I have been planning my garden (on paper), buying seeds (on-line) and preparing the garden beds (cleaning and amending) so that I will be ready to start planting as soon as Spring gets here.  In our area we can actually plant a lot of our vegetables in February and March, but I never seem to have everything ready by then.  So, starting tomorrow the seeds are going in the ground.

My husband and children have been busy building three new raised beds to expand our garden.  They are four feet wide by twelve feet long and twelve inches deep.  These three new beds also have wire attached to the bottom of the bed to help discourage the gophers and ground squirrels from eating my root vegetables.  I am truly hoping that we get a nice crop of potatoes and beets this year.

So tonight I probably won’t get a lot of sleep, due to my excitement over Spring.  If you have a small plot of dirt at your back door or a balcony or terrace where you could put a few pots, I would suggest you plant something yummy to harvest and eat.  Nothing ever tastes as good as the fruits of your labor!

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3

1 To everything there is a season,

3 A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted

Seeds and plants have a lot to do with my kitchen. Over the years I have stopped trying to grow pretty flowers and ornamentals for the yard. Now, my gardening is concentrated on growing delicious, nutritious food for my family and friends. We eat as much as we can fresh, but I also make pickles, salsas, bottled tomatoes, jams and jellies to enjoy throughout the year.

I have learned what will grow in my Zone 9 garden and what will not. I plant things that I know will yield a nice crop. Zucchini and summer squash always do well. Until recently, not everyone was loving the squash, but last year we found some great new recipes and we ate almost every bite of the squash we grew. We shared the rest with friends.

I also try to focus on the things my family loves the most. I always plant sweet peas, but they never seem to make it into the house. My younger children and grandchildren love to pick and eat them right in the garden. Every morning while I am watering, little feet pitter patter through the garden paths while little hands pick strawberries, cherry tomatoes and sweet peas and little mouths gobble them up. The pea pods are tossed to the potbelly pigs, so they are pretty happy, too.

So, if you have ever wanted to try your hand at gardening, give it a try this year! See my post on Spring Fever for some of my favorite seed sites. Check out The Old Farmer’s Almanac for great information on planting dates. Even if you only have room for a few pots on your patio, you can grow the tastiest tomatoes and some delicious fresh basil. Nothing tastes better than something you have grown at home!

This is Southern California! We don’t get snow in Los Angeles County. What on earth is going on? The weatherman didn’t say anything about snow. The Old Farmer’s Almanac didn’t say anything about snow. How did it sneak up on us?

Of course, we (my students and I) immediately were hoping to get out of school early. Eventually, they let us go home about 45 minutes early. By then, the snow had made a nice white blanket all over everything. As soon as I left though, the snow turned to rain and started washing away the pretty, white blanket. I decided to take a few pictures on the way home, anyway. Hope you enjoy them!

]]> http://tlcinthekitchen.com/2009/02/let-it-snow-let-it-snow-let-it-snow-%e2%80%93-part-2/feed/ 0 http://tlcinthekitchen.com/2009/02/home-sweet-home/ http://tlcinthekitchen.com/2009/02/home-sweet-home/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:44:28 +0000 Tina http://tlcinthekitchen.com/?p=307 I don’t know who said it, but “Home Sweet Home” is so true for me. I’ve had a couple of very long days with lots of driving (in rain and snow), work (I teach and today was progress reports) and other various obligations. Today was a super-busy, crazy day at work. Boy, was I glad to just get “Home Sweet Home”.

I have always been a homebody, but days like today make me want to never leave home. I have everything I need here. Warmth, love, food, a bed and my family. What else is there? I know, in the real world there has to be more like work, friends and worship. For the most part, I love all of those things, but sometimes I just want to be home.

I have tried very hard to make our home a sanctuary. A safe place where my family is loved and accepted for who they are, encouraged to grow and find their loves and passions. I have tried to make our home warm and friendly where everyone who comes in feels welcomes and accepted. I think for the most part I have succeeded. My children all seem very comfortable and happy to be home. They bring their friends over and seem to enjoy being here.

Funny thing is that I didn’t know that in building this sanctuary for my family and friends, I was really creating my own “Home Sweet Home”. My sanctuary. My safe place where I feel loved and accepted. Nothing makes me feel as warm and loved as walking through my own front door. So thankfully, tonight I am “Home Sweet Home”.

It’s actually been raining since yesterday.  I drove down to the dorms to pick up my daughter last night and what is usually a 3 and 1/2 hour round-trip, took 5 hours!  Unfortunately, there were more than a few multi-car accidents along the way.  Luckily, I wasn’t involved in any of them.  Thankfully, we made it home safe and sound.

This morning there was a break in the rain and it cleared up for quite a while.  When I went out to feed the horses, pigs and chickens it was so beautiful I didn’t even need a sweater.  I love the way the rain washes everything clean.  The grass and trees are so bright and colorful.  The horses were not, though.  Apparently, they couldn’t resist the opportunity to roll in the mud.  Oh well, I am sure the next few showers will rinse them off.

The rain has actually motivated me to do some more planning of my garden.  One of my daughters found an impressive web site to help.  It is The Original Farmer’s Almanac since 1792.  Here’s the link to their home page http://www.almanac.com/.  There is a great page under the Gardens tab where you can enter your zip code and get planting dates for all kinds of vegetables customized to your area.

I was very surprised to see how many things I could start planting in the next week or so.  What a great incentive to finish cleaning up the garden beds and start amending the soil.  It is amazing to think that in four or five weeks, we could be eating fresh lettuce and radishes from the garden.  So this weekend when the rain clears, I will be weeding and turning soil and anticipating my early Spring crops!

‘He is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings the grass from the earth.’

2 Samuel 23:4

The seed companies really have their marketing down to a science.  Just when you think you can’t stand the cold a minute longer, a seed catalog arrives in the mail.  As I thumb through each and every page of each and every catalog, my imagination goes wild.  We could grow that!  That and that!  Oooh, and that, too!  Suddenly, I don’t feel so cold. 

Several of my favorite catalogs are from The Seed Savers Exchange, The Cook’s Garden and The Territorial Seed Company.  The catalogs are beautiful, with great descriptions of each variety, gorgeous photos and artwork and lots of really useful tips and advice.  Their web sites are also very nice and that is how I always order.  I have been extremely happy with the products I have ordered from these companies.

Another strategy I use to keep my mind off the cold and on Spring, is to actually start planning out my garden.  I use Microsoft Excel or graph paper and start by drawing in my raised beds.  I currently have six 4’ x 12’ raised beds, but I am planning on adding three more this Spring.  I also have half-wine barrels with my herbs planted in them and I include them in the drawing.  My small orchard of fruit trees and grape vines are also “penciled” in. 

I save these garden plans from year to year because it helps me to remember where things were planted the previous year, so that I can rotate my plantings.  I also put notes on it about the success, or failure, of each variety so that I don’t have to try to remember it all.  I work on these garden plans until the very day I start planting.  It really keeps my mind off the cold and looking forward to the Spring.  And believe me, I am ready!

So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!