Baby said, He said, She said...

Daniel: grrrrrr
Joe and Paige: grrrrrrrr!
Daniel: GRRRRRR!
Joe: Wow, that's a really good growl!
Paige: Yeah, we've been working on that. Any kid that will be on the playground at school some day has to have a good growl.

Time to Play!

Cruisin' with his homies on Wednesday

Daniel and I went to Marbles Kids Museum Wednesday with friends and Thursday with just the two of us, and he really enjoyed having the space to walk around and explore. He's getting faster and more bold.

Go, Daniel, Go!

Gardening just like mama!

He still isn't saying many words, but he has his own version of bath, kitty, duck, daddy, ball and juice. Mama and "Heeeeyyyy!" are pretty clear. He calls his black sheep "Ba Ba". He gives kisses when asked and will dart to the bathroom when I say the word "bath". Most of the time he's pretty good about bringing things to me when asked - spoons, books, toys, etc. If I say, "Shake it!" he will shake whatever he is holding, even if it is doesn't make a noise. He'll even just shake his hand if he's not holding anything.

Germination!

Starting plants from seeds can be extremely satisfying. My favorite stage of the plant's growth is when the sprout shoots up and the leaves are still trapped in the seed coat. Often these fall off under the soil, but occasionally they hang on just a bit longer for me to see. To think that in a span of 2-3 months it goes from that tender state to producing fruit with hundreds of new seeds is phenomenal.

My large bush tomatoes have begun to sprout along with a couple of the rainbow packet. I set the tray on top of a heat vent earlier this week which must have warmed up the soil to the seeds' liking. I decided to use an old egg crate to plant some columbines from seeds I harvested last fall, and I planted a couple of crooked neck squash seeds early. Last year the squash vine borers destroyed every squash plant in my garden. I read that sometimes sending out an early crop tricks the little boogers into leaving the real crop alone - we shall see how well that works.

She said, He said...

Paige: I am going to smell like dirt ALL summer!
Joe: Is that a personal goal or something?

Favorite Banana Nut Bread

Bananas almost always go bad in our house, especially since Joe and I both prefer them slightly green. The following recipe (tweaked from allrecipes.com) saves those bad bananas and makes one loaf of my favorite banana nut bread. It won't disappoint, but pay no attention to how unhealthy it is.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup applesauce (I use Mott's natural.)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar (This can be reduced to 3/4 cup if you choose.)
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (should take 2-3 medium bananas)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a bow, mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix the applesauce, butter, mashed bananas, eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Slowly add into the dry ingredients. Fold in the pecans. Pour into the loaf pan.

Bake for 50 minutes and test to see if a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the loaf. If done, remove the loaf from the oven and let it sit in the pan 5-10 minutes before placing it on a cooling rack. When cool, wrap in saran wrap or foil to lock in moisture and store in the refrigerator.

Hooray for Peanut Butter!

Everyone has a first time. This was Daniel's.

Container Gardening Tips

16"d, 20"w plastic pots and saucers from Big Lots: $11 ea.

Last year I grew several containers of tomatoes and peppers. The Anaheim, Cayenne, and Jalapeño peppers (in 10” deep pots) did great. The Patio Tomato (in a 16” deep pot) was very bushy, produced well and didn't need vertical support, but the birds often beat me to the crop. The better boys (in 12” deep wood barrels) were no good and gave me only 1 tomato, likely because they were planted too late and the roots needed deeper soil. This year I will be planting containers of Tomatoes (small varieties), Peppers (mixed variety), Onions, Lettuce, Garlic, Carrots, Potatoes and other herbs. The combinations will go something as follows: Tomatoes with Onions, Chives, Garlic or Carrots, and Peppers with Basil and other herbs. I’ve thought about creating a “Salsa” container garden on the deck for quick access: Tomatoes, White Onions, Garlic, hot peppers, and Cilantro. The potatoes will be grown in a trash can.

There are four essentials to container gardening: large enough containers, good soil, the right amount of water, and sun - usually 8 hrs of direct light. Plants that have shallow rooting depths (12” – 18”) are probably best suited for containers: Broccoli, Brussels sprout, Cabbage, Carrot (small variety), Cauliflower, Celery, Collards, Cucumber, Leek, Spinach, Onion, Pepper, Potato, Radish, Tomato (patio and smaller varieties), and a multitude of herbs. Some of these probably have roots even shallower than 12”. I start with a pot that is 10 - 12” deep with a top diameter no less than 12”. Smaller pots can be used, but will limit the growth of some plants.

The way I prepare my pots is to make sure there is an adequate drain hole first. I prefer terracotta pots, but I’ve read about people using plastic storage tubs, garbage cans, old dishwashers, etc. If there are no drain holes, get to work drilling. Next, I put a larger rock or piece of cardboard over any large drain holes to prevent soil loss, and then add a 1 – 1.5” layer of pea gravel to help with drainage and aeration. I use a blend of soil and compost or potting soil specifically for vegetables. Garden stores carry soil with slow release fertilizer and organic mixes. Chicken poop is a slow release natural fertilizer (comes in granular form), but you don’t want to use too much because you will burn up the plants. You can either provide a thin layer of mulch on the top, or plant a ground cover of something else tasty.

Companion planting is ideal for limited space, but be careful to pay attention to space in the pot before loading it down. I had planted about five onions in a pot with lettuce and was hoping to add a tomato later, before I read that onions need about three inches of space all around. Oops. Time to dig up some onions. Some plants are very bushy and may block out the sun for any undergrowth. Because it’s cool still, you can always start with more lettuce than needed and transplant some when it gets larger to make room for something else like a tomato plant. Some lettuces may even be ready for harvest before it’s time to plant tomatoes. Tall, spindly varieties leave ample room to add something below.

There’s a great list of what plants to pair together and what not to pair together on Wikipedia. Use the following herbs to improve your containers: 1) Basil to help tomatoes and peppers, 2) Chives and Sage to help your carrots and cabbage, 3) Cilantro to help spinach, 4) Dill to help lettuce, onions and cucumbers, 5) Garlic to help cucumbers, lettuce, and celery, and 6) Oregano to help tomatoes and peppers. Mint and Lovage are also thought to be helpful to many plants.

Gardening Weekend

This weekend was full of hard work and planting. Some of our plans changed. We were originally going to plant along our South boundary where we planned on installing a fence in the future, but our neighbor had planted a line of Crape Myrtles. In 5-10 years the fence line would probably be too shady for a vegetable garden. We decided to relocate to the area in front of the pines in the back yard, the area that still gets some of the best sun. The garden is aligned North-South which helps reduce shadows of the plants on each other.

Saturday morning we went to Lowe's in Garner and ordered a delivery of bricks and landscape timbers. That afternoon, Joe fired up our Craig's List tiller and loosened up the ground while I worked on the back deck containers with Daniel.
Sunday, Joe built the 4' x 4' garden boxes, and we then moved them to the back yard. How we moved them was interesting. My wrist is still very messed up, so I stood in the middle of the box with the wheel barrow carrying the front of the box, while Joe carried the back of the box. We looked and felt very clumsy, but it worked! The back yard has a gentle slope on it, so it took extra digging to lay the boxes level but with a step to them. We also chose to dig out several inches and lay weed-stop cloth and still provide at least 12" rooting depth from the top of the box to the cloth. Next weekend we will add more soil, compost, and brick a pathway around the boxes.
While Joe did the hard stuff, I set up bamboo poles in the East garden for pole beans. Pole beans, Broccoli, Peas, and Yellow Onions have been planted. I have to dig up about 12 onions that I planted between the beans. Onions interrupt the growth of beans and peas, which I forgot as I got carried away while I was planting.I planted some Broccoli I picked up at Lowe's last week and am excited to report that the Broccoli I started from seed indoors is already sprouting and has been moved to the deck.

Gardening Notes

I am getting very excited about gardening this year. Last year's garden ended up being such a disappointment, but I learned a lot, namely to do my research and planning ahead of time! There are several new things I going to try out this year: 1) growing potatoes in containers, 2) pole beans, 3) square foot gardening, and 4) companion gardening.

Hopefully the square foot garden and companion gardening will help maximize the use of our space and reduce the amount of tilling Joe has to do in preparation. We've identified several main areas of the yard where plantings may be going: the backyard near the pines for melons and sprawling things (east), box garden for the square foot garden (south), the deck for container gardening (east), along our property line for poles and trellises (southeast), herb/flower garden by the front steps (west), hillside by the mailbox (west), open sunny spot by the garage for berry bushes (northwest). The berry bushes may have to wait because of cost. Our soil is terrible, so most our cost will be spend on soil, peat, and compost. Once we get our own compost bin going, next year we can focus on other things.

The idea behind companion gardening is that pairing plants together helps save space and prevent pests. For example, potatoes and bush beans ward off each other's respective beetles. To take advantage of this, I will plant my potatoes in containers (which Joe and I are still debating on) and then later when it is warmer, plant bush beans in the same containers. Theoretically, the two should be ready to harvest around the same time. Last year I grew tomato plants in huge round planters, which seemed to be a waste of space. This year I will use that space better by planting onions, carrots, or basil around the base. Onions can be paired with many things: carrots, cucumber, lettuce, pepper, squash, and tomato. Instead of having a centralized onion area, I will just disperse them amongst the others.

If anyone is interested I can send you some of the great links I've found on potato gardening, compainion gardening, what to plant for a family of four and other fun articles.

dANIEL bLOGS

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Time to Plant!

Because the weather has been so nice this week, I've had the itch for gardening. This morning Daniel and I went to Logan's and you can imagine my excitement when all the old-men gardeners were at the store buying up seeds and plants. It's time! It's time!

Here's a list of what should be planted between now and March 15 in Piedmont NC, asterisks indicate what I will be planting.

Asparagus (roots)
Beets
Broccoli (seeds*, plants)
Carrots * (Before March 1)
Cauliflower (seeds, plants)
Endive
Kale (Before April 1)
Kohlrabi
Lettuce, leaf*
Lettuce, head*
Mustard (Before April 1)
Onions*, yellow, white, red (sets)
Peas, Garden* (Before March 1)
Potato, Irish*
Radish (Before April 15)
Rutabaga (Before April 1)
Spinach*
Turnip (Before April 15)

I wish I had gone sooner, because our soil needs a lot of work. I'm also going to have to ignore the packets on some of these that say to plant after frost - I've got to trust the locals!

Walking!

Downtown Humming Noise, Anyone?

So how about that half-time show - oh, you mean the one where Joe and I took turns driving around downtown Raleigh trying to locate this mind-numbing humming sound that has disrupted my sleep and sanity of more than one occasion?

About once a week, Joe and I hear this humming noise coming through our walls. It starts about 10 pm, sometimes earlier, and keeps going until about 4 am. Ear plugs and pillows don't block it out. It definitely isn't 440, otherwise we would hear it every night.

We have our list of suspicions: the dog food plant on Blount, the Amtrak station on Cabarrus, and freighters idling on the tracks downtown. Last night the noise was coming in about 5 second pulses and so we decided to try and locate it. Joe drove to the dog food plant and decided that wasn't the source. He could hear the noise around Tarboro and Lenior but not east of Raleigh Blvd and wondered if it might be coming from the women's prison but couldn't tell. I drove out towards the Amtrak station and couldn't really hear the noise anymore, but could hear it as I was on Martin approaching Tarboro.

Around 2 am I woke up and it was still going strong but had a hint of metal grinding mixed in to the usual hum. Has anyone else heard this noise? I think the elevation of our neighborhood and house in particular makes us particularly susceptible to noises. I am still holding a grudge against Nickelback for keeping me up late with their pyrotechnics out at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre two summers ago.