Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Gardening Trends; What's In And What's Out For 2009

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Some interesting, but not so surprising, trend data from GMG.
GIY (grow it yourself) is hot. Ummm, duh?

Gardening Goes “Back to the Future” – GIY Style (pdf)

GMG 2009 Garden Trends

-------What’s In--------------------------------What’s Out

  • 1. Eco-Boosting is In!----------------Conspicuous Consumption is Out
  • 2. Grow It Yourself (GIY) is In-------Doing it ALL for Me is Out
  • 3. Blended gardens are In------------Segregated gardens are Out
  • 4. Locavore is In---------------------Big carbon footprints are Out
  • 5. Water is In-------------------------Water is Out
  • 6. Outside is In-----------------------Inside is Out (But not “out”)
  • 7. Info Lust is In----------------------Lack of Knowledge is Out
  • 8. Quick & Simple is In----------------Over-the-top gardens are Out
  • 9. Global Colors are In-----------------Safe colors are Out
  • 10. Worldly is In-----------------------Cookie-cutter is Out
  • 11. Bubbling is In-----------------------Excess is out
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Getting Started

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Finally, yay!

With my dad having another heart attack and the hubs' job set to disappear (ugh!) things have gotten way behind around here.
Well, just us. Most certainly not the plants. They know it's time to make an appearance, ready or not.

So far planted in the garden:
Broccoli
peas (I know, I know, we are way late!)
cabbage
cauliflower
Brussel sprouts
and potatoes.


Hey, at least it's a start.
The belt broke on the rototiller (ahem, the yearly go-round with the beastie. Some things never change) and another is on order - translation = "We can't get you one for at least 2 weeks." ~sigh~

We made a quick trip to TSC to see if maybe they had a belt that would fit and they have chicks in. Oh, man, I'd love to have some chicks! Our coop was dismantled ages ago and there's no way finances will allow one right now. A lady in the store came up while I was looking at them and said, "Oh, how cute!" Her husband looked at her and said, "Yeah, cute now, then they get big and you eat 'em." She about freaked. When she glanced at me after he said that, I nodded and said, "Yeah, then you eat 'em!" Poor woman, I thought she was gonna faint.

Anyway, still on deck and waiting in the wings:
radishes
lettuce
and carrots.

Now, to the good thing - my nephew brought me 4 dump truck loads of wood chips for mulch. Yay! Hey, it was free and I'm smilin'! I got a little of it spread on the perennial beds where I can see things popping, but I'll have to wait on the other beds for the reseeders (both flowers and weeds) to show themselves before I can tackle those. Besides, spreading mulch is no fun in 90 F heat. I'll wait until it cools down in a few days. I really can't imagine what it's like not to battle weeds non-stop all summer long and never really finish before starting all over at the beginning again. It'll be a new experience! Seriously, I've never been able to have mulch before. Yes, sad. Very sad.

The pepper and tomato seedlings are looking awesome. I'm so proud!
Sent some cole sprouts to my niece. Remains to be seen if they get planted or not. I'm sure she'll get to it, eventually.

My gosh, I am soooo excited about that mulch . . . y'all have no idea! Seriously, I could PMP just thinking of it spread everywhere. Those piles are bee-u-tee-full!
Lordy, I'm such an easy garden date. lol.
;)

I'm so very proud of my youngest daughter! Out of the blue, she noticed the lady that volunteers every year to clean out the school's flowerbeds struggling a little to get it all done by herself and D ran right over there and offered to help instead of going to lunch and recess. How sweet is she? What'd the other kids do? Why, stood and stared at them do it, of course. :( Yesterday, the lady came in the school and gave D some potted-up pups from her aloe plant as a thank you. Awww, that was so nice! D wasn't expecting anything for helping and was very shocked. She has them sitting at home on her desk next to her comp. They might have to be moved for more light, though.

Oh, and another good thing - I have sprouts out the wazoo from my WS jugs. I'll make a list soon. But I'm much more excited about that mulch!
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