Back on Track

The rainy spell we've endured seems to have ended and the garden is doing well. A few heirloom plants have survived: carrots, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, lettuce, one Anaheim pepper plant, and one bell pepper plant. I was able to buy heirloom tomato plants, and they are growing and putting on blooms already. The raspberry canes I planted are still small, but are putting on a few berries, surprising in their first year. It won't amount to more than a handful, but I'm still excited. I've filled the rest of my garden squares with bell peppers and one Hot Banana pepper plant, as well as planting a couple of pumpkins. My daughter has always wanted to grow a pumpkin. She was excited to see that they have sprouted this morning. The damage she did to the onions has been corrected. I'm glad onions are so easy to grow! We seem to be back on track! :)

Toxins from GMO Foods found in Humans

GMOs, or genetically-modified organisms, have been on Americans' dinner tables for years. Though many of us have doubted it, we have been told by our government and by the industry creating genetically-modified foods that these foods pose no risk to human health. Recent studies, however, challenge that notion.

GM foods include genes from different bacteria, making them resistant to pests. The claim has been that, though these foods are toxic to insects, the toxins are broke down in the human digestive system, and will not build up in the human body. Researchers in Canada have found that this is not true, and are finding these very toxins in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn children. One report showed that as many as 93% of fetuses have these toxins coursing through their blood streams. The long term effects of these toxins on the human body are unknown, which should be enough to outlaw GM foods. But the supporters of these food crops seem to think unknown equals safe. Since companies are not required to label foods as GMOs, it is very difficult to know what you are eating.

For more information, here are a couple of links to articles on the recent study:
Toxin from GM Crops Found in Human Blood - EatDrinkBetter.com

93% of Unborn Babies Have GMO Food Toxins in their Blood - Salem-News.com

Kids and Gardening

Teaching kids about gardening at an early age will help them understand where their food comes from, and make them more comfortable digging in the dirt and growing plants. As I've been learning more about growing my own food, I've been involving my daughter in the process. She loves helping me plant and pick vegetables.

The only vegetables in my garden that are thriving in all this rain are my onions. I pick them early when they are scallions or "green onions." My daughter loves pulling them out of the soil. Last night, she asked me if she could pick a few and I told her that she could. A few minutes later, she came back, proudly showing me three perfectly picked green onions. This morning, when I went out to check on my garden, this is what I found in the two onion plots:

The onion plots were dug up, onions were laying everywhere. My first thought was that a wild nighttime visitor had been in my garden - then I remembered my daughter picking onions. When I asked her about it, she said that she just kept pulling up onions until she had some with the bulbs still attached. She had to dig holes in the soil to do that. She left the remaining massacred onions laying on the ground. Too funny!

The lesson is: always supervise kids in the garden - even when they are just picking onions!!

As you can see in the bottom half of the picture, my lettuce plants are not doing well. All of my tomato seedlings have died and my pepper plants stopped growing. I'll probably be buying all of my vegetable plants this year. And I was so excited about the heirloom seeds that I found...

Rainy Day Blues

The unusually heavy rainfall is playing havoc with gardeners this year. My little arugula and lettuce plants are looking a bit sick - too much water, too little sunlight. I hope they can recover! My pepper and eggplant seedlings are doing well indoors, but my tomato seedlings are becoming spindly and weak - a symptom of too little sunlight. (Note to self: invest in a grow light!) I may cry real tears if they don't survive. My mushroom plot turned into a stream this spring, curtailing mushroom season. It's all been frustrating! With more rain in the forecast, I guess I can only do my best with the circumstances I'm dealt. Another lesson that my garden is teaching me - when the unexpected happens, adapt! Happy Mother's Day!

The Strength in a Seed

We have had several pounding rains since I planted my lettuce and arugula seeds outside. Because these seeds were so tiny, I was afraid that the rain would wash them away. While looking for any damage from last night's storm, I found that my arugula has sprouted! Amazing.

I also noticed a couple of pea plants starting to sprout and an onion beginning to come up through the dirt. My tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are thriving indoors. And the raspberry canes I planted a few weeks ago are growing, too. Maybe it's a bit nerdy of me, but I get excited watching the life and strength in these plants.

The Morels are Back!

After four trips out to the woods, scouring the ground for a sign, I found the first morel mushrooms of the season. Ten little guys, about an inch high, greeted me on my walk to the mushroom patch last night. Not exactly enough for a meal, but they bring the hope of more morels in the next few weeks. It's mushroom season!! :)

April...Finally!!

It was with a great sigh of relief that I turned the calendar to the month of April. It has been a long, long winter. April promises warmer temperatures and the beginning of the gardening season.

Last week, I planted my tomato and pepper seeds indoors. My tomato seeds are already sprouting! I chose heirloom varieties this year. Pink Brandywine, Gold Medal and Beefsteak tomatoes. Anaheim peppers. California Wonder green bell peppers and an Italian red bell pepper variety called Quadrato d'Asti Rosso. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds also sent me some free eggplant seeds - an unusual variety from Thailand. I'm curious to see how they do!

I'm building a second square foot garden box, so I can grow twice as many veggies this year. In a few weeks, I can sow my cool weather veggies - lettuce, arugula, onions and sugar snap peas. I'm also growing carrots and cucumbers this season. Gurney's sent me a seed and plant catalog with a $25 coupon. I used it to buy 4 Heritage Red Raspberry plants. They just arrived and I need to get them in the ground. If things go well, I'll have quite a selection of homegrown foods. Wish me luck!!