This has been the best gardening weekend in months. Yesterday's weather was glorious. Today it is a little cloudy, but not too cold to garden. We planted potatoes, onions, radishes, beets, lettuce and sugar snap peas yesterday. Today were are planting carrots and maybe more lettuce.

This picture above shows my middle monkey. Isn't he getting big. Check out those feet. He is my best gardening helper. He loves to work the soil with my Cobra Head tools. (Yes, tools - plural) Middle Monkey is demonstrating his self-taught double Cobra Head soil working technique. He can tear up a garden section in nothing flat. No, you may not borrow him. He is mine, all mine-bwahahaha. I will be using his slave labor taking advantage of his skills until it gets eleventy-billion degrees outside and we slow down again. (kidding, sort of;)

Prayers for Katie.

Earlier today I found a link on Facebook. It seems that Katie of gardenpunks is gravely ill with bacterial meningitis. Her sister is posting updates on a hospital site that allows family members to post updates on an ill family members status.

I am praying for this beautiful girl. If you are so inclined...

Garlic Greens

Where Abby Decided to Keep Her Ball

Do you think my dog is trying to tell me something?

Word Verification?

Recently I have received a lot of anonymous comments. Some of them have been from Japan and unreadable. There has been some rambling stuff that makes no sense and some unsolicited and stupid advise. Anyway, I am considering putting up word verification.

Let me know what you think.

Deb

Recycling Project

Tomato babies and proof I do laundry

There are over 100 tomato seedlings on top of my dryer under my grow light sewing light. I put paper labels on each container of seedlings and covered those with tape to keep out the moisture. Obviously, I cannot do that when the time comes to pot each little plant in individual containers.

Every year, I struggle to label my seedlings. Popsicle stick markers fade and wax pencil markings smudge. I cannot afford am unwilling to pay for those fancy metal markers. As I was putting away dishes this morning, I realized I have saved a lot of cottage cheese containers. Instead of throwing some of them in the recycle bin to make cabinet space, I took a few and cut them into strips leaving one pointy end. I marked the names of my tomato varieties on them with permanent marker and stuck them in the plants. Instant, free plant labels.

Your Welcome.

The Return of Sunday Dinner

I realize it is Thursday night, and kinda late, but I just had to share. Recently, Manly has switched from working nights to working days. Hallelujah. We were on the night shift for 13 years and I thought it was going to kill me. Now that he is working days, he is also off on weekends, which is a blinking miracle. I am now making big family Sunday dinners to celebrate. I intend to keep celebrating like this for the rest of my life. There are a few things I think are perfect for Sunday dinner - like pot roast, jambalaya, Italian fried chicken and just plan old roasted chicken. Apparently, the roasted chicken in the winner around here. I was saving it for Sunday dinner, the monkeys wanted it for dinner every night. Here is the way it is done.

1 whole chicken (organic if I can find it AND afford it)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Teriyaki sauce
a couple of shakes of garlic power
a couple of shakes of onion powder

Put the chicken in a roasting pan, poor the sauces over it, shake on the powders and bake at 350 until golden brown. You can bast it a couple of times if you remember.

Make gravy from the drippings with a little water and corn starch (instructions on the corn starch box). Serve it all with brown rice.

2010 Tomato Line Up

The tomato babies are growing nicely on top of they dryer again this year. I received a very nice sewing light for my birthday. I promptly turned that into a grow light for the little tomatoes. As soon as they have their true leaves (the second set that look different from the first set, but will look like all of the future leaves) come in, I will pot them up in 4 and six inch pots. Then we will start the take them outside, bring them inside dance until April 1st, when they will be planted in the garden or saved for the KCMGA plant sale April 14th.

This year I am growing these tomatoes from seed:
1. Yellow Pear
2. Cherokee Purple
3. San Marzano
4. Avivii
5. Ladano di Pannichio
6. Turks Mutt
7. Gajo de Melon
8. A mystery tomato because I forgot to write one down again this year. Durn.

I will probably buy a Green Zebra, a Celebrity, an Early girl and a Better Boy plants to round out the roster.

I would like to thank Monica for some of the seeds she shared with me in this years seed swap.

Not Dead Yet

We have been snowed since Thursday. The cabbages, leeks and broccoli appear to have survived. Tomorrow it is supposed to get down into the 20's. Sure you are tired of hearing us Southerners complain about this weather, but Aunt Debbi's Garden is still alive.