Cat Grass
To continue with my little seedlings, I really need to showcase my cat grass. This is exciting to show as it is the fastest growing seeds I have seen yet. I could not forget the cat visits I have downstairs and I thought I would find something that would allow them to be happy and ready to leave the rest of the stuff alone!
This photo was taken one week from planting them. It is overdue for a grazing from the cats. Hopefully tonight!
Interesting, when you purchase cat grass seeds you are usually getting oat or wheat grass the same we eat in our cereal.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne Peppers take a bit to germinate. Or at least mine does. I planted on January 10th. This picture taken January 24th. The still have a long ways to grow!
Besides the word pepper did you know that the common bell pepper and the cayenne pepper have much in common? They are from the same family of plants.
Cayenne peppers are considered hot with a Scoville Unit of 30,000-50,000. It is most commonly grown to be used as a powder although I love to use it as a whole dried pepper in my cooking. You just need to learn the limits when cooking with it as it can quickly over power your other flavors.
Arugula Seedlings now
My seedlings are growing fast. Well most of them anyway. On January16th I blogged about my seedlings I planted on January 10th. Well, I thought I would give you an update. My arugula is growing fast! I now have more then I could ever imagine growing downstairs. I can’t wait for them to grow another month so I can eat them! I diffidently see transplanting in my near future!
Did you know what arugula, radish and watercress have in common? I do, they are all related. If you eat the leaves of any of them, you will find a similar hot pepper taste. It is also a great source of vitamins A, C, calcium and magnesium. But just remember, the older the leaf, the stronger the taste!
Filed under: bees
happy bee
Imagine, you get dressed to go check on your beehive. All prepared for the loud buzzing noise when you grab the smoker and reach the hive, but something is wrong, it is silent. Opening the hive all adult bees are gone except the queen. They had vanished. There were no sign of dead bees, no sign of any active bees. The only thing left is their newly hatched brood abandoned. This is CCD. In years to come scientist will continue to study this disorder to find an answer. They are concentrating on three potential culprits: pathogens, environmental chemicals and nutritional Stressors.
On any given day, the bees come into contact with a varied of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Although it is not believed to be the main cause, it is largely believed to contribute to the problem. A pesticide called neoicotinoids, which are known to be toxic to honey bees. This pesticide is still available for everyday use. Research is expanding into other common ingredients as well. I suspect this is something we will be hearing a lot of over the coming years.
Moving on to 18 pathogens have been found that are specific to CCD. Scientists are working to try to see if it may be one of these specific pathogens that are causing or playing a major role within CCD. It amazes me that software for assisting scientists have developed into such needed tools. Penn State Agriculture among others are leading the studies.
Global warming and changing in habitat have left the honey bees not eating as well as they once did. The suburban landscape focusing on te removal of weeds as well as fence rows and other areas that once offered divers and continual pollen sources have almost eliminated natural food for bees. This results in the beekeeper having to produce and feed artificial feed for the bees. People need to be reminded that a beautiful green lawn is like the desert to a honey bee. Not much to offer. This is also effecting many other pollinators as well. We have seen a decline in population of butterflies, bumblebees, moths among others.
So given all of this, I am going to stay true to my beliefs. I am planting a “bee garden” in front of my house to give the bees pollen, I am planting lots of plants/herbs/flowers that bees could enjoy. I am staying true to my approach to gardening by not using chemicals and I am also helping my neighbors do the same. And lastly I am hoping that scientists will stay investigating and not give up until a cause and solution have been found.
The perfect scrubber
I am trying to replace all store purchased cleaners with my own. It is a very slow process. This has found me frustrated and exhilarated all at the same time. So, after many renditions of scrubber, I have finally found one that I like, and it is easy! Having all the herbs that I do, I have decided that I need to make sure that they work for me. Given this, I have chosen to put Rosemary, Thyme and Sage into my scrub. This is what I have done:
Placing equal parts dried rosemary and sage leaves, and 1/2 part thyme in my mortar, I grind until fully ground. Next I add 1-1/2 parts baking soda and mix well. I top with some unground rosemary for more scrubbing abilities. My choice of rosemary, sage and thyme is an easy choice. Rosemary is a natural antibacterial herb. Sage is antibacterial and antifungal. Which leaves thyme. Thyme is antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. So, I have triple antibacterial, double antifungal and a dash of antiviral. All important elements when dealing with dishes. I place in a jam jar with a cover and use when needed. Perfection at its best!
Arugula seedlings
I am viewing this as my great experiment into expanded gardening. I can’t take it any longer. I must have some fresh, home-grown produce. So, I took matters into my own hands on the evening of January 10th. I planted some Cayenne Peppers, Thai and Genovese Basil and arugula. Nothing that can’t produce being inside. I am justifying this by telling myself that since I am growing in a different place in the house this year (the basement) I need to experiment before I plant all that I am going to grow for next year. It sounds good and I am learning a bit by doing this.
I went downstairs to see how things were doing. The arugula had grown, the basil had surface germination which means little seedlings will pop up within the next couple of days, but nothing on the peppers. It was then that I realized, it was a little cool downstairs. I decided to help them out by starting my heating pad for the little seedlings. Hopefully next weekend I will be able to report that they are growing steadily. After looking them the two trays so lonely on the shelf that I needed to do something about it. I planted a little more to place on the heating pad. Catnip and Cat grass to keep my cats happy went in pots on one tray. The last tray (my heating pad fits 4) has one more pot full of arugula and one pot full of cilantro for when I get insects downstairs that might decide to munch. As I am sure you have concluded by now, I am craving Arugula. Fresh, hot, peppery arugula. Not the store-bought that doesn’t have any taste at all…
The Cayenne peppers are for fun. I think it will be cool to see them develop and be able to cook with the fresh peppers. It hopefully will work.
I heard a stunning statistic that approximately 70% of your groceries at the local grocery store contain GMOs. I was so shocked I started doing more research into this. It was here that I found some very sad news.
Monsanto is a giant evil company. Just watch Food Inc. or read one of the books by Michael Pollan, or just ask some farmers who want to save seeds for next years crops. They are a large bio-tech company that produces Genetically Modified seeds. The latest is the sugar beet - You know the one that black strap molasses and sugar come from and wheat. Both put into the market without testing.
But, on Monday, Sept. 21, a federal judge ordered regulators to conduct detailed scientific studies to determine the effect of the GMO sugar beets on the environment, a move that could preclude farmers from planting the crop next year. That is good considering about 95 percent of the 1.16 million acres of sugar beets planted this year in the United States were GMOs, industry officials said.
Has our life got so out of hand that we could not imagine live without chemicals? When did this happen? Why did we as Americans allow this to happen? The surprises never need this week.
The ladybugs out of the box
I ran across an article about a tree farm in Canada that is organic. I started to wonder, do they put chemicals on the Christmas trees? I am sad to have to admit the truth. Yes. They put pesticides normally ground applied to the trees and use herbicides. This farm in Canada controls this with one order every year. This order is for ladybugs. Yes, that is right, ladybugs. The ladybugs control the bugs. Something simple yet is not the first line of defense for most farmers.
So, not only was the GMO sugar this past year found in your cereal, your Christmas tree couldn’t escape it either. But it doesn’t stop there this week. It keeps on going.
Listening to a podcast called organically managed beekeeping, I learned something very interesting. It is almost universal practice to use chemicals for controlling pests and diseases. It got Deron and I thinking, we go out-of-the-way not to use chemicals on the garden, in the house, around us at all. So why should we start now?
I emailed the president of the Worcester county beekeepers club to see if there was anyone doing this without chemicals. She is still trying to find someone for me to chat with. Not a good sign. So I have been doing more research on this. I found that there are people who are breeding the bees back to a healthy size and keeping healthy hives without chemicals. I just haven’t found any around me yet. But I am sure I will and I am sure I will be blogging more about this honey bee situation that I am finding so much information about.
Filed under: Herbs
Here it is the first weekend in December and I have a basket full of green stuff from the garden. This is the reason that I have fallen head over heels for gardening! As a snow fall threatens the northeast, I have been scrambling to get stuff done. I cut a lot of parsley, thyme, winter savory, a lonely carrot, horehound, leeks, and three parsnips. One of the parsnips was the size of a baseball on top! Deron is going to make me a birthday dinner (I much prefer his cooking to going out). I requested beef stew – perfect for a cold wintery day it is supposed to be (we are celebrating it a day early as week days are hard). I told him he had to use something that I brought in for it!
On another note, I love to research and grow herbs. It is exciting to me. I think I get a little carried away sometimes as I have a love of more hard to find herbs that when selling any, no one wants as they are not sure what to do with them.
My wish list is getting a little big this year. I think that as I go to plan it all out, I am going to find that I simply can’t plant everything that I want, but I am aiming high! So, here it is:
Angelica – leaves fresh or dry can be used. The stems when candied have a flavour similar to licorice.
American Arnica – great used externally for bruises, burns and inflammations. perennial
Cilantro – excellent in keeping pests at bay
Mammoth Dill – I’m going to need in order to make dilly beans!
Eucalyptus – a powerful antiseptic. It also helps deodorize the air.
Feverfew – in case it doesn’t come back.
Hollyhock – I just happen to love them. They only flower on the second year.
Horehound – anything that increases tomato produce needs to be in mass quantities here!
Lovage – I am going to try again this year for this herb
Mallow – used to moisturize and tone skin.
French marigolds – excellent insect control
Parsley – flat leaf
Sweet Pink – edible flowers with clove scent
Rosemary
Summer Savory
Winter Savory
Baikal Scullcap
Soapwort
Garden Sorrel
Ok, a little bit of an exaggeration. If there is one thing I am looking forward to getting, it would be honey bees. There is a saying I truly like: “No bees, no honey; no work, no money”. I don’t know the wise person that stated it, but I can tell you that no pollination means no crops. We are dependant on this little things.
Coming under fire for the lack of bees, I have been forced to do some research. Afterall, I want my bees to be as healthy as possible. It seems that there are two ways of looking at the lack of bees. One is blaming pesticides the other is also stating in-breeding to make the perfect bee has genetically modified them so that they are not as immune and more susceptable to disease. I personally feel it is probably both that is aiding in this lack of bees. So, I am going to do my part in trying to protect a hive and make it happy hopefully.
I was amazed that I am already growing some things bees like. I planted a beebalm last year and will plant another again this year. I also found out that bees like mint, catnip, oregano, sage and lemon balm all of which I have already established. That is a great start! But my list needed to grow to keep them healthy.
Below are more plants I am looking into growing for the happy bees. If you have a plant that you seem to see more bees on that is not listed, please drop me a line.
echinacea (showy, daisy-like purple flowers on tall stems)
Hyssop (small shrub, bearing spikes of intense blue flowers),
Lavender (I had some last year, but never had it sucessfully winter.)
Wallflower (fragrant golden yellow flowers useful in potpouriis and as cut flowers).
Genovese Basil (the number one item requested when I was selling my herbs out front)
Queenette Thai Basil (my favorite basil for Deron to cook with)
Blue stocking Beebalm ( This is an enormous violet-purple flowers that keeps blooming until frost.)
Black-eyed Susan (not only to bees like, this wildflower is pretty as well!)
Borage (known as the “Herb of Gladness”. I don’t need to say more.)
Buckwheat (known as a grain, cover crop and beeplant.)
Marjoram
Mint (attract honeybees and love the taste! – Can’t go wrong with that combination.)
Rosemary
Meadowsweet (bears flowers in the early summer – an important time that I found I was lacking)
Jacob’s ladder (early perennial)
Verbena (perfect for drinks and a little catch of scent)
Aster
and lastly
Sunflowers
Tell me more – I want to make the hive so happy they won’t want to leave!
Filed under: outdoor gardening
I am sorry it has taken me so long to post something. It has been a series of most unfortunate events. But here I am, writing about my garden planning when it is still November. You may be asking why…It is my secret to have all ordered before the end of the year in order to get this years prices. It really doesn’t save that much, mostly pocket change, but that is more pocket change then I had before.
After yet another year of not getting that great of cabbage, I have decided not to grow them. The pesky little green worms (that turn into the pesky white moth/butterfly that lays more green eggs everywhere) need to find a new home. I don’t think I will grow potatoes next year either. I found a farm out in western Massachusetts where I can purchase 50 pound bags of organic potatoes for a mere $12. It doesn’t make since to grow them when I can get them that cheap. On the flip side, I was very happy with the onion bed (onions, shallots, leeks and four tomatoes) and loved the full bed of arugula that I planted after realizing the root veggies were not doing so well.
Due to the fact that I did in fact get late blight that in a span of one week wiped out my entire garden of tomatoes, I need to be extra careful where I plant them this year. The spores stay in the ground over winter. I am going to convert an extra bed into tomatoes maybe. Deron really wants me to shoot for 75 tomatoes. I told him I would be lucky to get the 63 that I had last year. I am guessing that it will be a little less, but hopefully it will be a better, drier year. So below is the start of a list I am putting together to grow next year. Next I will post about the herbs I am planning to grow next year, then the last post is my most time-consuming – I research spacing of each and lay out the beds and ground with the herbs and other companions for each. So for a simple thing, it is a little more complicated then it first appears to be.
Arugula – great no brainer that is easily grown anywhere. This is one of Deron’s favorites. We use it in lieu of lettuce for BLT’s. (I guess that makes it a BAT!)
Bush Beans – I have some calipso beans already. I would like to have at least a couple more types. Will need to research what I have and what I can get. Not sure if I have any left from last year.
Carrots – What garden is complete without carrots? I threw carrots in with the beans and with the tomatoes. They work as companions for many things.
Cucumbers – I need to make pickles next year. I wasn’t able to this year and it was hard!
Fairy Tale Eggplant – I don’t like eggplant, but I love these!
Garlic – Already planted!
Hot Peppers – Not sure what kinds yet.
Kale – great for you and another easy to grow. My favorite is to take the kale and wilt it in some hot sesame oil and combine with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Keeps me full well past lunch time.
Leeks – It amazed me that when I planted them, they were no more than a blade of grass and they slowly grew to hearty leeks. I have left a couple in the ground still. Maybe next week we will have them.
Onions – I have almost used up all that I grew last year. It is a staple that is sure not to go to waste. You don’t need to do anything for it either.
Peppers – Not a huge producer for me, but I love to grow them anyway.
Pole Beans – LOVE THEM! Very pretty coloring in the garden. My dogs love to pick and eat the beans as well. Extra treat for them. I will grow the wren’s egg and scarlet runner again, not sure what else if any.
Shallots - They always say to grow what you would save money having in the garden. This is one that I have saved a lot with. I ended up harvesting over 40 shallots. I am still using them, but they are getting a little low.
Squash – I don’t know what kind yet. I need to look at Baker Creek and see what catches my eye. It might be two kinds.
Tomatillos - Deron and I both now have grown to love these little odd balls of joy! They are great in soup with Chicken.
Tomatoes – This is the longest to plan for. I try to get only a couple of each type I plant. I have them scattered around the entire yard.
What have I forgot that you think I should grow next year? I am open to suggestions. Are there any vegetable that you crave and wish you could have? Let me know. It might just end up growing in my garden!
