Here's How My Garden (hopefully) Grows

Several weeks ago I put in a massive order to Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Not gonna lie, the day the seeds arrived in the mail was really exciting! Not only are they all the packets so pretty and exciting, but they also brought with them the promise of Spring. I've already started the tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and eggplants; later this week I'll also start some cabbage and broccoli. It doesn't matter how many times I start a garden, there's something about watching seedlings sprout that never ceases to amaze me.

Below is a list of what I plan on growing this year (so far anyway):

Dragon Tongue Bush Bean

Romanesco Italia Broccoli

Chioggia Beet

Cour Di Bue Cabbage
Cosmic Purple Carrot
De Bourbonne Cucumber

Pandora Striped Rose Eggplant  

Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
Albino Bullnose Pepper
Purple Beauty Pepper
Five Color Silver Beet Chard

Tomatillo Purple

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge

Mortgage Lifter Tomato

Violet Jasper or Tzi Bi U Tomato

German Red Strawberry

Reisetomate Tomato

Here's Praying for a Bountiful Growing Season! 

One of My Garden Projects

When I took Schatze Page (my 5 month old Bernese Mountain Dog) outside this morning, the garden outside my backdoor looked so refreshing after all the rain, that I couldn't help but take some pictures!

The area between the back door and swimming pool is one of my favorite parts of the property. On both sides of the walkway my grandparent's always kept things very "natural" and a grape arbor covers most of the path. Needless to say, I can't wait to make wine and jelly this fall!
Lately, I've been trying to clean things up a bit, but I think I'm leaving the may apples. They remind me of going hunting for morel mushrooms; if only I had some of those growing amidst the may apples! I've also divvied up some hostas I had growing around the side of my house and transplanted them along the walkway to the pool.

Then there's this bush:

It's a very nice, leafy plant, but no one seems to have any clue what it is: do you?

Lesson Learned 2: Wellies are not actual "work boots"

After spending the past couple of months nurturing my seedlings, it's finally time to start getting things in the ground! I have around 400 heirloom tomato plants alone, so needless to say my garden is going to be a tad bigger than last year. I decided to fence off part of my horse's pasture for my plot; it needs re-seeding, so I don't have much of a sod battle, it's in a nice and sunny spot, and it's already fertilized (thank Dan).

So, last weekend, I was all set to get started: I went to Tractor Supply, loaded up the Mini with 25 metal posts, 100 yards of snow fence, and a straw cowboy hat. As I headed out to the field clad in Orange Wellies, cut-off shorts, a wifebeater, and my new hat, I was ready for some serious farming, right?

Silly silly me, figured that an effective method for starting the posts was to jump up on them a few times--think jumping on a pogo stick--until they were stuck in the ground. This worked out well for the first post. On the second post, however, my foot slipped, the "T" part of the post sliced through my Wellies, and about 3 layers of skin. My first reaction was obviously "OMG I cut my Wellies!" and then I was like "oh wait, my foot hurts" which was followed by "Mom, I think my boot's filling up with blood!"

One week, 20 bandages, yards of surgical tape, and copious amount of bourbon later--still can only wear Havaianas, and my foot still feels like it's going to fall off.

Needless to say, I think my next shoe purchase is going to be a pair of real work boots. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

P.S. my dear little brother and one of his friends put all the posts in, in less than 20 minutes...

My Firsts

There was really nothing quite as exciting as my first tomato, except for maybe my first sweet banana pepper and my first batch of scallions.

While the first tomato came quite easily, the others have been few and far between. It's not that my plant isn't thriving, it's all Rocky's fault. . Rocky, you see, is the evil neighborhood squirrel. The whole Rocky saga is at least it's own post, if not several. I digress though, enough about Rocky and the tomatoes.

I have not done terribly well with peppers this season: I just harvested my first banana pepper last week (planted it in May), and I have a sole purple bell pepper that is developing very slowly. I have some things to try next year with the peppers, but that is also another post for another day.

The scallions, however, were easier than a sorority girl at a frat party. !

I started these from seed in late June. They have been virtually maintenance free, and I still have plenty to harvest

Let's not forget the best part of all this: eating them! Last night I made a salad and realized that all the vegetables (except for the lettuce) were from my garden. I felt like a proud parent gazing at my children, but then they were diced and devoured; unlike children, however, they were quite enjoyable!

Lesson Learned 1: And it Burns, Burns, Burns Like a Ring of Fire

Capsaicin--the component of peppers that determines their hotness a.k.a. how much pain they inflict. I knew that when handling extra hot peppers, gloves were suggested; however, I never dreamed an innocent bell pepper could cause so much pain!

As I was making dinner the other night, I decided that I wanted to harvest the seeds from the pepper I was using (from an amazing farm in West Virginia; Kitchen's Orchard), so I could plant the seeds in the spring. After cutting off the top of the pepper I simply used my hand/fingernails to scrape the seeds from the membrane. I really didn't think much of it, until about 15 minutes later when my finger started to burn. At first, I figured I must have accidentally touched something hot on the stove, but then it started to spread, and the pain quickly intensified.

Through process of elimination, I figured it had to be something with the peppers. I tried scrubbing my hands with soap and water to no avail, so I did what all good children do: called my mother. After chastising me for cutting up peppers without gloves, we argued for awhile as I tried to explain that I was merely handling innocent little bell peppers! Anyway, she told me to go soak my hand in milk.

This alleviated the pain for a bit, but then the milk started to get warm. I placed the milk in the freezer to chill, only to find my hand virtually aflame. I figured there had to be a more immediate solution out there somewhere, so with my one working hand I did some Googling. I found remedies ranging from using alcohol (both externally and internally) to making biscuits (something to do with kneading causing pores to open and the flour and the shortening extracting the capsaicin). I decided to forgo the drinking and the baking and try out a bevy of household products instead. Clorox, rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, olive oil, lemon juice, toothpaste--I was willing to try ANYTHING.

By the time I went through virtually half the items in my kitchen and bathroom, my hand was REALLY on fire and the pain was starting to creep under my fingernails. It was back to the trusty bowl of milk for me. Four hours of soaking later, my hand still hurt, but I needed to go to bed. I didn't think keeping the bowl of milk on my nightstand was a viable option, so I ended up sleeping with an ice pack bound to my hand with a Pucci scarf. The next morning showering was quite a feat, and driving to work was sheer agony. I spent most of the day at work with my hand in a plastic bag of milk: do I even need to elaborate on my co-workers' reactions?

My hand finally started to feel normal by late afternoon, but what baffled me most was what went wrong? I frequently cook with peppers, and I've never had this problem before. Plus, bell peppers are one of the mildest of the pepper family! Amidst my remedy research, I found my answer. Apparently the largest concentration of capsaicin is in the membrane that holds the seeds in place. This would explain why it never was an issue; I had never tried to harvest seeds from peppers. Needless to say, I will definitley wear gloves next time! Talking about learning a lesson the hard way...

Weekend Outing

I had said that I was not allowed to buy any more plants, but when I went to Merrifield Garden Center this past weekend, all bets were off!

There are two locations in the area; my friends and I visited the Fair Oaks location. At roughly 30-40 minutes outside D.C., this nursery is well worth the drive! In addition to a plethora of plants, there were these amazing displays!

My favorites were the ones with the different mosses.

They also had these really great water displays. I think it's time to figure out how I can incorporate a water fixture into my mini-garden.

Perhaps something like this?!

All in all, I didn't do too badly. I only came home with a

Poppy,

Bergenia,

and a Wandering Jew!

Meet the Plants

Here's a glimpse of my mini-organic garden.
I have a Purple Cherokee heirloom tomato, a Better Bush tomato, a purple bell pepper, a Sweet Banana pepper, scallions, basil, spearmint, and lavender.

I used to think shoe sales were my weakness; however, I've found that I can barely drive past a nursery without stopping, much less walk out of one empty-handed! The one advantage of having limited space on my back porch, is that I don't come home with enough plants to start my own farmer's market. I guess it is also helpful that there are only so many plants, pots, and bags of dirt that can fit into a Mini Cooper.

Albeit, good things can come from impulse purchases. Take, for instance, this amazing hanging strawberry plant! Growing up, I loved the strawberry patch we had beside our house. There's absolutely nothing better than a nice juicy strawberry that's been soaking in the sun. As much as I love strawberries, I didn't think I would be able to have any given the constraints of my back porch. Of course, that was until I discovered that apparently you can get hanging strawberry plants: sheer Genius!

Check back soon for not only updates, but tricks I've learned, mistakes I've made, and vermin I've battled...

How it all Began

Being from West Virginia, I thought I knew a thing or two about gardening. This spring when I started my very own garden (of the container variety) I quickly realized how little I actually knew about gardening. Despite hours of online research, no one told me that a monsoon might hit at 4:00 a.m. and I would have to run outside in my pajamas to save my little seedlings from drowning. Nor did I think that due to the aforementioned rain, I would spend much of the spring with my bathtub filled with waterlogged plants. And I most certainly was not told that I would spend many a morning chasing squirrels around my backyard in my bathrobe...