Garden Happenings - March 12

Starting this week and going until mid to late summer I will post biweekly about our garden. Last year I sort of mentioned our garden and I even took a couple photos but that is where it ended as far as the blog was concerned. I contemplated not having a garden this year but then there was all the talk of the increase of vegetable prices, so I figured it would be for the best if I gave it a go.

I know what you are thinking. . . .it is MARCH!!! What do you mean your garden?! Well. . . now (actually February in some instances) is when you should start thinking about your garden. It is the time for starting some seeds indoors and planning the layout.

Last year that is exactly what I was doing. This year, I am not so sure. The whole seed starting thing didn't end so well for me. They all started beautifully but then it went south about four weeks in. Four weeks in is about three weeks from being finished so that was a little discouraging. Luckily a local greenhouse had great prices on plants I could transplant into my garden. Those plants did great. (My sister always starts many plants from seed and they all work out just fine so use her as an inspiration if you need one. I can give you more to go on for that inspiration if needed.)

If you went and looked at the My Square Foot Garden website

when I posted about it last year you could have been receiving the helpful emails like I have. I would have not had a thought one way or the other about my garden yet, but that first email got my mind a workin'. I have started my garden plan and have been thinking back to what grew and what didn't.

I most assuredly will NOT be growing any squash. This makes me sad as we love squash. But I have had my fill of those damn squash bugs. They are SO disgusting. Fist off they are hideous looking but to make matters worse, when they feel threatened they emit a stench too. It was too much for me last year. I did my best for awhile and would try to brush the eggs off but then they would squish and it would gross me out so I started ripping that part of the leaf off (real healthy for the leaf/plant....not so much). And killing the adults was a whole other matter. Ick. So, I will not be growing anything they like in the hopes that next year maybe I can grow some squash without having them along for the ride. In case you forgot how hideous they are. . .

I have been using square foot gardening for several years and I love it. I highly recommend you give it a try if you are interested in having a garden. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

Like a Virgin. . .

Margarita that is (what were you thinking?). The other night for "dessert" I made Blended Virgin Margaritas. Once I had it blended I poured some in a glass for PE then added some mango to the rest for Moo and I. PE decided to make a big boy margarita by adding a little tequila to his. We used the Lime Margarita Mix so it took two mangoes before I could even taste it. Last time we made these we added strawberries and that was quite delicious. In the future if we are going to make virgin margaritas I think we will purchase the Strawberry Margarita Mix TOO. I say too because PE only enjoys the lime version and I think the kids would like the sweet flavor of the strawberry mix better. I am not going to post a recipe for the margaritas as you simply throw some ice in the blender pour in the margarita mix then blend. More ice or mix can be added to get the desired consistency.

As to not disappoint I will post a recipe for Creamed Peas and New Potatoes. This was a favorite meal of PE's growing up so I felt a little pressure trying to find a good recipe. I knew the foundation was a simple butter, flour, milk combination; however, I struggle with seasonings and quantities especially the first time I make a meal. I succeeded the first time around producing a meal that rivaled what PE remembered and he said it was equally good the second time.

The peas and potatoes came fresh from our garden but frozen peas could be used in place of those delectable little gems from the garden. The first time we ate this I served it over toast and the second time I served it over leftover hamburger buns that I buttered then broiled in the oven until golden brown.

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Creamed Peas & New Potatoes
from RecipeTips.com
Print Recipe

1 lb small new potatoes
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen shelled peas
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup milk

Peel potatoes and cut larger potatoes in half. Skins can be left on, if desired. Place in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 10 minutes. Do not overcook. When the potatoes are done, drain the water off and set them aside. Boil the peas and drain them when finished cooking. Set aside with the potatoes. In a saucepan, add the onion and butter. Cook until the onion is tender, but hasn't browned yet. Add flour, salt, and pepper. Stir until mixed and then add in all the milk and stir into flour mixture until all ingredients are well blended. Continue to stir and cook until the mixture has thickened and begins to bubble. Cook for 1 more minute. Add the potatoes and peas to the cream sauce. Stir until well distributed and thoroughly heated. Season to taste and serve while hot. Serve over toast.

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Sparky's Adventures in Agriculture - The Garden & Flower Beds

The garden is coming along. PE ended up making me three 1x1x1 boxes for potatoes which he promptly put some sprouting potatoes in and two 1x1x1 boxes for carrots. The potatoes have several sprouts showing up. I planted peas last month after we got the beds in and most of them have sprouted. I planted the first batch of two kinds of lettuce three weeks ago. I transplanted onions two weeks ago but I am reserving judgment on how that is going for a few more weeks. I also planted spinach and carrots two weeks ago. This week I planted soybeans, corn, and pole beans. I also transplanted my rosemary. Bob was excited for the planting and has his own sunflower, watermelon, and pumpkin that are all growing wonderfully. The watermelon and pumpkin will soon outgrow their current pots and luckily can go outside in a couple weeks.

Another addition to the "landscape" are a bunch of perennials from Jabba. She offered to give me starts (or whatever you get when you split plants that are getting too big for their area) from most of her plants as she cleaned out her flower beds this spring. So. . .for Mother's Day I told PE all I wanted was for him to get the beds in the front of the house cleaned out and filled with dirt. Presto chango . . . a few hours of him working in the yard and they were ready. A few hours after that Jabba and I were digging up plants and moving them to my yard.

I can't remember everything she gave me but the ones I do remember are Echinacea, Daylilies (peach), Black-Eyed Susan, Canterbury Bells (purple and pink), Shasta Daisies, and Iris (she actually gave these to me two years ago and they sat for a year in a bag in my back yard and were planted last year).

Now here is the part where I praise Jabba and her green thumb. That thing is brilliant. Her yard is always so gorgeous. I think after the addition of her last flower bed her yard is 1/3 flower beds if not more. (She would rather have flower beds than grass but she understands that would be no fun for her kids.) I really don't think she has ever met a plant she couldn't grow both outdoors and in.

The Beds are Ready

PE and I spent yesterday getting our garden beds ready. First we had to go purchase vermiculite and peat moss. If you are interested in making this soil mix I have two words for you: Shop/Call Around. The vermiculite was around $25 at the first place we stopped and then I phoned the place we purchased from a couple years ago (remembering it was the least expensive at the time) and it was around $17 there. We purchased the three bags at the second place for the cost two bags would have been at the first place (exact same brand). The peat moss was also less expensive so we saved a decent amount by shopping around. PE wanted a fertilizer spreader and we saved $10 on that as well. Then we had a kind friend, Handsome Rob (A1's husband), who let us have the rest of the compost he had at his house. Had we purchased the truck load full from the city environmental department it would have cost between $20 to $30. So we had a good cost saving day.

PE and I mixed the Mel's Mix in three batches using a tarp. (My Square Foot Garden has detailed information on creating the mix.) We filled three 4x4x.5, one 3x3x.5, one 2x4x.5, three 1x1x.5, and three 1x1x1 beds. The 1x1x1 beds are for potatoes. I am trying get PE to make me two or three more 1x1x1 for carrots but his circular saw sucks and he is sick of it for the day. I don't have the seeds yet anyway so it isn't a big deal. We have some remaining Mel's Mix and compost I am sure we will find some uses for.

Moo and I also pulled weeds from flower beds and pulled out the dead foliage. I know a lot of people cut back the plants in the fall; however, I read that it helps protect the plant to leave the dead on during the winter. (Also, I was lazy last fall.)

Today PE fertilized the lawn and I planted peas. We have been working on cleaning up in the back yard and we are going to get the trampoline set up for the kids. Who knows what else he will think of for us to do. I guess I better get going to help him outside (boy that was a short break).

Sparky's Adventures in Agriculture - The Garden

I have opted to use square foot gardening for the majority of my garden. I started four years ago using the book below as a reference.

That year (year one) we had a decent garden. The soil mix used was fabulous! No weeds, and the plants grew with not a ton of help on our part some days. The next year (year two) I traveled for work for most of the summer so I didn't even plant a garden. Last year (year three) we used some of the mixture that had been sitting for a couple years and so we had problems with weeds. Then to top it off we had squash bugs (they are SO gross looking)

Told you! The squash bugs ruined the pumpkin plant and a couple squash plants (as the name would indicate) so it was a little less successful than I would have liked but we did get a good amount of yellow and green zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, and lemon cucumbers.

Moving on to this year. . .First I found the My Square Foot Garden website

that has tons of helpful information. I found the zone I am in and I now receive weekly emails regarding what I should plant (or should have planted). It has been a great resource.

Second (remember first is above) I am starting most if not all items from seeds. I made an Excel workbook that includes a worksheet with the seed information, a worksheet of the seed placement in my starting flats, and a garden plan. I used the companion planting file provided on the My Square Foot Garden site. I am a tad behind because I haven't purchased the ingredients for the soil mixture. Normally once you make the mix you will not need to make it again, you just need to add compost to it each year. Over the last couple years we moved the beds and combined the mix with top soil and now it just isn't a good mix. So we are starting fresh this year and we will maintain it better so we don't have to worry about weeds or purchasing the soil mix ingredients again.

I haven't started the outdoor part of gardening yet as I have yet to get the items for the mix. I wanted to get this up so if anyone out there is interested in getting a garden started this year they could see that it isn't too late. The steps on the My Square Foot Garden website are easy to follow and you can sign up to receive an email each week for your specific zone.

I will post again in the next week or so with a list of the seeds I have started. (I know, I know, exciting stuff. I am sure you will all be waiting with bated breath.)