:)

[serabelle]

I am soooooo happy that garden season is finally here! I live in Western PA, so watching all of you post your beautiful pictures has just been maddening for the past couple of months! I spent almost my entire weekend in the dirt though, so now I feel much better

Comments

[martygreene]

We're neighbours! I'm in Greenfield, where are you?

Sweet Vitriol {the garden chronicles}/svgardenfeed

[serabelle]

Hey, awesome! I'm near Sharon :)

[amergina]

Heh. There are a lot of Western PA people lurking here.

[jcipa]

Yes there are! :)

[lola_joan]

gorgeous!

I LOVE bleeding hearts too.
Do you know the little story that goes with them?

[serabelle]

Ooo, no I don't! Do share :)

[lola_joan]

Okay, I'll try to remember it in order without the flower in hand...

Take one of the flowers, and then dismantle it piece by piece while you tell the story....

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess, and a kind and wise prince was madly in love with her. She was a cold-hearted princess, though, and she wanted him to prove his love to her through gifts and adulation. So first the prince gave her a pair of silky pink rabbits [that's the outer petals - when you take them off they look like bunnies]. But she wasn't satisfied. So then he gave her a pair of gold and diamond earrings [I think the next piece of the flower is a fishhook-shaped clear thing with the pollen on the tip]. She still wasn't satisfied. Next he gave her a pair of glass slippers. [I might have the order mixed up - this might come before the earrings... but the part that sticks out the bottom of the flower looks sort of like two little shoes]. The princess still wasn't satisfied, and told the poor lovelorn prince that she would never love him. So

[serabelle]

I'm trying my best to stay organic with my veggies and herbs - just a personal preference :)

Miracle Gro works great though, so I'd say go for it!

[heinleinfan]

Last night I *finally* had dirt under my fingers...not that nampy-pampy potting soil for my indoor plants, but real dirt from prepping our garden beds all day! I've been going nuts with envy with those folks in warmer climates too!

You've got a lovely little set up, I'm so envious! I'm trying an outdoor herb garden this year as well, after only have a few indoor in pots, hopefully it'll be a success!

[heinleinfan]

Oh, and I meant to add that I'm an organic-only person myself, too...but my husband and I do have one small container of miracle grow that we bring out when a particular plant is doing really poorly. We got it last year when our entire garden was obliterated by a freak hail storm, and we really think it saved some plants that just weren't gonna make it otherwise, they were pretty much stripped bare of all leaves by the hail

[serabelle]

Thank you! It took three years to get things the way they are now :) Having real dirt under your fingernails is a good feeling, isn't it? :)

[david_anderson]

Jerry Baker is a quack. Think about it, miracle grow isn't enough by itself, you need to add ammonia to get that instant nitrogen burn. But since you are adding way too much nitrogen, you better add sugars, so that whatever bacteria survive can take up all that excess nitrogen. Plants make sugar, they don't absorb it. Giving the microbes a boost of sugar isn't necessarily a bad idea, but in this case you are going to be selecting big time for whatever survives this concoction.

Concentrate on building your soil, instead of quickly greening up your plants. That miracle gro/ammonia mix will work on killing you soil while providing the quick nitrogen, but it hurts you in the long run, making your plants dependent on the chemicals.

[serabelle]

Thanks for this -- I was skeptical about the whole situation. I put a lot of work into my soil this year, so it's good to know what to avoid!

[david_anderson]

Definitely keep up your good work on building your soil. It will get better and better each year. If you need some "quick green" stuff, take it as a sign that your soil needs more work, rather than looking for an instant fix. The quickest fix I will go for with nitrogen in my veggie garden is blood meal. It is sort of a medium speed when compared to ammonia, though it's fast compared to other organics (other than urine), but the N is released by microbial action on the proteins, so it isn't slamming the microbes.

[serabelle]

Awesome information, I'm assuming you do all organic?