Some time between Tax Day (April 15) and Earth Day (April 22), you’ll find me in my Peachtree Corners garden during one of my favorite days of the year- summer planting day. Chances of frost in our area are nil as Mother Nature gives the green light to dig in the dirt to plant all summer veggie delights. And now that all of the plantings from my early spring Valentine’s Day garden are up and thriving, I’m finding little room for everything I want to plant for summertime. In addition, I’ll have to remember to carve out space to make room for the fall planting season (sometime between my …
PEACHTREE CORNERS—Normally when it’s time to thin seedlings, it’s an exercise in pure survival of the fittest. The scrawny ones get pulled and tossed aside, finding their way into the compost pile; the stronger ones are left in the soil to thrive and produce. This past weekend, however, as I was pulling and plucking, tiny seedlings of kale, spinach, beets, cabbage, kohlrabi, peas and lettuces flying everywhere, it occurred to me that all of these plants could have a second life, especially since I had such an abundant amount. I gently packed the roots of a handful of each variety in soil to …
Some women like diamonds. Some prefer flowers. Others desire lavish trips and go a-ga-ga over boxed chocolates. The way into my heart? Gardening equipment. Yep, nothin’ says I love you more than a compost bin. Yes, seriously. I’ve been coveting my friends Liz and Bud’s spinning compost system for a while now, especially since it cranks out usable compost faster than Michael Phelps’ Olympic record swims. I have a stand-up compost bin that I purchased 12 ish years ago- the type that doesn’t require turning. The problem though is it’s full to the brim ALL the time and it flat out doesn’t …
Ah, kale. How I love thee. Kale- my tall, dark and handsomely green love. You’re versatile, healthy and oh so tasty. You’re everything I could want in a man, ahem, I mean a vegetable. Where have you been all my life? Amazingly enough, kale and I didn’t cross paths until about four years ago after an enormous bunch appeared in my CSA box. I had to ask another subscriber to introduce us because we’d never met. Yet even at that initial encounter, I knew our connection wasn’t mere infatuation. I was enchanted. I immediately worshipped the ground kale grew in. Now, I’m fairly certain kale …
For the last several years, I’ve wanted to buy a garden arch to tame the beautiful beast of a vine (I think it’s a trumpet vine- gorgeous orange blooms in the summer) that was literally taking over a gate in the fence, blocking the entrance into the backyard. I’ve been on the hunt for a reasonably priced, yet reasonably attractive (two qualities that rarely coincide, unfortunately) arch for a long while now. Finally, for less than $80, I found a bronze colored arch with a fleur-di-lis at the top, one of my favorite flowers ingrained in my heart during my Kappa college days. With my two young …
More often than not, I tend to be an overly optimistic “sun-always-shining-in-my-world” kind of person. I have the ability to see the bright side of pretty much any situation. But occasionally, I’m so overwhelmed by the devastation and destruction our world faces that it flat out throws me into a dumpy, blah, cesspool of “woe is me.” This past week was one of those times. Earlier this week, a good friend reminded me that this year marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Immediately, my heart recalled the immense sadness I felt for weeks upon weeks after that dreadful September day. The dead. …
This past weekend, my daughters and I swung by the community garden for the first time this year, bag of onion bulbs in hand. I was anxious to see how the garlic, which I planted late last year in my plot, survived the winter months. Garlic, which has one of the lengthiest growing “seasons”, survived a chillier-than-usual Atlanta winter, is thriving and will be ready to harvest come early summer. My girls asked if they could plant the onions, and of course I said, “YES!!” One of the main reasons I garden is to teach my kids the very important life skill of growing your own food, a skill I…
I do this every year. I spend the winter months flipping through seed magazines and gardening catalogues, concocting overly ambitious plans in my head about what I’m going to plant come spring, Every growing season I like to try something new. I embrace experimentation since it keeps me learning; gotta shake it up in the garden, ya know? And, one thing’s for sure- I’ll never be accused of having a boring garden. But this year, wow, this year, I really outdid myself. This year, I bit off a little more than I could chew, or should I say, grow. In addition to expanding my home vegetable …
Spring planting season is here and for gardeners like me, we’ve been like penned up horses anxiously waiting to bust out of the gates at the Kentucky Derby. My compost is ready, my seed packets have been purchased and I’ve only been waiting for Mother Nature to say “it’s time”! In the South, we are extremely fortunate to have a near year-round growing season. I grew up in southeast Michigan where backyard gardens are a way of life, but only for about five months out of the year. I’ve been gardening pretty much my entire life. You could say farming is in my blood, literally, as many of my …
