What a wild ride that ice storm was! I cannot believe the luck we had here in Forsyth Missouri to come so close to disaster without actually stepping over the edge. Too bad it hit the Harrison Arkansas area with such a vengeance. I understand that a lot of folks have been without power for three days now. Other states like Tennessee have been even more adversely affected with over 600,000 without power at one point. Even so, the damage done to trees was bad enough. I would estimate that about 15% of all the trees in this area have lost one or more limbs. That adds up to lots and lots of piles of debris in front of most homes in my neighborhood.
My cold frames slept through most of this under a blanket of sleet that is over five inches deep in some spots. It’s Saturday today and most of this stuff should melt as the weather is supposed to warm into the mid fifties today and tomorrow.
Once the month of January is behind me I find I can begin to concentrate on the how and why of my spring and summer gardening efforts. The month of February is a time for two things to kick in gear. One, I get my catalog orders done. In recent years it seems that seed cost has really gone through the roof. Or is it just me? In either case, I have gotten much more selective concerning what I order and who I order it from. Increasingly, I find myself drawn to a company called Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com). They have a good selection of seeds that do not cost an arm or a leg. They accomplish this by offering packets that contain fewer seeds. This suits me fine as my small raised beds rarely require a packet of 30 tomato seeds to get me through the season. Pinetree offers packets of 15 to 20 seeds. An example of this would be a heirloom tomato, Brandywine, that I love to grow each year. One very popular online company offers a 50 seeds packet for $2.95 while you can get them at Pinetree for $1.15 for 20 seeds. I don’t know about you, but I’ll go for the fewer seeds since they generally have a limited shelf life and I like fresh seeds at the start of each season. This does not mean that I do not order from companies like Burpee Seed (www.burpee.com) or Park Seed (www.parkseed.com) from time to time. They all have great products and service. I just need to keep my eye on reality. (It would be nice if you could order seeds in little micro packs of 5 to 10 at a time. That would be perfect for small time home gardeners like me).
So anyway, I plan to get my computer warmed up and will peruse the electronic pages to see what’s being offered for 09. My two little raised beds are 4x8 feet each in size and produce more than enough for a bachelor like myself. My focus this season will be on the following vegetables for springtime planting; romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes and beets. These all grow fairly quickly and do not require much growing space. In the late spring I will also plant beans (pole and bush), tomatoes and bell peppers (both sweet and hot).
The second thing I like to get started in the month of February is some plant starts using 10 cell seed starters I’ve had around for ages. By starting some plants indoors (lettuce, radish and spinach in the early spring) I find I can get a great jump on most everyone around me. By the end of March when many gardeners are just beginning to peck at the soil in their yards, I plan on harvesting my first cole crops. I get this done through a combination of early planting and cold frame propagation techniques. I also work my garden soil just as early as possible. Here in southwest Missouri, it’s generally warm enough in late February (see graph) to work in some compost, sand and vermiculite and to get a few early starts out there. More later in the month as I get cranking.
The good news. It’s mid January so we’ve got a month of winter behind us. The bad news. We’ve got at least another month to go. Record cold has made this winter seem longer than usual. Combine this with the cold state of our economy and I think we could all use a bit of warmth sometime soon.
My cold frames are clicking right along. Like me, they’ve gone into hibernation for the time being, just waiting for that magical morning when the sun comes out and temperatures warm up enough for growth to resume. For my part, I’m planning a more aggressive campaign by relocating, if only for a week or two, to warmer climes. This coming week, I will be taking a trip down to Little Rock Arkansas to check out local conditions and to do a little photo journalism. If time and conditions permit, I may even go the extra distance to New Orleans where I can warm my old bones on gulf breezes.
Well. Well. It’s the first week in the New Year and I’ve finally harvested my first morsel of lettuce and spinach for a grand total of nine grams! Yes, I said grams. Not much to show for my efforts at this point. I also had a single radish that was about half and inch wide and weighed in at 5 grams. As I think I have pointed out in another entry, the crop is more or less in suspended animation at this time. Everything looks healthy; it’s just not growing very fast. Had planted the seed back in September instead of late October, I think I would have a lot more to eat at this time.
The radish got consumed first and tasted great! The lettuce and spinach was next. I added a small amount of iceberg lettuce and a short stalk celery, then sprinkled on some oil and vinegar. The result was a very fresh and tasty addition to my lunchtime fare.
My big hope is that as the weather moderates, I will see more and more growth. So that’s it for now. A total of 9+5 grams for a whopping total of 14 grams. My basket runnith over.
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