Pucker Up
I’ve finally figured out how to achieve citrus success. Last fall I read To Eat: A Country Life while traveling. In the book Joe and Wayne talked about growing citrus trees in Vermont. They said that citrus has issues with scale if kept in a place warmer than they like, i.e. – pretty much any home in the winter.
My citrus trees always resided in a cold location, but I guess it wasn’t cold enough. This winter I decided to put them in the basement in front of the double doors we have that lead outside. The doors are drafty and hare large south facing windows in them. Turns out, it’s the perfect location for citrus. Right now they get light from the windows and light from the big new grow light, so they’re glowing green thanks to that light!
I have one lemon that’s ready to harvest and a good crop of small lemons that will be ready next year. It’s quite exciting to finally see these trees producing fruit. If you remember, I purchased them in 2010 during my visit to Monticello.
I love citrus and am happy to be able to grow a little bit of my own. Now that I’ve figured out the key to successful citrus growing, I’m going to be getting a few more trees. Now to decide what to use our single lemon for…
…how would you use such a prize fruit?
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Should You Start Your Own Seeds?
It’s Wednesday, that means it’s 5×5 Garden Challenge Day. As I was starting seeds this past weekend, I thought newbie gardeners might wonder if they should start from seed or buy plants from a local greenhouse instead.
I’d have to say that perhaps the best place to get seeds and plants is from a local gardener. If you happen to know someone that has a beautiful vegetable garden, chat with them. I’m always giving away seedlings to local friends for their gardens. You may end up with a great new friendship and a few lovely plants for your garden. They will also be a great resource for your new gardening efforts.
If you don’t have a friendly local gardener to get plants from, I’d recommend direct seeding a few things and buying a few plants as well. Some things, like beans, peas, and zucchini are easy to start from seed, so go ahead and buy seed for those. They are also direct seeded in the garden, so you won’t have to worry about buying seed starting supplies. The seedlings are also easy to differentiate from weeds, so you don’t really have to worry about accidentally pulling one of your seedlings while weeding!
Tomatoes are easy to start from seed, buy you might not get the timing quite right. Plus you might want to try a few different varieties in your garden. It’s much easier to buy a few plants at the greenhouse and purchase the seed and supplies to start your own. I’d recommend finding a small independent greenhouse nearby to see what kind of selection they have. Most likely you’ll be able to find tomatoes, peppers and herbs there.
Another reason to buy plants is because of the number of seeds in the packet. If you only want two tomato plants, you’ll end up with a bunch of unused seeds. They will remain viable for a while if stored in the right conditions, but you’ll have to find a place to keep them. You might also not end up liking the variety you grew or you might want to try a new variety the next year.
Another reason to buy seeds is because you can get a jump on the growing season. Most often greenhouse will have lettuce seedlings very early in the season. You can buy those, plant them in your garden and have lettuce ready to harvest in a few weeks. After you harvest the lettuce you can go back to the greenhouse and purchase tomato seedlings to plant in their place. Learning how to time starting seeds can be a bit trick for a newbie.
Starting from seed isn’t difficult, but there is a greater risk of failure if you have never done it before. You also need to purchase a few supplies to do it, soil being the most important. If you are interested in starting your own download my free Seed Starting 101 e-book (see the link in the sidebar).
I don’t want to discourage anyone from starting all their plants from seed the first year if they want to. Jump right in if you want, you can always find plants easily enough if things don’t go quite as planned, and you may end up with fabulous plants and a great gardening experience!
My first edible garden consisted of two 4×10 raised beds. All of the plants in them that first year were purchased at a local greenhouse. The following year all my seedlings were grown in my basement. Do what you want to do and what you have time to do.
As a newbie, are you planning on buying plants, starting from seed or both? As an experienced gardener, do you have any advice for newbies when it comes to finding plants for their first garden?
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Staying Warm
Our big wood pile in the basement has been dwindling. With the cold snap we’ve been having (-5 this morning). We still have the two holz hausens we built last year that we haven’t started using yet.
Yesterday we went out and grabbed some wood from one of them and brought it into the basement. Now we should have enough to get us through for a few more weeks.
Any day now it will start warming up a bit. It’s amazing how much less fire wood you use when it’s in the twenties outside verses the single digits. Our plans to get a year ahead on firewood are still on track and hopefully after this spring we’ll be most of the way there.
What’s the thermometer say outside your window this morning?
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Cultivate Simple 67: Good Morning and Good Bye
Tips for brewing a great cup of coffee! We roast our own beans, head on over to see the process in this post I wrote a few years ago.
Coffee Beans
- Figure out what kind of coffee you like, do you like dark and chocolatey or bright and acidic. Fine tuning your tastes will help you settle on the best coffee for your palate.
- Buy beans in small batches or roast your own.
- Use them up. Don’t let them sit around
- Store them in an airtight container (don’t put them in the freezer). If you buy a large quantity keep some in a small jar for daily use so that the majority of beans will not be exposed to the air. We store ours in a Le Parfait Glass Jar
Buy a good grinder
- A burr grinder is essential. Uniform size won’t let the water get through the coffee faster than it should.
- Only grind what you are going to use
- You can get a really nice hand cranked burr grinder from Red Rooster Trading Company
Try different types of coffee makers
- Espresso
- Chemex
- French press
- Cold brew coffee
- Vacuum Brewers
- Moka pots
- Drip coffee makers
Maintain Your Coffee Brewing Device
- Clean your machine
- Filtered water
- Drink after brewing. Don’t brew ten cups of coffee and drink them throughout the day. Better to brew twice and have good coffee all day.
Sources for green coffee beans:
Sweet Maria’s (this is where we buy our beans)
Dean’s Beans
Sweet Maria’s article about Getting Started Roasting Coffee at Home. Here’s their article about using a hot air popcorn popper to roast coffee. Finally a link to a great article on the health benefits of coffee.
If you really want to use up several hours, visit Coffee Geek or Home Barista and check out the forums. At 10 people, get 12 opinions.
Are you a coffee drinker? How do you take yours: cream, sugar, black?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:04 — 55.0MB)
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Quote of the Day: Susan J. Bissonette
“An optimist is the human personification of spring.”
~ Susan J. Bissonette
My garden is still covered in a blanket of snow, but it won’t be around for much longer.
I must say, for a while I was rather dreading the end of winter. There was still much needed rest on my mind. It seems I’ve finally rested up and I’m starting to get giddy with excitement for spring. Perhaps it’s because I started my first seedlings this week or maybe it’s that I’m finally tiring of winter. Either way – I’m starting to get excited for spring!
I want to see bare earth and the beginning shoots of green. I want there to be smell in the air and softness to the wind. Most of all, I’m ready to feel the warm sun on my back as I push seeds into the cool dark soil!
Are you still waiting for spring or has spring already come in your garden?
