Mike's Onions

So, back on Cyber Monday my Dad signed me up for the "Seed of the Month Club."  Yeah, sounds kinda dirty, I know.  Some dude in Jersey with the handle "Mike the Gardener" sends me some of his seed every month.  The first month 8 packets came in an envelope, all different kinds of seed.  The asparagus I started last week came from this dude.  Since then, it's been 4 packets a month.  Last week another envelope arrived.  Mike had shoved some onion up in there, and the packet said that I can start it up to 12 weeks before the last frost date.  Rockin'.  Yesterday I got them going in the greenhouse.

I'm not sure about the quality of these seeds, really.  Hopefully Jersey Mike is doing us right.  Fingers crossed.

Starting seeds...asparagus and impatiens

The itch to grow things hit hard this weekend.  I busted out my seeds and the 2012 Farmer's Almanac.  Last frost in our area is scheduled for April 6.  That puts this weekend 12 weeks out.  Now, this will only be my third year of gardening, but I have learned some important truths about starting seeds and transplanting...

1. Transplanting is traumatic and very tough on plants.  Most vegetables do better if you wait until it gets warmer and sow the seeds directly into the garden.
2. There are some plants that need that headstart in the greenhouse, and some that are just too hard to germinate directly in the garden.  Those are the ones you start early.
3. Starting seeds in the greenhouse is a lot of fun for me.

So I made a schedule of when I'm going to start various seeds.  This weekend it was time to moisten some asparagus and impatiens seeds.  The flower seeds came from end-of-season pods that some of my father's impatiens had produced.  It's my first time starting both of these plants.  Fingers crossed.

I filled containers with seed starting mix, soak them thoroughly, place seeds, flick a little of the mix over them, and seal them up with plastic wrap.  I'll wait until I see green inside to unwrap them.  The impatiens seed is so tiny I used a moistened toothpick to place them.

Last year Angelia planted burgundy sunflowers.  They were gorgeous, and we saved the seeds.  Weeks ago, I jabbed some in a pot to see if they would germinate, and this is where they are right now.  We have tons of these seeds.  The packet of a dozen or so seeds that she bought was expensive.  Now we'll always have these flowers.  They will definitely be in the garden this year.

Shiny New Wheelbarrow

My Dad asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  Past two years, he'd hooked me up with seeds, but I got excited about seed sales early and messed that up for him.  So I asked for a wheelbarrow.  Dad went down to Tractor Supply in Mechanicsville, and bought me one...some assembly required.

These were the complete instructions - I am not kidding.  There wasn't even a picture of what the finished product should look like.  I built it on Christmas Day on the patio.  There was gnashing of teeth.  There was pounding with a hammer (NOT on the list of tools required.)  Liquor was involved.  In the end, man triumphed over large pieces of metal with poorly place bolt holes.  A wheelbarrow was born.

OK, it wasn't as dramatic as all that, but I was very happy with the end result.  One word: Shiny.

Mid-January Garden

The garden really has next to nothing going on right now.  A couple months ago, we raked all the yard leaves into the garden.  I ran the lawnmower over them a bunch, chopping the leaves up into smaller pieces.  I figure the leaves will break down some and add plant matter to the soil.  It's what I did last year, and the garden was pretty solid.  Ok, the garden isn't totally dead.  At the far end, some mustard greens and green onions are still plugging along.

In the middle of the garden, there are some kohl rabi and poppies that haven't been killed by frost yet.  I need to go get manure from my supplier soon.  Maybe we'll have another strangely warm weekend coming up.  I don't want to shovel frozen manure.  I imagine that might be hard.

Farmer's Markets, Turnips, and Ginger

I recently visited the Farm to Family Store and the Lakeside Farmer's Market (Winter Indoor Version).  My purpose for both visits was market analysis.  As cold as it sounds, I wanted to see what vendors were offering this time of year.  I'm also considering selling produce at Lakeside this spring and summer.
Turnips caught my eye at Farm to Family.  They were just the right size and price.  I bought 4 medium sized turnips.  At Lakeside, it was local grown ginger.  It was gorgeous and fresh and fragrant.
So, today for lunch I paired these two fresh local purchases.  I cut the turnips into chunks and put them on a baking sheet.

After spraying them with oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, they went into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  They emerged nearly perfect...

While they were roasting, I grated some fresh ginger and mixed it with rice vinegar and olive oil.  I tossed it all in a bowl.  I'm a big fan of intense flavors, and this mixture fit the bill.  To be honest, the turnips with salt and pepper were totally fine on their own, and didn't really need to ginger dressing.  It was fun making the concoction, and delicious to me.  Next time I might skip the vinegar, and just toss them with oil, salt, pepper, and ginger before roasting.