Carrots

I’ll tackle it vegetable by vegetable and I’ll start off with carrots since I found some fun stuff about growing them in pots! That sounds like a nice idea and it will be nice with big pots with green stuff in them. I'm pretty sure I'll grow my carrots in pots this year.

Problems: How many pots do I need? And is there enough space in the greenhouse or should I grow them on the balcony? Can I grow leek and dill in pots too, I really want to grow them together?

Carrot links
World Carrot Museum (I didn't know there was such a thing)
Vegetable Garden Guide (I got the picture from that site)
Short video from GW

Snow

We’ve had a really cold winter so far, and by the looks of it spring is not coming anytime soon. Thank god for all the snow! There was some digging necessary after Christmas (cat burial) and when we had shuffled all the snow away the ground was soft and just a few centimeters down there were plenty of worms wiggling around. The snow is like a thick cozy down blanket and the garden loves it, I hope the garden will also love all the water that will come in the spring. But with the cold weather we’ve been having I was worried that some things might die but the snow seems to have taken care of that problem.

Veggie worries

You should prepare before you grow vegetables, in the fall for best results and I have not done that. And I don’t have much space and I might have to grow things in the flower beds with other flowers which isn’t great… There’s so much work with growing vegetables. I have to read up on it. I have to get to the library and keep an eye out now with the big book sale coming up. I really want to have a garden that is not only pretty (not that my “garden” is pretty but still) but useful as well.

I fear this will be one of those evenings where I will spend way too much time on the net looking at garden blogs and sites…

Planning

Yes, the thought of digging in the garden isn’t as appealing as it usually is due to horrible and ugly new houses on the street but I have bought seeds this year as well. The seed should come in the mail today, they really should or I’ll be angry. I think they should have come on Friday but the because of the snow we didn’t get any mail so… I’ll take my doggy for a walk and check the mail… Yes, seeds in the mailbox but I had totally forgot just how much work seeds are. Now I have to do some research and see how the best way to sow these suckers.

SEEDS FOR 2010
Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare: I bought the wild sort and I want to have some blood red poppies but where to plant them? No clue, like always… Maybe by the old swing?

Horned Pansy"Bambini" Viola cornuta: Cute little violet in different colors. I’m hoping for most purple ones and I may (if they grow) relocate the other colors to somewhere else in the garden. I planned to have them on one of the kitty graves, I feel slightly macabre but oh well… violets go well with graves, like in that old sad song, “A violet from mother’s grave”

Aubrieta "Cascade Blue" Aubrieta cultorum: I don’t know why I bought this… but I have a little rock area or maybe one of the other cats?

Blue Fescus "Varna" Festuca glauca: I like grass and I’m sure I’ll find a place for this cute little guy.

Garden Pinks"Spring Beauty" Dianthus plumarius: Well, they are cute. Where am I going to plant them if they grow? Um, maybe in the small rocky place? Maybe The rocky place needs a makeover and maybe I can make it a little bigger? I’m also under the impression that these cute little flowers smell nice.

Smooth Oxeye"Summer Sun" Heliopsis helianthoides: Not the prettiest thing I ever seen but it’s big and hopefully it will be big in my garden as well, I need some big plants in my dull little garden.

Nepeta Nepeta faassenii: I hope the neighborhood cats won’t eat it. Cute blue thing, that I am sure will fit in somewhere.

English Marigold "Fiesta Gitana" Calendula officinalis: I always say and think that I don’t like yellow and orange and that I don’t want it in my garden but I have lots of it. The marigolds are to go with the potatoes, corn and sunflowers, where I am supposed to plant all of this I have no idea.

Peas "Dwarf Sweet Green"Pisum sativum L.: No idea where to plant this either, but it is said they peas like to grow with dill and carrots so I’ll plant them together.

Carrots "Resistafly" Daucus carota L. F1: Late kind.

Carrots "Nantes 2" Daucus carota L. : Early kind. Carrots also like to grow with garlic and leek so I’ll plant one kind of carrot with those playmates and then one with dill and peas.

Sunflower "Ring of Fire" Helianthus annuus: Tihi, it looks like it says anus. Sunflowers are one of those yellow/orange flowers I say I don’t like but I want sunflowers so… And I wouldn’t like them if they were in another color.

Dill "Como" Anethum graveolens: Since it’s a good plant that helps the soil and other plant, and because I need it with my cucumbers when I “pickle” (?) them I thought I should grow some. I want to make cornichones but I have no recipe.

Cucumbers "New Pioneer" Cucumis sativus L. F1: It said that these were good for cornichones so that’s why I got them.

Cucumbers "Partner" Cucumis sativus L. F1: Cucumber for pickling in the fall.

Tomatoes "Gemini" Solanum lycopersicum F1: The tomatoes the last few years have been, crap… So I hope some new seeds means that there will be plenty of nice tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Tomatoes "Chadwick" Solanum lycopersicum: Small cherry kind.

Leek "Musselburgh" Allium porrum L.: will be planted with carrots and garlic.

Corn "Sweet Nugget" Zea mays L. F1 : Corn, how cool is it to grow corn?! I’m sorry for being such a dork but it sounds awesome to me. I don’t eat corn but I will eat a little since I’ve grown it (if I’m successful that is) and I’ll also look into how to make popcorn.

Ginger

Bought a piece of ginger in the store awhile back and planted it on Wednesday(3/2) and I’ll see how that goes.