Fruit Trees

I got a hot tip that one of our local Lowes had a variety of fruit trees available and I'd love to have some fruit trees in our yard for shade, food, and beauty. So, I lugged my toddlers out there and harassed my husband into meeting us there, anxious to get my garden going. I browsed through the fruit trees they had available, reading tags and dreaming of the delicious fruit I could expect in the next couple years. Then I noticed one thing they kept mentioning on the tags... pollinators. Pollinators? I had no idea what they meant. Like, maybe they mean we need extra bees or something? So, sadly I chose against buying any trees yet because I wanted to do a bit more research.

Here's what I found. It seems that many fruit trees need another DIFFERENT type of fruit tree to cross pollinate in order to get a better yield. Glad I checked. Here's the link for more information on which trees are the best choice for cross pollination purposes.

Seedlings!

April 15 I started a bunch of seedlings. I had planned to start more within a few days but as yet have not. That said, we have seedlings!! I'm excited. This is my first time being serious about starting my garden from seeds. Previous years, I'd usually start some seeds, forget to water them, they die, then go out and buy plants for my garden from a nursery. Anyway, I have pictures!!

Green(uh, purple until cooked) Beans:

 

Pumpkins:

Cucumbers:

 

Now, with the cucumbers, I was using seeds I had bought back in 2002 (and subsequently never used), so I wasn't convinced they would all come up - or that any would come up, so I planted a TON of them. I guess we lucked out though... out of 17 seeds, I have 15 plants. O.O I was NOT expecting that. So, I'd say it's probably a good idea to try using any older seeds you might have laying around because at worst, you don't have them come up and you get more *shrug*  

The Lawn

I looked out my window this morning and there was a man wondering around my neighbor's yard fertilizing it (or was it insecticides?). YUCK! For some reason, I'm offended by anything being spread THAT CLOSE to where my children play that needs a sign for the first few days saying not to walk on it. Come on, people, I'm trying to raise children and grow food on this lawn!

My husband and I joke that at our house, the grass really IS greener on the other side of the fence, but that seems to be because we're one of the few houses (much to my neighbor's dismay, I'm sure) that chooses not to chemically treat our lawn. That said, there is certainly stuff you can do to enhance your lawn organically!

Here's some links to organic lawn care:
www.richsoil.com
www.eartheasy.com
www.safelawns.org

Better for your kids and pets, better for the environment and better for your wallet. Or better yet... rip up your yard and plant native/hardy perennials...

Dreaming of Spring!

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, but I've had sort of a crazy couple months. Christmas then birthdays and a nasty bout of stomach flu that practically took down our house then turned into fun colds for everyone! Woo hoo! Anyway, hopefully I'm back and intend to start posting once a week or so again.

The weather here in upstate NY has been lovely (for February) the past week or so and has really gotten me absorbed into thinking spring. I've been learning about lasagna gardening and am hoping to try that out this year, since our beds really need some help in getting ready before planting. Last year our crop suffered from our lack of attention to the soil in the early season. We did double dig one section of our garden and worked in our compost, but mostly because that are had been so neglected and was so full of clay and hard to work that it was practically required if we were to plant anything there. It worked out well, though, because we got some volunteer tomatoes in that section!

I'm also wondering if we can grow some vegetables inside. I think I'm going to try and start some tomatoes extremely early this year (um, like this week) and maybe some peppers, too, because our tomatoes and peppers always take FOREVER. Last year we didn't get to harvest many until OCTOBER!

I have piles of seed packets from past years, so my plan is to try those (most of them are about 5 years old) first, see if they germinate, and if only buy more if they don't. They may not be the varieties that are what I'd like, but honestly, they're free (well, already bought), so I might as well try 'em. I'm hoping to try some this week.