Braving the cold!
First bloom on the pear trees, January 26, 2012
For more Macro Monday photos Click Here!
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
52 week Salad Challenge January 2012
The garden in 2011
Last year I became more interested in growing vegetables. I started with the usual stuff - tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, okra, and beans. The cucumber vines tried to take over the garden! My Sweet 100 tomatoes did really well, but the others were disappointing. I planted the beans late, so it was a race to get them mature enough to harvest before frost. Okra was good - it loves our hot Summers. The bell peppers barely made a few peppers, but the Jalepeno hot peppers did wonderfully well. But the real high point of the garden was early one July morning when I discovered a baby bird just learning to fly!
When the heat of Summer finally began to ease, I planted onions, radishes, and carrots in containers, a mixture of seeds in each container. Planting dates were August 31, September 13, and September 20.
The first radishes, Early Scarlet Globe, matured quickly. The first harvest (from August 31 planting) was October 4. October was the month of the radishes!
In November I began covering the containers at night as our temperatures dipped below freezing.
Plastic bags filled with hay or straw snuggled up against the containers, along with plastic sheeting over the tops at night, keeps them warm enough to continue growing. This is a recent photo - all the radishes have been harvested; just onions and carrots left in this container.
On November23, just in time for Thanksgiving, the first carrots, Little Fingers, were ready for harvest! These baby carrots really are about the size of your finger, but will grow larger if you can resist pulling them! They are deliciously crisp with more carrot flavor than mass-produced store-bought carrots. And we had fresh radishes from the garden, too!
The radishes were all gone by mid-December, but we enjoyed baby carrots all through December and January.
The Garden in 2012
The onions, Evergreen Long White Bunching, have been very slow growing. According to the seed packet, maturity is 120 days.
I pulled this one on Tuesday, January 24, just to see if they were big enough to eat. Small, but delicious! Look what a root system! Great potential, I think, for future growth. I'll give them more time. In the Spring I am going to plant onion sets instead of starting from onion seed, so as to get them going faster.
I've never grown lettuce or other salad greens, but thanks to the 52 Week Salad Challenge at Veg Plotting, I am going to give them a try this year.
Last week I bought radish seeds (Cherry Belle) and two packets of lettuce seeds (Black Seeded Simpson and Mesclun Greens Mixture). According to the packet directions, I can start them in March. I still have Little Finger baby carrot seeds left over from last year. As soon as onion sets are in the stores, I'll get them. By mid-April it should be warm enough to set out tomato plants, cucumbers, and peppers.
I am hoping for a great year of growing my own salads!
And may all of you have a great year of growing and eating salads!
For more on the 52 Week Salad Challenge
Visit The Veg Plotting blog - Click Here!
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Last year I became more interested in growing vegetables. I started with the usual stuff - tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, okra, and beans. The cucumber vines tried to take over the garden! My Sweet 100 tomatoes did really well, but the others were disappointing. I planted the beans late, so it was a race to get them mature enough to harvest before frost. Okra was good - it loves our hot Summers. The bell peppers barely made a few peppers, but the Jalepeno hot peppers did wonderfully well. But the real high point of the garden was early one July morning when I discovered a baby bird just learning to fly!
When the heat of Summer finally began to ease, I planted onions, radishes, and carrots in containers, a mixture of seeds in each container. Planting dates were August 31, September 13, and September 20.
The first radishes, Early Scarlet Globe, matured quickly. The first harvest (from August 31 planting) was October 4. October was the month of the radishes!
In November I began covering the containers at night as our temperatures dipped below freezing.
The radishes were all gone by mid-December, but we enjoyed baby carrots all through December and January.
The Garden in 2012
The onions, Evergreen Long White Bunching, have been very slow growing. According to the seed packet, maturity is 120 days.
I pulled this one on Tuesday, January 24, just to see if they were big enough to eat. Small, but delicious! Look what a root system! Great potential, I think, for future growth. I'll give them more time. In the Spring I am going to plant onion sets instead of starting from onion seed, so as to get them going faster.
I've never grown lettuce or other salad greens, but thanks to the 52 Week Salad Challenge at Veg Plotting, I am going to give them a try this year.
I am hoping for a great year of growing my own salads!
And may all of you have a great year of growing and eating salads!
For more on the 52 Week Salad Challenge
Visit The Veg Plotting blog - Click Here!
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wildflower Wednesday January 25 2012
Henbit Lamium amplexicaule
Thanks Gail for hosting Wildflower Wednesday.
For more Wildflower Wednesday visit Gail at Clay and Limestone
...
Thanks Gail for hosting Wildflower Wednesday.
For more Wildflower Wednesday visit Gail at Clay and Limestone
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Macro Monday January 23 2012
...
These Hellebores blooms hang down facing the ground.
My camera has a Macro Mode and Auto-Focus setting.
I held the camera down touching the ground and clicked upward sight unseen.
(That's why the background looks kind of strange).
My first few shots were only half a bloom,
but I kept adjusting the angle slightly until I was rewarded with this beauty!
Happy Macro Monday!
For more Macros visit Lisa's Chaos Here!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Scavenger Hunt Sunday January 22 2012
This week's prompts are:
Sunset, Black and White, A Day in My Life, Four, and Colorful
Sunset:
Black and White:
Four:
Happy Scavenger Hunt Sunday!
Sunset, Black and White, A Day in My Life, Four, and Colorful
Sunset:
Winter Sky, Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 5:04 pm CST, Temperature 40 F
Black and White:
From my archives, January 10, 2011
A Day in My Life:
It seems like I am always driving to some place, or I'm on my way back from somewhere, so
A Day in My Life always includes a view through the car windshield.
Though the day started out dreary, the rain moved on, and the day ended with lots of sunshine!
Though the day started out dreary, the rain moved on, and the day ended with lots of sunshine!
Four:
Each one of the four wheels of this steam locomotive, built in 1926, is 62 inches tall!
The train is now at Frisco Park in Amory, Mississippi.
Colorful:
A beautiful splash of color on a cold winter day
UPDATE:
Last week's prompt, Frozen
For those of you who remember my frozen flower.
You will be happy to know that Pansy shrugged off the snow
and opened her bud a few days later.
Happy Scavenger Hunt Sunday!
For more Scavenger Hunt fun visit Ashley Sisk Here!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day January 2012
Mississippi, USA, Zone 7.
Forecast: low temperature Saturday night 25 F, Sunday's high 54 F.
After a light snow on Thursday and below freezing temperatures, I was surprised to find any blooms, but here they are!
This double daffodil is commonly known as Butter and Eggs. As the bloom matures and opens fully, the green petals turn to buttery yellow - the color of scrambled eggs!
I do not know what this is. I think the buds are just as pretty as the tiny flowers. It is a shrub about 5 or 6 feet high, with branches that arch over and hang down. Below is a photo made last November that shows the beautiful Autumn foliage.
Forecast: low temperature Saturday night 25 F, Sunday's high 54 F.
After a light snow on Thursday and below freezing temperatures, I was surprised to find any blooms, but here they are!
An Oxalis sheltered by the porch thrives in our hot, dry summers and cold, rainy winters -
a real winner!
Hellebores - The Lenten Rose bloom hangs down, so I lifted its head to see inside.
Can someone help me identify this wonderful plant?
Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
Scavenger Hunt Sunday January 15 2012
This week's Scavenger Hunt prompts are:
Stacked Up, Winter Wonderland, Sweet, Hole, and Frozen
Stacked Up:
Winter Wonderland:
Sweet:
For more Scavenger Hunt fun visit Ashley Sisk Click Here!
Stacked Up, Winter Wonderland, Sweet, Hole, and Frozen
Stacked Up:
Big, blue tubs stacked up to be stored in the barn until time to plant the Spring container garden.
From my archives, January 10 last year, looking down our driveway to the road.
Sweet:
A sweet, juicy orange - extra Vitamin C for a cold winter day!
Hole:
Peeping through a knot hole to see what's on the other side!
Frozen:
Our Thursday afternoon weather was a type of snow called graupel.
Water droplets form on snow flakes as they fall and convert them into tiny balls. Amazing!
Here is another photo that shows them clearer.
Here is another photo that shows them clearer.
Fortunately, this was a very light snowfall. Most of it melted as it hit the ground.
For more Scavenger Hunt fun visit Ashley Sisk Click Here!
Shadow Shot Sunday January 15 2012
We have strong winds today, so I had to steady the stem with my hand to get a photo of the bloom. As a bonus I got an interesting Shadow Shot!
For more Shadow Shot Sunday fun Click Here
For more Shadow Shot Sunday fun Click Here
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Sky Watch Friday January 13 2012
The fog came in Sunday night and stayed with us all day Monday, January 9th.
For more Sky Watch Fun Click Here
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Wordless Wednesday January 11 2012
A few of the sculptures for the Charity Horse Show, Germantown, Tennessee, USA
For more Wordless Wednesday Click Here
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Macro Monday January 9 2012
For more Macro Monday fun Click Here!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Scavenger Hunt Sunday January 8 2012
This weeks promps are: One Color, Laundry, Empty, One Dozen, and Soft.
One Color:
One Color:
Angel on top of the Christmas tree
Laundry:
Washed, dried, folded - done!
Empty:
From my archives, September 6, 2011 - The empty shell of the Periodical (13-year) Cicada
One Dozen:
Audubon calendar for 2012 - a dozen months rushing toward us
Soft:
A fluffy seed head in soft afternoon light
NOTE: for more information on the Periodical Cicadas, click this link to Wikipedia - Cicadas
For more Scavenger Hunt fun visit Ashley - Click here!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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