How does my garden grow?!?

Right now pretty flipping awesome if I do say so myself. I am loving each and every moment I am blessed to spend outdoors in my little wonderland of veggies. Right now I am harvesting the last of the lettuces, along with my fellow farming partner, Tiny the bunny. Tiny visits each morning in the kitchen garden and lounges amongst the lettuce and eats as much as he can prior to me pounding on the glass or Chief goes outside and attempts to catch him. He is really an adorable fellow farmer, but there are times I would like to shoot him. As long as he doesn't move on to the tomatoes, his life will be spared.

Speaking of tomatoes, this year I cut back and put in only 10 plants. Last year I started with 12, my Mr. Stripey variety got attacked by a cutworm and I was down to 11. And that was MORE than enough. Hence the decision for 10 plants this year. I half heartedly planted a packet of Beefsteak seeds I ad from last year, expecting that they would yield nothing - you can't direct seed tomatoes in Wisconsin, right? Apparently if they are the right seeds you can, I have 4 huge plants, so that makes 14. Also since I use only heirloom plants and seeds, there is always the possibility of some seeds coming back and producing plants. In the past I have had one or two, but never any that have actually yielded any tomatoes. This year I have 6. Bringing our total plant count to 20. So-if you are in the market for tomatoes, please stop at my house first, I will have plenty.

Cooper continues to be quite the garden lover as well. His memory for garden facts and info is amazing. And he shocks everyone with his plant identification. While cruising the farmer's market last weekend, he stopped me to point out tomato plants at a stand and the little old lady almost fell over. I am truly blessed to be able to learn with him in the garden and thanks to Curious George, I know he will be picking all of the carrots as soon as they are ready.

Mommy Quotes to Remember

From time to time I make an attempt to purge the many many MANY books I have that contain inspirational quotes -which have been an addiction of mine for as long as Ican remember. I am positive being addicted to inspiration is better than being addicted to crystal meth, but still it can get out of control and take up a lot of space. So for today's good deed, I am going to get rid of ONE flipbook taking up space in my office!

"It is difficult to give children a sense of security unless you have it yourself. If you have it, they catch it from you." William D. Menninger

"Give a little love to a child and you get a great deal back." John Ruskin

"We parents can often do more for our children by correcting our own faults than by trying to correct theirs." Anonymous

"A babe in a house is a wellspring of pleasure, a messenger of peace for innocence on earth , a link between angels and men." Martin F. Tupper

"We have been given a great treasure in the form of our children; let us attend to them with great care." John Chrysostom

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." Lady Bird Johnson

"We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves. When we first bend over the cradle of our own child, God throws back the temple door, and reveals to us the sacredness and mystery of a father's and mother's love to ourselves." Henry Ward Beecher

"In praising or loving a child, we love and praise not that which is , but that which we hope for." Goethe

"Our children are living messages we send to a time and place we will not see." Anonymous

"A mother understands what a child does not say." Anonymous

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then they suddenly disappear." Dorothy Evslin

"An infallible way to make your child miserable is to satisfy all his demands" Anonymous

"Children cannot be made good by making them happy, but they can be made happy by making them good." E.J. Kiefer

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." Henry Ward Beecher

"A young child, a fresh uncluttered mind, a world before him - to what treasures will you lead him?" Gladys Hunt

"There is in all this world no fount of deep, strong, deathless love, save that within a mother's heart." Felicia Hemans

"Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence." Plato

"Train your child in the way in which you know you should have gone yourself." Charles H. Spurgeon

"If you bend over backward for your children, you will eventually lose your balance." John Rosemond

"Children are a reward from the Lord." Psalm 127:3

"What is a home? It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother; the strength of a father. Warmth of living hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where even the tea kettle sings from happiness. That is home." Ernestine Schumann-Heink

"Level with your kids by being honest. Nobody spots a phoney quicker than a child." M. MacCracken

"Every child is gifted in some area. We just have to find out what." Evelyn Blose Holman

"Parenthood is a partnership with God. You are not molding iron nor chiseling marble; you are working with the Creator of the universe in shaping human character and determining destiny." -Ruth Vaughn

"Nothing you do for children is ever wasted." Garrison Keillor

"Parents need to fill a child's bucket of self-esteem so high that the rest of the world can't poke enough holes to drain it out." Alvin Price

"Remember to Create moments, Make memories, Shape Destinies." Nancy Gordon

"Govern a small family as you would cook a small fish, very gently." Chinese Proverb

"A mother's heart is the child's first schoolroom." Anonymous

Almost time to plant!

As I enjoy another rainy Wisconsin afternoon I would like to share some fabulous gardening resources that have been valuable to me these past few years.

The very first thing I think about each year are seeds. This year one of my favorite things that came in the Christmastime mail was my Baker Creek Seed catalog. For the past 2 years, they have been my only seed source. The catalog itself is beautiful, the product quality and service is AMAZING. Here is their link:

http://rareseeds.com/

This year we will also be making our sunflower house with their seeds and attempting to add some color to the pink ribbon garden with their dahlias.

Next I start patiently waiting for news from UW-Green Bay, my alma mater, on their annual spring plant sale. If you have never attended, you don't know what you are missing. The crowd gathers early to pick-up a ticket for admittance later in the morning. The plants are all heirloom, many are rare and unable to be purchased anywhere else. As for their quality, I have had amazing results over the past years no matter what variety I selected. My favorite plant from last year was lemon basil. Here is a link to their details:

http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/plantsale/index.htm

I would tell you what time I am showing up at the sale on Saturday morning, but that may cut down on my chances of getting into the greenhouse with the first group!

Another very obvious resource for me is:

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow

Filled with amazing stories, resources and ideas, I consider this the key to our organic gardening success.

I am looking very forward to a weekend filled with shopping, planning and planting and hope you are too!

When to plant notes 2011

Wanted to save a great little piece of info I found in my very favorite Martha Stewart Living Magazine about a month back. It's all about when to plant and the temp ranges certain veggies tolerate - very helpful info for a novice gardener like myself. And when the info comes from my idol, it is always reliable! All temps in Fahrenheit, temps in parenthesis are the range that can be tolerated.

Preferred Temp:70-85(65-90): eggplants, sweet potatoes, sweet & hot peppers, watermelons, okra, tomatoes

Preferred Temp:65-75(50-90): beans, black eyed peas, cucumbers, melons, sweet corn, squash

Preferred Temp:60-65 (40-75): artichokes, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, endives, fava beans, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, turnips

Preferred Temp:55-75(45-85): garlic, leeks, onions, shallots

ATTACK OF THE STINGY MOM

All of those who know me well know that while I love to shop, I hate to part with my hard earned cash. So my quest to save every last cent possible leads me to research all savings possible prior to each purchase. Enjoy the fruit of my labor and see how much money you can set aside.

Thought I would share some good Coupon sites I recently read about in Parents magazine. I haven't personally used any of them yet, however they all look to be pretty sweet.
http://www.mommysavesbig.com/

http://www.cheapstingybargains.com/

http://www.couponmom.com/

http://www.currentcodes.com/

Another great find

Very excited about a tidbit I found in Martha Stewart Living recently - a plant press that is priced excellently...

http://www.naturespressed.com/

You may be wondering what I need a plant press for, well, the obsession began when I saw Martha Stewart herself decoupage pressed pansies onto Easter Eggs last year. So now that I have found the perfect tool I will just have to get it, then save this years pansies and then NEXT year - I shall have those perfect Easter Eggs.

Wine makes me happy!

Many times I find the blog is one of the easiest places to take notes that you want to refer back to in the future. This year I plan to post many things I would like to refer back to/keep track of. Wines to taste is a list that for me just keeps growing and growing and growing so here is a short list of wines I would like to try in the very near future. Courtesy of one of my favorite food/wine reference blogs: www.epicurious.com I subscribe to their Tasting Notes e-newsletter and find many fabulous wines this way. Much less overwhelming than looking at hundreds of bottles on the shelf.

KWV Steen 2010 - from South Africa-noted as citrusy
Bodega Budini Malbec 2009 - from Argentina noted as cherry & sandalwood

Both are also noted as being good selections with football food- hurray!