The Tiller

Today Steve and I went out to the garden to spread out 8 more bags of leaves. It was bitterly cold with a damp brisk wind blowing snow flurries straight in from the northwest. It felt good to be out there! We walked up to Wilson's garden and  Steve pulled up three turnips (Wilson had told me to help my self whenever I came out there.) We then drove around Shelby Farms and stopped at the Outback to check out the off-leash area. Bailey would have loved it if she were a little younger and it was a bit warmer.

Once we got home. I ordered The Tiller! I have been looking and researching and planning on getting a tiller since last summer. I know gardening will be so much easier once we have one. I decided on a Honda 4 cycle tiller/cultivator after reading so many positive reviews. Besides being a Honda which I'm sure means "durable" in Japanese, it is relatively light weight and easily to control. I've been hoarding the cash-back bonus from Discover card for about a year so the money is already available to pay for it. It should arrive next week.

Aaaaand We're Off

Today I planted 6 different tomato plant seeds, 30 in all.

Sun Sugar-a small yellow
Brandy wine-a pinky-red beefsteak
Mortgage Lifter-large 1/2-1lb. fruits
Sweetie-cherry tomato
Cherokee Purple
Big Red-an heirloom

If half make it, we'll still have plenty to harvest. I also started red onion and mesclun seeds. The 5 paper egg cartons fit perfectly in the tray.

Getting ready for 2013

Ms. Griffin sent me a note telling me to let her know what plot near us we might want to farm this summer. While HH is probably enough, I was thinking a little more space for runners like melons and sweet potatoes might be nice.

It was just one year ago that I started my milkjug greenhouses for last year's garden. Probably time to get started on that for this year. Hopefully my seeds will be in this week. I've been saving paper egg cartons to use as starter cups. I'm hoping they'll work as well as the newspaper cups.

Getting ready

Last night I ordered seeds from the Urban Farmer site. They had some different items that I'd like to try.

Winter planting

It was cold, but sunny today. I planted 6 cloves of garlic in the herb bed.

Holly-days

Got a little crafty today. Made this swag out of Christmas tree branches, boxwood, nandina and holly from around the yard.
How I did it:
• 7 longer cuttings from the tree pointing downward and 5 shorter cuttings pointing upward, over lapping about 3-4 inches
• Tie together tightly with wire
• After that, slip in shorter cuttings of evergreen plants, including some with red berries. Besides these, you could also use ivy, mahonia-which mine are flowering right now, pine, cypress or yew.
• Finally, tie on a shiny bow (check Youtube for great bow-tying videos) and hang on a door or garden gate.

And Now We Sleep

It is the day before Thanksgiving and it is apparent that these acres have had some freezing temps. At home, I have plants that are still green and flowering. Even the tomatoes have fruit on them. So, I've come to say goodbye to my little plot until I see it again in March. Sleep well, my new Friend, I look forward to our adventures next year.