I never saw an onion in a bag until after I became an adult and left home to live in the big city! Growing up on a farm far from rural life and having very little income, meant that if we didn’t grow it…we didn’t eat it!

Onions are very easy to grow, and with a little planning and the right varieties, one can have them year round…green throughout the summer and large bulbs for winter use and cooking.

I mostly grow my onions from sets, but occasionally buy plants, especially when I want a sweet onion. They don’t do well this far north though, and most years I am disappointed with the yield.

My favorite variety is “Stuttgarter”, a little pricey, but well worth the extra expense. They are an excellent keeper, (I still have some small ones from last years harvest),and rarely ever make seed. (Maybe one out of 50 or so, will bloom.) The more common types bloom quite frequently, (which means you won’t get a large bulb from that onion.)

I plant my sets around the tenth of April, and harvest the bulbs in late summer, (enjoying them green as scallions in the meantime.)

More pictures to be added in a bit…

It’s the time of year when seemingly overnight, the earth sheds it’s winter jacket and bursts into brilliant color!
Petunias are one of the first on my list of many bright flowers purchased or grown to fill the garden.
A couple of years ago, Kim suggested I try “BubbleGum Petunias”, and I am so thankful I took her advice.

They are one of the most beautiful plants I have grown in all my years of gardening, blooming non-stop from spring until winter with NO dead-heading whatsoever!

I have 5 plants ordered for this summer and can’t wait to get them started.

Thank you Kim.
I miss you.

Ever wonder why your sweet pepper plants just bloom and bloom and never set any fruit until just about time for the frosts to hit?

There’s a good reason!

Peppers are very sensitive to temperature change, and also to excessive heat or cold. They like their days to be consistent, and of course we all know that doesn’t happen very often.

I grow one variety year after year (California Wonder) and never get the exact same results any two years in a row.

This year, I’m experimenting with two plants that have grown at a perfect, steady temperature of 71 degrees, and carefully watching their progress.
To be continued…

Seedlings are coming along nicely. Several lilies are in their pots, and the first little marigold is showing it’s sweet face.

A balmy 55 degrees here this morning. Looks to be a fantastic day for getting the Spring chores done. Still lots of clean-up of accumulated winter debris (and trash from whatever the dog chewed up last night).

I planted some of these in the greenhouse yesterday.

I may leave them in pots to protect them from bulb-eating critters.

A little out of season, but here’s a baby green zinnia for St. Paddy’s Day.

I decided this tree could use some spring color, so I dug a clump of my tiny “Tete-a-tete” daffodils, and planted them among the ferns and hostas, that are just starting to make their appearance. They didn’t seem to mind at all and will get a good drenching with today’s rain.

When I was growing up, times were pretty hard, and it was a little difficult for lots of folks to put food on the table.
But thanks to my parents inginuity, we ate really well.
A huge vegetable garden prospered every summer,and other fields provided potatoes, and field corn (which was ground into corn meal for our bread).
Wild greens supplemented the vegetables, to put lots of vitamins in our diets and were free for the taking.

One spicy plant that provided a “spring tonic” was Upland Cress, (commonly and locally known as Creece, Creecy greens, creasy greens.) The large rosettes of leaves were at their best in late February or early March, just before the plants burst into bloom. They could be found growing prolifically along small streams or ditches where an abundant water source kept them growing during the winter. Shrugging off the cold, they grew right along, and it was common to find large plants the size of a dinner plate.

Preparation was the same as any other green, such as collards, kale, spinach etc.
Any extras were canned to be eaten at a later date.

I am so happy with my desktop greenery!! They are growing rapidly and really looking good. It has been such a joy to watch them develop. Pepper plants are almost five inches tall.