Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Crafternoon Project: April 2012

Canning: Where it all started!  WE ARE...

When Thinking of Your Choices for Your 2012 Charitable Contribution:
 Think about funding for local cancer research through 

If you are interested in donating or you wish to volunteer on our committee 
please contact Greg Smith at pogster1@yahoo.com for more information.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Gardening - The Fruits (Veggies) of Life

The day Heidi and I were first introduced to our P-Patch garden in the Roosevelt P-Patch!

Inherited rainbow chard plants! 

Inherited beets (see Jason's Journal)...
I can't say that Heidi or I have a fondness for beets... yet. :-)

Heidi and I set off to work and meticulously laid our plans for different seeds that we would order and plant within which month and which month we are expecting to harvest them: 
Preplanning how the two gardens are going to be layed out.

Books that we consulted in order to make our decisions:
The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide - Seattle Tilth's
Sunset's Western Garden Book (large book, and often seen at used book stores).

What we ended up with for both the Roosevelt P-Patch and the 12th Ave NE home garden:
Carrot, Parmex (516 - 1 Pkt. ( 2 grams))516Super Sweet -- Kids Love 'em! Great for containers and coldframes, and extra useful for cooking.1$3.95$3.95
Radish, Cook's Custom Mix(614 - Pkt. (3 grams))614Our favorite colors to add to any dish.1$3.95$3.95
Spinach, Double Choice (026 - 1 Packet (2 grams))026Perfect for baby spinach and mature harvest.1$3.95$3.95
Squash, Boston Marrow (963 - 1 Pkt. (15 seeds))963An extremely unusual New England heirloom.2$3.95$7.90
Pea, Sugar Snap (480 - 1 Pkt. (2 oz.))480Super Vigorous and Super Productive Snap Pea Good fresh and whole, or shucked and steamed!2$3.95$7.90
Squash, Summer, Mix (742 - 1 Pkt. (15 seeds))742Unique bush-type Squash for small space gardens1$3.95$3.95
Gourmet Organic Arugula(E027 - 1 Pkt.)E027Zesty, peppery flavor. Certified Organic.1$4.95$4.95
Cauliflower, Rainbow Mix (296 - Pkt. (30 seeds))296Our own blend of brightly colored cauliflowers.1$4.95$4.95
Sub Total$41.50

All our seeds came from The Cooks Garden catalog.
(Tomato starts are still yet to be purchased, most likely from Seattle Tilth plant sale. 
Follow along with our actual planting and harvesting schedule (Google Doc)! 

What I've made so far:

Beets from the P-patch boiled and then added to the mixture +
Beet greens diced up and sauteed +
Chard from the P-patch sauteed +
Small peppers +
Butternut squash, cubed +
Chirzo = 


Classes we've taken so far:

Class 1 - “How to get Started – Garden Planning”

                Now is the time to begin preparing your garden for a bountiful spring, summer and beyond. Experienced gardeners know that careful planning now will bring big yields later. This class is geared towards the beginning gardener and will show you how to decide the best crops to grow, select the appropriate seed and design your plot for optimum benefit. You will also learn how to rotate your crops and things you can do now to prepare your soil for planting in the next few weeks. This class will be held indoors.

Location:  Bradner Gardens Park, Tuesday April 3, 2012 6:00 p.m. – 8 p.m.


Some of our snap pea seedlings are starting to come up in early April!



Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex