I Want a Last Freeze Date Written in Stone

We had a warm wet stormy day. At about 6:00 in the evening the wind picked up and blew in some cold cold weather. I truly believed it was too late in the season for a freeze. Silly me. The weatherman says we will have snow flurries. So we do the move the plant dance one more time.
 















The lemon trees, ficus, and cleradendron are back in the kitchen.



 















Pepper and tomato sets are back inside as well.



 
Trixie asks, "Why do you keep bringing these in and out of the house? Are you just crazy? Never mind, I answered my own question."





 

I went outside in the cold cold dark and took this picture of the pots covering my tomato transplants because I want this blog to be more ridiculous more interesting.

Where All The Cool North Texas Gardeners and Garden Bloggers Will Be

Kaufamn County Master Gardener Spring Seminar. April 4, 2009, First Assembly of God in Kaufman, Texas. Located at the corner of Hwy 34 and FM 1388.

Programs will include cactus and succulents, home irrigation systems, and gardening with herb.

You may submit 8x10 photos to the photo contest. There will be orchids, Earthkind roses, and a pass along plants for sale.

You can meet me, Aunt Debbi. I will be the crazy lady pushing plants at the plant sale.

I almost forgot, there will be food and it is all for free (except the plants of course).

A Very Nice Evening After a Stormy Day

It rained on and off all day, but cleared up and was a beautiful evening. I need to sweep up the deck. The peach trees have blown their blooms and made a big mess.
 















Most of the tomatoes are planted and I went ahead and companion planted with marigolds.
 















I seem to have a thing for broken containers.
 















Here's another one.
 

Sideways

 
So, even though I am really tired, I am willing to do this actual gardening post on sideways tomatoes. We are advised to plant tomatoes deep even remove a few of the lower leaves in order to plant them deeper. Tomatoes will send out roots along the stem. These extended root systems allow tomatoes to grow more vigorously and, hopefully, more fruitfully. This requires a really deep hole. To avoid the deep hole digging, it is often suggested to plant tomatoes on their side, but this could lead to breaking the little transplants. Another solution is to tip the plants on their sides the day before they are planted.
 

After 24 hours on their side, they reach for the sun and can be planted sideways with the stem below the soil with limited chances of breaking.

Lemon Tree Very Pretty

Somehow I spent $100 at the nursery yesterday. All I intended to get was a bag of potting soil and some compost. Oops.
 















They had this Meyer's lemon tree and it was blooming. I just had to have it.
 
Bunnies eating flowers are just cute.  
Here is a picture of all of the plants back on the deck. 

I also bought a banana tree for Manly Man, a flat of petunias, and a flat of marigolds. I wish y'all could smell that lemon tree. Sweeeet.

Double Murder

 

Two more innocent cabbages lost their lives to serial vegetable killer, Aunt Debbi. The butcher's profile shows that she strikes every year in early spring, but may kill again mid summer. This slaughter appears especially heinous as Aunt Debbi raised the cabbages from seedlings, apparently doting on the things.

Cole Slaw
1 cabbage shredded
2 carrots chopped fine
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Pinch of salt

Sauerkraut
1 cabbage shredded
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds toasted
Filtered water to cover
Place all ingredients in a plastic bowl. Add enough filtered water to cover the cabbage. Place a clean plate over the cabbage and weight down with a jar of water. Cover with a towel. Press on the plate every day to remove the bubbles. When the kraut stops bubbling, it is done.

Not a Green Thumb in Sight

I left the garden looking like this with all the tools scattered and the work incomplete. We began working on the deck and garden at 8:00 this morning and quit at 5:30. There was still enough light but.... 
This is what made me finally stop. A blister turned into a wound. OWIE.
 This is a better looking view. Ignore the weeds. They are a figment of your imagination. There are no weeds here.
 
I bet my back is going to be killing me in the morning. Maybe I need some of that muscle lineament stuff. I am so tired that I have lost the will to change the channel. Stuck watching a stupid infomercial.