Master Gardener Class, Update on Goals

I have begun classes to become a Master Gardener. Sometimes the program seems more like Master Computer Wizard. The reading material, quizzes and assignments are all online through Washington State University Extension, and we go have live training on Fridays at the Norm Dicks building.

I am finding the computer side a little time-consuming and slow. I am learning a ton, and, believe me, after doing crossword puzzles and diagrams repeatedly and hoping the system will accept them (which it hasn't yet), I will know more than I ever wanted to!

The time with other students, community educators and mentors, and our fearless leader, Peg (WSU Extension employee), however, is great. What a wonderful group of people works in our county! I am impressed with their dedication to the program, and how generous they are with all of us, and each other.

Update on goals:

I have paid a total of $1.75 on library fines this year. So sad. My attitude is to continue in confidence that I am able to keep from accruing more fines. (Note: I was discussing my lofty goal with not 1 but 2 library workers at 2 separate times and both mentioned that they, the librarians, are the worst about keeping books out and racking up fines. Interesting, isn't it?)

No plastic bags yet.

Maintaining good habits. Hope to kick the sugar monster soon.

How about you? How are your goals or visions or revisions coming along?

Volunteers and Surprises

These johnny-jump-ups popped up out of nowhere in the rose garden.

Have you ever had the chance to do meaningful work for no money? Besides within your family? This past year I have delivered groceries and/or frozen meals to the disabled in my community once a week, along with tutoring a lovely young mother from Thailand in English. I have met a great group of people through the food program, both needy/disabled and other drivers. And the literacy/ESL work has been really interesting and fun. It has made the world seem like a smaller place. We are all so alike.
Along with my volunteering, I have worked my little yard hard. Last year I took out an invasive rose bush, which had little pink blossoms on it (before I took it out). I took some cuttings of it and stuck them in some pots, since those little flowers had been so lovely, and in the spring set them in the newly formed rose garden in front of the house. And look at this! The first to bloom! It makes me feel like I have a real green thumb.

The other day while watering the garden, the little greengage plum tree I planted last year caught my attention. It has a beautiful form, though a few of the leaves are holey from pests I found in springtime. The tree had some blossoms, but no fruit formed. As I was enjoying the sight of the little tree I spotted an actual plum there. No pressure, now, little fruit.

Strolling/trolling in the back yard one evening I lamented all the work that needs to be done back there. This summer has been particularly dry, and I have waited for moisture to plough up the beds I am preparing for herbs and flowers. Then at the border, on the grass side that needs trimming very badly, among all the dandelions, I spotted not one but two tiny volunteer rose bushes. How did they get there? Have they always been here and have just been mowed regularly? They are many feet from the (possible) original bush, which is now gone. Who knows? Today they will find themselves in their new potted homes in the front rose garden.

The cooler weather has arrived, and I love soaking in the refreshing, moist air. Plants that need cold, like lettuce and greens I need to plant for fall and winter harvest, will love this next few days. Will my melons fruit if our sunny days are limited? Stay tuned.

Saving Seeds

One of my ultimate goals is to grow my own food and save seeds so that I don't need to buy seeds again. For one thing, I am cheap--er, thrifty, frugal, practical, greedy. Who knows? For another thing, I really like to be self-sufficient. You know, if the world falls down, I still want to have fresh food on the table.

One way to be sure you will get a plant that is the genetic offspring of your original plant is to buy non-hybrid open pollinated or heirloom seeds. In your seed catalogs you will recognize the plants that are able to be grown for their seeds. Then you plant your desired plants, and choose the very best one(s) to grow for seeds. When harvest time comes, you simply leave those choice plants in the ground (pot, planter, etc.) and let them go to the flowering stage. Each of those flowers progresses to a seed. In all honesty, I don't really choose the best one to save, I just end up saving the one that goes to seed first. Then I quick harvest all the other plants so that we can eat as much of what I planted and that grew for food. This may tell me why I don't always have success with seed-growing and -saving.

Food for Everyone is a site that sells some interesting things, including a #10 can full of non-hybrid seeds that they call a perpetual garden. Though I believe Utah (which has extremely different growing conditions than we do here in the Northwest) was the place this idea was developed, I look forward to planting some of these seeds and seeing how they do.

After your plant has completed its growth and has reached the seed stage, you pull it out or cut it off at the stem. Then you have some choices to make. I have hung my plant upside down in a darkish dry place with a paper towel below it to catch the seeds as they dry and fall down. I have also simply placed the plant on the kitchen counter wrapped in a paper towel, and let nature take its course. In a few days you will find some lovely seeds to store for another growing season.

Isn't nature cool?

I have tried to save seed in the past, and, as most things for me (including marriage, but fortunately not motherhood), the first time was a bust. Generally, however, when I assess what went wrong and try again (and again and again?) I end up doing a pretty good job. And I am here to tell you that I have done something I never did before: I saved onion seeds! I will let you know when they grow some new onions, though I totally know they will.

I have successfully grown and saved and regrown nasturtiums (nasturtia?), marigolds, radishes, and am now looking forward to growing onions from saved seeds. I am hoping to save all sorts of things in the future. Let's see what this year brings!

Garden News

Beans, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons, beets, spinach, carrots, and radishes have sprouted! Oh, and weeds, too.

The 2 apple trees I planted last year have promising fruit on them.

I can now tell Agnes, Anne, and Colleen apart. Agnes is up in the nest hoping for babies. She never believes me when I tell her they are not to be.

These beans are really pretty.

Lettuce is thriving on the side yard. We enjoy fresh salad most nights.

The asparagus I planted, not quite knowing which end was up, is growing nicely.

The herb barrel flourishes.

This hummingbird feeder, priced at $4, has been the purchase which has brought me the greatest joy this spring. These little birdies are dive-bombing each other, swooping all over the yard, and licking their long chops with their sewing-needle-sized tongues. I made the mistake of fixing up super-strong sugar-water the first go-round, so our feeder has been well-populated. And the warmer days are abuzz with hummingbirds. I had never even seen one in our yard before this season!

Garden

I have been struggling with a cold (no, not swine flu) and allergies and have not been able to put in the time in the garden I had hoped. Here are some pix of the garden coming along. The beds are becoming beds. The herb barrel is to be filled.

Locally Grown Food

I have always loved to vegetable garden, but I'm not too good at it. I'm not sure why. I love fresh food, especially when I've grown it myself. But, although I say I love to garden and eat the produce, I don't think I am a very good gardener, and I don't have much success.

Sometimes I don't have a real great area to sow and reap. Deep down I don't believe that, because I feel like if you have a little piece of land, you can create miracles. Other times I think I'm just lazy, or lose interest. For instance, this year the weather wasn't cooperative during spring and even early summer. I planted my seeds, which had been ordered in January, and waited for something to happen. The radishes did come up. (I have decided I don't like radishes, home grown or otherwise.) One little planter with bush beans, pumpkins, and zucchini looks great, but the rest of the "garden" is pathetic. I really should put pictures up as proof, and I may.

Yesterday I did some cleanup and planted more seeds, and hopefully I will reap what I have sown, if the weather cooperates. These long sunny days should be just the thing. If I water. And feed. And weed. And keep it up.

I have made a wonderful discovery, however. I profess to buy food locally, and invested in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which is a subscription to a local farm. My CSA farm is just 4 miles away from my home. For our investment our family receives a bag of locally produced farm fresh organic vegetables each week for 20 weeks. Because of the weather, the startup was slow, but now we have more beautiful green food in the fridge than even my best gardening attempts have delivered in the past.

And although my veggie garden is important to me, I am grateful to actually be able to enjoy the locally grown food I say I want to purchase and eat.

To find out about the farm I subscribe to, click here.