Spring Heat Means Growth!

Boy have we turned a corner! From a record cold start this year to the now summer temperatures in early May, Mother Nature decided to give us New Englanders a nice break! 

This break is also doing my garden well! Below is my turnip plants, which are really starting to establish themselves. I just thinned them out a week ago! 

Next are the radishes! One of the fastest growing vegetables you can grow. These were planted using seed tape (which I LOVE so far) and were planted a week ago but should be ready to harvest by the end of the month (only 22 days!) 

My Swiss chard is also starting to establish itself and is beginning to look less like a sprout and more like a plant! 

Note* all the white petals in the photos are from the Cleveland pear trees that grow in my yard and my neighbors yard. Unfortunately, they're just ornamental and not actual edible fruit trees. I wish they were though! 

My bucket of Greens! 8/8/13

My bucket of greens in my container garden! Basil, Swiss Chard and cut & grow lettuce!  It looks like a healthy salad bowl! What makes it better is that the basil is from seeds I saved last year! 

Bought my vegetable plants!!

My dad and I went to Lowes over the weekend to pick up some tomato plants for the garden...I think I went a little over board! 

Not only did I get more tomato plants than I was expecting I also got pepper plants, cucumbers, squash and basil! In all I ended up with: 

8 tomato plants 

4 hot pepper plants 

4 sweet pepper plants 

1 cucumber pot (6 plants in it)

1 squash pot (6 plants in it) 

1 sweet basil plant 

1 packet of mixed lettuce seeds

1 packet of red Swiss chard seeds

1 packet of Swiss chard seeds 

3 black plastic pots 

I Got a Juicer!!

As of last Friday, the first week of 2013, I now own a Juicer.  With some Christmas money I received I bought a Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor!  Yeah it sounds complicated but I spent days researching which juicer I should buy.  I ended up paying a little more than I budgeted for but so far I'm thrilled with my decision!  The Breville juicer I bought is about $150, a medium cost juicer, the cheaper ones go for around $50, while the more expensive ones can cost you up to $500 or more!!

What sold me on this Juicer was its good reviews, apparent easy clean up process and the fact that it had a high speed and a low speed! The reason why the two speeds became a deciding factor is because all juicers in my price point, $150 and below, aren't great at juicing leafy greens, however with the lower speed it's possible with this juicer (not the most efficient, but better than nothing).  So far I've been very happy with the Juicer and surprised myself because I really enjoy the tastes of the juices I have made!

So what does a Juicer have to do with Gardening? 

 It has a lot to do with gardening!  The best fruits and vegetables to put through a juicer are organic produce and what's better than organic produce from your own backyard garden!!!  Plus some of the best vegetables to juice include leafy greens (kale and spinach) and harder vegetables like carrots and cucumbers.  Although a backyard garden might not supply the daily needs of a juicer it will surely supplement and offset some of the prices of vegetables in the summer months!!!  It also gives me another reason to grow Swiss Chard and Kale next year!!! To add to the benefits, all the pulp which is leftover after the juice is extracted is great for my compost bin!  Although there are some neat recipes to use the leftover pulp as well.  In addition I have to admit I had a number of cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes last summer that met a tragic end rotting on the shelf from mold rather than processing through my stomach.  This summer any extra produce which I can't consume whole can now be juiced!!!   So I think it's a great addition to any gardeners kitchen and a great way to fulfill some of those 2013 New Year Resolutions!!

Below are some photos I took throughout the process of juicing!  

Winter Day Dreams of my Spring Garden!

As the days continue to get shorter, the landscape turns bare and brown before hopefully a blanket of white arrives, I'm already day dreaming about my garden in the spring! I day dream of garden layouts, new raised beds, water storage and new plants! I have to say I most excited about two new plants I hope to plant in the spring!

The first one is Swiss Chard, which is in the spinach and kale family and extremely healthy for you! It also grows well throughout the season from the cool spring days through the hot summer and cool fall! This endurance means a continuous crop through the growing season! It's also a very cool plant, the stems can come in a rainbow of colors giving the garden an interesting aesthetic! The dark leaves are rich in vitamin b's and offer a bang for your buck nutritionally! Below is a picture of colorful Swiss chard from http://www.revolutiongardens.com/?attachment_id=524

The other plant I'm excited to grow is a fruit shrub. To be more specific heritage raspberry plant. I hope to find a few varieties to plant if I have the room! Heritage raspberry seems to be the most reliable and also one of the few that produce. Crops twice a year. In fact I have read that they even produce a fall crop the first year, which would be awesome! Now raspberry plants are perennials and will take some work to maintain. Most work involves thinning canes in the summer and cutting old canes once dormant. Like blackberries, raspberries grow on canes but after the cane produces fruit it normally has to be cut down to get new growth and new fruit! Most varieties grow the cane one year and fruit the next. So once the plants are established, your efforts one summer will directly impact your crop of delicious berries the next year, I just hope I have enough room for the berry plants! It would be like growing candy in my backyard!! Below is a picture of a very healthy heritage raspberry plant from http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Rubus-Heritage-Raspberry