You might notice my blogger name has changed to KayGee...no longer Greenthumb Guthrie.
That's because I decided to start a second blog!! This one is more general...not as focused on my gardening endeavors. I'll keep posting here, but feel free to enjoy the other one.
iwantogotothere.blogspot.com
"I want to go to there..." -- made famous my Tina Fey in 30Rock.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The first buds of the year!
The very first touch of color has arrived in the garden! The crocuses haven't bloomed, yet, but the yellow buds are out in full force! I will definitely have something for bloom day this month.
And if that wasn't enough, there are buds and bits of green of all kinds throughout the garden beds...
Spring time --one word -- WOOHOO!
And if that wasn't enough, there are buds and bits of green of all kinds throughout the garden beds...
Spring time --one word -- WOOHOO!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Seeds, magical seeds
I just received my order from Botanical Interests. I didn't buy too much from them -- starting seeds and successfully seeing them though to true "plant hood" has been somewhat of a challenge. So I'm going with the "easy" seeds this year.
Carrot Asian New Kuroda -- I chose this one because it indicated that it's "one of the sweetest carrots your will ever eat." (First year for growing carrots)
Bean Bush Tavera (French Filet) Organic Seed -- I chose this variety because it is a bush bean (I'm just not sure we have room for a pole bean) and because it had french in the description and I knew what they meant by haricots verts. (First year growing beans)
Cucumber Marketmore Organic Seed -- These were new this year and they just screamed "I'm delicious and easy to grow!!" So I bought them. These will be trained to grow up a trellis. I've not decided if I'll start them inside or just wait until it's warm enough outside. (Second year growing cucumbers, first time from seed)
I also purchased a packet of the Real Shady Mixed Seed in hopes of turning what was an overgrown area into a pretty area of blooms. We shall see!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Big Plans for 2009
Spent some time this weekend thinking about the veggie garden this year. As you may remember, building new raised beds is amongst the big leftover projects of 2008 (building a new compost bin is another one).
I'll be going from one bed to two and from roughly 80 square feet to 120. And while I wish the raised beds would have been completed last fall, I know that it will get done early this year because I have big plans for the vegetable garden in 2009. BIG PLANS! Well, big for me.
Here's a lovely sketch (kudos to Jason for getting my paper into digitally recognized content) of those plans:
So here we have the sketch (and a key on the right). The two new raised beds will be approximately 6' by 10.5' each. And they will be full of veggie goodness. I'm hoping that we've allotted enough space (but not too much) for all of this.
More on this soon!
I'll be going from one bed to two and from roughly 80 square feet to 120. And while I wish the raised beds would have been completed last fall, I know that it will get done early this year because I have big plans for the vegetable garden in 2009. BIG PLANS! Well, big for me.
Here's a lovely sketch (kudos to Jason for getting my paper into digitally recognized content) of those plans:
So here we have the sketch (and a key on the right). The two new raised beds will be approximately 6' by 10.5' each. And they will be full of veggie goodness. I'm hoping that we've allotted enough space (but not too much) for all of this.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Orchid Excitement
With the weather so cold and lots of snow, there isn't much motivation these days to blog about gardening.
However, there is a bit of exciting news about an orchid I've brought to my office:
I purchased this orchid from a big box store in July and the flowers were present until October. I read up on how to make them re-bloom quickly. I clipped the stem back to the next node. A few months later, I brought it to work, where it lives amongst a co-workers orchids in a east-facing window.
And now...there are three "branches" with buds growing! I have no idea how long it will take for them to bloom, but I am hopeful that it will be soon.
However, there is a bit of exciting news about an orchid I've brought to my office:
It might RE-BLOOM!
I purchased this orchid from a big box store in July and the flowers were present until October. I read up on how to make them re-bloom quickly. I clipped the stem back to the next node. A few months later, I brought it to work, where it lives amongst a co-workers orchids in a east-facing window.
And now...there are three "branches" with buds growing! I have no idea how long it will take for them to bloom, but I am hopeful that it will be soon.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Bloom Day (or lack there of) Jan 2009
The blooms around here are lacking, that is for sure.
My desire to even think about outdoors (a whopping -11 degrees this morning!) is lacking as well.
My lone new bloom is the poinsettia from the holidays.
There are still a few of the same from December's Bloom Day, too.
It's cold and all that I want to do is stay under the covers.
Keep warm, everyone!
My desire to even think about outdoors (a whopping -11 degrees this morning!) is lacking as well.
My lone new bloom is the poinsettia from the holidays.
There are still a few of the same from December's Bloom Day, too.
It's cold and all that I want to do is stay under the covers.
Keep warm, everyone!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The great bulb experiment of 2008
A few weeks ago, I found some bulbs in the garage. I had forgotten to plant them in the fall and it now being truly winter, I wasn't sure what to do. I consulted Carol at May Dreams Gardens, a fellow Indianapolis gardener (who is much more knowledgeable than I).
Would they survive? Should I plant them? Should I force them? Should I just save them for next year? Should I throw them away or into the compost pile?
Mind you this is when we had about an inch of ice on the ground and the high a few days before was 15. She said if it warmed up enough to thaw the ground before Christmas, she'd suggest planting them. If it didn't warm enough, try to force them in a container.
As luck would have it, there was one glorious day of 45 degree weather! Not that warm, but maybe just enough to get them into the ground to see what would become of these forgotten pretties.
I got the bulbs in the ground. They had already started to grow in the garage. On the left you see muscari. These are what I most concerned about in terms of living. They seemed a bit dry and brittle.
I planted these under the sugar gum tree in the back where I had planted some tulips earlier in the fall.
The minnow daffodils on the left were starting to grow as well, but they are larger so I'm not as concerned about these. Some of these went in the back by the butterfly bush and other are in front of some hostas in front of the fence. I also planted some wood hyacinths and a few other small bulbs in front of the lilac bushes.
And that is the great bulb experiment of 2008. We shall see if they bloom come spring time (that is of course if the squirrels haven't dug them all up)! It will be a big surprise, too, when they do appear because I certainly didn't plan where everything went.
Would they survive? Should I plant them? Should I force them? Should I just save them for next year? Should I throw them away or into the compost pile?
Mind you this is when we had about an inch of ice on the ground and the high a few days before was 15. She said if it warmed up enough to thaw the ground before Christmas, she'd suggest planting them. If it didn't warm enough, try to force them in a container.
As luck would have it, there was one glorious day of 45 degree weather! Not that warm, but maybe just enough to get them into the ground to see what would become of these forgotten pretties.
I got the bulbs in the ground. They had already started to grow in the garage. On the left you see muscari. These are what I most concerned about in terms of living. They seemed a bit dry and brittle.I planted these under the sugar gum tree in the back where I had planted some tulips earlier in the fall.
The minnow daffodils on the left were starting to grow as well, but they are larger so I'm not as concerned about these. Some of these went in the back by the butterfly bush and other are in front of some hostas in front of the fence. I also planted some wood hyacinths and a few other small bulbs in front of the lilac bushes.
And that is the great bulb experiment of 2008. We shall see if they bloom come spring time (that is of course if the squirrels haven't dug them all up)! It will be a big surprise, too, when they do appear because I certainly didn't plan where everything went.
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