'Tis the Season

The garden is growing wonderfully well, although when I dig beneath the surface, I may find another story! The top photo shows some zinnias, potato plants, and lettuce that I've let flower. Another week or so, and the potatoes are supposed to be ready to harvest. I can't wait! The bottom photo is a picture of the first butternut squash blossom, one of the seedlings from the compost pile I wrote about last month, I think.

This post will be short and very local. If you haven't yet taken the leap to growing some of your own veggies, and you're not fortunate enough to belong to Randle Farms' CSA, you might be interested in two local farmers' markets that are opening in the next two weeks.

On Thursday, May 26, The Market at Ag Heritage Park on Auburn University's campus is opening from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. every Thursday through August. Word is they are going to have an expanded offering with baked goods from local bakeries. I'm interested to see that because I really don't know of any local bakeries. There will also be an array of local fresh vegetables, local goat cheese (which I can say from experience is wonderful!), local honey, stone-ground grains, and homemade soaps. For the last couple of years there have also been plants for sale, and last year you could purchase fresh-cut flower bouquets. There are usually products from the university as well, such as farmed shrimp and fish.

On May 31, also from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Opelika Main Street Farmers' Market will open at a new location. Formerly, farmers set their tents up on Railroad Avenue, but the market will now be located in the Courthouse Square. For now, they're projecting they'll be open every Tuesday through September. Many of the goods you find at Ag Heritage Park will also be available at the Opelika Farmers' Market.

Not all of the items at the markets are organic, but they are local. Some say that if you can't buy organic, at least buy local. I would tend to agree because I like my food dollars to support local farmers whenever possible. I hope to run into a few of you there!

Cover Me in Flowers

Who needs food? Cover me in flowers instead.

Planting by the moon has its frustrations--certain days of the month are good for planting certain things. If you miss that little window, you anxiously wait (in my case it is anxiously rather than eagerly) for the next set of advantageous days. The marathon of planting Saturday still left a few herbs and flowers that needed permanent homes, even though today and tomorrow are designated undesirable days for planting.

Forgive me moon god; I could not wait.

Anthony is the king of frugal flowers. His secret is to buy the discounted flowers at Lowe's. The snapdragons in the photo were $2 for entire flat of plants. They are beautiful. So, while I planted the last batch of frugal flowers, Anthony ran a few errands. When he returned, he had more! Three containers of knock-out roses, a third of the normal cost; two pots of Gerber daisies, less than half the cost; and an unidentified perennial in need of TLC for $1.25. I have more to plant.

But that is fine because I have always loved flowers and have dreamt of having a garden like my Grandma Kiser's. She had everything. Crocus in late winter; tulips, hyacinth, iris, and lilac in the spring; daisies, roses, poppies, lilies, blanket flower, bachelor buttons, cone flower, and more in the summer through the fall. I think it strange she didn't cut them and bring them inside. I love to look around and see flowers scattered about the house.

Our holdings are not as vast. We do have irises everywhere--they're like weeds! And I'm looking forward to their arrival along with some old pink roses and gardenia in May. There's the promise of trumpet lilies, day lilies, cone flower and blanket flower for the summer. Oh, yes! and the knockout roses! I have a feeling each trip to Lowe's will bring another blossom to our house. We're already planning to prep places for a mass of impatiens and a shady flower bed of columbine, lenten rose, and hydrangea. We just have to wait until they're "on sale."

Maybe some day soon, I'll have my own secret garden!

"Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity."

~Lindley Karstens,
noproblemgarden.com

First Harvest

We've had an exciting weekend so far. Okay, I say that a little tongue-in-cheek, but there's something invigorating about sinking your hands into the loose, cool soil, and being part of the life cycle that begins with a tiny seed and that ends with a wonderful meal made with your fresh vegetables.

These tiny pea pods were the first "harvest" of our little garden. Anthony is certain all plants should be pinched to encourage more growth. I'm not so sure this applies to vegetables. However, I was making fresh soup and decided to pick a few of the sugar snap pea babies to give his theory a try and to give our soup some home garden goodness. I used the Italian parsley from the garden as well. The herbs in the garden bed are doing splendidly--much better than they would have done in pots on the porch.

We also planted our 10 butternut squash babies from the compost bin, an additional four strawberry plants, dahlias, a peony, stock, and blanket flower. This planting frenzy necessitated the cleaning and redefining of a planting bed and some serious weed pulling. Then, we ran out of daylight.

I have basil, lavender, and snapdragons that need planting, too, and I'm going to go against my planting by the moon to get them in the ground. Maybe they can serve as an unofficial experiment.