Category Archives: Gardening

Spring Has Sprung

Posted on March 12, 2012 by AnnieRie

The Grass has Riz, I wonder where the boidies iz. Remember that children’s poem? The grass hasn’t risen, but the garlic I planted late in December is making its way up.

The rosemary never died off, and some of the sage is still hanging in there. The mild winter left us with some already producing herbs, and we lost nothing to wind or frost damage. Two years ago the blizzards killed numerous bushes and damaged trees,

This year, the big spring clean up will take place this weekend. Hubby is getting help there, as I am out of commission. I get to supervise this time. This entire week is going to have warm, mostly beautiful weather just right for planting seeds of spring producers. Temps in the 70s. Sunny most days.

I have a few seeds we are going to put in where we took a tree out last year and had the stump ground out. I need to leave something there for the summer that can be replaced with new bushes in the fall, when they have a better chance to get established. Summers here can be brutal to young trees and shrubs.

I picked these up in Kendall’s the other day, and figured we would sow them right in the ground just to keep something growing in the empty space. Minimize any erosion on a corner and provide color as well as dinner. Hopefully garlic chives in front of the chards will all survive the potential critter invasion. Or at least, if they invade there, they will stay out of my good heirloom tomatoes that will go behind the deer fence in the garden.

We were going to put in concord grapes with an arbor in a space where last year we took out bushes. Maybe it will get there but not counting on it with me being unable to assist. One new project at a time.

While out and about the other day, we spotted this display of daffodils. They always make me smile. Mine aren’t up yet but look to be almost ready to bloom.

I may not like that earlier switch over to daylight savings time, because it messes up my internal clock for a few weeks, but I can’t wait for spring to finally get here for good. I want to go out and see this wonder all around us.

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Posted in Gardening, Local Businesses, Nature, Renovations, Weather and tagged gardening, Howard County, local businesses, nature, spring flowers, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Starting Seeds and Dreaming of Summer

Posted on February 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

I went through my seed packets today to prioritize what will go where in the garden this year. Last year was the second year I started heirloom tomatoes from seed. They did OK, but the rain made them not ribbon worthy at the Fair. My herbs did better getting me a ribbon. This year I want to do some heirloom herbs as well as the tomatoes. The Howard County Fair heirloom tomato category has grown like crazy. the first year I entered there were six entries. The second year, there were ten. This past year there were 29 entries. Competition is fierce, and you need more exotic heirlooms to get a ribbon. I have one ribbon for tomatoes from a previous year.

My herbs last year were stevia, lemon basil and sage.

Putting out the garden is always interesting. The deer fence seems to do well except that little bunnies can squeeze through it. The black material to cut down on weeds worked well in the tomato sections, but I can’t use it where I put in rows of lettuces or chard. The tomatoes really did better because that material kept the soil warmer.

I had the heirloom tomatoes in with some cucumbers and they did well there. This year I will be planting peppers and chard in that section, and a few zucchini. Rotating the plants in each of the three fenced sections and adding compost every year has kept our soil in pretty decent shape. We had it tested last year and it came back with no requirements to add anything. We are lucky that our yard was once a horse pasture, all that manure must have really broken down that clay that seems to prevail every where else we lived around here.

I do herbs all over the place including in pots on the patio. The mint as usual was out of control.

The tomatoes did come in well. This is a big rainbow, the largest heirloom I grew. It would not have won a ribbon at the fair though because that wasn’t large enough for the largest tomato competition.

This year I am starting microgreens from seed that I am now getting ready to transplant into a small “cold frame”, really just a container with a cover. They will be moved outside soon. The heirloom garlic chives and swiss chard seeds will go out sometime next month.

The greens are looking good, getting crowded and I started moving them to bigger pots last week. Growing veggies and herbs is one of those simple pleasures that make me glad to live here.

I just hope our little furry friends stay out of my gardens.

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Posted in Food, Gardening, Hobbies, Howard County, Nature, Weather and tagged Food, gardening, nature, tomatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

Out of the Ground at 4 …

Posted on February 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

… on the table by 6.

Micro-greens from Sharp’s at Waterford Farm. A wonderful place in southwest HoCo. Denise Sharp gives talks about farming and takes visitors on a tour with a history lesson. Worth the time to do, if you get the chance. I was there helping a friend set up lunch for the Howard Legacy Leadership Institute of the Environment (HoLLIE).

I buy plants from the farm. My chrysanthemums came from there. In the fall, we go there to get pumpkins. They sell plants commercially and at the greenhouses in the spring and fall. The greens are from their new high tunnel, and since it never stayed cold long enough, they never died back. She encouraged us to take some home since they would be dug up soon to put in the spring seeds. I certainly enjoyed these for dinner that night with honey mustard dressing.

Also at the farm, the Howard Bird Club gets permission to hike there on a Sunday to find waterfowl, eagles, migrating birds, and owls. Last year we found two northern bob whites walking down the dirt road next to the tall grasses. It had been years since anyone saw them wild in this area.

Kevin Heffernan took this picture which is now featured on the Howard Bird Club photo pages. His three bob white pictures featured there are the only recorded pictures the club has published in their photos taken on field trips by members.

This week the group with Denise walked back one of the old dirt roads and learned some of the history of the farm. The lovely old house on the hill, which is one of those farmhouses around here that just kept growing and adapting to the family’s needs is the sort of place that brings back memories to me, memories of my great grandparents farm beyond the Liberty Reservoir, where they farmed from the end of the 19th century until they had to sell and move in with my great aunt and her family.

When the greenhouses open in April I will be there looking for some heirloom tomato plants. For those who live in Howard County, this farm is one of the really interesting places to visit. If not in the spring, the corn maze and pumpkin patches in the fall are worth the trip down Route 97 to Jennings Chapel Road.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Birds, Community, Food, Gardening, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, People and tagged birds, community, Food, gardening, hoco loco, local businesses. Bookmark the permalink.

It May Be Winter, But There’s Lots Going On!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by AnnieRie

I honestly am not sure how I found time to work. I have so many things happening this month, and places I want to go.

The Howard County Conservancy has two events this month, one this Saturday and one on the 26th. The Howard County Bloggers are having a blogtail hour in Columbia on the 13th. The 14th is Valentine’s Day and we are wandering down to Bistro Blanc for an after dinner drink, if we can get in.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 17-20.

I am volunteering to set up for an event at Sharp’s Farm for the Howard Legacy Leadership Institute for the Environment.

Breaux Vineyards in VA has their annual Samedi Gras event on the 18th. And, we are meeting friends for Fireside Friday at Black Ankle one of these Fridays if we can fit it in.

First up for us, going to the Conservancy on the 11th to see how to worm compost. Squirmy Wormy Worms That Work: Kitchen Garbage to Top Soil – with Barb Schmeckpeper, a retired researcher in human and medical genetics, Howard County Master Gardener and environmental volunteer, who loves to talk to kids of all ages about the wonder of the natural world. Dr Barb Schmeckpeper has been doing this for many years – and she and her grandkids have a lot of fun with it! The Conservancy event page is here.

Then, Monday night I will be meeting some of the long time Howard County Bloggers in Columbia to get to know others who blog locally. It should be an interesting evening, as I have lived here 40 years almost, but spent most of my life commuting to DC.

Doing my thing counting the birds in our yard and meadow for the annual Backyard Bird Count next weekend. The habitat that I so carefully created and have nurtured has given me dozens of visits. My highest count one year was over a hundred birds, thanks to a flock of geese who landed in the adjoining fields behind our house and my neighbor. We routinely get more than twenty different species here. It’s easy to register and send in a count. Click the link above and get started.

On the 26th, we are going to see a truly amazing lady, Twig George, talk about Life with her mom, who wrote over 100 children’s books including the famous My Side of the Mountain. Twig herself is an author, writing children’s books as well. This family event at the Howard County Conservancy promises to be a great one. Learning more about nature and the environment are priorities for me in retirement. I spent too long as a bureaucrat pushing paper and now take every opportunity to get out and experience new things.

Who says retirement is boring? Certainly not us.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Birds, Community, Gardening, Nature, Retirement, Volunteering, Wine and tagged birds, gardening, hocoblogging, howard county conservancy, Locavore, nature, retirement, volunteering, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

At the Most Elementary Level …

Posted on January 11, 2012 by AnnieRie

…knowing where our food comes from.

As a volunteer naturalist at the Howard County Conservancy, I have been lucky to meet and interact with some incredibly talented knowledgeable scientists as well as some amazing individuals passionate about the land and our future.

Next week a presentation of Dirt: The Movie will take place on Thursday night. Additionally, nationally known soil scientist Patrick Drohan will be on hand to introduce the film and lead the audience discussion that follows. Dr. Drohan was instrumental in the creation and design of the Smithsonian’s exhibit on soil, the most ambitious exhibition ever dedicated to soil.

The Conservancy website has all the details.

I have learned so much by attending events and walks at this preserved farm just north of the city of Columbia. This program promises to add more to my knowledge that will help me in making my little farmette more productive, by taking care of the soil.

In my retirement, I vowed to continue to learn and explore, and to give my time to endeavors that I believe to be valuable. It is the middle of winter here, and I don’t intend to hibernate. Hope to see others attend.

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Feeding My Fine Feathered Friends

Posted on January 3, 2012 by AnnieRie

The winter feeding site. The place where the birds come when the berries and seeds have all blown away or been eaten. We moved here in the winter and found an amazing array of birds living in our coniferous trees. I have slowly created a habitat that attracts and retains this variety. What does it give me? Birds to eat the bugs that bother my garden.

How do I keep them fed during the worst storms of the winter?

You do have to be prepared. After that storm, I was throwing seed out the door onto the hard snow under the bushes. It brought birds up close and personal.

But my best investment was a thermostatically controlled heating pad for the bird bath. Water is extremely important for the health of the birds. Even with 48 inches of snow on the ground, my backyard birds had water.

Since that series of blizzards in 2010, I have added a few more feeders and kept them topped off when I know storms are coming. And for me, the pleasures of watching them feed are worth the expense and effort to feed them.

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It’s Not Just Dirt

Posted on December 14, 2011 by AnnieRie

One of my favorite lessons we teach on our field trips. Showing children where their food comes from. Watching the wonder when they smell oregano in the herb garden, or telling them pizza isn’t possible without soil.

Dough? Needs wheat. Tomatoes? Grow in soil. Cheese? Comes from milk from cows, who eat grass grown in soil.

For us, the work necessary to keep our soil rich and productive starts with composting and rotating crops. I have been working the soil in our backyard. I am in the midst of planning next year’s gardens. What do I put where? I really need to move the fenced garden because my trees are too tall now, and shade two plots.

I need expansive areas to put in melons and squashes, but I also need fenced areas for tomatoes. And potatoes. Winter is planning time.

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My Other Hobby – Volunteering

Posted on December 14, 2011 by AnnieRie

I haven’t written about what consumes my fall and spring days. Volunteering as a naturalist at a local non-profit, where I lead preschoolers and grades one and two through a 232 acre preserved farm, bequeathed by two sisters who taught in Howard County. Their charge to the Conservancy was simple. Connect children to nature.

I love it there. Imagine a location with minimal impact from urban life. Beehives where some of my honey originates. A local apiary sells it and half the money comes back to the Conservancy.

Chickens, goats, and a barred owl — all there for the children to learn from. A couple of streams that feed the Patapsco River.

Community gardens that inspire me. Talented giving people who volunteer there. A great staff. Programs for families.

What more could you ask for, when looking for something satisfying to do in retirement?

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Planning for Next Year

Posted on November 8, 2011 by AnnieRie

After a successful growing season for my heirloom tomatoes, I have been perusing the seed websites looking for my next heirloom tomato seeds to purchase.

Last year I started in February with Mortgage Lifter and Big Rainbow seeds planted and nurtured under grow lights in my laundry room. Hopefully, we will have finished the garage clean out and will have an area ready for propagating.

My tomatoes did well for a while, then the rains came and they became waterlogged and not as tasty. I didn’t do well at the county fair, but did get a few beautiful tomatoes.

At 1 1/2 pounds, it would not have won a ribbon for largest tomato, and besides, it tasted too good so I was glad I didn’t enter it at the fair.

I am going to have to get very exotic tomatoes for next year, as the competition went from 10 heirloom entries in 2010 to 29 entries this past year. The winner this year was called hillbilly, one I never heard of.

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