.

After a mile of being under trees it opens up to this. The photo is deceiving, but this is a HILL. And up ahead is the dam for Marsh Creek. On the other side is Marsh Creek Lake.

At the top of the hill and the dam. Having a look at where I've been. See the water below? That's from the dam.

And when I look to the right I am presented with this! Marsh Creek Lake and some sail boats. All created by the very dam that I am standing on and just ran up.

And so now on to the "trail running" part of the adventure. I see at the top of the dam, is a trail. Obviously used by mountain bikers. So I continue on with my run, and here are some pictures of the trail I ran on.

I was running around the lake. And was but a few feet from the water. Passed a few bikers along the way too.

Do the people in the sail boats see me?

Decisions, decisions..do I take the left path or the right path?

A secret spot in the lake.

This is as far as I went. I turned around from this point and went back the way I came. Put on my headphones and listened to some Pearl Jam, Alive.

So this is just one of my runs, my adventures, my time with the Lord, my time to recharge and be better for it. And this is why I run.

The Tree with 9 Lives

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:04:00 +0000

Remember the post back in May about the tree we planted for earth day? Well the little Silky Dogwood was doing just fine until I started meddling with it. About a month back I was cutting the grass and I decided to weed around the screen that we put around the tree sapling. So, I removed the screen and proceeded to trim around it. As I was doing trimming around it no sooner was I thinking, "I really need to be careful not to wack it", when sure enough - wack! Little tree sapling was no more.

I was so angry for doing that I yelled and stomped around the yard a bit thinking...what am I going to tell Matt? This is his tree that he brought home from school for us to plant, and here I am having to fuss with it. Thoughts started running through my head such as going out to the nursery and replacing it without him knowing to just sticking it back in the ground and seeing what happened rushed through my mind. After a few minutes of looking at the little tree, I walked away from the scene of the crime with my head hung low.

Finally, I brought the evidence into the house and set it on the kitchen counter. I was not really sure what I was going to do about it, but I knew I couldn't just throw it away. After a while, I thought, I'll just put it in a cup of water and set it on the window sill like I do any other cutting. Who knows, maybe it will hang in there a bit? I then went back outside and cleaned up the other half of the sapling by cleaning off the tip where it was wacked off. I watered it and put the cage around it again just pretending that nothing ever happened.

That evening, I realized that I had to tell Matt about the accident. I told him that maybe we could go out and replace it with the very same type of dogwood. He responded that this was a "special tree that his teacher bought for him." Ouch...that hurt.

And so we waited....

About a week or two later, when I was cutting the grass again, I glanced down at the little tree (twig sticking out of the ground) to find that..what?...was there some new growth on it?! Do my eyes deceive me? I stopped the mower to take a closer look, and sure enough...one, two, three little buds forcing their way through the remains of the sapling. A smile came over me and I was glad to tell Matt the news.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, the other half of the sapling remain in the cup on the window sill. I was expecting leaves to start curling up and dropping one by one, but yet, it never happened. There is was, perched on the sill looking just as it did the day I attacked it with the trimmer....but wait...was that a new bud starting to grow at the tip? No...it couldn't be.

A few days later I noticed that the water in the cup was getting low, so I decided to fill it up a bit, after all, if it wasn't giving up, then I sure wasn't going to either. As I put the cup under the faucet, I noticed what looked like new roots forming at the base of the sapling. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed 2 or three new roots emerging from it! I couldn't believe it! I mean, I can understand the half outside re-growing as it was still alive with it's young root system in place, but sticking a "twig" in a cup of water? No way! But sure enough it was still growing. Here I thought I had killed Matt's Earth Day tree that he had brought home from school only to find that I have created two new trees. I was and am ecstatic and couldn't wait to tell Matt the news.

So this story has a happy ending and a lesson learned for me as well. I can't help but think of Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid saying, "tree have strong root". And this little tree does indeed.

Peas Glorious Peas

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:04:00 +0000

It's been far too long since my last post during such a busy growing season! The lettuce is almost done and we had a better crop than last year.

However for next year I am going to have less arugula and more spinach. Seeing that I am the only one in the family that likes arugula, devoting 4 squares to it was way too much. Next year arugula only get's 1 square.

The peas are going crazy. I will harvest all that I see in one evening, and then come out the next evening to see a whole new crop ready to be picked. It's like I hadn't even picked any the day before. And boy they are so sweet and tender. I think for every 3 pods I pick, I will pop one in my mouth.

Not sure what to make of my raspberry bush. It was going full force the beginning of spring. I could almost taste the fresh berries in my mouth. But now were are in the end of June and they seemed to have just stopped ripening. I have no idea why this is. Unless perhaps the bush needs another year to mature as this is only it's first year producing anything.

I harvested my garlic the other day. And think I might have waited a bit too long to harvest. It's tough to tell when it's ready as I pulled one out a month ago and it was still on the small side. Now I pulled out this bunch and they seem on the edge of being "over ready". I'll have to do some research on the prime time to harvest it. I think next year I am going to increase my garlic growing so I can give some away to friends.

And finally at the last minute we joined a 2nd CSA called Vollemecke Orchards to get some fresh eggs.

As much as I want to raise chickens, it just would not be the best thing in our current home. So co-op eggs will have to do. While there we picked up fresh ground beef and fresh strawberries and yogurt made from fresh dairy. The yogurt is unbelievably rich and creamy, like a yummy dessert. It beats the pants off the store bought yogurts for sure.

Next post will be on the tomatoes and the introduction of a new vegetable to my garden, the asparagus.

It's still spring, right?

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:00:00 +0000

This has been a crazy roller coaster spring so far. Last weekend it was a in the high 80s and this weekend it's crazy windy in the 50s and going down to the 30s tonight. I don't know whether to pull out the shorts or the turtlenecks anymore. I don't know if this spring weather is any indication of how the summer is going to be. But, I'm being conservative with my planting so far. At any rate, the lettuce likes the cooler weather so I guess it's just a matter of knowing what plants tolerate what conditions.

Back in the end of March, I prepared my raised beds by mixing in my compost that I had started last season. I think it needed some more time, but I was eager to get it in the beds and call it my own.

This season, I am not going to be using a tiller in my beds, but rather laying my compost right on top and mixing it in a bit. I don't want to stir up what ever good stuff mother nature has going on in my raised beds (which are naturally nice and soft as they do not get walked on). Let the worms do their stuff and the fresh compost I lay down on them work their way into the soil just like in nature.

I waited a few weeks before starting anything directly in the beds. First to go in was several varieties of lettuce, spinach, arugula and parsley, which I planted in April. Here they are, as of this weekend.

I'm also quite happy with my raspberry bush that I planted last season and was too new to produce for me last year. However this year I am expecting some fruit. Look at all the blooms!

I also have planted parsley which is taking longer than then the lettuce to germinate, I do hope these plants produce for me as I have some hungry rabbits that looove their parsley :)

I planted several different varieties of bean/peas. Two weeks ago. I'm wondering if I planted them too soon?

Finally, I started my tomatoes and peppers inside and I am ready to move them out into the "greenhouse" that Mike made for me so they can get a bit more sun. (see Shed Renovations post for details on that).

I will be planting some other veggies as well, such as cucumbers, but those will have to wait until more consistent warmer weather before I put those seeds go into the ground.

For fruit, I joined North Star Orchards Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and am looking forward to getting local, in-season fruit this summer.

It should be an exciting growing season with many lessons learned right around the corner.

Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:43:00 +0000

I realize that it's a bit late to be posting about Earth Day, but I did indeed honor Earth Day by planting a tree. (See how well protected it is!)

My 7-year-old son brought home a Silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) seedling from school today and so we planted it in our back yard. It will grow 6-10 ft tall and grows at a fairly fast rate. It is a hearty tree/bush and will grow in wet or difficult sites, preferring moist, fertile soil and full to partial shade. Blue fruit is a favorite of birds.

I guess referring to Earth Day as God Day would stir up too much controversy huh? After all, isn't the beauty of the earth a gift from God?

Broad Street Run

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Philadelphia PA, Sunday May 2, 2010

Overall Time: 1:46:02

Goal Time: 1:45:00
See my actual numbers here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32009281

Pre-Race:
My pre-race training was inconsistent and with no real plan. I think I was ready
for the race in that I knew I could do the 10 miles, however, prior to joining a new great online resource and community called Marathon Nation, I didn't go into races with a goal of nothing more than to "finish". The Broad Street Run is a fast, flat point-to-point course down Broad Street in Philadelphia.

Beginning:
My plan was to try and finish the race in 1:45:00 which translates to 10:30/mile pace. Using the marathon pacing chart available on the Marathon Nation site, I adjusting the chart for a 10 mile race which broke my race down into miles 1-2 at 10:45/mile, 3-8 at 10:25/mile and miles 9-10 at 10:30/mile.

So starting my race at an intentional 10:45/mile pace was quite a smart thing as I was tending to want to go faster. Holding back at this pace worked well and I felt quite good for the first two miles. We were corralled based on projected finish times and start times were timed. The gun time was 8:30am but I didn't cross the start line until 8:55am due to the timed start.
It was difficult to stand there for 25+ minutes waiting to run. The weather was unseasonable warm but first two miles in it wasn't too bad and I felt like I had energy to "burn" after the first 2 miles.

Middle:
My mid race, which I'll call miles 3-8 were inconsistent and at times difficult (especially at mile 7) for a couple reasons. I found myself again trending faster than I should some miles but then struggling to keep pace other miles. This was a bit discouraging for me as this is a flat course and so I can't blame hills on my inconsistent pacing. I suppose my inconsistency is due to my newness to being aware of the concept of pacing in general?

Despite the heat, the race was very well supplied with extra water stations but the saving grace was the open fire hydrants every 1/2 mile or so. Running through that cool spray of water definitely kept me going for the 10 miles.

End:
Miles 9-10 were the most exciting. The spectators along the course were getting larger and more live music was playing. I was able to stay on pace for mile 9, but couldn't help to speed up the last mile and paced my last mile at 10:12. I figured though that this was OK as I was approaching the finish and it felt good to finish strong. I felt badly for three individuals that I saw 1/2 mile away from the finish line. They were down on the course and being treated by paramedics. The heat today was nothing to take lightly.
The finish was a bit bottlenecked and they fed us through a tented area to pick up a "Philly" pretzel ...blech (an ultra-refined hunk of salty dough is the LAST think I wanted after 10 miles) and our food bag. The banana and orange were a welcome site though.

Biggest challenge:
For me, my biggest challenge was to stay consistent in my pacing and also I'm questioning if my planned race time of 1:45:00 was a realistic time for me? Sometimes I found myself going too fast, while other times I'd glance down at my watch and see that I was way off pace running too slow. I think that since I'm so new to really being in tune with deliberate style and pacing that over time, I will get more consistent with practice.

Post Race:
I feel optimistic after today's race in that with a more focused weekly training plans I expect a significant improvement in my race times and overall strength as I work towards my main goal of completing the Philadelphia Marathon this November in 4:30:00

Shed Renovations

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:17:00 +0000

In the fall of last year, we had planned on doing some modifications to our shed and make it more of a "greenhouse" so I can start my seeds in it. Well, we never did get around to it in the fall, but we were able to add on to it over two weekends this spring. Here are some pictures of the project.

This is the shed before we started. It's an 8'x8' shed. However, the base footprint we had initially made was larger than the shed as we used to have a plant shelf there for bonsai. The shelf has since rotted and fallen apart so we had a nice place to add on. (an additional 2 -1/2 feet)

Getting ready to knock out the wall. Plan is to remove this window wall and move it out a couple feet and add more windows and a plexi glass roof for letting the sun in.

Base floor in and framed out the sides and the roof.

All together, 2 new windows and moved the original window to the side. Clear roofing.

Inside, with a nice work area for potting and starting seeds.

(See the tomatoes and peppers started?)

All ready for this growing season.

The cherry trees are in bloom

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:25:00 +0000

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Not to say that it hasn't been a busy spring. I am so happy to see the flowers coming up and the trees waking from their winter slumber. I love the spring as it means garden prep starts as well as the running season can start up for me too. My goal this year is to do the Philadelphia Marathon in November and to do it in 4:30 (fingers crossed)

Last weekend I ran my 2nd race of the season; the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington DC. My first race was two weeks prior doing the Kutztown Fools Run (another 10 mile race). That was a tough one as the hills were intense. However I am using the Cherry Blossom race as my pre-season lets-see-how-out-of-shape-I'm-in test. The weather was beautiful and even saw some cherry blossoms along the course. The only factor was my bio-needs. Pre-race bathroom access is always a challenge. There are never enough port-o-potties to go around. Needless to say the first 6 miles were a bit distracting for me. After trying to get in one at mile 2 and the line being too long to wait, I trudged on. Finally I found relief at mile 6. By this time I was at the back of the pack trying to stay ahead of the pace bus.

Finishing the race with an 11:40 pace is probably one of my worst times. Blame it on being ill-prepared. Lesson learned...get there early in plenty of time to get on that bathroom line.

I got some nice shots of the course though:

At the starting line..bright and early

Arlington National Cemetery

Over the bridge...Jefferson Memorial across the river

At mile 7 and see there are some cherry trees in bloom!

At the finish with one of my loyal fans

Run Janine, Run

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:43:00 +0000

For those reading this from Facebook, this is coming from my blog that you can subscribe to and if you want, get notifications when I post to it:

http://gardengeeked.blogspot.com/

So on October 25th, 2009 I ran my first marathon. For me this was a big deal as it is something that I've always wanted to do and after a failed year last season I was able to realize my goal this year. The experience was so amazing for me, and not just the race. The practice and training leading up to it was just as good as race day. Anyway, a friend of mine had asked me a bunch of questions about it the next day. So I wanted to post the questions and my responses here to share my experience with others. And for any of you who might be considering running one and wanted to know what it was like, perhaps my thoughts will help answer some questions you might have.

spetros wrote: What did you eat the day before?

Day before I was carb-ing up. For the week prior I was focusing on carbs that were lower in refined sugar / low in Glycemic Index (see this article: http://www.runningplanet.com/training/glycemic-index.html) So I was eating oatmeal, yogurts, apples etc....

The day before I had oatmeal with protein powder for breakfast, an egg sandwich for lunch, apples, protein bars, and dinner was my favorite, ravioli and meatballs & salad. :)

I have to say that the last few days before the race I was not myself. I was very antsy...I wasn't running and was eating all these carbs and my body was craving to run...isn't that weird? I was quite irritable because I wasn't able to get my runs in. The last thing I did was go for a long bike ride on Thursday just to stretch my legs and hips a bit. But it's not the same for me. I was pacing back and forth the night before because I had all this energy to burn literally -- a very weird feeling.

spetros wrote: were there stands you could run by to grab a snack or a drink?

There were water/poweraid stations about every 2 miles throughout the entire course. There were 3 food stations as well. I knew this ahead of time as the maps had this noted as well as the types of food stations and where they were. So the first food station had oranges at mile 9. There was a sea of orange peels on the ground for about 1/4 mile. It was all sticky too. The next food station was at mile 13 which had Clif Shots (power gel). First of all, I had my own supply of Clif Shots with me because I knew one would not be enough. Second, I was glad that I had because all they had left at mile 13 was Mocha flavor. I didn't want any caffeine as my heart races enough. I was walking up to the marines asking...what flavor do you have? I was a bit annoyed at this that they ran out of all the other flavors. (Vanilla, Chocolate and Raspberry). I prefer vanilla so I had my own that I carried with me. Thing is, you need to time when you are going to have them because you should drink water after having one. So I carried a little "cheat sheet" in my fuel belt with the exact water station locations. So I would know when to rip open a Shot and then have water. I made a point to have a few sips of poweraid and water at each station to keep me going, even if I didn't feel I needed it. The last thing you want to happen is to feel like you "need" a drink or "need" some energy, because by that time, it's too late and your body is going into start using your muscle store. If that happens, -- that's known as hitting the "Wall" and you DON'T want that to happen as your body and mind just takes over. Mile 20 is when this typically happens. As your fat stores will become spent after about 20 miles (as they can only hold a specified amount of energy) when they are depleted, it will start to burn muscle to get it's energy. That's why you have to think of yourself as this machine that needs sugar throughout. It will burn that sugar first before it goes to the reserves in your body and that's EXACTLY what you want when you are doing endurance running. Last food stop was at mile 19 which had Sport Beans. I didn't care much for them -- I grabbed a couple bags to give to the boys next time I saw them. So my rule of thumb was to have my first gel at 75 minutes in, then every 1hr thereafter. I have to say by the end I couldn't stand another gel. They were making me sick -- the consistency blech! At the finish line they provided the runners with a bag of food. Snack box of cheerios (the BEST box of cereal I've had in my life ;)). Banana, bagels, pretzels, granola bars, raisins, water, poweraid...a welcome site for me to have solid food after 5 hrs of having nothing but cake icing.

spetros wrote: How did you feel when you started?

I felt nervous, but excited and ready to RUN. The start line was a ZOO! They had you line up in corals based on your expected finish time, so faster runners up front, slower runner towards the back. I was in the 4:30 - 5:00 hr finish group. I had to wait about 15 minutes after the gun went off to even start moving. And then the first 1/4 mile was walking until it thinned out. One thing I learned not to do is do not talk to other runners about how they trained right before the start. It gets your mind start worrying about picking apart how you trained. And I was already doubting myself. Seriously, I didn't really know what to expect of myself. I was preparing myself for the reality of not finishing, but still encouraging myself...Janine...you can do this, run your run -- don't rush. Focus on your heart rate, keep it low or you'll burn out too fast. And enjoy the beautiful day presented to you.

spetros wrote: Did people blow by you or did you pretty much keep the pace?

Since we were grouped based on times, I was pretty much on par with the other runners around me. At times people pass you and you pass other people. But that didn't phase me at all. I've been training to run at a pace that I can hold a conversation with others, so I as able to talk to people while I was running. People were all very jazzed up, throwing around comments and making others laugh. Some people had on costumes, some people carried flags, some had pictures of loved ones on their clothes. Some had statements like "I'm running for my mom" or "In memory of my dad" etc. I saw two guys running in their bare feet!?! Nuts! Oh, and Mike and the boys saw a guy running in a Halo Master Chief costume. I couldn't imagine doing that.

spetros wrote: Did you notice any other interesting scenery?

Like the guys peeing off in the bushes? :) Seriously...for the first 4-5 miles there were tons of guys (and girls) peeing. No humility here! I admit that I did not have to relieve myself during the race, but if I had to, you bet I would have done my business. There were port-o-potties througout the course, but there was no way I was going to stop and wait on line to pee. If I had to pee, I would have just squatted right there. I brought some tissues with me just for that purpose. :) But aside from that, the MCM is coined as one of the most scenic of marathons because of where you are. We ran through Georgetown. (which was the first 8 miles was hilly) ugh! The best parts for me were running across the bridge of the tidal basin and seeing the Washington Monument to the left of me and the Jefferson memorial to the right of me. Clear, sparkling water, beautiful blue sky. It was awesome. The next cool part was running down the mall and in front of the WHite house. THere was a band playing and I felt proud to be there. THere were live band throughout the course which was awesome. It was so motivating. The fans were a trip too. They had such creative signs and were really encouraging you on. Having them there was key in being able to finish. THe presidential Helicopter kept flying by too which was very cool. Also, having marines cheer you on and they manned all the food and water stations. I was gracious to them when they gave me a drink.

spetros wrote: Did you have any kind of running buddy for a few miles?

No, not really. Small talk with a few, but I kept to myself. I wanted to be that way too. No distractions..run my run.

spetros wrote: Was there a time where you thought you wouldnt make it?

YES! Mile 22-24 It was right after going over the 14th street bridge (which we had to beat by a specified time because they were going to re-open traffic for the bridge -- if you missed the time, there was a bus there to pick you up...how much would that suck!?). Anyway, over the bridge and it dumped you into the "Crystal City" area and it was extremely crowded and windy and shady (because off all the buildings) and it just SUCKED. I didn't think I was gonna be able to finish it. There were too many things that were messing with my head. It was windy, I was cold, my hands were freezing (and swollen for some reason), I hated the street were were on, I was feeling all sorts of different pains in my legs. The crowds were too intense and in your face at that point. (There were some giving out shots of beer to the runners -- and some of the runners were taking them too!) I was getting very agetated and beginning to think I wasn't going to get past this part. So I put on my headset and zoned out and just said...run to that corner...ok, run to that tree...run to that truck...run to the top of this road...that's all I could do at that point. I have to say, I've never been in a situation like this where you put your body under so much stress that you sort of go into a survival mode. The only other time that was anywhere close to feeling this was was when I gave birth to the boys. THing was...I couldn't stop running. If i did, I knew I wouldn't be able to start again. So I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

spetros wrote: Was there a point where you knew you _were_ going to make it?

There were two points. One was at mile 19. I was so scared of how I was going to feel at 18 miles because I hadn't run further than that during my training. And the surroundings at mile 19 pushed me through. I was by the Smithsonian, there was good music. The spectators were awesome at that spot and because I broke through that 18mile mental block and was still moving I regained a boost of confidence. Then I saw Mike and the boys at mile 20 and that also enspired me to keep on...Mike said...only 6 more miles to go! I was stoked and I felt like a machine...just keep on running. After my 22-24 mile troubles. The last 2 miles were the longest 2 miles of my life. It was on the highway right by the pentagon and the last 1/4 mile had a hill in it. :( But the fans were so encouraging there too (oh, and the marines had major crowd control at the last couple miles at the finish which I was soooo grateful for) Not too many, not too little, but they were awesome and encouraging. WHen I saw those Finish Line Arches, I just started crying! My heart swelled with emotion and I just the tears came down. I couldn't' believe that I was at the end and that I had done it! So many months and years of desire and training...so many miles of running. and I was at my goal! It was an amazing feeling. Once we crossed the line, we lined up to receive our medals and being awarded a metal by a marine made me feel so proud and thankful. THen we got mylar blankets to keep us from cooling off too fast. Got our food bag and got pictures taken. I just lay on the ground thankful for being off my feet. Just laid there for a bit feeling the warm sun. Unfortunately, Mike and the boys didnt' see me finish because as I said they were controlling the number of people at the finish. So I wandered out of the finish section and started to look for Mike. It was an absolute zoo! They have a family reunion area, but I was able to find Mike anyway because he had made a big lime green flag. So that was awesome througout the race because I was able to pin-point him pretty darn easily throughout as no one else had a lime green flag with bunnies drawn on it. :)

spetros wrote: How do you wind down after a marathon?

Well, it took a long time to get back to the hotel because of the crowds. Had to wait on line for 1hr to get on the metro. That really sucked. I was pretty cold and Mike had some clothes for me to put on to keep me warm until we got back to teh hotel. When we got back to the hotel. LONG HOT shower and Mike gave me a massage (we brought our massage table). Then we had to checkout. So we went to dinner and I had chicken and pasta. The 2-1/2 hr drive home sucked because I was so sore having to sit still for the drive home. As for now, I'm just taking it easy. I need to walk a bit to keep the circulation moving in my legs. I took the day off work yesterday because I didn't want to have to sit at my desk all day. I went to my sports trainer/therapist yesterday for another massage. I probably won't do any running for the next couple weeks. But I will probably go to yoga later in the week to stretch a bit. I would also love to go for a swim right now.

Sorry for the dissertation. If you got this far in reading it, I appreciate it. :) This was a significant experience for me in my life. Many people run and complete marathons and it means different things for different people. This was a unique and major accomplishment for me. I'm a physical and active person by nature and if I'm not moving, it really affects me. Running a marathon is something I've dreamed of doing for many years and I was finally able to do it. I'm proud of myself and I'm living on a high now :)

Making the gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:38:00 +0000

So although this was back in August, I wanted to share my prize here. My reason for getting into gardening so much was my love for fresh garden tomatoes! After all who can argue that the taste of a fresh tomato doesn't compare to those flavorless red spheres you purchase at the grocery store that are called a tomato.

Anyway, I planted 6 or 8 (can't remember) different varieties of tomato plants this past growing season. I found that the bigger ones produce the best sauce. Next season I'm going to have to keep track of the different varieties -- my bad. I like the Rome tomatoes for salads, I like the bigger ones for sandwiches and for sauce making.

My yield was about 20 jars of sauce (or as Italians say .. "gravy") this season. Not bad for starting out poorly with the blight and blossom end rot I dealt with.

Making my sauce is a long process. I try to break it up in phases so as not to get too harried by it. After all...it's supposed to be relaxing, right?

I collect and collect and collect tomatoes. Once I have a good amount:

I start to produce the gravy. I get a large sauce pot and first sauté garlic and onions in olive oil. While that is sautéing, I start to chop up the tomatoes. I keep them in largish chunks seeds, skin and all and proceed to toss them in the pot. Once the pot is pretty full I'll add some fresh basil and oregano -- a good bit too. Ground pepper, and salt and stir. I cover the lid and let it simmer for a good bit. After a while the tomatoes will break down and start to look "saucy". Depending on the consistency I'll throw in a can of tomoato paste. But the one thing I love about fresh sauce is how light it is! This is something that I especially appreciate in the middle of winter. Popping open a jar of fresh tomato sauce in February brings back memories of the warm summer and me tending to my lovely tomatoes and working in my garden. Anyway, I'll add tomatoe paste, and some red wine...and maybe sprinkle in a bit of sugar. Then I'll just let it simmer. After a while, I'll turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit before proceeding to the next phase of sauce making.

Phase two is the pureeing of the sauce. Once the sauce cools down a bit, I will blend up what's in the pot. This is a messy and bit of a pain as you're producing lots of dirty pots. Bit by bit I'll take cup fulls of my sauce and put it in the blender and blend it up so it's a sauce consistency. Again, I just do seeds, skin and all. Once this is all done I start the canning proccess.

While I was doing the blending, I have a large canning pot on the stove heating up to a rapid boil. I then put my sauce into canning jars and in each jar I put 2 TBSP of lemon juice. I seal up the jars and then transfer them into the pot of boiling water. Let them boil for about 45 minutes. From there I turn off the water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes I then take them out of the pot and as they cool you can hear them seal shut...air tight! Once they cool down I check to make all the seals of the jars are securely on. I date them and volia! homemade garden tomato sauce.

In our house...these jars are like liquid gold. I always remind myself while I'm laboring through the process how much our family appreciates it in winter.

Soy good!

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:23:00 +0000

Well it's been a while since my last post, but that's not to say that there has not been activity in the garden this past month.

Soy beans were a nice surprise for me this year. This is the first time I planted them and one plant was all I needed. It was difficult to determine when the beans were ready for harvesting. They tend to be on the firm side and not like your typical bean. Some were plump, some weren't. And unlike a green beans, that have a shorter harvest time, soy beans seem to need more time to ripen. Perhaps this is completely off base, but I waited until most of them caught up with other more mature looking ones. If the leaves start to brown, then you know you better start harvesting them. Anyway, I did three harvests on one plant and got a good yield for two adults. I had to use a clipper to harvest them as they are very brittle and if you try to pull them off, the entire vine will break.

After harvesting them I par-boiled them. And ran them under cold water. Once they cooled I peeled them. One thing I learned is that the beans have a thin layer of (skin?) (film?) around them and although it was more work peeling them, it was worth it, as that skin is very chewy. Fresh soy beans are so delicious! Crisp and sweet. What a pleasant treat to pop in your mouth or put over a salad. One thing though, if you do get some over-ripe ones they tend to have a lima bean consistency, so you do have to watch out for that. Other than that though, I am definitely going to do soy beans again next year.

Next postings will be on the woes of my melons, tomato canning lesson 101, and turning the poo!

Tomato Blight?

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Well if it's not one thing, it's another. Tending a garden is like having another child. And how frustrating it is when you see all the effort and time you devoted to your garden turns up some "problem children". What's even worse, when one plant has the blight, it spreads...and spreads fast. So what causes it? How do you treat it? How do you prevent it? Well, I am no garden expert. Like everything else, be it learning an instrument or learning how to write a web-based application it takes experience and time and going through the pains of making mistakes. :) So this is what I know thus far about the nasty tomato blight.

First, there are two types of blight. Early Blight and Late Blight. Phytophthora infestans (aka "Late Blight"). It is not a bacteria or a virus, but rather are a "fungus" caused by infectious spores from standing water that is stagnant on the plants. Early Blight, is caused by a different fungus and occurs in more arid regions. Regardless, the outcome is the same, leaf and stem legions and fruit rot. Blight can occur at any time. I think that what we are seeing here is a Late Blight. Temperature, humidity, and rainfall are the players in this disease. Additionally, blights can spread to other plants from wind blown rain and running ground water. Blight needs a living organism to survive. So keep this in mind for our mild winters and potential un-rotted organic material in the soil. This combination can facilitate another blight outbreak for the next growing season.

So how do we prevent this problem? I've read a variety of suggestions and will list them here.

Don't plant tomatoes in the same location next year. (I've read keep them away from the soil for 4 seasons)
Use a drip irrigation vs hose watering to reduce splash on leaves.
Raised beds and well spaced so they are not touching
Remove any leaves or stems that are showing the blight
Apply a fungicide

Anyway, these are all lessons learned for me. Hopefully this information will benefit those other garden aficionados that read this. If anyone has other insightful information on tomato blight, please share!

Blossom-end rot

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:45:00 +0000

OK...so my technique of pruning my tomato plants have been favorable as I have quite a lot of fruit coming in. The problem is, as they started to ripen, many of them became rotten on the bottom. This happened to me last year too, for the first batch, but then it got better. In talking with the Gardner and describing these symptoms to him, he suggested Blossom-End Rot. So I google it and indeed there it is! So reasons for this are as follows:

Shortage in calcium in the soil
Improper watering
Too much nitrogen in the soil.
One year I saved egg shells and then I put them in the soil around my tomatoes. Think I'll need to to that next year to help with the calcium. As for watering, could have been due to the heavy rains we had in the spring. But for dryness, I suppose mulching around the plants would keep the soil moist. Next year though, I'm going to put in a drip system.

In other news, peas have been harvested and I planted a new batch for the fall. I also planted lettuce for the fall as well.

And I'll NEVER do pumpkins again. At least not in my small garden plot. They over-took the rest of my ground fruits and then turned around and rotted. (hmmm...maybe they rotted because of the same reason my tomatoes got end rot.)

Cramping my style

noreply@blogger.com (Janine) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:20:00 +0000

gosh, I was supposed to post this a few weeks back but got side-tracked (surprise-surprise). Now that I am vacationing at my sister-in-laws in FL, I have PLENTY of time to do other things...anyway, like I said, the remainder of this post is a bit dated. When I get back from FL, I'll have to update with new garden states.

I am hoping to pick-up some cuttings from my sister-in-laws garden. She too is a garden aficionado so we have endless conversations about everything earthy. She has no veggies, difficult to grow in such a sandy location, but she's got tons of flowers to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

I am planning on bringing back a lemon and lime tree.

Anyway...on to the older stuff:

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Well, the ground vegetables are growing like crazy. Especially the pumpkin. Mind you, I only put one pumpkin seed in the ground and it totally blows me away what it transforms into. I can't help but think about how this is all a part of God's gift to us. To create life from a seed or an egg or similar. Give it the proper ingredients and it grows. I think next year though I'll introduce a soaker system in place. I do enjoy watering but sometimes if I can't get to it, it causes me angst. I don't know if it's OK or not to cut back some of the leaves on the ground vegetables such as the zucchini, and pumpkin. The are snuffing out the cantaloup and the watermelon, so i cut some leaves off to allow them have some air. (Pictures below).

My tomato pruning is really producing some impressive amount of flowers. I don't know if it's just the pruning or the pruning in combination of having raised beds this year, but I'm quite pleased with how everything is turing out. I will of course do some adjusting for next season, such as use a different variety of marigold, re-arrange the placement of the ground fruits as well as the peas.

My backyard gets great sun, but I would really prefer a wider lot as opposed to a narrow lot. I can only access my garden form one side and it prevents me from really maintaining the back of it. Oh well...these are all future things to consider when/if we ever move into a different house.

Pumpkins starting! I've got so many...(wish I'd see this many watermelon)

Raspberry bush...I don't expect any berries for a few years. (Probably by the time we move out of this place they will be ready..sheesh)

Peas!

Peppers are happy.

I had to cut back some of the pumpkin leaves so the watermelon could have some breathing room. I hope that cutting back ground leaves doesn't effect their fruit.

The battle for space between zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, cantaloupe & watermelon. Everything looked so small a few weeks back.

Tomatoes

Peas, peppers and see the soy bean bush on the right side? I wonder if there will be any beans when I get back?