It's T & A Time!!!

T&A! T&A! T&A!

No, not T*ts and @$$, you perv!  Test & Amend!  Yayyy!!!

Doesn't sound too exciting?  Welllll...............................

If you want results like this:

And this:

Or maybe like this:

And this:

And, of course, who can resist this?!

Mmmmm :::drool:::

If you want to experience the above, firsthand, well you're gonna have to do this:

I first blathered about it here...  Or, you can skip my blathering, scroll down to the bottom of that post and find the links to Finnyknits' (aka Indie-Farms) blog where she explains Soil Testing and Organic Amendments very clearly and all scientific-like.

Feed your soil - and it will feed your plants!

So, if you're a South Bay Gardener - Run!  Do not walk to your nearest Garden Supply Store and buy yourself a Soil Test Kit.  Do it NOW - before the warm weather truly hits!!!

More Gardening Madness and Bonus Bee Story!

So yeah...  Been bizzy-bizzy-bizzy this past week or so!

Friday afternoon, I granted myself a little "Comp Time" from work and logged-out an hour early so I could drive up to San Mateo for the annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.  It's an Annual Thing - kinda like one of those "Rites of Spring."  I feel like, if I missed it, it wouldn't *really* be Springtime!

Springtime?!

Why yes please!  And thank you!! :-D

The Garden Show actually doesn't change a whole heckuva lot.  Of course, the displays change - but it still seems like the same thing year-after-year - and I wouldn't miss it for the world!

I took a bunch of pics with my Droid while I was there but, unfortunately, none of 'em were particularly post-worthy.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy perusing the vendor booths and stealing getting inspiration for different types of ceramic garden art.  They had all kinds of cool stuff - from ceramic wind-chimes, to bird-houses, to funky brightly-colored ceramic sculptures that could be threaded onto a tall length of rebar.  I'm kind of thinking I need to make a sandworm (a la Beetlejuice) to slither and tunnel through my veggie beds!

I did make a couple of smallish purchases:  A new "not-so-deep" harvest basket, a metal duck sculpture, and a few tiny succulent plants.  I showed GREAT RESTRAINT in the Plant Vendor Zone - and I even walked past Love Apple Farms' booth without stopping! (Trust me - with appx 130 seedlings in the greenhouse - I do NOT need to purchase any more tomato plants!!!).

Rusty the Duck, guarding my veggie beds

I also purchased a new garden apron - but not at the Garden Show, actually.  I bought myself a Roo Garden Apron (online) and I absolutely LOVE it!  I'll admit, I was a little dubious about the "One Size Fits All" claim.  I am most definitely an ample person (and not at all by choice!).  I am happy to report that yes, indeed, for the Roo Garden Apron - it really is One Size Fits All!

Nope.  No spliff.  I just genuinely like the apron.  In fact, just for grins yesterday, I stuck one of the dogs into the Roo-Pouch/Pocket thingie.  Dog weighs appx 13# and - while she didn't like it - it wasn't at all uncomfortable walking around with the apron carrying a 13# dog!  I especially like all the pockets in it (like for your cell phone, or a pen, or shears, or whatevers).  

Let's see, what-else, what-else, what-else?!  Gawd, there's been a lot going on and I don't want to get too rambly!  

Let's just focus on the Garden Seedlings then...........

First bit o' drama was the sudden realization that as the plants get potted-up, the amt of available space in my greenhouse shrinks exponentially!  I needed more pots and more flats.  I'd found the pots on eBay, and I found several online sources for seedling flats - but shipping was "Are you freaking kidding me?!!"  Well, as luck would have it, we've got a Hydroponic Supply Store nearby, Rasa Hydroponics.  They have a nice selection of seed-starting supplies (including soil organic amendments), including 3" square pots and flats - competitively priced even!  So I am all set!

Today's photographic updates:

Getting ready to Get Dirty!

Roo Garden Apron and my spiffy new harvest basket

In the course of potting up, I did discover a few plants that seem to be suffering from damping-off.

I dragged out the spritzy bottle of chamomile tea - maybe they'll bounce back.

More potting up...  The entire lower-shelf is covered with flats, and I'm moving up to a second shelf.

I have added another 4' light fixture (So 2 x 2' Grow lights + 2 x 4' Grow lights!)

My first Zucchini is finding a new home!

Sooooo...  In a nutshell...  I started out with 131 mini potlets of seedlings.  I was actually forced to create a spreadsheet to keep track of 'em all (AAAACCCCKKKK!!).  4 never sprouted and got tossed.  As of now, 78 have been potted-up with 49 remaining.

I have two flats (cucurbits and tomatoes) that are currently cycling in and out of the greenhouse.  Out in the sun during the day, then back in the greenhouse at night...  Starting tomorrow, I think that's going to become 4 flats that cycle in and out (and I haven't quite figured out where they're all gonna go!).

Making a batch of Buckaroo Worm-Poo-Stew

For foliar feeding...

Annnnnnd...  I started a batch o Worm Poo Stew (aka Worm-Casting Tea), as per Indie-Farms recommendation.  I wandered a little off-course and decided to dump my worm-poop into a pouch made from old pantyhose (I don't want to strain it later!).  I'll let it steep in the bucket for a day or two, then put it in a spritzy bottle and spray the plants.

Next up:  The Annual Test-And-Amend Ritual (I'll start that next week).

Annnnnd...  A mini-update to the Bee Saga (which I never finished, but it seems like the story refuses to end!!!).  Here's a preview:

That is a bona-fide SWARM!

Okay, that's enough for today!  Happy Gardening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

-QT

So how are those seedlings coming along?

I'm so glad you asked!

Two trays full!

I'd say it's going pretty well!

So at this point, I have added a hanging adjustable fluorescent light fixture like this one:

Image Credit: Amazon
This is the 2-foot model.  I think I may need to upgrade to the 4'!

And I also bought an inexpensive oscillating fan like thus:

Again, image credit to Amazon

Annnnnd...  I've got both rigged-up to an Aquarium Timer:

Yep, Amazon again!

Hell, I oughtta figure out how to become an Amazon Affiliate - given how many links I post back to them!  But no, I get no spliff for sharing.  I just really-really like Amazon (And I love-love-love Amazon Prime.  Free FAST shipping! :-)

So anyway...  I've got the light fixture rigged up so it's hanging just a few inches above the seedlings.  And both the lights and the fan are set to run from 6:00am to 6:00pm.  The lights will help the seedlings grow strong and not have to "stretch" for light. Yes, they are in the greenhouse - but the greenhouse is covered with 60% shade-cloth.  It is fairly bright on it's own - just not bright enough - and if I removed the shade cloth, it would positively roast in there on sunny days.  

The fan is aimed mostly at the seedlings, but it does oscillate.  Finny told me that the fan will also help the babies grow stronger stems, plus the constant air-flow *should* help with deterring critters (white flies, aphids) and keep the soil surface from getting fuzzy/moldy.  The flip-side to that is, I *have* to go check the babies every day because they do tend to dry out a lot faster.

Okay...  Notes/Observations on germination:  I'm not experiencing 100% germination - but I have to admit that some of my seeds were pretty old.  So, it looks like (once again!), no Luffas or Birdhouse Gourds.  Most of the tomato seeds were pretty fresh, though - and I am surprised (and disappointed) to see that none of my Burpee "Super-Sauce" tomatoes have sprouted yet (that's one of the FEW seed varieties that actually I purchased this year).  Luckily, my friend DV says she ordered an extra Super-Sauce Tomato Plant from Burpee, so I suspect we'll be doing some trading in the weeks to come!

So yeah.  Babies are coming along - and I think (hope) it's not too late for more seeds to decide to come to life!

And in other gardening news:  Yep, I'm still harvesting cool-season stuff!

Yummmmmm!!!

Beds have been uncovered now (Yay!), but I still keep getting these @#$% "Extreme Cold Alert" emails from Weather Channel (which means I keep having to run out and re-cover the Plumerias!)

Annnnnd...  I've already started amending my beds with bagged steer manure and Bumper Crop soil amendments.

Wake-up! Wake-up! Wake-up!!!

Yep - definitely a hint of Spring in the air!!!

Finny-Farm Bed.  

At this time of year, it doesn't get full-sun (it's tucked between my studio and greenhouse).

My Brassicas are very happy!

Don't they look happy?!!

I haven't started my Test-And-Amend Ritual yet (Soon!  Very soon!), but I think we're on-track for an awesome Gardening Season!

Oh, and in other Gardening News: I have a Cordyline Addiction!

It started out with Cordyline fruticosa - which is a tropical variety (currently residing in my greenhouse)

"Wahhh!  I wanna live IN the house!"

This is what it's supposed to look like:

And it will - once I find a suitable location for it!

And here are my latest additions to my Cordyline Addiction:

Clockwise from rear:

Large bronze Cordyline australis

Small black Cordyline "Renegade"

Small Cordyline "Electric Pink"

These three plants ARE suitable for our climate (unlike C. fruticosa who is truly tropical).  So they'll live on the patio year-round...

I've already potted-up the large bronze one, into a large (tree-sized) pot.  I plan to pot-up the rest of them in smaller ceramic pots and finding a nice place to group them together on the patio...

I ALSO decided that the outer perimeter of our yard needs some sprucing up.  We've got huge Italian Cypresses running along the fence-line and, over the years, I've tried to add different ground-cover type plants.  My favorite, so far, are the African Daisies (Osteospermum something-or-other).  The foliage fills-in nicely, but the flowers only bloom in early spring (Which is fine.  Daisies aren't exactly Tropical!).  

Over time, I've tried adding more plants to the perimeter (with varying degrees of success).  Unfortunately, the perimeter is a *very* long run, and our drip-system is pretty-well maxed-out.  But I've stuck different types of palm trees out there (slow-growers like Pygmy Date Palms), and back along the far-far-back fence, I planted Agapanthus - hoping they would multiply and fill-in all the bare-dirt along the berm.  No such luck!

Sooooo...  While we were visiting some of Hubs' relatives, last year, in the Inland Empire (think super-hot and droughty So-Cal conditions), I noticed that they were using smallish ferns as ground-cover around their pool.  It looked positively awesome, so I asked about them (since I always considered ferns to be Shade-Lovers).  They told me that they were Sword Ferns and they seemed to do quite well with minimal water and full-sun.

I figure - in spite of the fact that I WANT to believe that Spring has Sprung - there's gonna be quite a bit more rain in the weeks/months to come, and THIS is when I should be planting stuff - if I want it to stand any chance of survival! I am NOT dragging a hose OVER the pool and ALL AROUND the perimeter of our yard (to be honest, I don't know if our hose is even long enough to make it to the far back fence!).

So I went online and researched "Sun and drought tolerant ferns."  Found this site - which was awesome!  Yup.  Seems like Sword Fern is the way to go!  I checked Home Depot (they had ONE in stock!), as well as our local nursery (which would have been grossly overpriced - if they had 'em!).  I ended up surfing online and discovered that I could either purchase 15 bare-root ferns for appx $90.00...  Or if I went to their "wholesale" site (same site!), I could buy 100 bare-root ferns for less than $80.00!

Yes, it IS madness, but I bought 100 ferns!  And honestly, I could probably put them all to use (our yard is that big!).  But I am really hoping that they are SMALL plants, so I only have to dig 100 SMALL holes, right?!

Besides, whatever I don't plant, I am SURE I can pawn-off on friends and neighbors!

Okay then...  I think that post was PLENTY Rambly!

Garden + Greenhouse Update

Several years ago, hubs bought me a greenhouse for my birthday.  This was shortly after we'd built the pool, and I was insanely trying to re-create a Tropical Resort in our yard  - using plants that were CLEARLY not suited for our climate!  So yeah, the greenhouse was a very handy addition!

I received (and shared) a lot of guidance with the community at Gardenweb, and I also *attempted* to document the construction and "customizations" on my personal website.  Grant you, it's kind of disjointed - but it's still useful info - so I've left the pages up (even though I never update them!).

Greenhouse Saga Pages (if you're even remotely interested):

We bought a Greenhouse
Greenhouse Saga Continues
Solar Fan

There's more info out there, but that oughtta get you started if you are contemplating a similar purchase...

Hobby Greenhouses are actually a lot of work (surprisingly!).  Keeping it warm in winter, actually, wasn't all that difficult (Expensive - yes!  Difficult - not so much).  Keeping it cool on sunny days is a bigger challenge.  Note: I did not say "cool in summer."  Summer-use (for me anyway) is pretty-much out of the question.  I do have shade-cloth on it - which helps.  But it still gets ridiculously hot out there - and veggies seem to be much happier out in natural sunlight anyway! Wintertime: I typically line the ceiling and south(ish)-facing wall with big sheets of bubble-wrap.  I've also got a thermostat rigged-up with electric heaters (one oil-filled and one "barn" heater).  The thermostat is rigged to kick-on when the temps dip below 40* - which is just enough to keep stuff alive thru winter.

Over the years, I have severely cut-back on the number of marginal plants I am attempting to keep in the backyard.  I do still have my two original plumerias - which are now full-blown TREES and no longer fit through the doorway!  I had also kept Ti trees, Crotons, and a Bearss Lime - but they'd get sooooo infested with whiteflies and aphids it was hardly worth the effort (and don't get me started on my mealy/tasteless hydroponic winter-tomato-growing experiment!).

Now I've - more-or-less - reached the point where if it's marginal and I really-really want it, I'll treat it as an annual.  I'm totally "done" with trying to push my luck with tropical landscape plants!

But that doesn't change the fact that I've still got a greenhouse - and I really should USE it, right?  (BTW - there are a couple of baby plumerias and a Ti tree out there right now).  So this year, I plan to turn my greenhouse into a veggie-seed-starting-factory.  And Finny of Indie-Farms gave me some good ideas to get started...

First off, an afternoon of Seed-Sorting:

Followed by several evenings perusing Garden Pr0n:

NSFW!!!

Then...  Oh, I gotta CLEAN-OUT the greenhouse?!!  (Heh!  No "Before" pics, k?!)

Space!  The Final Frontier!!!

I'm not using my heaters at the moment, so I've tucked them into the corner behind the Ti tree.  And that weird buckety-lookin' thing is an outdoor hose-reel/garden sink that I intend to install outside...

Hey!  It's starting to look *almost* organized!

Got a couple of baby Plumerias on the shelf in front of the fan.  No, they don't look real healthy (although they do look better than the Plumies that lived under a bed-sheet all winter!).  I've also got heat-mats ready-to-roll - under the flats.  Haven't started any seeds yet - but will, very soon!

HydroFarm Mega Garden and Light Fixture

I haven't decided whether I'll fire-up the Mega-Garden or not (and no, it's NOT rigged-up to go - I'm basically using it to store seed-starting stuff).  Chances are, by the time I get around to it, it'll be too hot in there, but we shall see!

The plan was to rig-it-up and use it thru winter for growing lettuces but - obv - that didn't happen!

Lastly, lest you think I've been neglecting my Cool Season Veggies, let me provide this luscious update!

Raised Patio Planter filled with Salad Greens. Yummm!

And some Happy Brassicas:

So yeah, I'd have to say that 2013's Garden is off to a pretty good start, so far!

My Custom Garden Coach! And Garden Ramblings!

Requisite Disclaimer:  I live in Northern California and, yes, Spring is starting to be sprung here!  Glory Hallelujah!

Jeez, a Garden Update...  With no pictures!  (I may need to correct that tomorrow!).

Okay, I have to give a shout-out to fellow-blogger Finnyknits.  She recently quit her job, went back to school, and is starting up her own garden-coaching business, Indie-Farms.

Well, Gawd knows I like supporting local, small businesses.  We all know I love gardening!  And...  Well...  After Finny posted her report card on Facebook (Straight-A's - Friggin' over-achiever!), I noticed that she had just finished a class on Greenhouse Maintenance.  And ya know what?!  I've got a greenhouse that is hellaciously under-utilized.  We originally built the greenhouse to overwinter my Plumerias - but now they're too big to fit through the door!

So I put two-and-two-and-whatevers together and figured "What the hell!"  I know I could always stand to learn more - and Gawd-knows I need some motivation sometimes.......

So Finny came over this afternoon and I got my first Custom Garden Coaching Session!

She looked over my greenhouse, took lots of notes, gave lots of suggestions and followed-up with a summary email - documenting her suggestions (Good Call, Finny!).  Actually, that follow-up email and summary was fantastic because the hour felt like it just FLEW by - with way more information than my brain could absorb!  Much of it, I knew already - but lots of it was new! (Jeez, maybe school is useful after all?!).

Going forward, I think she'll be sending out emails to all of her little Garden Minions, so we'll see how all that pans out.  But I am very pleased with what I learned today.

NOW I just need to set things in motion, right?!  (Ohhhhhhh that!)

This has been a weird year for me (Already!).  See, I love gardening and I have ALWAYS loved that we have this huge yard.  Yeah, the setting-up and putting-away of all the summer furniture is kind of a pain ("Hello Rent-A-Son!").  And the wintertime "haul-away-the-dead-sh*t" routine is certainly not high on my list of FUN activities.  But, honestly, I've always taken pride in the fact that the yard is "My Creation."  And I actually enjoy puttering around in it.  Gardening is like exercise without FEELING like exercise, ya know?!

Well, this year, I had to reluctantly admit that I am just not up to the challenge of tackling all of the winter clean-up chores, due to health constraints (#$%^!!!).  And the extent of the chores goes beyond what "Rent-A-Son-Services" can handle.  I had started to prune one of our peach trees.  I think I got through about 1/4 of what needed to be wacked-off, then I glanced around at all the rest of the fruit trees (and palm trees, and overgrown vines) and decided "to hell with it!"  Seriously - why torture myself?!  Just pay someone and get it done already!

So we hired sumdood with a chainsaw and a wood-chipper to do the "hack-it-down-and-haul-it-away" chores (taming wild vines, cleaning the palm trees, weed-wacking the cannas down to ground level).  That got done last week and the yard looks a WHOLE lot better.

Oh, here are a couple of pictures:

Morning Glories Before

And After...

Mind you, the vines did NOT look like the "Before" picture when sumdood showed up.  I think we had about a week and a half where the temps dipped below freezing, every night, so the leaves had turned to mush.  Oh, but they'll be back!

And, in a couple of weeks, I've got another guy coming over to prune my fruit trees.  O' how it pains me to give that up!  I'll probably end up "supervising" him while he does it - I am such a freak over my fruit trees!

As for the rest of my Gardening Plan - more specifically, the greenhouse - I hope to actually get off my butt and put some of Finny's suggestions to good use!  I do want to start the majority of my veggies from seeds this year and the greenhouse seems like the perfect place to do that!

Hopefully I'll get out there with my camera and post updates as it happens.  We shall see, right?!

Anyway...  If you're in the SF Bay Area and need a good Garden Coach give Finny at Indie-Farms a shout!