Okay, I have most of my planting done. We have been having back and forth cold and then warm weather for the last 3 weeks and I may have planted my tomatoes a little too early but they are flowering, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I've also had great success (so far) with my Blue Adirondack potatoes. They have sprouted and their leaves have a darker purple/blue hue leeching out from the center. Its a beautiful leaf and they are growing. Which is good because now we are getting a lot of rain and most of my veggies are growing fine.

I have also planted Yukon Golds, and they are sprouting, just not as much as the Blues. I am also trying the trash can method for growing them this year. I purchased a 33 gallon, black trash can and divided the bottom into 2 sides. On one side are the Blues and on the other side, I planted the Yukons. Not sure if they will cross pollinate but I can't wait to see the results. I am hoping for two different kinds of potatoes but if they cross, not sure what I will get... I will have to research/ask someone for advice on this arrangement.

I still have two beds that need to be filled in the yard and 2 half beds in the garden. One of the half beds will be for my melons. Just waiting for a clear day (probably this weekend) to plant them. I plan on trying the sweet baby melons and hope those dirty little grubs in my backyard don't decimate the crop. The other is where I tried to grow artichokes and failed miserably. Not because the plants didn't grow, but because I never read up on them and didn't realize you don't get a crop until the second year... So I got beautiful buds and a nice artichoke plants but I pulled them all up when I didn't see the artichokes growing... DUH! Another one of my "if I plant it it will grow, so I don't need to read up on the plant, cause I am just that good!" NOT...!!!

I sometimes get carried away in trying new things but I also have a tendency to forget that planting is all in the details. A little knowledge goes a long way, but its a lesson I am continuing to learn (over and over).

I am also growing carrots this year, I didn't last year and I missed them. So I have an entire wine barrel devoted to my orange beauties. I like to harvest them when they are on the smaller side, they taste much better and makes the meals look prettier.

The orange and lemon trees are budding like crazy. All of the trees have begun to grow fruit. The limequat tree is a little slower. It is putting on lots of leaves lost through the winter and I don't expect buds for another two weeks but the limequat catches up to the other citrus trees and is usually ready for harvest in October with the rest of them.

I have 3 kinds of peppers, poblano (love these); red, orange and yellow sweet peppers and they are doing okay. Although I planted them at the same time as the tomatoes, the little cold snap we had doesn't seem to have harmed them any.

My strawberries are growing wild on one side of my garden. I will have to watch where I step when I am working in that area. Last year, we got a lot of large and very sweet strawberries so the plan is to allow the strawberries to continue to grow "wild" and leave them alone til harvest.

Now, I am waiting for my yard guys to come over and make my yard look pretty. The grass is greening up just fine but it seriously needs a mow. I am not lazy, I am allergic to grass but I can now appreciate this miserable allergy cause it gives me an excuse to hire someone to do it for me. I have the same guys doing my yard for 8 years now and they do a great job. However, with all of the back and forth with the weather, they haven't had a nice day to get it done.

I also found baby snakes in a pile of leaves in the yard and I have a big compost heap over in a corner in my yard and I have a feeling there is a mama snake living in my compost heap. I plan to clear the brush from the top that hasn't had a chance to decompose and hopefully the little critters will realize they can no longer nest here... Did I tell you I hate snakes??? Well I hate snakes, A LOT... But my local SPCA says they're rat snakes and non-poisonous (like that helps) but I am willing to ignore them if they will ignore me... <fingers-crossed>  I will update you once I get the courage to tackle the job.

More later as the season continues.

Garden Plan for 2013

It's PLANTIN' TIME!!  Well, we're almost there... Some items will be planted this weekend and others are being hardened over for transplanting in a couple of weeks. I am hoping for a high yield this year as the previous 2 years we've had numerous consecutive days of 100+ degree weather and most of my crops just burned under the Texas sun.

The "Plan" is a little ambitious for me, especially when summer hits and constant care is required. And, I've already ruined the first batch of saffron corms. It seems my darling daughter was watering the plants as well, so they were being over-watered which is a huge "no-no" for  saffron, so... yeah, a new batch will be planted this weekend as well as the following:

    Bought some "blue" potatoes, they looked really cool and they are supposed to be delicious. Anyway, the blues are going in this weekend as well as the Yukon Gold.

    I am also planting the shallots (used all of last years, so I am starting with new bulbs and keeping my fingers crossed.

    I am planting both hot and sweet peppers. I can never get enough of these so I am over-planting these this year for a bountiful crop. They don't go in the ground just yet, but I will put them in my terrace room to over-hardened before they're planted in.

    Onions are going in as well, those are a 'fingers-crossed" deal too. I will be more detailed on what's going in as I plant each vegetable. Expect an update on all items planted this weekend in proper detail. Please note, the plan depicts what I would like to see but as math gives me a headache, I don't formally measure anything out... Its more of a guide on how I see it in my head but reality is always a lot less forgiving. I guess I could be more accurate but I admit, I am "math lazy"... I can add/multiply/subtract and divide and since I am NOT an aerospace engineer, I don't feel so bad about dismissing geometry, calculus and trig. And when I do use this level of mathematics, I don't realize that's what I am doing and "voila" ~~ no headaches... see, it works out for everyone involved. Below are a list of my garden veggies going in this  year...

I've chosen this years 'experiment plant' to be the 'Saffron Crocus'. I ordered bulbs and planted them in December in a container inside the house. They have string-like green leaves but they haven't flowered. They produce a beautiful purple flower so it will be an added benefit in making my garden 'pretty'. I am hoping to use some of the filaments in cooking and preserving the rest for future use. This is a very expensive herb so grow it yourself instead and save a LOT of money.


Grow your own Saffron Crocus bulbs for harvesting and cooking.
[Info from: http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/crocus-sativus-saffron-crocus.aspx ]

The saffron crocus blooms in the autumn, producing 1 to 5 rich lilac flowers with dark purple veins, held wide open above inconspicuous foliage.

Noteworthy characteristics: Plants may bloom well the first year, but sparsely thereafter. Generally will not flower in cool, wet areas. Saffron, called "the world's most expensive spice,"  is obtained from the long, conspicuous, deep red style. It takes about 14,000 stigma to make one ounce of saffron threads.

Care: Plant 3 to 4 inches deep in late summer. Likes full sun and gritty, poor to moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Prefers hot summers. Under glass, provide full light with gritty soil and ample water during growth. Keep dry during summer dormancy.

Propagation: Sterile, increasing only by division.

Problems: Mice, voles, and squirrels may eat the corms, while birds may pick off flowers. In storage, corms are prone to rots and molds.