The Potter in Me

I have this blog, so I might as well use it.  Hopefully this won't be a regular thing but I guess I don't need to limit myself completely to garden stuff, though that was the original purpose of this blog.  Things change.

As I'm sure I've mentioned, I have access to a pottery studio and things are starting to get very exciting for me.  I have been able to create and use my artistic abilities which I am now able to share with others.  I have recently had a few pieces commissioned by some co-workers which feels great, for others to enjoy what I do.

I have quite a few before and after's to share, you can kind of see the process of what pottery goes through to become the useful form it is at the end.

I hope you enjoy:

Let The Season Begin!

Plants are officially started.  We worked the last two weekends starting peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, melons and flowers.  Most of the flowers are vining plants though of course I bought a few bags of gladiolus.  Vines include Moon Flower, Morning Glory, Nasturtium, some wildflower mix and I'm sure there are others.  The three of us make quite a team, assembly-line-style operation, planting over 300 peat pots in a few hours. I think it's a good start to the season.
Here's the list for this year.  More to be added later in the season, I am sure.

Peppers:
Emerald Giant Pepper
Albino Bullnose Pepper
Thai Yellow Chilli Pepper
Thai Red Chilli Goat Horn Hot
Chocolate Habanero Pepper
Mustard Habanero
Purple Jalapeno
Black Hungarian PepperRed Marconi Pepper Quadrato D' Asti Giallo Pepper
Quadrato D'asti Rosso Pepper
Purple Beauty Pepper

Peas:
Golden Sweet Snow Peas
Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Peas
Blue Podded Blauwschokkers Garden Pea
Melon:
Ananas Melon
Hale's Best 45 Melon Oka Melon ( Bizard Island Strain )
Plus a gift pack

Tomato:
Ananas Noire or Black Pineapple Vorlon Tomato
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge
Black Icicle Tomato
Black Giant Tomato
Pink Icicle Tomato
Tsar's Royal Gift Tomato
Orange Banana Tomato
White Tomesol
Ivory Egg
Roman Candle

Squash:
Zucchini Squash - Golden
Zucchini Squash - Gray
Vegetable Spaghetti Squash
Table Gold Acorn Squash
White Acorn
Black Futsu Squash

Eggplant:
Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Pandora Striped Rose Eggplant
Japanese White Egg

Misc.:
De Bourbonne Cucumber
Atomic Red Carrot
Cosmic Purple Carrot
Golden Wax Bush Bean
Dragon Tongue Bush Bean

Herbs:
Cilantro, Slo-Bolt
Basil - Lime
Basil - Siam Queen Thai
Basil - Genovese
Dill Bouquet

Seeds Ordered and An Update On My Life

I have purchased $120 in seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I've never planted heirloom seeds before and still don't know a lot about them but I plan to learn this year.

As for my life, everything has changed since last summer but for the better I would say.  My eyes have opened up to whole new experiences and opportunities.  I am no longer engaged but I do still own a house in Fridley.  I now live in a small apartment in Wisconsin with my sister which means no gardening there.  Obviously that won't stop me from planting my little heart out. 
I plan to help my ex with the landscaping in Fridley. I welcome the opportunity to work on different spaces all summer.  My current boyfriend lives on a large chunk of land in the valleys of western Wisconsin. Their property is right on a river and the entire place is one giant project.  There's a lagoon that needs much tending too and I hope to add some beauty to it this summer with lillys and hostas, hibiscus and anything else my flower-obsessed self wants to see this summer.  The plan is to make some large planters for around the pond/lagoon because it's almost completely rock out there.  Him and I make pottery together at his neighbors house who is a retired ceramics professor.  So the sky is the limit with some nice looking planters.  That's a few big jobs right there.  Other than that, my boyfriend and his best friend spent all of last summer building raised garden beds.  Sixteen if I remember right.  They also have a large space fenced off to keep the deer (and dogs) out that will be used for squash and melons.

As for my boyfriend, when it comes to plants, he is very much like me.  Research everything.  And he's crazy about vegetables and even more crazy about all the fun stuff you can cook with different kinds of this or that.  It's so nice to share my passion with someone and bounce ideas off each other and introduce each other to new things/plants/flowers/foods.  It will make for a interesting and fun summer.  I cannot wait, though it seems I won't have to wait long considering it is March 12 and it's raining with 70's on the forecast for this week.

Summer here we come.

By This Time Last Year

I think I had much more accomplished and started by March 1st of last year.  I am sad to say I have not even spent time looking through catalogs yet this year.  What a sad thing.
I will have access to a large plot of land this year which is great.  However, the location is in the bottom of a valley where the temperature is 10 degrees colder than anywhere else which shortens the season length.  But I cannot complain for I will have space and flower related projects and someone to share it with.
I will be learning plenty about heirloom seeds and hopefully asparagus as my father has ordered some purple asparagus to split with me.

I cannot wait for the season to begin and have already begun day dreaming about what lies under the snow.

Spring is a coming!

Moved Some Plants, Pleanty To Go

I still have quite the project ahead of me.  I moved a bunch of daylilies, coneflowers, lilies and irises to my friends house.  Hopefully they will settle in but they've been moved to an area thats mostly sand so I'm not sure how they'll do.  Oh well, we'll see what happens next year.  Tonight I plan to move another big load of plants.  There are still pleanty of hostas and daylilies and you name it that need to be transplanted.  I've been away from my house for a month so there is a lot of stuff that needs to be done.  I plan to be "home" soon so I can catch up on fall chores before the frost hits.  I should really head out to the garden and see what's there to harvest.  Maybe make some corn tonight, hopefully have a fresh melon to munch on.  It's nice to feel like things could get back to normal in the garden.  I loved digging in the dirt last night.  Bout time!

Transplanting Question

Lets say I have a BUNCH of flowers I'd like to transplant right now.  Will they be established enough by freeze time that they will come back in the spring?

I'm refering to Hibiscus, Daylilies, irises, coneflowers, etc.  Maybe they each have their own "best times to transplant" but I'm curious as to whether they will all survive.

Another question, will Irises survive out of the soil for one or two full days.  I mean at this point they are fairly dormant anyways but if I pull them now, wait a day and transplant them tomorrow or the day after, will they be okay and come back in spring?

An Entire Season Passed

Unfortunately this was the most chaotic but sometimes wonderful summer of my life.  Sadly enough a lot of real life events got in the way of my gardening.  I neglected the garden and didn't even find the time to cook with most of the produce which is the whole point.  It's sad, I feel like I missed out on a once a year event like the state fair or some great gathering that you're always supposed to go to but I just missed out on summer gardening.  I have a feeling this will effect me this winter being that I didn't get in the dirt as much as possible as usual.  I may have to buy a kiddie pool and fill it with dirt to play in all winter.  That sounds a bit odd but I know I'm going to miss it.  And the flowers :( Thank god I planted some glads on our patio at work or I wouldn't have even seen my favorite flower this summer other than at the state fair.

I plan to go out this evening or possibly tomorrow and move some things, maybe do my last harvest and call it done aside from pumpkins. 

What a bummer, my favorite thing took a back seat this summer.  Hopefully next year I won't let it pass me by.

Long Overdue.

Sorry I've been out for so long fellas.  It's been a busy few weeks and to be honest, I haven't accomplished all that much.  Moved a plant or two here or there and done some weeding but I do have some pics and my first harvest!  Zucchini's, Peppers and Squash already?? Heck yes I'm a happy girl.  Pics to follow some day, guess I never uploaded them. Bummer.

The fact is I'm trying to wait to move anything in case some black dirt magically appears at my doorstep.  I have all sand, nowhere to put the sand, no time to put dirt in and NO TRUCK to get said dirt.  What to do?

Charts and Estimated Maturity Dates

Went to the plot last night.  Everything looks wonderful, no more plant eater problems (yet) and all my plants are getting so big.  I have blooms on my tomatoes, cantaloupe, and peppers.  I can't believe they're already producing this early but I'll take it.  I'm thinking buying grown plants or starting everything is really the way to go.

I am so obsessed.  I just took about an hour figuring out when I planted everything, what their maturity dates are and when I should have produce.  Woooow.  But here they are though they're all in theory and with the weird weather we had I believe some things are simply not going to work like they were supposed to.

Jun 10: Broccoli(old)
Jun 25: Carrots (old)
Jun 26: Musclun
Jun 30: Head lettuce(old)
Jul 10: Dill(new)
Jul 18: Summer Squash, Zucchini
Jul 20: Cucumber Pickle
Jul 23: Cucumber Champion
Jul 25: Onion Sets(old)
Jul 31: Basil(plot), Bush Wax Bean(new), Dill(new)
Aug 2: Pole Bean
Aug 5: Carrots (new), Sweet pea(new)
Aug 7: Tomato
Aug 8: Corn
Aug 10: Peppers(new/plot)
Aug 15: Roma Tomato
Aug 20: Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew
Aug 27: Pumpkin

The ( ) are to remind me which location they are at considering I have 3 different places with veggies.
Maturity Estimates:
April 16: (horizon)

Carrots: 70 Days
Onion Set: 100-120 Days
Broccoli: 55 Days
Head Lettuce: 75 Days

May 27: (raised bed)
Carrots: 70 Days
Peppers: 75 Days
Sweet Pea: 55-70 Days
Lettuce/Musclun: 30 Days
Bush Wax Beans: 65 Days
June 1: (raised bed)
Dill: 40-60 Days

May 29: (garden plot)
Corn: 71 days
Pole Beans: 65 days
Cucumber- Picklebush: 52 Days
Cucumber: Bush Champion: 55 Days
Peppers: 75 Days
Pumpkins: 90 Days
Summer Squash: 50 Days
Zucchini: 50 Days
Mtg Lifter Tomato: 70 Days
Rutgers Tomato: 70-80 Days

June 1: (garden plot)

Watermelon Sugar Baby: 80 Days
Cantaloupe: 82 Days
Honeydew: 80 Days
Basil: 60-90 Days
Roma Tomato: 75 Days

June 7: (garden plot)

Cucumber: Bush Champion: 55 Days
Watermelon Sugar Baby: 80 Days

June 11: (garden plot)

Peppers: 75 Days (garden plot)

Although this is useless information for everyone else, it is good for me to be able to look back throughout the summer and be able to compare what was supposed to happen to what really happened.  I think it's fun anyways.

Now I'm Playing Hardball

With the Rabbits and Deer that is.
After damages to my plants the first time last week, all I needed was some more fencing and time. I visited the garden again Friday to find four more peppers without their tops (they had peppers on them already too) and my tomatoes were nibbled on. I was furious but as I had told Derek. Unless you fence it perfectly, you might as well not fence it at all. I hadn’t had time to dig the fence under so it sat there wide open for bunnies to peak their little heads through. Friday night I bought two more six packs of peppers for half off. Two more jalapenos, two habaneros, 2 big berthas and a mix of six different bells, some yellow and red/green. I also got moth balls, and deer and rabbit repellent. I am serious now, I won’t have more fatalities. Saturday I planted out the peppers and then set to digging under the fence as well as adding another 3 feet to the height. My plot wasn’t plowed completely when I started so I had a good two feet of crab grass with runners all over. After digging all of that up, I buried the fence, filled it back in and sorted through all the dirt for the runners so I don’t have a huge weed problem the rest of the year. I didn’t plan on being out there for 3 hours so I ended up with quite the burn.
I still have so many projects to do but I’ve been juggling moving, painting, organizing, planting and gardening. My next outdoor project, finally is the front plots. I need to get some sand out of there, then put some good dirt in then plant away. As posted earlier, I have so many plants to move over from the old house so I need to get started asap! While I was moving some things from the old house, I grabbed some of the blooms and made this cute little bouquet.

I cannot wait till these are growing in my own yard that I can pick every morning if I want. So exciting!

More pictures to come maybe later tonight. My work decided to ban us from use of personal email so I can't really post at lunch anymore.  Oh well.

SUMMER STARTS NEXT WEEK!