Ready or Not....

It's time to plant!  If you live in Virginia Beach anyways :)

My "oil pan carry-all" is ready for another season, it's my favorite thing for carrying planting gear as well as harvesting.  I even had some leftover innoculant from my soybeans last year so the peas got the royal treatment :)

Uhhhh, yeah... this was definitely not in the budget, but how can I pass up a good deal?  Paid 5 bucks for the whole lot of the pansies below.  Every year I wait until the big box stores have flats that are droopy or need deadheading, they mark them way down since they won't do those things and they don't sell when they look that way.  They were just getting too large for their cell packs and needed water but not too bad off, as they perked right up in the rain we had in the yard yesterday.  Need to plant them asap, but what a deal!

This morning at 7:30 a.m. - look at that temp -  the kids wore shorts to school!

Every year at pea planting time I get to use one of my favorite tools...why on earth did it take me so long to splurge on this thing?  It saves way more than the $25 I spent on it in backache and ibuprofen costs.  Now if only it had a reverse, right?  This ADD gardener has to move posts often so I definitely need reverse.  

I even organized all my stakes and random sharp objects that were strewn about still since last fall.

I also created a "special pile" of all my broken stakes and pole bits... 

Do you do this too?  I've got sections of poles that are only 8 inches long in there but I can bear to get rid of any stake-like object LOL!  At least the small ones are separate now so I won't get so frustrated every time I try to dig a long stake out of the pile and "come up short"!

Check out the temp as I came back in the house at 12:30 pm... crazy stuff!

Now for the details on today's plantings - 

(* new to the garden this year)

Sugar Snap Peas - old seed 

Green Arrow Shelling Peas - Southern Exposure

White Onions - local feed store unknown variety

Evergreen Bunching Onions - FEDCO (old seed)

*Deep Purple Bunching Onions - Southern Exposure

*Tokyo Cross Turnips - 35 day variety

*Purple Top White Globe Turnips - Southern Exposure

Swiss Chard - old 2009 seed "just to see"

Olympia Spinach - FEDCO  

Mesclun - old 2008 seed 

Mizuna Greens - Baker Creek

Tango Lettuce -  Sustainable Seed Co.

Bronze Mignonette Lettuce - Baker Creek 

Red Salad Bowl Lettuce - Southern Exposure

Mache/Corn Salad - Sustainable Seed Co.

I had a lot of seed still from past years that I used, but most of my new seed for 2012 came from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange based right here in Virginia.  Part of the reason is that my beloved Baker Creek Catalog appeared too late so they missed the boat with me this year.  Yes, I know I could have looked at the online catalog but it's garden planning in winter - hey I'm loyal to whoever sends me the garden porn to look through on a bleak winter day!  I'm funny like that - I've been ordering from them for years so I expect that my catalog will arrive in a timely manner so if it doesn't so sorry - better luck next year!  Southern Exposure wasn't a hard decision for me though because they are our "local" seed company, organic, non-GMO, heirloom and all that stuff I want plus have varieties that have proven performance and historical significance right here in the Mid-Atlantic (remember how much older my state is than everyone else, that's neat stuff!), so it was a no-brainer.  I still randomly get seed from a few other places of course, but they got the bulk of my order for 2012.

I'm such a nerd...

Drawing and redrawing plans and dreaming while other moms are out shopping or whatever it is that the hip moms do LOL!

I'm actually just having fun with the kids' art supplies because I wanted to plant my peas today but it's lightning, thunder and pouring rain!!!  Boo, hiss....

At least now I have everything ready and staged: onions, seeds, peas are soaking, fresh pair of garden gloves laundered... tomorrow should be a "go"!  I'm actually late this year, most years I plant peas last week, so I should be safe from Mother Nature's weirdness :)

Birthdays and Busy-ness!

After this post today you can call me the Queen of Rambling...this one is all over the place!

I keep wanting to post about my seedlings, you know - what has sprouted, the varieties that I planted, etc. but I have all these random photos from the past few days lurking on my computer desktop.  Since I want my seed variety post to be "clean" so to speak, for my future garden reference all this other stuff is getting lumped together - this is not an indication of any less importance of course, because....

...yesterday was Loch's birthday!  My little "Miracle of Modern Medicine" baby turned 9 years old!

Can you believe I don't have any special post or photo montage this year for him?  Bad mommy...

oh, alright... maybe a quick one -

he hated the hat, hated balloons, hated my cake... I'm not much for cake baking :)

But below is probably one of the "baddest" mommy moments...

oh yes, that's a tire-sized bag of Dunkin' Donuts for his class, bad, bad mommy...

I was so busy yesterday between baking him a real cake for home, Garden Club shuttling, Swim Team, and having to be "out of the house" for a realtor showing it I just didn't have time to make anything for his class.  Shame, shame... I actually was pretty mortified carrying this thing into school, especially since I've never even been to a Dunkin' Donuts until then LOL.  To be fair though, Loch thought it was fantastic since "all the other moms" do the donut thing.  It's never even occurred to me until he said something!  Forgive me O Gardeners and Healthy Eating People - this will not happen again, I promise.

I did see some cool stuff at his school yesterday, look at this art project one of the students made, imprisoned by money - genius!!!  I love the guy holding the sign "help!".

Loch's Garden Club got some new t-shirts yesterday donated by one of the parents, pretty cool design!

Quote on the back...

A photo of Loch's Garden Club board, it's right inside the school's front door and has lots of info for other students to pick up and take home, hopefully the other students and parents stop and get thinking!

So proud of him, they were starting seeds and planning out their spring plantings when I picked him up.  

This past weekend it was time for maintenance on my Subaru, luckily I only needed regular maintenance, and she rolled over 50K miles last week.  Not too shabby for having her since 2007, if you include a few 2400 mile Minnesota round trips she has done, that's hardly any miles I drive here at home!

Seriously... he polished the insides of my rims before putting the wheel covers back on and rotating my tires LOL...

Today it's a bit chilly so I spent all day getting some household paperwork done and bills paid, exciting stuff.  I was able to make a library trip earlier today, sense a theme here?

I don't know about you, but it's hard to have a financially induced meltdown if you occasionally take a break to look at bug houses LOL!

Seed post to come soon!

The weeds have taken over...

Before we get to the weeds, check out this forecast!  Crazy weather for sure.

Got the lights and heat mat hooked up, making do with these 4 foot lights is pretty ridiculous looking, but after a trip to the local big box stores, (all of 'em), I am realizing that 24" shop lights are a myth.  I have one from a long time ago but it's a "grow light" and I've been doing this too long to fall for that one again!

Okay, here's the weeds - prepare yourself, it's bad out there!

Sorry, the video is sideways :)

I had a constant companion in a robin that stayed near me the whole time, sifting through the dirt clods I was flinging to the side!

Here's the before & after shots...

Before

After

Too bad this is only about 1% of the work that needs to be done out there.  The skies are already dark now and we have severe thunderstorm warnings and a tornado watch in effect already, looks like my fun is over out there for the day.

Monsanto Seed Varieties...

Just a quick post, some of you may have seen this list, it is a list of seeds that are owned by Monsanto/Seminis, don't purchase or grow these!  


The list is most likely not complete so we are always responsible for doing our own research.   I know that most of us only give business to reputable Seed Companies, but beginning gardeners are always in need of this info - find a Safe Seed Pledge seed company and go with their varieties if you are unsure.  I personally will not do business with any company that sells both varieties as you cannot tell where their loyalties are.  (or maybe you can... $$$ !)


Forewarned is Forearmed: Veggies Owned by Monsanto


*Of note here is the Marketmore 76 Cucumber - Monsanto does NOT have complete control of this one, this is a very old variety, so as long as yours were sourced from a Safe Seed Pledge/non-GMO etc trusted company, you are ok!


The list also appears to be lengthening as we speak, "Cheddar" Broccoli has also made this list.


Happy Seed Planting :)

Eeenie meenie miney moe...

I wasted over an hour this morning trying to decide what to do today.  On one hand, seeds are IN, they need to be started.  On the other hand, it's 73º outside and I'm dying to get out there and get started on the spring cleanup!

What I should have been doing...

Definitely no show stopping garden photos here, look at this mess!  Above, I have about 15 stands of this fountain grass that needs to be cut down, as the new stuff is already growing at the base!  Below, you think I might be slacking in pruning my mums???  The base is already a couple inches of new green foliage!  Blech...

What I decided to do instead...





The seeds are all in!





 I'm gonna need a bigger boat!  I think the binder has reached its limit.

After spending some time gathering all my supplies and cutting old miniblind slats for this year's labels, I was ready to get started.  I ended up with 3 flats.  Every year I do a spectacular job of "forgetting" that those little flats of 72 plants each morph into larger pots :)  Yeah- don't you laugh, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!  I'll do a separate post soon detailing what was started and what will be new for us this year.

Here's the result, looking all neat and orderly for the time being.  I didn't have it in me to battle the attic so hubby will have to get my heat mat and lights down later this evening so I can string cords and chains all over the place and transform this area into a complete mess.

The only part of the garden outside that's not a mess...

Lettuce!

I desperately need more though, this is it right now.  I am waiting on a nice day where hubby is off work so we can go get a couple of trailer loads of amendments for the beds.  Not only do they need topping off, but they need some good compost this year as well.  Can't plant my peas either until this happens, so we may have a very busy weekend if it doesn't rain!

If it does rain this weekend, I promise I am going to update my blog look!  I see my header still states that I am cleaning up fall canning supplies, and looking forward to ALL THAT QUILTING I was going to do!

Now on to the really important stuff... who can tell me where to get the special goggles I obviously am supposed to be wearing as I attempt to comment on your blogs and make it through the "word verification" battle?  Holy cows what is THAT all about?!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had a very productive weekend, in spite of terrible weather.  We had a mini-nor'easter come through Saturday through today and it brought lots of miserable wind, cold temps and rain with just a bit of sleet last night.  Good thing I hadn't started any seeds outside!

Still waiting on seeds to arrive, should be today I think, so nothing to post plant-wise until they show up.  We did however, have a good ol' redneck weekend.

The older Subaru has been curbside for the past 6-8 months.  Mostly because it wasn't a priority since hubby rides his bike to work every day, rain or shine.  It didn't need much, just for him to put some belts on, reattach a fan and fluids and working on an exhaust leak.  And fuel... LOL it hasn't had fuel in it for a long, long time :)

Loch didn't show much interest in helping, but Finn was all about it.

Note the hammer... can you tell my husband is an F-18 jet mechanic?  They aren't known for their gentle touch, instead they are known for working fast, fun with J.B. Weld type compounds and making things work with whatever is around.  Make you feel safe?  LOL...MacGuyver Mechanic :)  One cool thing is that he changes jet tires all day long so he can rotate tires in like 5 seconds LOL!  Good thing Subarus are such hardy machines, they can take whatever is thrown at them, even if it's a hammer.

One last step of getting the battery charged and it's road-worthy again ...

Next up was my healthier version of redneck comfort food.  Baked chicken with Panko, our own garden's green beans with wild rice.  

Not satisfied with ending our Saturday night there, we headed out for some shopping...

For a fun Saturday night we headed to... where else?  Northern Tool & Equipment!

Finn covering daddy while he checks out log splitters that are completely unnecessary where we live :)

On to hubby's favorite aisle... he's been trying to come up with a convincing reason he needs one of these for over 3 years now.  Someday...!

Crummy weather outside Sunday meant more comfort food.  This time I was cooking from jars and was able to use up some of the canned stewed tomatoes...

 in a Spicy Chicken Sausage & Bean Soup!

Today hubby is off work so he and Finn are outside in 30 mph winds and 38º temps power washing the house!  We haven't done it in about a year and the siding was green, yuck!  Not good when you are trying to sell the house, so I'm excited to get that chore checked off the list.

I'm inside for the rest of the day catching up on lots of little things that have been building up around here.  I will also be looking for a place to set up my seed starting rack and lights today.  I will have to wait until Wednesday to lug out the lights and chains and stuff, we are showing the house tomorrow evening and I don't want the potential buyers to think it's a grow house from the light emanating out of the shutters as they pull up!  We don't have too many lookers in this market, so after this showing the paraphernalia is coming out!

I just checked on hubby and Finnegan - it's a good thing there is a lot of that Chicken & Bean soup leftover because they are wet and frigid looking!