Somewhere around here I have Euell Gibbon's "Stalking the Wild Asparagus."  I have had quite an interest in gardening and wild plants ever since I can remember. Now that things are starting to grow, I think Dilara and I will start looking for things we can eat. Last year she ate violet and dandelion leaves. I may cook up some poke sallet, but I do have some reservations. I would not eat it a lot, but it has been eaten in this part of the country every spring by many people who have lived to tell about it.  I think the secret is changing the water 3 times as it cooks. I am learning more about permaculture and I think the more edible plants I can find and use in my yard, the better.
http://www.tennesseeturfgrassweeds.org/PAGES/weed.aspx?WID=46&Name=Common%20Purslane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw5_YhjtFV0&list=UULRDaR2ywG1APiwUzeTwrJw --backyard salad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aSdokl-6n4 ---backyard forage


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbhL8fzKZLM --wild onions

Found this last night.
http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-KGPPreplanned

Will definitely use it for my 4 x 12 foot beds at the community garden.  I am not sure these spacings work out the same as Mel's square foot spacings. For one thing..I don't think he EVER has 2 plants to a square.  Anyway, it is a good tool, and free!

Today is fairly warm and sunny. A pretty glorious First Day of Spring!  I am going to spend most of it inside, though.  I figured out the seeds that I was sprouting that were unmarked that I thought were onions were actually lavender. They didn't sprout, but I might have planted them outside.  I started a new batch on the paper towels today. They have a long germnination time.  I think my okra seeds aren't going to make it.  they aren't doing very well in the little coir pellets. I will start more and plant them in pots with potting mix. I'm going to have to buy all the ingredients next month. Vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. 

Brush and leaves got picked up yesterday...I was not finished with my pile.  The neighbor across the street just set out bags of leaves today, but it's too late.  I may take a few bags of leaves at a time and dump them at the community garden and lay burlap over them to keep them down.  They don't have a decent compost pile.  They have a great bin, but it's full of dried stalks of old plants...nothing that will decompose quickly.  There is a small pile of leaves behind that bin that has decomposed beneath the first few inches. There are 2 pallets, I think.  I may ask if I can wire them up and dump leaves in there, and layer with topsoil. Maybe it will make a good bit of compost by next year.  The neighbor has many bags of leaves.

I am DELIGHTED with the results I have gotten from pre-sprouting seeds on wet paper towels in ziplock bags. The okra seeds were sprouted in about 2 days. Dilara and bagged up a lot last Wednesday after church and I can hardly keep up with them. In fact, my "colorful beet mix" seeds may be no good for beet roots--the colorful roots were VERY long.  They didn't sprout right away, though. Definitely, you need to check them daily.

My "warm spot" is the oven with the door open and the light on.  I have a heat mat somewhere, but my oven light switch is broken and I pretty much keep it on all the time till it burns out. Makes a nice spot to dry vegetables, keep opened bags of chips crisp, make yogurt, etc.  I am afraid it will be too warm if I close the oven door.  It is a wall oven, so nobody is going to trip over it. I don't know how much I would need to keep it propped open to keep it from getting too hot.

I wonder if the seeds get used to the heat and don't do well if you put them straight into the cold ground. I guess "hardening them off" may be good, but of course, you want to plant them somewhere as soon as possible because the roots can get tangled in the paper towel. I try to space them out so I can cut around them and plant them along with their little piece of paper towel.

I planted the Calliope Mix carrots in the back of a discarded toilet tank I found on the side of the road. I planted rather thickly. I will probably grow carrots every 2-3 weeks and put them in buckets. I have a steady supply of squarish kittly litter buckets.

My potatoes are planted in burlap sacks, rolled down. I planted what I had last year. I will try to be very diligent about topping them up with leaves/soil/compost. I didn't do so well with that last year.

Note to self---don't try to grow cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or brussels sprouts from seed. I have got nothing but "seed leaves" from the cabbage and cauliflower I started last month in coir. The plants I got from Wal-Mart are very nice. I just got spinach, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.

My San Marzano tomato seedlings are doing great. I have several. I sprouted them on cotton balls and planted them in small pots, then potted them up in bigger pots, burying the stem well. Yesterday I potted up Principe Borghese (9!), 2 beefsteak, one yellow pear and one pear tomato.  Those were all from seeds I have sprouted on paper towels in the past week.  I really don't think I'll to paper towels again...cotton balls are easier and I guess they are better for tomato plants. I think the paper napkins are better for the things you plant a lot of.  Like carrots and radishes and onions. And the big seeds like okra and beans.

It is important to bury seedings up to the true leaves. I have planted lettuce in the pots the lilies are in. I sure hope they didn't get hurt by cold weather.  They are really too big for me to take in, but I dragged them to the side of the house behind a bush and I covered them with a comforter when it got really cold...except for the other day when it hit 32 degrees. 2 are above ground. 

I did not keep good records yesterday. I put a lot of things into an earthbox and i have already forgotten what. I planted the sprouted beets. Oh, maybe the other section was onions. and I planted the dinosaur kale and broccoli rabe.  I was not happy with how they were growing...very leggy. I planted them deeply in hope that they will do better outside. 

I worry about the birds getting my seedlings. I covered the corn and what I planted yesterday with row covers, but they blew off. I will cover again and anchor the "protection" down better. 

I guess I should be planting radish seeds weekly. Dilara likes them.

I was going to dump out my topsy turvy strawberry planter, but I just cut off dead leaves and took out what looked like dead plants.  I need to top it off with a lot of good compost and I think I will be using fish emulsion.

I bought my first bottle of fish emulsion fertilizer this spring. Have heard such good things about it.

I also mixed some oatmeal, blackstrap molasses, and mycorrhizal innoculant with some worm castings, put them in a plastic bag--open, and put it in a small cardboard box and put it in my "warm place" (oven). So, 3 days it is supposed to have made a fungal web. Then, I guess I mix it with compost or something...it is supposed to be good to use in compost tea.   www.compostjunkie.com

I need to clean out my refrigerator today. I know I'll have plenty of "worm food."  I still have my worm compost from my blue trash can dumped out in the front yard, on a dog food bag "tarp" and covered with a piece of carpeting. I wanted to do something fancy with the trash can, but I guess I'll go ahead and get it started again today. the worm compost left isn't as "finished" as I would like, and I need to harvest some worms to share with Kathy.

Mammoth sunflower plants are doing well (sprouted really fast in paper towels!) as are the okra.  I thought my basil seeds had lost viability because some didn't sprout, but some from another packet sure did!!  I guess I can put the basil in the community garden when it warms up.  I really need to insulate this dog kennel so I can put my heat loving plants (peppers, tomatoes, okra, basil) out there.  I am running out of room in the house.  I wonder where I put all that bubble wrap?  I should be able to make some makeshift cloches out of it. I wonder how to keep it from blowing away, though.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-bubble-wrap-garden-22104.html

I have not labeled things like I should and I think I have lost track of some things. Already.

I will want to buy more lath and screws to make the sfg grid. I want to build a vertical trellis, too. I LOVE the cattle panel arches. Cost about $25 after tax at TSC. 16' by 4'2"
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2879/

Well, I can't find my "edit" button, so I am going to start a n  ew post to continue my thoughts.  Okay. So, I want to make more compost.  I also want to make my own fertilizer and stuff. The mycorrhizal inoculant I bought was pretty expensive.  I found this online http://www.sunseed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/A-SIMPLE-METHOD-FOR-MAKING-YOUR-OWN-MYCORRHIZAL-INOCULUM.pdf and these videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzbI7wAS-JM --the video says you can use worm castings (glad I have some left) and oatmeal  and  " have a fugal soil web in 3 days"---looks like he may be growing marijuana.... I think he got his info from compostjunkie.com, where I found this: ""moisten a couple cups of compost (just damp, not dripping wet), and then put it in a light-resistant container. Then grind up some simple proteins (fungal foods), such as oatmeal, and mix them in with the moist compost. Cover partially with a lid, and then place in a warm, dark area. We typically put ours under our sink, or above our fridge in a cupboard. After about 3 days, you'll remove the lid, and find a bunch of fungal mycelia throughout the compost. You can now use this compost to brew your fungal tea. "  I guess if you are using a dark container, it doesn't matter if you put it in a dark place. My oven with the light on makes good yogurt, so I guess it would make good fungus.

another https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDkOC71jlVY and I guess I'll be searching more for anything to help my garden grow better. My tomatoes have never suited me. I want to grow red and yellow pear tomatoes for Dilara and some Beefsteak and also some San Marzano and Principe Borghese for sun dried. I hope to make some paste from the San Marzano.

http://www.compostjunkie.com seems like it has a wealth of information. I definitely want to try to brew compost tea this year.

Okay, here I go to start another round of seeds...I guess I'll do 3 types of tomatoes, r



 

I hope I haven't already bitten off more than I can chew...I missed out on a lot of gardening last year because of my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome flaring up like it hadn't done for 10 years.  Now, I guess I am working on making up for lost time.

I am very excited about my experience pre-sprouting seeds. Dilara and I spent a lot of time the other night with paper towels, a spray bottle of purified water and zip-lock  sandwich bags. It has only been 2 days and the okra and radishes and Mammoth sunflower seeds have already sprouted! I am starting some more tomato seeds and also some eggplant and lavender  tonight .  I started some things several days ago 9 days, to be exact, but they aren't doing much.  I haven't been coddling my seeds and seedlings as well as I should, I am afraid.

I started swiss chard and Kale under lights, but I think the swiss chard might have gotten too cold.

I did buy some brussels spouts, cabbage, spinach and onion plants and got them into earthboxes.

I did not do the community garden beds last year, but they just put a sign up saying plots are available. Last year they started letting people plant on April 1.  I am going to need to get a plot or two.

I just gathered up some wonderful compost the other day, both from my regular compost pile, and also from my worm composter (trashcan with no lid and holes in the bottom for drainage.)  I need a lot more compost, though. I need to be getting more coffee grounds and also I should be getting kitchen waste from my restaurant and grocery store owner friends. My neighbor is a landscaper and I know he does leaf removal.  I need to ask him where he dumps his leaves. I have 2 interesting videos I have watched lately. I wish I knew where I could get some good sawdust and if I can "grow" my own mycorrhizal inoculant. I also should have some inoculant for my peas and beans. I did ask for some at one store and they didn't have any, but I did get the mycorrhizal inoculant.  It seems to me that if you have sawdust rather than wood chips, it should break down faster. It should still be free, too, but probably not in the massive quantities that are available in wood chips. Nashville has "free mulch' somewhere and I need to get some. I don't know if I can take my own bags or if you

We just ate a couple of tasty pears, fresh off the tree.  We left 2 that the birds had pecked.

I am not sure if the ones we are were Kieffer or Moonglow, or both, but the ones that we picked that are not ripe are Bartlett. I wonder if I should have left them on the tree, but they were not firmly attached to the tree. We had 18 baby pears, I thinned them out by about half.  
 
There is  a flush of raspberries, but I think the rain has not been good for them.

We are having crazy weather for August. Cool and wet. 

My tomatoes have been a disappointment. Bell Peppers and Okra not as good as usual, but the eggplants are doing well. I am just not  in the mood to eat them. 

I just harvested a bunch of Mister Lincoln rose petals. Washed and dried them and put them in the freezer. I am going to try to root some more cuttings. I love that rose!

My leeks were a disaster. I wonder if I should have harvested them a long time ago. They never got big.

Wonder what my potatoes are doing...they never bloomed, vines never died back. Maybe I will dig them up and replant and maybe eat some as "new potatoes"...I will look up info about them first.

I have had an especially bad year health wise and am having a hard time keeping up with the garden, and everything else.

(Well, this got saved to draft rather than being published, but at least I know it is "late July 2012")


I am delighted to see that one of 6 "Mr Lincoln" hybrid tea rose cuttings has rooted and is showing new growth at top! I will be trying to start more from prunings. I loved how red and fragrant they made some Rose/Peony jam we made a couple of months ago. I will try to get at least 3 Mr. Lincoln bushes and next year I want to buy a 'cabbage rose"---the most fragrant I can find, and have several.

I just cut up a Sugar Baby watermelon that I got from the Farmer's Market for $6. I should never buy anything but Seedless Sugar Baby watermelons (or the yellow ones) because regular watermelons don't taste good to me. I just read that watermelon rind was like a natural "Viagra" LOL. Well, I guess that is good to know. I am making "Watermelon Candies" http://mjskitchen.com/2012/09/watermelon-rind-candies/ and I increased the recipe by 1/2 and used 1 lime and 1/2 lemon juice and omitted the star anise. 

What a huge waste when you throw watermelon away, except that my worms love it!

I see some volunteer kale plants coming up. My parsley from last year has gone to seed. I planted some butterfly weed and Shasta Daisy that I started last year from seed, and they bloomed this year.  I really want some echinacea/purple coneflower.  I wonder if I have some seeds for it.

My Triple Crown Blackberries have done so well.  I wish I had more. My blueberries are doing really well, too. My raspberries are taller than me and are looking like they are about to bloom for the second time this year. I don't know why that is.They are Heritage and Logan....I don't know which is which, but they are going crazy...I hate to cut them back or mow them down.

I picked 4 pears off the tree on Tuesday. This is Saturday.  I have no idea when they are supposed to be picked. They were kind of small. I wonder if they would have been bigger if I had thinned them more. I did thin a bunch of them. We only planted this last year.  I think the ones I picked were Keiffer and Bartlett. There is supposed to be a "Moonglow" pear grafted in somewhere.

My tomatoes are not doing too well.  They never do. I wonder if I don't fertilize them enough.  I have picked several bell peppers (I never fail with bell peppers) and Ichiban eggplant. I also got some "Millionaire" eggplant plants when they were half price at the farmers market. They are bearing now.

My potatoes were not taken very good care of.  I did not hill them up. they are in grow bags. I think I have Red, blue, and yellow ones again. The plants have not flowered, but they are still alive. I had several "volunteer" potato plants come up from last year.  
Our Sugar snap peas did very well.  I meant to plant Tendergreen cucumber seeds when the peas were on their last leg, but I have misplaced my seeds.

I bought some Clemson Spineless okra plants and have harvested some from them.

For fall, I definitely want to plant more Kale and maybe some other greens.

My Leeks didn't do so well.  My onions from plants I started from seeds last year (along with the leeks) did very well. I definitely want to grow my own onion starts again.  I broke the "scapes" off the leeks and I kept hoping they would get big and fat. Maybe they don't have enough fertilizer? They just looked pretty "wimpy"  

I wish I had grown a lot of basil from seed. Maybe next year.

My freezer seems to be having some issues.  I probably should dust the coils or something.I sure can't afford a new freezer. I wonder about drying blueberries, but we have been eating them fresh, in smoothies, and in pie.  I would like more blueberry plants, too. 

I have several pots of flowers I need to get into the ground.  

I bought a "therese bugnet" rugosa rose for $3 or so at Big Lots. It is alive. The one I bought last year or some time back did not live.

I wish I had a good kind of sweet mint. I wish I had plenty of parsley. I am trying to encourage the parsley seeds that have dropped from the plants that went to seed this year. 

I was so sick January to May. I have not had time to catch up on everything.

Strangely, my strawberries didn't do so well this year.  I really think last year we had squirrels or rabbits or birds eating the berries, especially my blackberries. It was very frustrating to see them disappear as soon as they were ripe enough to pick.

I want to plant some rainbow mix carrots and I need to rejuvenate the soil with some fertilizer and compost. 

I have one rain barrel set up, but I want to set up another one.

I wish I had a friend with horses or cows or rabbits or chickens so I could use the manure.  I should be taking advantage of the free coffee grounds from Starbucks....it is supposedly similar to manure. I have my regular compost and my worm compost. I hope next year I will produce more compost.  You really have to put some effort in it to have good and abundant compost.

I usually don't get my first ripe tomato till near the end of June, but I got it a whole month early this year.  Also, my white phlox is blooming, and that usually happens around the end of June, too.

Today I picked 3 yellow squash, 3 tomatoes, 3 serrano peppers, and 2 small green bell peppers and a small onion (it's big for a "green" onion).

Last week Big Lots advertised Topsy Turvy products for sale. I bought 

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