And now...

later, seedlings up, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

...and now the seedlings are up.
peas,
nasturtium

carrots (ok, they're not up just yet, but imminently)
arugula, spinach, lettuce, and mesclun greens
beets
cilantro

I put some scrap fencing loosely over the top to discourage the local robins from landing in there and eating the seeds before they'd had a chance to germinate properly.

opening day at the Community Gardens...

opening day: working on the soil, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

a little photo catch-up, although I don't yet have the oomph to do a text catch up. Much has been going on.

Here's how the garden looked on the 4th (garden opening day); lots of soil turning and planning until we started to get rained on. No complaints there!

Three bean plants

beans growing, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

So we had some of our strange winter weather this weekend: abruptly sunny and warm (for us, at any rate: 50 - 60 degrees F). I took advantage of the warm weather to meet up with the Duchess of 78A to set up some higher fencing in preparation for the coming growing season. I'll be doing a little excavating in order to improve our gate/door situation as well. Happily I found some adequate lumber at the local Dome Hepot. At $1.15 per 1x3x8, it serves our purposes just fine. Add a staple gun and some deer-fencing mesh (the sturdy kind, not the wussy thin kind) and we're in business. Happily the weather held during our project, and then each of us scurried off for other plans that day.

In the indoor containers for seedling starters, the peas and peppers are up, and the beans seem to be pretty happy growing in the cola bottle. I'll be snipping an extra hole for that third plant to emerge; not quite enough room now for it to squeeze between the stems of the two others already coming up through the sprout.

I planted some of the potatoes I'd had leftover that sprung eyes before I could use them; they've gone into a pot outside my window that was going begging. I have some more containers to fill with starters, when I find the time.

Shameless silliness.

What, as if I need a reason?

more animals

Comic relief is my reasonbig fat justification: plus the fact that some of my online friends commented that they didn't picture me as a kickboxer (hey, I'm only just learning kickboxing, but it's fun!) -- I should say, my online friends who are gardeners and in the season traipse around flailing large, heavy metal weapons implements of weed destruction like hoes, rakes and shovels.

I ordered some seeds...

So, I ordered some seeds from Johnny's... I like Johnny's because they have so many heirloom varieties. The short & sweet: I'm looking forward to figuring out where to put a few of each of these plants. I ordered one packet each of these nifty neeto things:

Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme), 60 days to maturity
...I love cherry tomatoes, and mine died last year due to my unintended neglect...hey, it happens. So this year I'm trying again. I promise not to neglect them this time...

Chioggia "candy-striped" beet (Beta vulgaris) 55 days to maturity
...because I'm curious - it looks like a radish but will taste like a beet? How can I go wrong?

New York Early Onion (Allium cepa), approximately 98 days to maturity
I just like growing onions.

Pepper "Pretty in Purple" (Capsicum annum) - apparently this pepper goes purple in 60 days, then in 85 it finally goes "red ripe"? I'm curious. This is the photo they show:


Cutting Celery (Apium graveolens) ~80 - 85 days to harvest

Bee Balm Panorama Mix (Monarda didyma)

Alpine strawberries "Alexandria" (Fragaria vesca) ~120 days to fruit.
I've had good luck with Alpine strawberries, and I want more; maybe a whole bed of them outside my window.
Strawberries "Tarpan (F1)" (Fragaria X ananassa) ~100 to 120 days to fruit.Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) I love the smell of wormwood, and want a patch in my herb garden. In my mind, it's part of the smell of summer.

Flax "Omega (OG)" (Linum usitatissimum) - approximately 95 - 100 days to maturity

Bush Bean Trio: progress

tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

So, I came home tonight to find this is how far the little green babies had pushed out of the soil. I can't wait: string beans! In my apartment! And they're the pretty combination pack too: green, yellow, and purple beans. Yum.

The great seed experiment...part 1

tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

...part 1 of several, apparently. So, as mentioned in a previous post, I was inspired by someone else's work with little tiny spare holiday lights. I came up with my own spin on things, though: I like that flavored seltzer water (mmm, lime/raspberry), but hate that I have to "throw away" (recycle) the bottles all the time. I found a good use for some of these bottles at least: I realized that the "collar" next to the cap would allow me to hang them with a string from some kind of a hook. From there I could wrap the lights and move them around as necessary, without interfering with the tender seedlings. Also the clear bottle would insulate it from temperature vagaries and curious little paws.

I wasn't sure if it would work...but it worked better than I'd expected: beans I wasn't expecting to see for at least 10 days came up in...5 to 7 days. The peas and peppers are only now just starting to peek out...but all in all, I"m psyched that I may have something going on here. The next post is of today's progress on the bean-front...

I realize it isn't terribly attractive, what with the soda bottle, but hey - for those of us with space constraints...I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Not exactly "bunday monday" but...

Whinnie, originally uploaded by Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians (MANE).

Thought everyone would appreciate this wonderful horse. I logged on to find something else on creative commons and instead found this little horse, randomly. I think he's even wearing a mardi gras scarf and beads??? Ilex, it's true, they've got nothing on your rabbits, but still. Since this horse was only slightly taller than the bunnies...

You know you have spring fever when...

...when garden and seed catalogs and planning out your plot aren't enough to distract you. You swing by the garden plot and traipse through the pock-marked and ice-ridden paths all the way to the back of the community gardens JUST TO LOOK at your own plot. Not, mind you, to accomplish any purpose; nor even to photograph it to document the change of seasons. Nope, just to look. Little wooden work-table, check. Miscellanea safely ensconced, check. Random scraps of wood and the spare wooden chairs that the Duchess salvaged last season, check. Raspberry canes need further trimming in spite of my late season pruning, check. Then, I turned around and...returned to my car.

Yeah, it's bad. And for the record, I'm a native of this region, and never required a groundhog to tell me "whether or not" on February 2nd we'd have 8 more weeks of winter. There is no doubt. We WILL have 8+ more weeks of winter, and possibly a surprise snowstorm in May, thank you very much, just enough to keep you on your toes.

*sigh*

Where are my easter eggs?

Squid Ceviche for lunch

Squid Ceviche for lunch, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

Who says comfort food can't be healthy?

I found squid on sale at my local co-op; local and wild caught. I particularly favor the little tentacles, what can I say.

I marinated them overnight in lime juice (2 limes), chili flakes, salt & sugar. Quick braise over medium heat. Serve over wild rice mix with shallots and peppers (also from the co-op: tiny little sweet red / orange / yellow peppers).

Sorry, but the food was cooked early this morning (can you say quick-prep?) so only a cell-phone photo is available. Next time I'll remember my camera, but ... I thought this was a personal early-morning victory to get healthy fast food!

Looking forward to spring lettuces...but more on that later.