Posted on 01/16/2008 10:56:46 AM PST by Gabz
2006— January is a resting time in the garden, for us and the soil. A brief respite- a time for reflection and planning, a time for winding down from the holidays as well as a time for beginning to gear up for the coming spring. Looking back on the year just passed; can you believe the weather extremes? Copious amounts of rain, a late spring and an even later fall. Hard to believe we didn’t get a killing frost until well into December, that even in December there were still leaves on the trees. As for reflecting and thinking back, this past year, indeed the last few- have been no good for gardening. Too much rain, too many times, drowned most of our gardens. We planted and replanted, and replanted some more, for all the good it did us. Between disease in our tomatoes and not being able to teach collards to swim, anything harvested last year was a blessing.
Our ancestors knew well the fickleness of weather, tried to keep canned or dried goods and other things put up, enough for at least a three to five years’ supply in case of bad or indifferent crops. These last few years would have tried even their patience. While most of us now garden for fun or as a hobby or as exercise, their lives depended on what they managed to grow. If we, in our area were still dependant on what came out of our gardens to survive, especially in the last few growing seasons, we wouldn’t have to worry about the obesity epidemic. They had to depend on the season’s crops not only for food, but for next years’ seeds as well. If they planted and lost all their seeds, they couldn’t just run down the street and buy more.
Unlike us, they welcomed the arrival of the first weeds of spring. Often, after growing seasons like the past few, when planted greens were hard to come by, wild greens were all they could get. Take dandelions, for example. One of the first plants to green up, they are edible. Every part of the plant is edible- the greens when they are first emerging, the roots, the flowers. Bitter, yes, but chock full of vitamins and minerals. A serving of dandelion greens contains more calcium than a glass of milk. Although I never remember her making it, one of my grandmas had a recipe for so called “dandelion wine”. Made from the blooms, it was more a cure-all than an alcoholic beverage. It was used as a gargle or mouthwash, an antiseptic, a vitamin drink. Think how many millions of dollars worth of vitamins we destroy each year in our quest to eradicate dandelions! On the other hand, if all the dandelions in the world were killed except one, next year there would be just as many, turning their cheerful faces up to the sun, a delight to toddlers everywhere and an aggravation to those seeking perfect lawns.
January in our area is a good time for maintenance work. Time to prune roses and grape vines, and time to get started pruning your fruit trees. If you prune grape vines now, it’s also time to try rooting some of the cuttings. Unlike roses and fruit trees, grape vines are usually grown on their own root stock, so starting new ones from cuttings will work. Roses and fruit trees are usually grafted, which means a plant that has a good root system is used for the bottom half of the plant, and a plant that has desirable blooming or fruiting characteristics is used for the top half. By grafting, which involves cutting two plants apart and binding the root stock of one to the trunk of the other until they become one plant; we get the best of both worlds. That’s why you sometimes see a knot or curve at the base of roses and fruit trees and why it’s also important not to plant grafted things below the graft. Often, shoots will come up from below the graft. These shoots need to be pruned off. They divert vital strength from the main plant and won’t be any good anyway.
It’s a great time to keep your garden plowed or tilled. The colder weather will help kill some insect pests and weed seeds. It won’t get all of the nasties, but turning your soil over will eliminate some of them. One of the worst pests, although not as obvious as some, is the cucumber beetle. A small yellowish beetle resembling a lady bug, most often with spots, sometimes with stripes, it overwinters diseases such as bacterial wilt and squash mosaic virus in its intestinal tract. When you plant your new crop and the cucumber beetle takes a bite, it passes the diseases on to this years’ crops. This is also a great time to mow, plow, or burn the weeds close to your garden. Not only will it expose weed seeds to the elements and to hungry birds and critters, it will remove host plants for other insects that are just waiting to pounce on your fresh plants as soon as they are planted, or your seedlings as soon as they emerge.
2007—Late January is time to try an early planting of potatoes, cabbage, peas, onions, broccoli- any of the cole crops that might survive. Maybe it has finally gotten cold enough to plant bulbs. The only problem with waiting so late to plant bulbs is you don’t much feel like doing it now!
January is a time to kick back in your favorite rocker or recliner in front of the fireplace and enjoy perusing the multitudes of seed catalogs that start flooding our mailboxes this time of year. Turning the pages until they are tattered and dog-eared, drooling and deciding, plotting and planning, never losing hope that this year’s garden will be a bumper crop. Wondering if this or that new variety can possibly be as great as the seed catalog makes it sound, trying a little of the new seeds and mixing them with the tried and true favorites.
Hope you enjoy your well earned rest and here’s hoping this year will give us a much better gardening season.
You’ve all been added to the list.
conservaDave, you’re gonna have to ask some of the experts around here about the Crepe Myrtle — the only thing I know about Crepes is how to cook them!!!!
Too funny! I could eat some crepes about now! That’s one thing I’ve never tried to cook.
As for crapes, they lose about 6 inches off the tips of their branches just about every winter. Wait until they start leafing out and you’ll be able to tell where to prune. On the other hand, if you have a 30 foot specimen that you want to keep 4 feet tall, you’re wasting your time. The plant is always going to be ugly because the ends of the branches will get knotty and send out clusters of new branches.
i’ve got pansies, lobularia, stocks, snap dragons, poppies, petunias, dianthus, violas, etc blooming.
that’s until it begins to get hot in late february, and they’ll die off.
ONLY, ONLY 30x60??????? Holey Guacamoley, my living room and dining room combined aren't that big. YOWSER!
Of course, I do realize you are selling the plants, where as I'm selling what comes off mine and so I don't need anywhere near as much space as you do when it comes to inside, outside is an entirely different story for me. That is where I need the space. Right now that is about 100x120, which I plant in 3x30 blocks.
LOL!!!!!! Sort of like the plumber's wife with the stopped up sinks!!!!
I know about metal and salt water — hope too much damage wasn’t done.
I think we’re going to have fun with this.
If you find anything interesting post it here to me and I’ll ping the list.
We’re space limited. The garden center is on a corner lot, so we have some wiggle room. There’s a county ball field on the other side, so we have extra parking if needed. We are to the property lines on all four sides. Between the parking lot—small, holds about 6-9 cars—the actual building, which used to be a dairy barn, the greenhouse and the shop—there’s just enough room for big rigs to turn around in front of the warehouse. In between the shop and the greenhouse is enough room for a row of pallets on either side with a narrow driveway from the main building to the warehouse. We put the cole crops on the pallets. I have one tarp about the same size as the greenhouse, maybe a little bigger, that we grow roses and then mums on.
We also sell seeds—still weigh them out—love doing that! Feed, fertilizer, mowers and chainsaws/brushcutters.
I find making crepes far easier than making pancakes - hubby is the expert in that arena. But it is one of those things I need to be in the mood to fix, and then I will set aside an entire afternoon and make several hundred and then freeze them for when I want them without all the fuss.
As for crapes, they lose about 6 inches off the tips of their branches just about every winter. Wait until they start leafing out and you’ll be able to tell where to prune. On the other hand, if you have a 30 foot specimen that you want to keep 4 feet tall, you’re wasting your time. The plant is always going to be ugly because the ends of the branches will get knotty and send out clusters of new branches.
WOW - sounds like you have that organized down to the inch!
I love going places where I can get my seeds weighed out for me or scoop them out myself. I do that with peas, limas, green beans and corn.
Have you ever looked at the prices per pound in some of the seed catalogs? Some of the same stuff we get $3.50 a lb for goes for $8-9 or more, plus shipping.
If my customers actually SAW my garden, they’d never believe my employer pays me for my skills and knowledge, LOL! It’s been a disaster (IMO, others wouldn’t see it) for the past two years. *BLUSHES*
However, I DO have archival photographic PROOF that I know what I’m doing. I have a great album of pictures from when my garden was well tended. I landed the previous job at Seed Savers http://www.seedsavers.org by showing up with my “People References” on paper and a basket filled with home-grown produce as my “Veggie References.”
You’re selling the “Sizzle,” not necessarily the “Steak.” ;)
I pulled together a plan today for an area of ‘The Yard’ (as we call it) at work. I did a terrible job of marketing Pond Plants last year, but that’s changing this season.
I’ve gotta brag a little...got the final figures this week on my sales this past season. Annuals, Herbs, Perennials, Pond Plants, Houseplants and Poinsettia and other seasonal stuff: $507,000.00! (And that’s just MY area of the store...) You betcha there’s a TON of cash to be made in this business.
I also found two AWESOME local growers that I’m jonesin’ to buy from. They have product I’ve only DREAMED of having last season. Wa-Hoo! :)
I have THREE SHORT YEARS to get my garden and orchard back up to snuff. My 40th Birthday was a High Tea in the garden with fancy hats and white gloves; the works. My girlfriends are expecting the same for my 50th. ;)
Wow! Wow! I can’t imagine. I don’t have anywhere near that much business—couldn’t handle it if I did.
Talking about awesome growers—my sister works for Plant Delights in Raleigh. They have some truly uniqe stuff!
Is that the red hat club? LOL:)
The price of seed in the catalogs totally flip me out.......that’s why I tend to buy bulk seeds and normal stuff locally. I stick with the catalogs for exotics and “new” stuff.
You’ve got every right to be bragging on that, girlfriend!!!!
“Is that the red hat club?”
Not yet...but soon, LOL!
Speaking of ‘Red Hat Clubs’...my ‘seasonal crew’ are between 45 and 72 years old; all female. Every one has called me and wants to come back this next year.
I’m so happy! :)
I told Big Boss (who manages the inside of the store) that it’s time she hires us some cute Cabana Boys for the heavy lifting. She’s at least thinking about it...she turns 58 this year, LOL!
This season? $750K? LOL! I’d have a stroke! You know what my weeks were like from March through December...and then I had to sell FREAKIN’ Christmas Trees on top of that because Noah ditched us.
Jerk. ;)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.......you whine, but you know you love it!!!!
I do the greenhouse with one full time helper and one afterschool boy but he’s mostly warehouse. Women are generally much better than men id the greenhouse—it’s that whole baby thing!
Warehouse, by the way, as we were recently informed by a four year old, is where the werewolves live!
I am in total agreement on the cabana boys! I am just getting too danged old to do heavy lifting. It never bothered me until about a year ago. Arthur has got a hold on me.
I think the most we’ve ever done was @ 130k in one month, but that was everyhthing.
On your scale, that was plenty...and plenty of work! (In my best season, I made abut $5K on my Farm Stand. Also, plenty for all the work I did.)
Remember...I have a layer of ‘Corporate Fat Cats’ that I have to help support through the sweat of my brow. Actually, they’re nice guys...Grandsons of the Founder. Well into their 70’s. We’ve been in business for 100 years now.
But we can always do better! :)
And yes, Gabz...I do love my life. Since I HAD to go back to work off The Farm, I couldn’t have chosen a better place to work. :)
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