Thursday, January 05, 2006

spring planting


Kitchen Garden at Blue Hill at Stone Barns - Pocanito Hills, New York, September 2005.


Okay, it is a little early and really really wet in the Emerald City, but the seed catalogs are coming fast and furious and on same days I believe the same can be said true about spring. I have already ordered some replacement raspberry canes for TH's christmas present, the first crocuses are starting to pop up, so I'm thinking ahead to what we're going to plant and where we're going to do it.

Things are starting to change in the back garden of chez nm, with some new beds to build and one day (I hope) we'll consider constructing the JCDM memorial library with the RPMM terrace in front. The beds are a must do, the old ones are falling apart. Anyhow, it makes us stop and think about what we're really trying to accomplish back there.

We grow lots of stuff in our nearly 800 square feet of PPatch we cultivate each year, so other than the desire to run out and pick a tomato, some parsely and basil for dinner, we can take care of most everything else at Picardo. I think this year I'll make sure the beans we plant are ones we like and ones that will pickle well. I know that I'll stick to canning type tomatoes with a few slicers and saucers. We'll continue planting pumpkins and hubbard squashes and hopefully put in a few rows of carrots for our new dog in hopes he will love them as much as Jacques did. The seed catalogs give me inspiration and hope that I'll wake up one morning at 6:20 and it will be light and bright out and I can return home in the light, change clothes and run up to the garden to weed, water and pick the first few peas and some lettuce.

Here are some great seed resources out there for the gardener:

Territorial Seeds - great for the Northwest

Johnny's Seeds - amazing selection

Seeds of change - great old seed varieties

Abundant Life - great old seeds varieties, rare ones

Happy dreaming.

nm

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Our yard is approx. 10 feet x 20 feet - MAYBE. That's the whole yard. The dog kennel takes up about 4' of that 20' so in usable space, we're talking maybe 10' total. And then you gotta take into account we have to walk through it to get to the back door because the BRAND.NEW lock on the front door broke and I aint in the mood yet to fix it. The 'hood crack addict can't get in, what do I care? Anyway, where do you PUT a garden in such a small space???? I think I'll make an herb container garden this year. You have inspired me.

Nazila Merati said...

Containers, lots of containers with herbs, some flowers (sunflowers are a big hit), dahlias too. You just have to make sure things get watered in the heat of your summer.

How about a small fountain?

Thing is you have to think -- how do I use the space now and do I want to really use it later? or is it somewhere you just look at?

nn

Unknown said...

What I'd LOVE to do is make a pathway and on each side have an English garden kind of thing going on. I could certainly mix veggies and flowers don't you think?