A Maine Garden: February 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

The 2012 Season Begins with the Starting of Onion Seeds

Getting potting soil ready to plant onions. I'm using Johnny's Seed Starting mix this year. Been using it at school and we love it.

Yesterday I tapped 16 sugar maple trees and today I planted onion seeds. February 20th and I am thinking I should have started them a week ago. I ordered my seeds from FEDCO and I planted 2 types of yellow storage onions, 1 type of red onion, leeks, shallots, and bunching onions. My dilemma is, do I put a heating pad underneath? I've read that heat helps seed starting a lot. So I'm giving it a try. When I Googled onion seed starting I was pleasantly surprised when I was brought to a MOFGA article by Jean English. Here's the article: http://www.mofga.org/Publications/ArticlesforReprinting/StartOnionsFromSeedNow/tabid/1066/Default.aspx

Let's hope for a good garden season. It's been a dry winter and I'm hoping we won't have a dry summer.
Happy Seed Starting,
Mary

Welcome to Gardening in Maine!

New - Search through my blog archives! Looking for information on growing, harvesting, and using a particular plant? Looking for a recipe? Try the "Search This Blog" bar above! It works great.

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Visit my other blogs:
Maple Syrup Making:
http://mapletimedunn.blogspot.com/

(This "mapletimedunn.blogspot.com" link is an updated link as the old maple syrup blog got spammed)
Fiber:
http://ladybugspinning.blogspot.com/

"Gardens make the world clean and fresh." American Horticultural Society

"I've never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden."
-John Erskine

"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden." Minnie Aumonier

"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will, in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness." Thomas Jefferson

"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." Paul Cezanne, French Painter

"My little garden - which was an overgrown jungle a month ago is slowly yielding to my labors. No one taught me the simple therapeutic joys of gardening. There's no going back now." Andrew Sullivan - political blog writer

"The history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil." Franklin D. Roosevelt

Great tips on how to save water while gardening: http://www.kidsgardening.com/may-family.asp

Excellent Recipes from Maria Rodale: http://recipes.rodale.com/Recipes/SearchResults.aspx?WithSource=Maria%27s+Farm+Country+Kitchen

Another wonderful garden produce recipe blog from a NYC chef turned southern gardener/cook:

http://www.biasrichandsweetkitchen.com/search/label/Vegetables

Wonderful and inspiring article on the powers of urban gardening:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/garden/06garden.html

Sign the Union Of Concerned Scientists' Climate-Friendly Garden Pledge at - http://www.ucsusa.org/action/alerts/climate-friendly-garden-pledge.html

Fedco Seeds (Fantastic seed place) http://www.fedcoseeds.com/

Johnny's Seeds - Also great seeds, some award winning and great tips
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/
Be sure to read their excellent blog! http://growingideas.johnnyseeds.com/
And check out this excellent way to extend your growing season using hoops! http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-QuickHoops.aspx?source=Home_QuickHoop

MOFGA - Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association - An absolutely fantastic organization! Well worth joining.
http://www.mofga.org

Another Maine gardening organization, Kitchen Gardeners International - http://kitchengardeners.org/

And I keep forgetting about this lovely, small Maine Seed Business, PineTree Seeds: https://www.superseeds.com/

Maine County Extension - http://extension.umaine.edu/

Barrels Community Market - a wonderful market that carries local foods and crafts. Their 1st weekly video update on YouTube. First video is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t72asM5-Euk

Maine Foods - http://www.eatmainefoods.org/

Find Maine Farms and Food at - http://www.getrealmaine.com/

Kids' Gardening - http://www.kidsgardening.org/

Farm to School - http://www.farmtoschool.org/

Information and Photos of Late Blight on tomatoes -
http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_tomato.htm

Late Blight on potatoes: http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_potato.htm

"Behold this compost! behold it well! " A line from a Walt Whitman poem entitled, This Compost. You can read the entire poem here: http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/waltwhitman/13296
What are your thoughts?

Got bread?! This is a great blog on constructing outdoor bread ovens! Stu started the community gardens in Waterville. Enjoy! http://ibreadhunter.blogspot.com/

This online seed site has some wonderful growing instructions! A must visit: http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/guidetogrowingvegetables.html

Another great online gardening resource, The Garden Girl, from Boston MA. To be honest I liked her old site. It was more "homemade." But this site has great video clips on all kinds of gardening how to's. Well worth the visit: http://www.gardengirltv.com/home-and-garden-video-archive.html

Fun blog: http://networkedblogs.com/ghEDq

A Maine Garden

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

You Know You're a Gardener If....

Monday, February 20, 2012

The 2012 Season Begins with the Starting of Onion Seeds

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