Two 72 cell trays, two heat mats, one four foot grow light
I have some basil growing because it can be an indoor plant during the Winter...who doesn't like fresh basil?!
The snapdragons have started to sprout!
More to come!
Friday, February 25, 2011
And so it begins!
Last weekend was the start of my indoor seed planting for flowers! I haven't posted about all the flowers that that I'm going to be growing, but that will come. Here are a few pictures of my (low tech) setup...
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What's on the menu...
The days are getting longer and we're getting closer to the last frost date! I've posted a countdown on the right, which would really only be helpful to gardeners in this growing region, but as the time ticks down, I'm getting more excited!
Since all of the seeds have been purchased, I figured I would you all know what's in store for this gardening season. Some of these items are already in the garden because they are perennial or can over-winter, but the majority will be started indoors.
Tomatoes
Opalka - paste
Peppers
Hot
Chile de Arbol - cayenne-type
Habanero - HOT!
Jalapeno
Sweet
Wisconsin Lakes - a vintage bell developed for the northern climate in the mid-20th Century by the University of Wisconsin.
Cucumbers
Marketmore 76 - slicing
Wisconsin SMR 58 - pickling
Corn
Honey & Cream - sweet corn
Beans
Kentucky Blue - pole bean
Black Turtle - bush black bean
Peas
Carrots
Shallots
Garlic
Asparagus
Lettuce
Spinach
Fruit
Watermelon - Sugar Baby (mini)
Cantaloupe - Rocky Ford
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Herbs
Basil
Rosemary
Dill
Thyme
Chives
Oregano
Lavender
I'm hoping for a very productive garden this year. As you can see, I have lots of tomatoes planned, but that also means (hopefully) lots of tomato sauce, salsa, etc. Only a few more weeks until the seeds can be started!
Since all of the seeds have been purchased, I figured I would you all know what's in store for this gardening season. Some of these items are already in the garden because they are perennial or can over-winter, but the majority will be started indoors.
Tomatoes
Opalka - paste
San Marzano - paste
Fireworks - early
Grape - self-explanatory, it's a grape tomato
Sun Gold - orange, citrusy cherry tomato
Sugary - very sweet, cherry sized tomatoes
Virginia Sweets -bicolor heirloom
Wisconsin 55 - slicingPeppers
Hot
Chile de Arbol - cayenne-type
Habanero - HOT!
Jalapeno
Sweet
Wisconsin Lakes - a vintage bell developed for the northern climate in the mid-20th Century by the University of Wisconsin.
Cucumbers
Marketmore 76 - slicing
Wisconsin SMR 58 - pickling
Corn
Honey & Cream - sweet corn
Beans
Kentucky Blue - pole bean
Black Turtle - bush black bean
Peas
Carrots
Shallots
Garlic
Asparagus
Lettuce
Spinach
Fruit
Watermelon - Sugar Baby (mini)
Cantaloupe - Rocky Ford
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Herbs
Basil
Rosemary
Dill
Thyme
Chives
Oregano
Lavender
I'm hoping for a very productive garden this year. As you can see, I have lots of tomatoes planned, but that also means (hopefully) lots of tomato sauce, salsa, etc. Only a few more weeks until the seeds can be started!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Seeds!
This year, I plan on starting as much of the garden from seed as I can. Some of the benefits of starting from seed is being able to choose from a huge variety that usually isn't available in plant form at nurseries AND...you get to start gardening during the Winter months! I purchased the majority of my seeds yesterday from a few online retailers. I will also have some from one of the local nurseries. You may think it's too early to get seeds, but you don't want to risk your favorite variety selling out and you want to give yourself enough time to plan out when your seeds should be started indoors (unless, of course, they are direct sow seeds like beans and peas). Hopefully, you've already figured out your last frost date, because that will be important when following the directions on the seed packet. It will tell you how far in advance to begin the seeds indoors.
Three important items for growing seeds indoors: light, heat, and humidity. There are many indoor greenhouses, grow lights, and heating mats available. Some are a little pricey, but after the initial investment, you will use these products year after year. Once I start my seeds (around mid-March), I will post some pictures of my indoor set up.
So go start looking at seeds...most of the nurseries have them out now, or you can check the online retailers I posted here.
Three important items for growing seeds indoors: light, heat, and humidity. There are many indoor greenhouses, grow lights, and heating mats available. Some are a little pricey, but after the initial investment, you will use these products year after year. Once I start my seeds (around mid-March), I will post some pictures of my indoor set up.
So go start looking at seeds...most of the nurseries have them out now, or you can check the online retailers I posted here.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Local nurseries...
A regular weekend activity, particularly during the Summer months, is hitting up the local nurseries. The beauty of the local Fort Collins nurseries (well, most of them) is that they are open year-round. While there isn't a ton of garden flora present during the Winter, there are a ton of plants and gardening tools/supplies to admire. So here's a little shout out to my favorite local nurseries, who have helped aid in my gardening obsession...
**********************************************************
Fort Collins
NURSERY
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Support local businesses!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Start planning!
Planning what, you ask? There are several things to be thinking about if you do not currently have a garden. For example, where do you get the best, direct sunlight in your yard? What type of garden do you want to have - raised beds, ground level, container? How big do you want your garden?
A question to consider before deciding on type of garden is what type of soil you have. When we decided to create our garden, we knew we needed to do raised beds. The soil in Colorado is clay-based, which is not ideal for growing vegetables, unless you add a lot of amendments. Raised garden beds allow you to add the soil/compost you want to use to an above ground bed. The picture below was how our garden started last year. Two, 8 x 8, cedar beds.
Looks like a lot of room to plant, right? Well, keep in mind that plants grow...up AND out. Needless to say, I will be expanding the garden this year. I would like half of the back yard to be the garden, but that idea was shot down :)
If you do not have a large back yard, or an area that gets a lot of light, I would consider doing a container garden. Quite literally, using large pots to plant your tomatoes, pepper, cucumbers, strawberries, etc.
Planting a garden is very rewarding, even if it's small. I love eating tomatoes off of the vine!
A question to consider before deciding on type of garden is what type of soil you have. When we decided to create our garden, we knew we needed to do raised beds. The soil in Colorado is clay-based, which is not ideal for growing vegetables, unless you add a lot of amendments. Raised garden beds allow you to add the soil/compost you want to use to an above ground bed. The picture below was how our garden started last year. Two, 8 x 8, cedar beds.
Looks like a lot of room to plant, right? Well, keep in mind that plants grow...up AND out. Needless to say, I will be expanding the garden this year. I would like half of the back yard to be the garden, but that idea was shot down :)
If you do not have a large back yard, or an area that gets a lot of light, I would consider doing a container garden. Quite literally, using large pots to plant your tomatoes, pepper, cucumbers, strawberries, etc.
Planting a garden is very rewarding, even if it's small. I love eating tomatoes off of the vine!
Monday, January 10, 2011
What gets me through the cold months...
Let's just say that on a frequent basis, and by frequent, I mean more than once a day - yes, this is a slight obsession - I look at gardening-related material online. Google gardening or any type of seed to plant in a garden...hundreds of pages, just begging to be looked at. I have gotten a lot of ideas about what to plant, when to plant, where to buy, gadgets, tools, etc. from the plethora of websites I have perused. The purpose of this entry is to share some of my favorite garden-related websites that I check frequently :)
General gardening websites
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/ - gardening tips
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.html - from planning to maintaining, general information
http://www.organicgardening.com/ - information about organic gardening, pest control, soil, weed control
http://www.garden.com/ - fun tools and gadgets for the garden enthusiast
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ - a great collection of articles for many different gardening topics
http://www.almanac.com/gardening/ - historical information for your area
http://myfolia.com/ - a tracker for your garden
Seed websites
These websites have tons of different seed varieties, planting supplies, tools, etc. I like to check prices between the sites and look for different varieties offered. The benefit of planting from seed is the varieties to choose from. Local nurseries cannot stock every variety of every plant, but online seed companies can offer a bigger selection. So if there's something specific you're looking for, look online!
http://www.cooksgarden.com/
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/
http://www.territorialseed.com/
http://www.genericseeds.com/
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/GP/homepage/page1
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/
http://homeharvestseeds.com/
http://sweetcornorganicnursery.com/store/
http://www.localharvest.org/store/vegetable-seeds.jsp
http://www.burpee.com/
*I have not purchased anything from the majority of these sites, so I am not endorsing their products or customer service. These are the websites I have bookmarked that I plan to use, or at least use to do some comparison shopping.
Planning the garden and figuring out what to buy and from what online stores or nurseries has been a great project for me during the Winter months.
General gardening websites
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/ - gardening tips
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.html - from planning to maintaining, general information
http://www.organicgardening.com/ - information about organic gardening, pest control, soil, weed control
http://www.garden.com/ - fun tools and gadgets for the garden enthusiast
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ - a great collection of articles for many different gardening topics
http://www.almanac.com/gardening/ - historical information for your area
http://myfolia.com/ - a tracker for your garden
Seed websites
These websites have tons of different seed varieties, planting supplies, tools, etc. I like to check prices between the sites and look for different varieties offered. The benefit of planting from seed is the varieties to choose from. Local nurseries cannot stock every variety of every plant, but online seed companies can offer a bigger selection. So if there's something specific you're looking for, look online!
http://www.cooksgarden.com/
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/
http://www.territorialseed.com/
http://www.genericseeds.com/
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/GP/homepage/page1
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/
http://homeharvestseeds.com/
http://sweetcornorganicnursery.com/store/
http://www.localharvest.org/store/vegetable-seeds.jsp
http://www.burpee.com/
*I have not purchased anything from the majority of these sites, so I am not endorsing their products or customer service. These are the websites I have bookmarked that I plan to use, or at least use to do some comparison shopping.
Planning the garden and figuring out what to buy and from what online stores or nurseries has been a great project for me during the Winter months.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
What's to come...
Today is January 9, 2011. There are approximately 125 days until the last frost in Fort Collins. Yes, it is far to early to start thinking about the (hopefully) bountiful harvest of 2011, but honestly, I've been thinking about it since I pulled up the last of the plants last season. That was my first attempt at gardening. It was a fairly successful garden, but oh, the things you learn along the way. Spacing. Companion planting. Weeds. Insects. Sunlight. Compost. Watering. Staking. Gardening has become my new passion. In just one season, I have discovered how enjoyable, relaxing, and rewarding gardening can be.
In a few months, I will be able to begin planting seeds indoors, something I attempted to do last year as well, but that ended up being a fail. I started too early, planted seeds that should have just been sown in the soil, and did not harden them off in the Spring (hardening off = gradually introducing young plants to the outdoor elements, as opposed to just putting them outside and shocking them to death.) Seeds that I hope to start indoors include: several types of tomatoes, one or two tomatillo plants, hot and sweet peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe.
This blog will be a way to help me track the beginning to the end of each season. It will (again, hopefully) contain tips, things I learn along the way, and lots of pictures. I'm a visual person. I like to see what things are supposed to look like. I'm sure there are many others that are the same.
In a few months, I will be able to begin planting seeds indoors, something I attempted to do last year as well, but that ended up being a fail. I started too early, planted seeds that should have just been sown in the soil, and did not harden them off in the Spring (hardening off = gradually introducing young plants to the outdoor elements, as opposed to just putting them outside and shocking them to death.) Seeds that I hope to start indoors include: several types of tomatoes, one or two tomatillo plants, hot and sweet peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe.
This blog will be a way to help me track the beginning to the end of each season. It will (again, hopefully) contain tips, things I learn along the way, and lots of pictures. I'm a visual person. I like to see what things are supposed to look like. I'm sure there are many others that are the same.
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