Help is Here

Garden Rant, one of the most popular gardening blogs on the Internet, provided a link to some great starter videos.

If you are new to vegetable gardening, especially organic methods, Ed Bruske put a dozen how-to videos on the Monkey See website.

The video topics include: Tools, Soil Testing, Seed Starting, Mulch, Transplants, Watering, Garden Pests and Weeds. Click here to view.

If you are ready and willing to start vermicomposting, here is a link to an entry on TangledFleece that shows exactly what to do through a series of photographs.

Phlox! What a great perennial - scented, dramatic, reliable, insect and disease free. What would my flower beds be without Phlox? GardensOyVey has a nice set of photos and descriptions of 8-cultivars at this link.

In our garden today, all the garlic was pulled and cleaned and hung to dry. More peppers and tomato plants went in.

The thrill for the day was that the black swallowtail butterflies found the fennel we planted for them and the caterpillars are big and fat. It is easy to see those bright green and black striped larva but I have yet to find the chrysalis. This year the fennel is in a raised bed to improve our chances of observing the entire life-cycle.

Believe it or not it is time to start planting seeds of winter vegetables. A Master Gardener newsletter from California provided this link to a chart of germination temperatures for various vegetables. The chart is from the organic gardening organization, Rodale Press.

This link will take you to their Organic Gardening blog.

Happy gardening.

Salvias and Morning Glories, Gardening for Healthy Children, Titan Arums

A fellow Master Gardener gave me a root division of a Blue and Black Salvia. Hers grows in a 4-foot wide clump by the cattle guard and fence into the front yard. It had already bloomed at her place this season and it obligingly bloomed again for me in its new home along our front sidewalk.
Lady in Red Salvia and Cleome are thriving in a bed next to the blackberry bushes. Since we just had 5-inches of rain the last two days, they are sitting in 2-inches of water today but seem to be happy about it.

When we were strong-armed into putting up a chain link fence, Morning Glory vines seemed like the only way to soften the look of it during the first summer. A new perennial bed will go into the spot this fall.

THE FALL GARDEN

The lettuce seedlings had to be brought in out of the storm and put under lights but they may have to be re-planted anyway because they are so leggy. A night time low of 59 is predicted for later this week, so I'll try again then.

Spinach, lettuce, chard, kale, snow peas and other fall veggies can all still go in the ground. The cucumbers I planted last week from seed are already 2-inches tall.

GARDENING MAKES HEALTHY FAMILIES (Link to UPI for complete story)

Not too far north of us at Kansas State University in Manhattan Kansas, Candice Shoemaker received a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Research Institute for Project PLANTS, or Promoting Lifelong Activity and Nutrition Through Schools.

The idea is to involve elementary school students in growing their own food and flowers in gardens and high tunnels to increase their exercise and involve them in an interest in healthy food.

Tip of the Trowel to Garden Rant for bringing the story to my attention.

TITAN ARUM

Another gigantic Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) bloomed August/September at Eastern Conn. State University and the photos are posted at their Plant Phys site. Click on the link to see the amazing time-lapsed photos. Links at the bottom of the page take you to related sites, i.e. the mother and father's plant sites.

UNWANTED GRASSES AND TREE SEEDLINGS MUST GO

The two days of rain made the ground nice and wet: It's been a good day for weed pulling!

Buy Fresh Buy Local and the Living Kitchen

Buy Fresh Buy Local is the name of project sponsored by
the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Oklahoma
Sustainability Network. The program is starting in the Tulsa
area and hopes to widen its reach over time.

Last night in Bristow at the Living Kitchen farm table dinner
two of Tulsa's farmer's market managers sat with us.


Rita Scott manages the Thursday night market at 6Th and Peoria and is working with Doug Walton of the Kerr Center on the Buy Fresh Buy Local roll out. Another key player, Leslie Moyer, manages the Wednesday farmer's market at 41st and Peoria in Tulsa.

Garden Rant, one of the most popular gardening blogs on the Internet, sent out a piece on sustainability yesterday, called "Carbon Calculations in the Garden" that discusses some of the issues surrounding the eat local movement that is stirring up conversation and controversy around the world and across world markets.

The Living Kitchen Farm and Garden grows much of the food they serve. The ingredients used are grown or made in Oklahoma. For example, last night's dinner included: Hinton Oklahoma raised Witchita Buffalo; Armenian cucumbers from Three Springs Farm; apricots, corn and poblano peppers from Shanksfarm; wine from Tidal School Vineyards in Drumright, butter from Wagon Creek Creamery; and, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and potatoes from Living Kitchen's own farm and gardens.

Photo: Bibi - that incredible chef at Living Kitchen

The menu last night: Mint Rhubarb Julep with zucchini fritters, herb goat cheese on toast points and chipotle cream cheese with chips.Fried green tomatoes with purple hull bean and corn salad; tomatillo soup with potato herb dumpling, watermelon and lime sorbet, chicken friend buffalo served over poblano mashed potatoes with cream gravy and fried burgundy okra. Hot apple fritters with Porter peach ice cream. Coffee and wine as desired.

Muskogee's Farmer's Market is managed by Doug Walton of the Kerr Center this year. Walton can be reached at 918.686.6939 and via email at doug.walton@suddenlink.net - he has added a table at the Muskogee Farmer's Market for food donations and the Plant a Row for the Hungry Program.

You may not know that the eat local movement was originally funded by the federal government after the 9/11/01 New York City tragedy. That funding is gone now but the idea to buy locally and reduce the amount of transportation required for food has taken on a life of its own.

Fun Stuff While We Wait for Good Weather

OK it's freezing in April. We just returned from a lecture in Bartlesville and it snowed the entire time we were there. At least here in Muskogee it is only raining and freezing. Silver lining anyone?

Photos of Mystery Plant - in full bloom below and in bud above so you can see the leaves.


Two fun topics while we wait for better weather.

One is a gardening blog called Garden Rant. The blog itself is always great fun and is especially entertaining today. A visiting writer rants about gardening experts that cause harm to gardens. Check it out at www.gardenrant.com

And second, for your cold spell entertainment, I'm giving away a gardening book to the first person who can identify the plant that is blooming in the dry bed. Enter by clicking on the "comment" link in the blog and letting me know what it is.