A new (to me) garden site and a few ramblings

I got this from "A friend of a friend"... meaning I found it on Chris the gardener's blog and it came from a comment from Ali at Henbogle! Of course! She is my guiding inspiration when it comes to my new found love of gardening!! So check out gardenweb... it's awesome!

Have I mentioned how much I want spring to arrive? The good ol' groundhog decided it would be 6 more weeks of winter... thanks!

I'm pretty sure I have a bad case of the cabin fever blues. I'm tired and irritable most of the time. I'm a bottomless pit... open mouth and insert food! And I'm forcing myself to do everything. If it wasn't for my stubborn personality I would be unwashed, on the couch watching TV with a plate of food 24/7.

I'm trying to be positive. It won't last forever and really it could be MUCH WORSE! Bad things have been happening to the people around me and I feel truly blessed that my family has been spared these life changing events thus far. I'm also glad I can help out when I can. Take a dinner to a friend who had gallbladder surgery, offer to watch the kids for a friend with breast cancer, do what I can for a friend who is losing their home.... I wish there was more I could do. It's a hard time in the lives of many of my Friends. It makes me wonder why I'm OK? Thank you god that I'm OK!! Supporting them is getting me through this bummed out time, boy isn't that selfish and generous at the same time???

Enough of that for today! I must get up and fold laundry before my girl scout meeting.
Here's to the promise of a new day, a happier time, and warmth!!!!

A nice springy thought!

I caught a glimpse of a warm sunny day (wooo hooo it was about 30 degrees today! Sounds pathetic doesn't it??) I noticed the sun was still kinda out at 5pm, and then henbogle's post about when to start seeds in Maine popped up. I had to link the great article she found... it's wonderful!

Think spring thoughts everyone... and buy your seeds!!!! 51 one days til calendar spring!!

salsa recipe

I have to tell you I don't really have a recipe for salsa. I sort of eyeballed it. I like a lot of tomato and onion, so I made it with that in mind. Do what looks good to you

Here's what I did:

2 beefsteak tomatos (these babies are huge, use 4 plums or 3 regular sized)
1 medium sized green pepper
2 jalapenos
1 medium sized onion
1/2 teaspoon of salt
about 2 tablespoons vinegar
about a teaspoon of cilantro or herb of your choice


I chopped everything up as small as I could but it just wasn't small enough for me. The first batch I made I was at my mother in laws and used her handheld blender. My last two batches I was at home (my handheld blender died a few months ago) so I used my food processor just 3 pulses... enough to make it small not liquified.

Though I have to tell you, it was quite juicy. I put it in a colander and took off a lot of the juice (which was quite yummy).

My husband's only complaint (don't they always need one??) was that it was sweeter than what we buy in the store. I'm pretty sure it's because of how sweet the tomatoes are but if you can think of anything that will counteract the sweetness, please comment me!!!

A LITTLE RAIN AND SOME IDEAS FOR NEXT YEAR

I can't believe I'm even saying this but I'm glad it's going to rain all weekend. Odd statement isn't it?? However, it's true!!

My garden needs it badly! I have been watering but it's not getting deep enough. I planted my leftover lettuce and spinach seeds yesterday and the ground about an inch under was completely dry... after I watered for what seemed like forever. (Yes, I know here in Maine planting now is risky but it's worth a shot... I'm going to buy row cover to protect it and say my prayers!)

Thoroughly soaking the area the lettuce and spinach are in really took work! I dug the area to make it nice and fluffy and then I made a trench for the water and let it soak in. It didn't really take so I mixed it by hand. It was sticky and muddy to say the least!

Next year we really need to add something to the soil to keep moisture in and to prevent it from becoming hard. I was told we have sandy soil but it's almost waterproof and it's forming a hard crust on top. Any ideas on what I can use???

Another thing about next planting season, remind me not to make raised beds!!!! It seems like erosion has caused the dirt to slide back into the walking paths and I have to constantly recover the roots. Yeah, I have really shallow roots. I'm surprised that I have anything growing.

This year was a learning year. We did pretty well (If I do say so myself) and by some miracle we produced enough food to make it worth our while!! My only concern now is that there is enough left for my daisy troop to see next weekend...