Time To Plan Your 2014 Garden!

It may still feel like winter all too often around here, but the days are getting longer, the sun is getting brighter, and spring "officially" starts this week! So what are you growing this year?

It's time to get planning - and in some areas - planting! Starting seeds indoors can be a great way to kickstart your garden in colder climates. Typically you want to start seeds about 6 weeks before planting out, which means mid-to-late March here in Ohio. Now is the time!

Growing radish plants (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Garden plants which typically do well when started indoors include tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, lettuce, and some flowers. Things you will want to wait and direct-seed when it warms up a bit include peas, beans, and corn. Things that you may be able to direct-seed outdoors right now or within the next couple of weeks (depending on your location) are potatoes, radishes, and some lettuces or salad greens.

I, myself, am in a bit of a quandary this year, as my fiance and I are planning on moving to a new house in the summer, so I don't want to start a big garden and have to leave it behind! By the time we move, it may be too late to start much of a garden at the new place, and I'm not sure I can make it through the summer without ANY gardening!  So I will likely have to grow some short, cool-weather crops this spring, and make do with that. I have been over-ambitious and purchased tons of seeds (hoping to be in the new house by garden season), but I do have radish seeds, salad mix, and some flowers that I can probably plant here in the next few weeks. Radishes are a springtime favorite of mine, and I'm not sure why I don't grow them that often! They are amazing in salads, and add a zesty crunch to sandwiches. I know you can also pickle them, but I've never tried that.... Perhaps if I get a big crop....

It's 50 degrees today, and my green thumb is itching! What about you?

Spring Gardening/Seed Starting Supplies:
     

Spring Garden Update

It's my birthday today, and I thought it would be a good time to share an update from my own garden where I spend as much time as possible - I just realized I haven't done an update yet this year! Most of these pictures are actually a couple of weeks old, so by now some things are a lot bigger - especially the peas, which have far outgrown their wimpy trellis, and have become a tangled mat of inter-woven vines - they're finally blooming now though! I'll try to post an updated picture of those soon. Most of the other stuff hasn't changed all that much though, although I'm on to the next crop of mustard greens, and lettuce and green beans are starting to take off.

My garden this year is largely an experiment - partly because I'm growing a bunch of stuff I've never grown before (or at least haven't grown in Ohio), and partly because I'm following more of a succession planting model, as learned from Eliot Coleman's excellent books on year-round gardening. One thing bolts or comes to harvest time, and comes out, the next goes right in (along with some fertilizer), as opposed to my usual more lackadasical approach of just letting things run their course and die down before I do anything new with the bed. I hope to make the most of my little space using this method, and so far it seems to be working quite well.

Check out the April pictures below, and I'll try to post some updates soon! (Hyacinths and the pea trellis were from March.)

Happy Hyacinths (March).

Cute little home-made pea trellis.

Baby peas beginning their journey upwards!

Mustard & Onions - after a rain.

Garlic I planted last fall - looking huge & healthy!

Strawberries behind critter netting (they're a lot bigger now).

Eating Your Garden: Healthy Fresh Spring Salads

I know we don't talk a lot about eating on here - usually I save this for the Cooking From Scratch blog - but sometimes learning about all the fun stuff you can make with the foods you grew yourself can be really inspiring, and can even encourage you to plant some new items in your garden that you haven't tried before. This time of year, as the days get longer, the sun gets hotter, and the soil gets warmer, many gardens are picking up steam pretty quickly. In many parts of the country, fresh and tasty spring offerings such as asparagus, lettuce, peas, and other spring greens are already available. And strawberries aren't far behind - yum!

First Salad of the Season (Photo credit: Chiot's Run)

As the weather warms up more and more fruits and vegetables become available, this means more opportunities to enjoy the delicious fruits of your labors. Here are three tasty and healthy spring salad recipes to try.

#1 Strawberry Spinach Salad

Spinach is rich in nutrients and the strawberries add a nice sweet touch to this tasty salad.

Ingredients:
* 12 ounces of fresh baby spinach
* 2  pints fresh strawberries thinly sliced
* ½ thinly sliced red onion
* Crumbled chevre or goat cheese
* Chopped walnuts

Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients:
* 1/2  cup  cider vinegar
* 1  tablespoon  minced onion
* 1/2  teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4  teaspoon  salt
* 1  cup  vegetable oil
* 2  tablespoons  poppy seeds
* Honey to taste

Directions:
Combine dressing ingredients and whisk well. Toss baby spinach with dressing. Place on serving plate. Sprinkle walnuts, strawberries and chevre on top of salad. Eat and enjoy!

#2 Cucumber Avocado Tomato Salad

Salad with avocado and red onion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In many areas, this one's more of a summer treat, but if it's not time for these veggies yet where you are, save this one for later! Avocados are packed with healthy fats and they taste decadent. This salad is quick to prepare and tasty too.

Ingredients:
* 1 large cucumber halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced
* 2 medium tomatoes seeded and diced
* 1 avocado, diced
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1 teaspoon Italian herb salad dressing mix or Italian mixed spices.

Directions:
To a medium bowl, add chopped cucumber, tomato, and avocado.
In a small dish combine olive oil, lime juice and herbs/salad dressing mix. Whisk until well combined. Pour over chopped vegetables and serve immediately.

#3 Tasty Nut and Pear Salad

This pleasant spring or fall salad combines the flavors of both fresh and dried fruits with the savory flavors of nuts and Swiss cheese.

Ingredients:
* 16 oz romaine lettuce leaves, torn in bite-size pieces
* 6-oz. Swiss cheese
* 1  cup  roasted, salted cashews
* 1/2  cup  sweetened dried cranberries like Craisins
* 1  large apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
* 1  large pear, cored and thinly sliced

Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients
* 2/3  cup  light olive oil
* Honey to taste, approximately ¼ cup
* 1/3  cup  lemon juice
* 1 1/2  tablespoons  poppy seeds
* 2  teaspoons  finely chopped onion
* 1  teaspoon  Dijon mustard

Directions:
Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller dish blend dressing ingredients until smooth. You can use a blender or whisk by hand, whichever you prefer. Dress salad according to your preferences. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spring is the perfect time to adorn your table with a variety of salads fresh from the garden. And preparing salads for lunch or dinner also helps you consume your recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. Try these three recipes out this spring and enjoy the fruits of your garden!

And for more great healthy and tasty recipes, check out our Cooking From Scratch blog.

Video - Planting Potatoes

Potatoes will be my main crop this year - I love them, but have not grown them in a long time. They keep well, and I don't tend to get a whole lot of them in my CSA, so I usually run out pretty quickly. Hopefully this year I will get a good harvest that will tide me over through most of next winter.

This short video demonstrates an easy method of planting a nice bed of potatoes. Check it out, and get your spring garden going! (If you haven't already!)


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