Apothecary Inn

Diary of a Gardener

With a steady drizzle the past two days, I haven't been as active in the garden as I normally am. Not that the rain bothers me, but there is something about a dreary day that makes me want to either take a nap or read a good book. With two hyperactive indoor kittens and a basement in the final stages of mopping up after a lovely flooding incident over the Memorial Weekend (what a crazy fiasco), I opted for the good book - The Bible.
MY Bible, that is.

Behold, the 2010 Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook. Also known as Gardening Erotica.

As an early birthday present, my dearest husband got me a membership to both the Seed Savers Exchange AND the Flower and Herb Exchange, and promised me that for the holidays this year my gift would be a seed-buying budget. The man knows his audience!!!

I have spent two days reading through the 2010 Yearbook, and I STILL have yet to finish it. There are something like 13,000 unique vegetable varieties found within it! Already, I have a wish list going that I am terrified to add up the total cost of...when he said a seed buying budget, he meant a few grand, RIGHT??!! ;)

I did manage to get out a bit into the garden this afternoon. I noticed that two out of my 3 Ajawiri tubers have sprouted leaves above the soil, and the first of my lima beans have sprouted! There was also a tiny Chile Negro on one of my pepper plants, making that the first Chile Negro of the season! I also discovered that my carrot patch in the Second Garden Plot had carrots large enough for eating, and I picked a large handful of them, as well as peas, for the vegetable curry I am making tonight. Ryan picked another pint of strawberries last night, so we can have those over fresh yogurt or ice cream later too!

I also planted some asparagus, okra, basil, Moldavian Dragonshead, and Mexican Marigold in the 4th stone raised bed in the Herb Garden. I dug up and transplanted some Clary Sage and Mullein that had grown a bit overcrowded in certain spots. Now hopefully they will all have room to reach their full potential. In some ways it absolutely astounds me how such tiny seeds can SO quickly yield such large plants!

I am working to clear out the greenhouse so that I can deep clean it in preparation for seed germinating early next year. I want to make sure no pests are hiding in there, waiting to attack future plants. Plus, there is nothing better than starting the next season with a fresh, cleaned work area! I have almost everything planted outside except for some cucumbers and asparagus, and the last herbs in the germination trays (I am waiting for them to get big enough to transplant). I have four flats of plants that I plan to give to a gardening friend. I did not have room for them in my own garden, but she does in hers, so we both win. I have also set up an outdoor table, and placed my Aji Limon Pepper, Litchi Tomato, and Naranjilla starts on it. These are all plants that will be grown indoors during the winter as greenhouse perennials. I started them rather late in the season, so they are still quite small and need a bit of coddling.

Well, with an hour to go before dinner and chores, I suppose I should make one final effort to be productive in the garden today!

Or maybe I'll just get back to reading my book...