Wednesday, February 17, 2010

2010 February

PLANTING:
10 February 2010 After waiting through our long cold winter here in Mesa (that's a joke), I contracted gardening fever. I planted the following seeds directly into the soil using the board method: Golden Bush Scallop squash (organic SESE item 53104); California Wonder Bell Pepper (Organic SESE item 46102); Buhl Corn (Organic SESE item 41111); Sweet Baby Watermelon (Henry Fields); and Red Champion Radish (Henry Fields); Giant Pink Banana Squash given to me by Lyla (seed from Snowflake); and the following seeds harvested from food we bought at the grocery store: water melon, acorn squash. I also transplanted the following which I had started in cups in January. Tomatoes (Organic from SESE); Bell pepper, Egg Plant, Armenian Cucumber, Straight 8 Cucumber; and Marigold (2nd generation HHEF seeds).

16 February 2010 I rototilled and planted about 100 SF of Wildflower seeds in the front of the house.

13 February 2010 I conducted a gardening class at Haws Haven Experimental Farm. About 30 people attended. I started talking and getting excited about my subject and spoke for 1.5 hours. A lot of people stayed around for another 1/2 hour, so I guess they weren't totally disappointed. We talked about soil, fertilizers, composting, seed anatomy, germination, sprouting, planting methods, sources of seeds, harvesting seeds and harvesting crops. I hope to put together a power point with music, videos, and slides that will be easier to put together and show anywhere. I had a lot of fun even if no-one else did!