Leeks

Yesterday Bops and I planted our leek and chamomile seeds (indoors). It was great to plant something with my enthusiastic helper. He can hardly wait for them to come up and was sadly disappointed when there weren't any plants in the flats this morning.

Our growing season is too short for starting leeks directly outside - I tried it once. They tasted fine but were so small (think oversized green onions) that I used almost the entire row for one pot of soup. Leeks are easy to grow and don't mind being transplanted.

Chamomile seeds are tiny. They look like dust and germinate on the surface of the soil. I've never successfully started them by planting seeds in the garden, but I have had plants reseed themselves and come up in the cracks between stepping stones. I usually just buy a couple plants, but thought I'd give seeds another try. I'm always game for a $1.00 gardening experiment.

On another note: Today I had my 6 month thyroid cancer follow up and everything looks good! My levels are where they want them and I am feeling well. I don't have to go back for another 6 months. I am so grateful!

Frustration vs. Creation

I've been thinking about why I sometimes feel so frustrated.  I hate feeling that way. Trapped. Tight. Unable to free myself. Frustration starts an ugly chain reaction within myself that moves quickly from bad to worse, magnifying shortcomings and shrinking successes until I've walled myself into a tiny dark room without a door. And I'm claustrophobic.

Yesterday in church I was gently reminded that as part of the atonement, Jesus Christ took upon himself not only my sins, sorrows, and shortcomings, but my feelings of frustration and inadequacy. His grace is the power that enables each one of us to overcome all of our challenges, both externally and internally. He is there, waiting for me to turn to Him, waiting for me to stop trying to fix everything myself and let Him help. Waiting to help me become the person I can be.

I think that creation is the opposite of frustration. It expands, moves outward, uplifts. It enriches and blesses. It moves forward.

I love the creative process. I find a lot of joy in taking raw materials and transforming them step-by-step into something beautiful and useful. Sometimes I forget that my life here on earth is a creative process...a time of changing, growing, becoming. Creation isn't easy. Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it takes longer than you had planned. Sometimes you have to go back and try again, and again, and again. Sometimes the end result isn't what you originally planned to make. And sometimes it is even better than you could have imagined.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - Create

2014 Seed Order

I placed my seed order today. I think it's the smallest order I've ever made, simply because I'm pretty happy with the varieties I've been growing and I have leftover seeds that need using up.

I took inventory of my seeds last week while it was snowing. I had put off doing it because the reservoir that supplies our irrigation water was next to empty. If there isn't any secondary water,  planting much of a garden would be pointless. We've been blessed with several storms over the past week and I am grateful for the moisture.  I'm hopeful that it will continue coming.

With that said, I'll evaluate the water situation when it is planting time. Plan A, with adequate moisture, would be to plant as usual. Plan B would be to only plant a small "salad" garden near my front door and water it with  my dishwater. My grandmother did that when she lived on the dry farm in Blue Creek. If it worked for her, I figure it should work for me.

Anyway, I am planning to rework the flower bed near our front entrance. It was a perennial bed but the perennials struggled because of the morning glory. I gave up pulling it out a couple years ago and started spraying it...I think it is under control enough to grow annuals there. My plan is to turn that space into a kitchen garden with slightly raised beds and a little walkway leading to our driveway.

So what did I order?

Lancelot Leek - Mild flavored, high quality leeks. Substantially earlier than other varieties. I've grown these before and they were delicious.

German Chamomile - Very pretty, airy daisy flowers that smell nice. It' beautiful in the garden and can be used in potpourri or herbal tea.

Cosmic Purple Carrot - Purple carrots with orange centers.

Amarillo Carrot - Sweet yellow carrots.

Rainbow Carrot - White, yellow, coral, and two different oranges all from the same hybrid seed. Each color tastes different.

Lincoln Peas - Sweet little peas. I really like these but the kids usually eat all of them while out in the garden.

Emerite Pole Bean - My favorite pole bean. It's considered a French fillet bean (long and skinny) and is very productive.

Candy Apple Red Onion plants - Sweeter than most red onions. I have had better luck with onion plants instead of sets.

Candy Onion plants - Sweet white onion, similar in taste to Walla Walla but more of a round onion instead of oval.