Check out this site: Blossom Swap

I found a cool social network for gardening. The people are all very nice. While I am still pretty new to it, this site connects you to other gardeners and promotes swapping seeds. You create a list of seeds you have and seeds you need. You can swap or sometimes even get seeds free as long as you send a SASE. VERY COOL!!! Check it out for yourself: Blossom Swap
Happy Sharing!

It's that time of year!

Spring is just around the corner, which means that it is time to start the seedlings indoor. Many plants require 6-8 weeks indoor. I live in Zone 6 but on the edge of Zone 5, wo we typically plant mid-to-late May, which leaves me plenty of time. Seeing pictures like this one from our harvest last year makes me VERY excited for this year!

My Burpee catalog has had me daydreaming about what to plant in my garden this year. I recently placed an order to add something new. I got some great cherry tomatoes called Honeybunch and some Zucchini called Sure thing. Also, got some flowers to to make a cutting garden. I am going to try and use my seeds from last year too!

SOMETHING NEW! My brother is interested in growing watermelons this year and while I was looking through the message boards, I saw a great post on Watermelons: "Bury it about one inch down, in mounds. and keep wet until germination.( needs to be70 degrees or warmer to sprout.)they spread over a wide space, so make sure you do it somewhere sunny, away from other plants. You might need some lime to keep from getting blossom end rot if your soil is low ph.(acid). you could put some composted manure mixed with a little sand and use that as fertilizer. I have had watermelon for 3 years now, and the last 2 I have not had to plant seeds. (i used charleston grey heirloom seeds.)I live in georgia, and you can literally spit them out of your mouth when eating them and they will grow. Very easy to grow."

I found the seeds referenced above 40 seeds for $1.99. GREAT DEAL!


I didn't have a huge problem last year with end rot...but thinking of putting some lime in the soil if the calcium looks low. I have also seen some gardeners recommend crushed egg shells...and that won't cost me anything:)

Happy Planting!!!

Banana Pepper Anyone?

We have some in stock!

Tomatoes Tomatoes Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes are growing everywhere. Take a look. Anyone know when they will turn red??

Yours Truly,

Kat

OMG the watermelon is growing!

I started the watermelon from seed as the seedlings roots systems were to fragile. I won't start those indoor next year. The same goes for peas. Anyway, it didn't take long for the watermelon to sprout, but the plant has been touch and go for a while. Honestly, I wasn't worried about it and thought if it grows great if not I am okay with that. On my morning walk out to the garden, I noticed the watermelon vine found it's way through the chicken wire and 'out' of the raised bed. THEN to my surprise I noticed a small watermelon. As you can see in the pic, it is too darn gone cute!!!! I took this picture a couple weeks ago and now the size is comparable to a large plum. My girls are very excited and LOVE watermelon. I hope to have more than one so mommy can make sangria with it, which was introduced to me on a recent trip to Washington DC. YUMMY!

Yours truly,

Kat

Harvesting the Veggies!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. I started a new job and had to take a few months off of posting, BUT not gardening. Here is the update. I transplanted the seedlings a little late around June 6th. While they looked small in our raised beds, it didn't take long for them to shoot up bigger and stronger than ever. I really noticed a significant difference at week 3 in the ground. I followed a suggested method of planting the tomato plants on their side and gently curving the top to grow straight up. Roots form on the buried stems and help the stems grow stronger and thicker. Of the seedlings we planted: watermelon, broccoli, tomato, green beans, peas, peppers, squash and carrots, the first to bear 'fruit' was the squash. This is a great pick for first time growers. I averaged about 3-4 squash from two plants a week. Up until this week at least. Not sure if I will get anymore or not. Check back to see. The tomatoes are EVERYWHERE, but they are not turning red. We have had tomatoes on there for weeks, but still waiting to pick them. The green beans did get planted until a couple weeks before the 4th of July so we are being patient with those. Last week the broccoli started to form the florets and if I can keep the worms off the leaves, we might actually get to eat it. Here are some picks and promise to keep everyone in the loop more frequently as we end out the summer.

Enjoy the pic above of our 2 squash plants!!!

Spring is here and the beds are almost done!

Zach has started to make the cedar raised beds for the vegetable garden. He did an awesome job!!! Now, we need to level the ground and get the soil. It won't be long before we can plant:)

Here are some other pics of the flower beds.

To Seeds, Soil, and Hope!

Yours Truly,

Kat