I hate them, and I don't generally hate any animals. They are getting more and more cheeky as it gets colder here.

I keep trying to get the neighbor's cat involved, but they have very sharp claws that keep Sharrif at bay.

Friggers.

I'm growing carrots, beets, Korean greens, cabbages, and all my fall stuff right now. I'm starting only a few tomato plants next year, an orange paste tomato, another black cherry tomato plant, possibly a new orange beefsteak called "Orange Sunshine" started from seeds given by friend, Brandywine Sudduth Strain, and of course SunSugar orange cherry tomato. I'll be starting them around Jan 3, but I bet I could start them in Feb with decent results in my area (So. Cal).

Whatcha growin in your garden?

Snow.

We just this week are pulling the last of the Early Girls off browning plants. In the ten winters we've inhabited this house, three of them included tomatoes that produced from June until April. (This would be underneath the eaves on the southern side of the house. Radiant heat and protection from frost, plus a spectacularly helpful microclimate, contribute to this freak of nature.)

Our garden this year was the worst yet: Bob's just too busy. This year, I'm going to be strict. We will not purchase anything until the beds are dug, period.

Joan, my favorite tomatoes are Sun Gold (cherry), Black Krim, Early Girl, and Green Zebra. And Oxford Orange, which I discovered at Happy Boy Farms booth at the farmers market here. When we get going, I always have peas, pole beans, corn, zucchini, and lately, Ronde de Nice squash. They have a wonderful taste, with something like vanilla in the flesh. Steamed and drizzled with a little unsalted butter and herbs, and kosher flake salt: summery perfection.

I get the rest of the produce from the farmers, but cannot live without a zillion tomato plants.

Aw, sorry about bringing this subject too early for those that are snowbound. Can't wait till later in the season when others can enjoy and post about their gardens.

Tana, oh man ronde de Nice squash is my absolute favorite as well! Nice bushy but open plant, easy to pick the little round light green squash and what a lovely creamy flavor as well. I would guess that I pick easily 100 round squash from each plant. Easily, probably far more. Last year, I also grew this interesting yellow straightneck squash called "Zephyr" from Johnny's Seeds which is half yellow and half green, a color trait that is most pronounced later in the season. Check out this weirdo I eat these raw with Korean red pepper paste (don't try this at home).

I get Zephyrs from Thomas Farms, Joan. I love them, despite their comical, slightly naughty appearance.

My favorite discovery in my farm travels are baby carrots. Oh, a bunch of baby carrots makes me so happy. I like Ella Bella Farm's the best.

Baby beets and baby carrots: happy am I with those!

Hey, has anyone seen Martha Stewart's seeds at Kmart this year? You know, with all her troubles and such, I was wondering about this, but haven't had a chance to check it out myself. I must say she had some good varieties, including "Baby Ball" beets and Touchon carrot.

--I meant last year she had some good varieties.

Parsley!!!!! Under the melted snow, outside of Boston, I harvested parsley on Jan.1....Enough to toss on a sauté of shrimp, asparagus and artichoke hearts....It appears to be green and growing, albeit close to the ground....

Sweet.

I've been chipping fresh thyme out of the snow. Now the snow's gone, I can snip it at whim!

Over the weekend, I used the last of the beets from my garden. I have two heads of garlic left (out of ±80), some potatoes and some carrots. Good thing we planted two full beds of garlic in the fall...that ought to keep us through April or so next year.

So, does this mean they'll come back in the spring? that along with the crocuses, I'll be harvesting parsley? this is the first time i've watched a garden winter....

galleygirl, I think if the parsley does live (quite possible actually), parsley is a biennial which means the 2nd year it grows, it starts setting seed come warm weather. As far as flavor is concerned, it might change but since I've never grown it to 2nd yr, can't say how it will change. I say enjoy it while it lasts, and maybe grow some new plants this year as well?

It has been raining nonstop here.

So, if it sets seed, will the new plants take off in the spring? It looks bushier now than it did in the summer. Any others that do this? I've got some Thai basil I left in, as well.....

Looks like you're going to find out!

That reminds me, I gotta start some of my herbs.

--okay so I'll give you a real answer. Yeah, so if you let your parsley flower this year, then next year (or would that be this fall?) you should get new parsley plants in the vicinity.

Lots of other things will reseed themselves nicely. I had some lime basil start itself in my garden last year. I had grown some the year before. However, it didn't grow in a nice convenient place, but right in the middle of my path. I let it grow anyway and just walked around it. But none of my other basil plants reseeded themselves and that year I had started like 7 varieties, so I guess in my area at least, it's hit or miss.

A couple of years ago, I started a couple german chamomile plants and let them flower (I wanted the flowers for tea), and now one of my paths is a carpet of german chamomile. Kind of a pain to keep neat, but my what a nice apple fragrance. I was warned it could become a weed, but so far, I have it contained.

Perennials (plants that can stay alive for more than 2 seasons) are also fun. Garlic chives (aka Chinese chives) will take over if you let them. I started my stand of garlic chives from one miserable little bulblet that the previous gardener had left behind in my coop garden. Chives also great perennials. Thyme is awesome. Esp lemon thyme, ooh.

Someone stop me.

The parsley should come back, but the basil won't, I don't believe.

Anyone here familiar with currant bushes and their care?

I have been thinking about struggling through the snow to the currant bushes and giving them a pruning. I did this last year for the first time. I hadn't done anything since we'd bought the house three years before and both currant bushes were starting to look pretty sickly (we have a white and a red one). I've no idea how old they are or when was the last time they'd been pruned before that (the old lady whose house we bought could have planted them decades ago). I read you have to get rid of the older growth to allow the new to emerge. I am afraid I might have done too drastic a job, although I did get enough berries for a batch of jelly.

Flyfish

Pruning on red currant bushes
www.aginnovation.ca/resources/currants.pdf

Thanks Dave - glad to see you on here!

Fly

Not "in" the garden, but garden-related. I noticed that the bulbs I potted up last fall and put in the basement are sprouting, despite the cold dark spot they are in. What do I do to put them back to sleep, or should I just bring them up and enjoy them now?

Oh yes, I had several blue basil plants... But I am in Massachusetts...

Ah, then they'll turn bluer when they FREEZE TO DEATH.

But what about my bulbs?

yumyum, I think if you can put them somewhere colder they'll probably stop and they should still have enough zing to bloom when the time is right.

However, despite being half Dutch I'm not an expert on bulbs!

Fly

I can't think of anywhere colder than my basement in 7 degree Boston temps. Hmmm... I'll have to take another look and maybe bite the bullet and bring them up. My gardening friend tells me I should put them outside for a bit so they really "harden" but I worry that they will really "die". Luckily bulbs are cheap.

Got about 30 plants going and am starting some more. Am getting about 6 more plants from someone. I am going to train them on stakes in order to get maximum number of varieties in min space.

Finally growing some varieties that I ignored in years past, varieties like "Yellow Pear" and "SunSugar". Also, growing several varieties of squash. No Ronde de Nice though. Kind of tired of it now.

Whoah, went to my garden and found it submerged under 4 inches of water. The snails were having a field day. But I did pick a pretty calla lily. My neighbors are doing better. They have lettuces out in a pretty bed and some chrysanthemum (Chinese green).

Oh thank god! Had a poke around my beds this morning and FINALLY some bulbs are emerging. In the Boston area, we've had a horrible long cold winter and I was beginning to think spring would never come.

Aaaaaahhhhhh! I needed that!

Some asshole pushed my biggest terracotta pot off the ledge and it shattered. This is the one I grow tomatoes and basil in.

Bastard.

Ron, this makes me mad on your behalf.

Can you identify said bastard and send them an invoice? Is it a shared balcony? Is acces limited? Could you put one of those passive aggressive notices out encouraging the perp to come clean?

Don't be so hard on yourself, Ron.

Oops, you beat me posting -- I see now that it really wasn't you.

crocuses are poking through. should get some blossoms this week.

i have some bulbs i didn't plant last fall. should i plant them now and see what happens?

More spring-like weather here in Boston and the bulbs are coming on up, the lilacs are budding out and the grass is even looking slightly green. It cannot happen too quickly ... it's been a loooong winter.

Spring cleanup question ... should I cut back the old dead wood that was once my trumpet vines? I can't imagine that any leaves would ever grow from that dead stuff but I don't want to be one of those people who cuts off the new growth right before the season. I probably should have done this last fall, but can I do it now?

Oh, hey hey, doin a happy-dance shuffle...

We picked up an industrial shelving unit at Costco last month, with the intention of using it for seed starting. Today we assembled it and checked the size of the lights and the seed trays...made in heaven.

This evening I ordered up seeds for the season, only some of which will be started indoors. Oh, gardening season. I live for it.

On order:
Butterhead and red&green romaine lettuces, all for growing as heads
Baby lettuce mix, for cutting
Spicy mesclun mix
Mache
Bok choy
Broccoli raab
Italian large-leaf basil
Cilantro
Fennel bulb
Red and golden beets
Nantes-type carrots (Sweetest, best tasting, IMO)
Filet beans – Nickel (I've tested about 5 different varieties and this one is hands-down best, for 4 or 5 reasons)
Poblano peppers
Delicata and a rare Provencal winter squash
Patty-pan squash
Several varieties of Sunflower
Bestest find: seeds for my beloved crepis rubra, or pink Hawksbeard...fabulous flower that I haven't been able to find seed for in 8 years!


crepis rubra

Also to be grown in the garden:
Garlic (planted 2 4'x8' beds in the fall)
Leeks
Shallots
6 varietes of heirloom tomato (to be decided on shopping day)
Tomatillos (from the self-sown plants that will crop up fucking everywhere in another 6 weeks)
Jalapeños
Potatoes (which we'll grow in buckets)
Eggplant (which we'll grow in big glazed pots on the deck)
A sweet-dumpling-type (buttercup) winter squash, Kabocha if I can help it
Rhubarb (a patch of which we planted last season)
Edit: and peas, of course. Sugar snap. I can't be bothered growing shelling peas – I love them, but they require way too much space for what they pay off. And shelling is a loathesome task. I'll buy a bagful twice a season or so at the farmer's market. Also, I intend to grow a few towers of sweet peas (the flowers) – old-fashioned ones with modest blooms and maximum fragrance. The new varieties are so slutty and vulgar, and they don't smell like anything.

Yes, my garden is big. I have 10 4'x8' raised beds, and we'll be adding at least 4 more this year. If my husband has his way, we'll be adding 10, so we can plant 10 beds full of garlic next fall. We planted 1 bed 2 falls ago and last August harvested enough garlic to last us through December. Our goal is to harvest enough to get us through to next harvest, with extra for gifting our friends.[I]

So you're saying that tomatillos are easy to grow?

Grow them once and you'll have them forever. They self-sow like mad. And they seem to love the Vermont climate.

GGMora:

Your Mr. Mora wants 10 beds of garlic? My God! He's not Korean, is he?

Nickel is the first filet bean I ever grew. I think it's a little on the large side but for ease of growing, ease of picking, I haven't beat it. I've had some miserable bean seasons of late. I like Straight N Narrow, but the plants are so small you really have to mulch and baby them. This year, I think I'm trying out some others, including Maxibel and Roc d'Or (yellow).

Have you tried the Dragon Langerie beans? They're yellow with purple stripes and you eat them raw, while they are crisp. Really beautiful. Sweet and crispy.

Spanish, actually. And 10 beds seems a little extreme, but believe me when I tell you that we could easily go through 4 beds' worth in a year.

One of the 4 or 5 reasons I prefer Nickel is that they do stay nice and small – perhaps the cooler Vermont climate is responsible? Other filet beans I've tried – including Rolande and Fin de Bagnols – have gotten away from me, the beans gone big and seedy and the plants sprawling and floppy. Nickel stays nice and compact and upright, and the harvest period is concentrated so I can pick more beans at a time from fewer plants. I succession-sow about every 3 weeks.

Can you recommend a source for seeds for the Dragon Langerie? They sound fabulous.

You can get Dragon Langerie beans at www.superseeds.com which is the site for Pinetree seeds. Actually, a lot of mail order houses have them.

www.gardenwatchdog.com is a good site to check out mail order joints and see what other people think of them.

Not to nitpick, but I think they're called Dragon Lingerie. And my farming buddy (an amateur) says they're something else with a less fancy name but I can't remember it for anything.

I have had those beans, though, and they're good. I don't prefer them to the little French ones, or to plain ol' bush beans, but they're pretty and they're tasty. Just not my #1 favorite if I had to choose.

Hmm, I've not seen the "Dragon Lingerie" appellation myself.

They're also called Dragon's Tongue beans, which I think is what your friend is referring to? Tongue in French is 'la langue' so that's how I like to remember the name.

So one lady who I gave produce to last year came by my garden and dug up some of my tomato and cucumber plants so she could plant them in her own garden. Note to self: stop sharing.

Success rate on new tulip bed - 17/18.

Should be blooming next week