The Asparagus Has Risen!

FINALLY - I have asparagus!

And also an asparagus bed that needs to be cleaned.

There are 10 plants in total and 8 of them have spears coming up. The other two I am still holding out hope for. I really should have made a bigger bed with more plants because I can only harvest 6-8 spears at a time and really, that is barely a side dish for one! Not that I really have room for a bigger bed, but it is always nice to dream : )

A Watched Pot Never Boils

Or in my case - stalking your vegetables does not make them grow faster!!!! I was hoping for asparagus for Easter this year because it falls so late in the year but as of today I have squat. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Every time I go to empty stuff into the compost bin (which is about every other day) I walk past the asparagus bed and stalk them. I have been doing this for almost 2 weeks now to no avail. I guess the old saying of "all good things come to those who wait" is the motto I should employ at this time.
The good news is that the Bitonto tomatoes have finally sprout indoors, along with just about everything else. The spinach was getting a bit "iffy" so it went out on Sunday. I was shocked to see the Brussels Sprouts up within 1 week! I didn't expect that at all. Seeing as they take 100 days from transplant to harvest I thought they would take awhile to sprout. Apparently not. I am still waiting on the dill, basil and Chinese cabbage to emerge but again, it has only been a week.
The bad news is that it is supposed to rain all week. That could quite frankly rot my peas (which haven't sprouted yet either). I am stalking those as well. I tend to lose a few seeds to the birds/squirrels so I always check to make sure they are still underground and either they still are or they have been stolen. Damn critters!

Too much energy usage?

If you are like me you start your garden indoors months before planting season. But the month of March, at least in New England, is still dark and dreary and cold so everything needs extra love and warmth. Enter the grow lights.


My lighting system is totally DIY and the lights aren’t technically grow lights but fluorescent shop lights that I got at Home Depot.

In total I have 8 hooked up in there and the GE Slim Line lights are linkable so they are only taking up 3 outlets. I am supposed to be able to link 10 together but that would be if they were all in a straight line – the alignment I have them in only allows for two at a time. Thankfully for the linking ones because my surge protector is out of control.


My concern about all this extra seedling love is that those lights are on roughly 12 hours a day, 7 days a week! I think fluorescents are more energy friendly than regular lighting but still I worry about how much I am putting into this process and sucking the life out of the energy grid. This is something I have been thinking about since the other night when I was sitting outside at about 9:30pm and noticed that the lights were still on and boy do they light up the driveway!

Would it be more efficient for me to just buy the plants that are shipped from God knows where and packed in non-recyclable pots? I really enjoy they whole process of growing my own seeds and I feel so much accomplishment when it actually works! I like knowing that they are organic seeds in organic seed starting mix and started in cow/peat pots. How do you balance off the amount of energy used versus the peace of mind that knowing what you are growing is safe?

New Ideas for Potatoes

I don't know about you but I am sick of roasted potatoes, home fries and french fries. I get about 1-2 pounds of potatoes delivered every other week and was looking for something new. Every recipe book has "roasted potato with (insert meat here). A girl can only have so many roasted potatoes in one season. So I came up with a few new ways to cook and serve potatoes.
Po-Achos
This is my take on nachos served potato style. I bake some potatoes and when they are cool enough I cut them apart into large chunks, skin and all. Then I top with salsa, cheese and green onions and sour cream if I have it. For an added extra I add reconstituted TVP or Morningstar crumbles. Yummy and fast.
Potato Quesadilla
This is also Mexican inspired. I am not a huge fan of mashed, mashed potatoes so mine are more boiled then squashed with a fork, nice and chunky. But if your preference is for smooth and silky they would work in this too. Once the potatoes are 'squashed' I add crumbled bacon, green onions and salt and pepper to taste. This gets loaded onto 1/2 a wheat tortilla (leave enough around the edges so it doesn't ooze out). Throw a good size handful of cheese on top and fold the tortilla over. Dab a bit of butter on each side of the tortilla and cook in a skillet large enough to hold it and brown on both sides. Again - yummy. You can make a big batch of the 'squashed' potatoes and reheat it and make more quesadillas the next day.
I am working on an Indian version of this using curry and not sure what else. I have enough potatoes to experiment so I will keep you posted on the results.

Honey Do is Honey Done!

So I am proud to say that I can cross every thing off of this list. Well, not exactly, I didn't gluten the back yard. There were so many bare spots that I reseeded instead. If I put down the corn gluten it is something like 6 weeks before I can reseed. The gluten kills all germinating seeds and does not discriminate between good and bad. Hence no gluten in the back. I also didn't have to do the nasty poop run!! My landlord, aka my mom (who is retired) did it sometime last week.
After tilling the garden I planted 3 types of peas - Snowbird, Avalanche and Sugar Snap. Allegedly they will be ready in 51, 68 and 71 days respectfully. Heres hoping! I also put down some lettuce, carrots and started dill, basil, Chinese cabbage and Brussels Sprouts inside. The seeds I started two weeks ago are looking pretty good. I already have my first true set of leaves on the Sungold and Chocolate Cherry tomatoes. The Bitonto are having a rough time of it. Only two have come up. I really only need four and two of those are supposed to go to my sister for her birthday. I may just not have them for myself : (
I ran out of barrels and bags for all the yard waste so ended up dumping all the thatch and a ton of leaves into the empty compost bin. When I ordered the second bin last year Garden's Alive sent along this free activator and who am I to not accept a free gift! I added this in the bin, followed the instructions and need to re-water tomorrow. I am not sure if it really works, but it really can't hurt. For a little extra boost I added in some of Neptune's seaweed fertilizer too (there was a lot of brown added to this particular bin).
My first daffodil bloomed today and if the weather holds the rest should be opening up by the end of this week. Spring is officially here....well, at least for now!
Tomorrow I will go over the delicious potato quesadilla I had for lunch (and dinner) today.

Weekend of "To-Do"

After stalking the weather forecast I have made a "Honey Do List" and I am the honey that needs to do. The city yard waste is finally picking up for the first time since November and they don't come again until the middle of May so all of the limbs that fell and all the bushes that didn't survive the ridiculous amount of snow this winter all need to go! After work tomorrow this is what needs to be done:
1) Stop at Home Depot for 2 more sets of lights
2) De-thatch the lawn front and back
3) Spread corn gluten front and back
4) Clean and till the garden
5) Cut back old perennial growth
6) Chop down broken bush and tree limbs
7) Clean up under bird feeders
8) Clean bird houses
9) Clear out flower beds and raspberry patch
10) Fertilize asparagus bed

Then after all that is done I can add to the list - cleaning off the back porch, emptying out the worm bin and adding a new layer, start the Brussels Sprouts and cabbage seeds, finally plant the peas, and the worst job of all - the Spring poop run around the yard! Oh how I wish dog waste could go in the compost bin. With three dogs (two of mine and one of my mom's) the poop gets a little crazy during the winter because neither of us wants to head out in thigh deep snow to pick it up. This makes for an awful Spring clean up!

After all is said and (hopefully) done a glass or several of wine will be well deserved!!!!

Potato Grow Bags

My potato grow bags were delivered yesterday and I am impressed and hopeful. They seem sturdy enough but I am concerned about the stupid (albeit very smart) squirrels biting through them. I ordered them from Bed Bath & Beyond for $14.95 for a set of two. I got two sets which means I have four bags for my 2 pounds of potato seeds. There are drainage holes at the bottom and handles on each side. They also hold 55 liters of soil. That is a lot of compost that I need to make/buy!

For easy harvesting they have these velcro pockets on opposite sides.

While viewing those photos please excuse the dirty floor. Max, my older dog, is quite the messy eater and Freddie, the younger one, hadn't quite gotten around to 'Hoovering' before I snapped the shot.
The weather is looking promising for the next 10 days so I think I can get my peas planted out this weekend. I also need to de-thatch the lawn and put down my corn gluten. Fingers crossed that the weather holds!

Still Waiting for Spring

So according to the calendar it is Spring however, I think Mother Nature disagrees. Either that or she has a serious case of PMS. Friday was April Fools Day and this was no joke.

Yup, we got about 3 inches on April 1. Which obviously means my peas have not yet been planted. The ground is frozen solid - still!.

It has been in the mid 40's low 50's over the past couple of days so majority of the snow has melted but there is still random patches hanging around like the uninvited dinner guest.
The good news is that everything i planted last weekend has already begun to sprout! Well, everything except the Swiss chard, but I can be patient, it isn't like I can plant them outside anytime soon. I was also able to find a few more lights at a different Home Depot. I got 4 more but could really use another two. Once I add a few more starting trays to the shelves I will load another picture so you can see the final 'ghetto light system' I rigged up. It may not be fancy, but it works and that is all that matters!