Quote of the Day

1.29.2008

spring gardening hopes & Breck's bulbs?

Even though it is snowing thickly right now, we had a few bright days last week with clear skies and lots of sun, so I'm starting to think of the gardens. We missed gardening last spring. The nice thing is that the gardens are still there, waiting to be cleaned out and tidied up and restored.

$25 off $50

I'd love to get more bulbs planted and I notice that Breck's is offering $25 off any order of $50 or more, which looks like $25 of free bulbs to me. Have you any experience ordering from Breck's? Do I really want to plant that many bulbs?

I need to rake and prune and weed and bark and then think about planting. My corner garden, the one most visible from the street, is the shabbiest. I need a sturdy and low-maintenance ground cover there. My south garden is my best garden; I filled it with perennials shortly after we moved in and it faithfully produces blooms, whether or not I have tended to it. My sidewalk gardens are abysmal, poorly planned, ill-groomed, and generally a mess. I need to uproot everything and just let grass grow there.

My Gift hopes to get a vegie garden in, but we are both on the infirm list, so I'm not too optimistic. At the very least, we will try tomatoes again. Last year's tomato efforts were a bust, so this year we will do fewer plants and invest more money in virgin potting soil and locally grown starts. We may even try to start some from seed. Anyone want to organize a Territorial Seed co-op?

Why Territorial Seeds? No other reason but that my nearest and dearest neighbors are organic vegie farmers and they use Territorial seeds, so if it is a good choice for them, I'm not about to buy elsewhere.

The smallest package they sell is 1/8 of a gram. According to Seeds by Size, "Tomato seeds count is approx. 250 to 400 seeds per gram", so 1/8 a gram is about between 30 and 50 seeds, far more than I need. I'd be interested in a few heirlooms and a few cherries.

Oops, I think I have to go start another TaDa list.

What are your garden plans?

Any tomato advice you'd like to share?
~Suzanne




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