Which Mulch Disorder do you Have?

Some people might say I am bossy. That I give unsolicited advice. I don't agree, well maybe sometimes...But only on certain topics. I mean, I'm old, right? Lived a lot of years! I feel like I can comment on gardening issues (hence the Blog), and a few other things, but I know my limitations and I am aware that I have areas I know less about than others. Still, there are times that I cannot hold back. Yesterday I heard myself telling someone to stay away from the peat moss, it's evil.That was right before I called a guy a Pansy and we're not talking flower.I know I'm difficult. Another time I needed to give an apologetic Mum to a neighbor after I pointed out their incorrect watering practices. I said Sorry! I know! Nobody is perfect, right?
But sometimes you just need to speak up.
In the picture you are about to see, I think you would agree with me. I need to talk to this person.


In "gardening school" one of the things I learned was how to apply mulch. Most of the rest of the world has not taken that class. They made us chant, "No Volcanoes, No Volcanoes. Mulch mounds are bad" until it was branded in my heart and soul.

Mulch should not touch the trunk of the tree. In fact, it needs to stay 4 or 5 inches away. There are legit reasons for that:

1. When mulch touches the trunk, it can cause the bark to rot and it becomes the highway that undesirable creatures can enter the trunk.
2. The tree may not even get the water it needs because it runs right down the 14er you have so nicely built. IF you keep it away from the trunk it makes a nice little dish and moisture can seep in and keep the tree hydrated.
3. It looks crazy!

Some people like to mulch things other than plants. It looks like 2 neighbors decided together on this- 2 mailboxes. The only thing I can say is, this had to be done by men. What women would do this? I can imagine what was going on in their Man Brain....I must have mulch. More mulch than neighbors. Big mulch mound means big man.
Classic Little Man Syndrome here.

In case you haven't noticed all my years of "therapy" qualifies me to diagnose psychological disorders.

So here is one more:

This person clearly has commitment issues. I'm planning to tell them to just open the bag, apply the mulch-no mounding- and it will be fine. Go ahead and commit. I am going to ring the doorbell and do some counseling. I hope it goes well. I'll keep you posted.

Silence Your Cell Phones and Stop Talking. The Show is about to Begin

OK, OK, OK! Enough already! Rain, clouds and cold. Days and days of it. We want it to stop. We're done! The only ones being productive right now are psychologists because we are all depressed and experiencing flood anxiety.
My veggie garden is on simmer and I am wanting to complete my Spring clean up. The free lawn bag pick up is about to end and I was trying to fill as many as possible before the second rain of the day started. As I was frantically cutting back Hydrangea out of the corner of me eye I saw something beautiful.
Silence your cell phones and stop talking. The show is about to begin! Rain or shine, cold or freezing cold, plants are about to bloom and what a grand show it will be.
Here are 3 of my favs: Serviceberry,Redbud and Korean Spice Viburnum. There is more to come, It happens every year.

My First Organic Mistake and Now a Moral Dilemma

I was feeling fully organic in every way until I made my first organic mistake. I am sure it won't be my last, but I am frustrated that I flubbed up and now I have a moral dilemma on my hands. To most of you, I am sure it wouldn't be a problem, but to me, an oldest child who feels responsible to do the right thing, I am conflicted. In the photo you will notice rows of tiny little plants. They are the organic seeds I planted about 2 weeks ago. Growing well. Being thinned as much as I can. Then you will also notice some larger plants. Don't give Dr. Earth too much credit. He is my hero (or at least I am hoping he is). Those are kale plants I purchased.

Here is some amazing info on kale. Caution: IF you read this you will want kale

Like all fresh greens, kale is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C, and K. One cup of cooked kale will give you over 1,000 percent of your daily value of vitamin K, a nutrient established to be important in bone formation. Manganese, which promotes bone density, is also high in kale. And like other cruciferous vegetables, kale is high in sulfur-containing phytonutrients that have been found to prevent cancer.

I have never even thought about getting my daily allowance of vitamin K, let alone 1000%. Preventing cancer, that's what I am talking about. If you can't find me, I will probably be out in the garden munching on Kale.

The dilemma is: I don't think the seedlings are organic and I don't think I can do anything about it. It goes against my gardening DNA to pluck them out of the box and toss them in the trash. That would be sin. Since I am committed to not over crowding this year, I took the 2 plants that wouldn't fit and added them to a spring container, rather then toss them. It was the right thing to do.
At this point I am asking for grace! I have now done my research and if a plant or seed is officially organic it will have gone through a certification process and be certified organic. Simple! So from now on,
I promise,
any plant that I put in will have that muy importante seal of approval.
If I run into trouble, I'll keep you posted.

I'm Getting Some Action

Approximately 7 days after depositing the seeds in the magic dirt I started to see some action! Nothing could be as exciting to any gardener as this kind of action. Little green sprouts peaking through the ground.Remember, it's hard for me to thin (in more ways than one) and I already have crowded rows of tiny little radishes, lettuce and spinach. The SSP's have yet to make an appearance but I have faith.
Even though the weather has been awful, it's OK. These guys love the cold. In fact if it was really warm, like say warm enough to sit on the patio with a glass of wine watching the sunset dreaming about longer evening and lovely flowers in bloom...uh wait, sorry. ...the stuff I planted loves this disgusting cold weather. You gotta love them just for that reason alone.
Another tough guy that's not in my Box but in the ground is Mr. Rhubarb. I really need this guy to produce because his sacrifice is already planned for another batch of jam. I'll be closely watching his progress and I'll keep you posted!

Organic People

The term organic is used all over the place these days. Not sure if I'm using it properly here, but I want to tell you about someone who I consider "organic." Her name is Claire.She is about to marry my son Ben and I couldn't be happier! The minute I met her I loved her (so did Ben for that matter).
She just oozes all the things I love. She is fun,kind and loves to dance...She can do the worm at the drop of a hat. I mean a good worm too.She cooks up a storm almost every time she comes to my house. She taught me about brown butter, whipping cream and micro planning citrus fruit. I hardly ever use bottled lemon juice anymore thanks to Claire! She got me canning 2 years ago and if this veggie garden thing works out maybe Claire and I will can some of the produce instead of buying it at the farm stand.
Yesterday she came over to make jam and when she stopped at the store for some ingredients she picked up a few things to make some soup for lunch. Delicious soup! One of the ingredients she used was Kale. I don't think I have ever eaten Kale. I use it every year in my Fall container gardens but stop myself from munching on it. It was fantastic! So today I bought myself some Kale plants for the"Box" influenced by the organic gal in my life...Claire!(Check back to see how the Kale does in the magic soil.)

Sometimes as we get older we think we have it all figured out. We think," After being in counseling for over 20 years I should know a thing or two" and we do. But, when we open ourselves up to relearn or start new things, we grow.Truth be told, it keeps us young!So that's my anti aging plan and I hope it works since I am too chicken for Botox.I can't wait for the next thing Claire teaches me and I'll keep you posted!

I am not complaining about the weather....

Now that I am committed to an organic vegetable garden and actually spent some cash on it, I wondered...what is an official definition of Organic food? So of course, I did the Google and this is what I found:

Organic foods are those that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

Impressive! I think I should be good since I will not be using any genetically modified organisms or industrial solvents. This just might work!
After gatherin' round the good stuff, adding the black gold to my box, I was ready to plant some seeds...remember, I have a hard time with "tough love", so a real test of my hardcore gardening will be the thinning if these things actually grow. This early in the season you can plant things like: Radishes, Lettuce, Spinach and Sugar Snap Peas. Anything with the words sugar and butter are go to plants for me. So in went the Peas and Butter lettuce, Radish and Spinach seeds too! It's only a matter of time now. Let's see if the Dr. can deliver. I'll keep you posted!

He had me at Worm Castings....

Now that I have committed another year to organic veggie gardening ( I do not have commitment issues), I am ready to go! I visited a local garden shop that prides itself in being Organic. That's where I met Dr. Earth! What is not to love and be turned on by?! This Dr. offers everything a (previously) unsuccessful veggie gardener could want:Forest humus, fir bark, kelp meal, fish bone meal, seaweed extract, mycorrhizae(one of my personal favorites) and that is just to name a few! But the thing that sold me, caused me to plunk down over $14 for a bag of dirt was the magical promise of worm castings. A definite added home run! The bag it comes in is even recyclable! So, just to beef things up even more I let the Dr. make another promises to this sugar snap pea hopeful. I also brought home a bag of Premium Organic 5. Not sure what the 5 is, but it sounded good to me. Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer. Ideal for: stimulating(did the Dr say stimulating??) hearty Root Development and Vigorous Crop Growth. How could I loose with Dr Earth as my new man!
Seriously,the good thing about Dr Earth is that his products are people and pet safe, they are loaded with beneficial soil microbes and increase moisture absorption and retention. Besides, there is so much to look forward to...He also sells a soil that includes high-country chicken manure and bat guano...two things I have spent my whole life looking for!
Did I mention you can make tea with this stuff?
I'll keep you posted!

The Dysfunctional Gardener

I am a gardener.I am also dysfunctional. I love plants. I want them all in my own personal garden.I cannot say no to a growing thing and I continue to bring in new ones. I could be called a Hoarder.
I am pretty good with trees, flowers and shrubs. But I am not so good with veggies. Part of the problem is that I want too much. I over crowd. I am also pretty inexperienced with veggies. I don't know them very well and what they know about me, they don't like. When the seeds sprout and you are supposed to thin ,(that would be demonstrating "tough love"), I can't do it and then I have what I mentioned before...overcrowding!
Just because we have a dysfunctional past I am not giving up! 2 years ago my husband built me a garden box for my vegetables. I put in too many tomatoes and a ton of other stuff. I have not impressed myself with any kind of a yield. I am also trying to be organic.
So, Here I go again...I am documenting the start of my Organic Vegetable Garden 2011!