Did you know that ladybugs aren't necessarily ladies, and they aren't bugs?

Sure Signs Of Spring Despite Awful Weather

Sucess!

So far my Cilantro, Basil, and oregano have sprouted, and in spite of the dire warnings on the creeping thyme package, the also have sprouted!

Onions,Garlic,Spinach,Radishes,& Lettuce

 The weather has been amazing here in central Utah, and according to the charts its time to plant the cold crops. There are cold crops, like onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, that cannot tolerate heat well, and need to be planted in the cool weather. Other crops like tomatoes, squash, and peppers are warm weather crops, and need to be planted once the danger of frost is over, which is around the middle or end of May here. So this weekend my friend and I planted an absurd amount of onions, both red and yellow, in her backyard, and I put the remaining onions, and some garlic, in my yard. I also planted green onions from seed, spinach, two kinds of radishes, and some lettuce. Now I am a little worried about the lettuce, since I might be a few weeks early on that, so I am going to have to keep my eye on that to make sure it doesn't freeze. 
As a side note, when I planted the things from seed, I didnt plant rows, I planted whole 'squares' (rectangles really). Thats a tip from Mel the Square Foot Gardening guy. There is no room in a typical backyard garden for rows of veggies, and there is nothing wrong with seeding a 12"x12" area, or even bigger. Rows actually are a waste of space, and most plants adapt really well to the 'square foot' method. You should have seen how many tomatoes plants i crammed into a small area, and they grew enormous and produced a ton of fruit! Honestly, I put 1 beefsteak plant and 6 Romas in a 12" x 5' space! Sounds crazy but it works. More on that later.

Here is a link to a planting chart for Utah:
www.co.utah.ut.us/Dept/Exten/Data/​vegetableutah.pdf

Did you know that if you use any kind of insecticide on your plants you will kill all the earthworms in your soil? Try something else! I use a shallow pan of beer to attract and kill slugs (hey, they die happy!) and mild soap and water spray for bugs on the leaves. Other than that, I learn to share, a little food for the bugs, a lot of food for me!

Starting Seeds

Today I tried something I have never tried before, starting seeds inside several weeks before the last frost date. A packet of seeds costs around a dollar, and produces an absurd amount of plants, so I figured it was worth a shot. So in this picture you can see my little starter pots( i got them at the Dollar store, 10/$1), and filled them with 'starter mix'($4 from Kmart), not potting soil. I have read repeatedly that starter mix is better because seeds themselves contain all the nutrients they need for the first few weeks of their little lives, they dont need fertilizer or amendments. Cool, right? So in went the seeds, in the picture is cilantro, I barely covered them with soil, and put them in my warm front bay window. Seeds need to be around 70 degrees to germinate. You can even put them on top of the fridge until they sprout! And now we wait a few weeks and see what happens!

You know what the great thing about having a bad memory is? 

Life is full of surprises! Apparently I bought a ton of tulips last year and put them in the front! Why do I have no recollection of this?!! I remember the daffodils...

The Back Yard Gardener: March 8th

The Back Yard Gardener: March 8th: "This blog is about making something out of nothing. Unfortunately many of us are facing this reality in this economy. About a year ago we lo..."

The Back Yard Gardener: Soil

The Back Yard Gardener: Soil: "Dirt Dirt Dirt! The key to a great garden is simply dirt. Well maybe not simply... compost takes some work! So last year after I ripped out ..."

The Back Yard Gardener: Peas...'If they Ain't Snowed on Twice, They Ain't ...

The Back Yard Gardener: Peas...'If they Ain't Snowed on Twice, They Ain't ...: "So I always take advice where I can get it, in this case from a fellow gardener at work. According to him you can plant peas in the middle o..."

Peas...'If they Ain't Snowed on Twice, They Ain't no Good'

So I always take advice where I can get it, in this case from a fellow gardener at work. According to him you can plant peas in the middle of February in Utah! I looked it up on the local university's website, and its true! So since I had my beds all ready, in went the peas! Glad I did all that work in the fall. We'll see what happens!

Soil

Dirt Dirt Dirt! The key to a great garden is simply dirt. Well maybe not simply... compost takes some work! So last year after I ripped out all the old dead plants, I hand tilled my vegetable beds while adding aged manure and peat moss. I also created another 'square' for next years garden using some old rotting railroad ties that were in my yard. Then its just a waiting game, waiting for the rain and snow of winter to work on the soil...

As a side note, I also planted a bunch of bulbs, iris, daffodils, tulips, allium, laitris, and a few others, so hopefully I will have lots of surprises this spring! 

I also divided my daylilies, which I have never done before, so I will let you know how THAT goes!

March 8th

This blog is about making something out of nothing. Unfortunately many of us are facing this reality in this economy. About a year ago we lost our house. It sounds terrible I guess, but I made up my mind right away that no good could come from dwelling on what happened yesterday, and decided to make the most of what I had today. And what I had was a mobile home in the middle of town. That's right, a trailer! And I love my trailer, its convenient, it has a great layout... and a great yard! We live fairly close to a river, and this gives me great dark, rich soil, great for growing things!

So my goal this year, in between my working and volunteer work, is to grow as many vegetables and herbs as is humanly possible, and to have flowers that are the envy of the neighborhood! Follow me on this journey, and we will see what I come up with!