 Gardening in a wheat bale...
So I just read this fantastic article about gardening in a bale of wheat. I think Im gonna give this a go. At least for my salad greens etc..
Here is the link
http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/strawbales.htm
I was thinking that I could get my Mom to put some along her front as well... Wee!! Its getting close! It was 55F today!
Gotta get out there and clean up the garden still.... What should I plant first????
Snow peas! and winter gardens!
I found this step by step guide to growing snow peas shoots indoors. This sounds fun and yummy, think I will give a go. Wanna do it together Gardenfae?
http://www.thedailygardener.com/snow-pea/?=
I actually really dig the concept of the daily gardener. Basically you just continuously grow sprouts for a daily crop of greens. Mmm... Would need to get a book shelf like they have to put them on, but this is really intriguing. Especially during these cold winter months when I dread stepping outside!!!!
Also...
Everyone Should Be Growing Peas
By Megan Gross, Horticulture/Natural Resources Extension Agent, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
Peas are rich in fiber, folic acid and vitamin A. We should all be eating them, and we should all be growing them. Peas are a cool-season vegetable, meaning they will perform best when temperatures are in the 70's and will be just fine if subjected to a light frost. Their growing season of only about sixty days makes them easy to grow in our area.
Peas should be planted when soil temperatures reach forty degrees. Soil should be moist (not soaked), rich in organic matter, phosphorus and potash. They prefer a more basic, rather than acidic, soil. Lucky for us, many of these qualities are common in our native soils. Our typical deficiencies are organic matter and nitrogen. Amend your garden soil with compost before planting, and apply a little slow-release nitrogen fertilizer after seedlings emerge to help resolve these problems.
Because yields decrease as day length increases, the earlier you plant the better. While an April 1 planting would be ideal in terms of day length, April 1 is not practical for most gardeners in our area (i.e., those of us without a cold frame or hoop house to protect plants from a hard frost). Just know that while it’s not too late to plant now, your yields will not be as great as they will be for the gardeners who planted a few weeks ago. As a matter of fact, I plan to seed peas once every two weeks through mid-July. Some peas are better than no peas; that’s my philosophy. And I’m certain my yields will be more than adequate.
There are three major types of edible peas: English peas, snap peas, and pod peas (also called snow peas or sugar peas). English peas are the standard shelled pea (in other words, don’t eat the pods) and are great for freezing and fresh eating. ‘Dakota’ is a new 52 day variety that would make an excellent choice for gardeners above 8000' with a particularly short growing season.
Snap peas are the round pod type of edible pod peas. Pick snap peas when both the peas and the pods are plump and will "snap" in two like a fresh green bean. Eat pods and peas together as you would snow/sugar peas. Note that as the pods become plump "strings" develop. Strip strings before cooking; start at the tip and strip toward the stem on the concave side, then over the top and down the convex side. Perhaps the most popular variety is ‘sugar snap’, known for very sweet peas and pods and long picking period.
Sugar or snow peas have flat, crispy pods. They are a stir-fry classic and a welcome addition to any fresh salad, if they make it that far. I tend to eat most of mine right at the garden. Large pods develop strings, as do the snap peas. Again, remove strings before cooking.
Most peas grow tall and require staking; others are specifically low-growers and do not need to be staked. Other than that, growing peas is pretty much a no-brainer. Poke them into the soil, keep them moist, wait about sixty days, and enjoy.
A great gardening resource. http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/VegFruit/vegs.htm
 Creating a Garden Space
A very good friend of mine recently started a garden blog in an effort to become a better gardener! I thought to myself what a wonderful idea. So shall I!!!
I have been gardening for many many years, but there is always room for improvement. I figure this is going to be a fun way for me to share the bounty of my harvest as well as my growing knowledge of the art.
Plans for the coming gardening year are....
Create a xeroscaped front yard, using indigenous plants and flowers native to Utah.
Replant side garden with peas, carrots, beans, spinach, kale, cabbage, acorn squash, and probably much much more. (its fairly small)
Fix watering system in backyard to be more efficient.
Oh' I am sure I have so much more to do, but this is a good start for my first post. =)
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Flowers from my yard ~ 2007
2007 Bounty ~ A year in review
