Resurrecting Try a Garden for better or for worse!

Hello, People, if there are any!  I believe so wholeheartedly that gardening needs to be part of wherever you are, in whatever humble format you can manage, that I'll go ahead and resurrect this blog by sharing the humble nature of our family's most recent gardening attempts. 

We are in an apartment.  We have a generous raised bed.  We had some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and basil this year.

But the mint pretty much took over.  Last week I tried to put in some rye and alfalfa for a little bit of green mulching overwintering stuff.  But the cats in the neighborhood keep digging it up to go poop.  And our ex-dog kept running through it.  And I forgot to water it.

Even our fern, Reggie, is only half-alive.

Hoping this isn't a huge disappointment!

Okay, I have a confession. For awhile, I hadn't been posting because of the reason I started this blog. I wanted to create a forum that welcomed all gardeners: those of much experience and those of little, those of with space and those with little. But I am completely guilty of feeling like I don't have much to say because I have just a few things planted and I'm not sure how they'll do. I am reminding myself that THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT.

So. My name is Brandi and I'm not completely sure of my know-how or my space requirements as a gardener.

All is not lost. Well, certain photo opportunities are lost, but I have been planting, and - miraculously - growing, some things. I planted four rows of greens in the deep mulch of the south-facing bed in front of our apartment. Sorrel, Blue Kale, Mustards, and...something else that didn't grow. Oh, yeah, buttercrunch lettuce. I've shown what remains. Actually, the mustards have been a miracle of hardiness and growth. To their credit, they've survived: an exceedingly mulchy and questionably-suited soil to start in...frequent jostling by the bike we have to lock to the post six inches from them. And they're our best producers! Enough for a small salad every two days or so. They're very spicy and sometimes make me sweat and get goosebumps...but I like that. Another success is that two kale plants survived and have produced a few leaves every couple of days. The kids love them. They just like to pick things and then eat them.

Besides the greens, I planted numerous herbs from seed. Unfortunately, I made the fateful mistake of not keeping them moist. I killed: basil, cilantro, and rosemary. Sad. But last year's oregano is happy happy happy. I started two pea plants. The Wando was from a fresh batch of seeds; the Maestro was from an old. Maestro never sprouted; Wando has yielded five or so fresh pods of the most delicious little sweet peas I've ever eaten raw. The girls adore them, but if it gives us another we've got to save it for next year's planting.

There's also a volunteer tomato that came out of the soil. It's still cohabitating in the pea pot...which I've meant to do something about, you know let it move out into its own place, but I just haven't been able to save up for a down payment.

Finally, there's the sprouting tray I sprouted a few days ago with all the seeds I thought MIGHT be a good idea to sprout and try to transplant. Here's the list of things that have sprouted as of this morning. These seeds have sprouted astonishingly early and, in some cases, against all odds, as the seeds are several years old: Anaheim pepper, black beauty eggplant, Louisiana red tomato, Pritchard tomato, teeny tiny oregano (vulgaris), Cardinal tomato, Carantan leek, Thymus vulgaris, Sweet basil, Musselwhite bell pepper, Burpee Big Boy Hybrid tomato, Michilli Cabbage, Roma tomato, Brandywine tomato, sorrel, Muskmelon, french green lentil, and castillo lentil.

It's like Christmas in May. Now I have to figure out what to DO with all the sprouts, since we're moving in 5 weeks.

All the best to you and your gardening efforts. Will try to get back on the wagon! Please post photos if you're growing stuff :).

"Crappy Valentine's Day!"

Thanks, Mel Moore, for coining the phrase and reminding us that this is the season to love on your soil. Now's a great time to mix in your aged poop because seeds like soil that has rested a couple of weeks. So if you want to plant some early things in March, mid-February is when you should be mixin' it up a little (lot). Mel, post your photos! On our end, we still have a decrepit camera so I can't post photos of my decrepit gardening stuff.

On another note, I found an inspiring urban homestead video to post on the merit of

1. its urban locale
2. its apparent productivity.

But I'm not wild about the counterculture undertone. Still worth a watch even if you have the sound turned all the way down just to see how they pack all those plants in to the small space. It's not that I disagree with the things this guy is saying, but my take on this is about rehabbing everyone to grow stuff, including myself. Whenever you start to have a schtick (soapbox?), I think it gets a little unattractive. We all know by now (do we?) why it's good to grow your own food. Now the point is just to get to work, bit by bit.

The other problem is that it suggests that growing a garden is an all-or-nothing affair. If the food distribution system collapsed or something, sure we'd all be up a creek and we'd all be full-time farmers faster than fast. But otherwise, I think everyone's okay with a goods-and-services economy. I mean, it's good to make art if you love making art. It's good to be a nurse if you love nursing.

Now I'm rambling...but "Crappy Valentine's Day" will make me remember - because I often forget - that now's the time to get mixin'.

Operation: Poo

Today when I was running in Colonial Williamsburg it occurred to me that that place is a total manure mecca, a poo oasis in our midst. I'm totally up for some poo thievery after nightfall sometime. But only if we can wear headlamps and camo paint.

MacGregor

Welcome!

Hi, everybody!

I've been worried for a while about the fact that our food comes from so far away. If any part of the machinery of food production, storage, or distribution failed, we'd be up a creek. Stranger things have happened, particularly recently, so I thought I'd put my fingers to work and see if I could generate interest in a teeny victory garden movement. Oh, how I would love for this to become a huge movement, but I think that sort of thing requires a presidential address. So I'll be delighted if anybody shows interest.

The Process (and you can stop reading here if you want because the rest is just details):

1. Plant seeds according to directions on the packet.
2. Water and weed the beds.
3. Keep pests off.
4. Stake if necessary.
   
5. Harvest food at the appropriate time/size (also right there on the packet).
6. Save seeds if you're not using hybrids. Just dry, label, and store in a cool dry place.
7. Do it again next year.
   

Details...

It's the bleak midwinter...time to start planning for plants. I have wanted to be involved with vegetables for years now and I have only succeeded intermittently. While you can start a garden any time between the time your soil thaws and late summer, the best time to plan is now.

There are a couple of things you can do now:

1. Get a book about gardening. I don't think it should be too overwhelming. For instance, we have a gardening encyclopedia and also this book called Back to the Basics published by Reader's Digest. We have used Basics more because we're beginners - and it's simple.
2. Browse for seeds. I love this part. You can decide which ones suit your preferences, site considerations, etc. Jessie Wise swears that dedicated seed companies sell seeds that are healthier and that germinate more reliably than hardware store seeds. You can browse for seeds at parkseed.com, burpee.com or at victoryseeds.com to name a few.
3. Begin composting! Composting is half drudgery and half magic, but completely worth it. I am hooked on the idea of vermiculture, but haven't yet started a worm farm. If I do, I'll be sure to write about it.
4. Get some old animal poo and start the aging process. Just let it sit for six months or so, depending on the type of poo. Fresh poo can "burn" the plants by being too rich in nitrogen.
   
5. If you have old seeds hanging around (I do), check to see which of your old seeds still grow. I do this by marking off squares of paper towel, numbering the squares, and putting a few seeds in each square. Then I roll up the paper towel, moisten it, and put it in a bag for two or three weeks, checking for growth at one-week intervals. This process is like Christmas morning for me. I put the date on the packets of the seeds that germinate and stick them in plastic bags in the fridge.

Advice - if it's coming from me, it's basic.

If you've never gardened before, the biggest piece of advice I have is to keep it small. Ambition's cousin is ruination. I made that up. Like my tent revival slang?

The second most important bit of advice I can think of - and the one I screwed up on the most - is to keep your germinating seeds moist at all times. It's the most fragile stage of development. They dry, they die. Park's (not the only ones, I'm sure) sells these awesome germination trays that let you germinate your seeds into soil sponges that can then be transplanted. They're truly awesome and can be used year after year, but are a small investment and the same thing can be accomplished without them.

Happy thinking! Please let me know if you want to tryagarden. I'm not sure whether to link to other blogs, open posting to others on this blog, make a picasa album for this project, simply accept comments, or some combination of the above. If you have ideas, let me know!

Here's an incomplete list of subject headings I'd love to populate with your pictures and posts:

1. Planning
2. Starting from Seed
   
3. Maintenance (to include watering and weeding)
4. Compost, Fertilizer
5. Pest Management (preferably IPM, though I have been known to eventually pull out the big guns in dire circumstances)
6. Mulch
7. Problems
8. Successes
9. Good Books
10. Good Products (seeds, tools, organic gardening aids, etc.)
    

I welcome all suggestions.
All the best, brandigunn@gmail.com