A Garden Geek

We Have Planted!

2009-05-24T18:25:00.003-04:00

It has been a while since I posted. I've been a little busy and a little lazy when not busy. In any case, my daughter and I planted on May 9. Thanks to the generosity of Dave D. and Kathy G., we were able to fill the entire garden with free baby plants. Thanks to Kathy for the strawberries and to Dave for the collection of tomatoes and peppers. Each tomato plant is different from the rest,

It rains and rains and rains

2009-04-03T14:02:00.002-04:00

We're all ready to plant, but it keeps raining. Lettuce, broccoli, and peas could all go in right now, since they are cold-weather vegetables. We need to wait for the soil to not be so soggy before we can plant. FYI, April 29 is the date at which the chance of frost is <= 10% in Frederick. So, we'll plant warm-weather vegetables in early May.

How We Built Our Raised Bed

2009-03-26T18:51:00.014-04:00

Last weekend had perfect weather, so we decided to go ahead and create our raised bed. This was great fun and took less time than I thought. It took about four hours, including a couple trips to the Dutch Plant Farm and one trip to Home Depot.On Saturday evening, I cleared the 2.5' x 13' area I had chosen for the bed. First, my daughter and I staked out the area we planned to use. She had fun

Frederick Community Garden Plot Cleared and Graded

2009-03-14T15:42:00.001-04:00

If you haven't heard about the Frederick Community Garden yet, you should check it out. It looks like they've found a good plot of land, cleared, and graded it. What a great idea!

Techniques for Labeling Your Garden Plants

2009-03-14T15:38:00.003-04:00

I thought that this was a useful survey of techniques for keeping track of what you've planted and where. I'm sure I'll use this info in a few weeks when my daughter and I plant our first seeds :)

Horticultural Society of Maryland Spring Lecture Series

2009-03-14T15:32:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned the ongoing Master Gardeners Seminar Series at the Coop Extension here in Frederick a couple times. You may also be interested in lectures offered in Lutherville, MD by the Horticultural Society of Maryland. Upcoming Lectures:April 14 7:30 PM: Designing the New Kitchen GardenMay 12 7:30 PM: Creating Landscapes With Roses

Master Gardner Seminar Series covered by Gazette

2009-03-09T23:36:00.003-04:00

I thought that guy was taking way too many pictures. Turns out he was from the Gazette and was covering the first Master Gardener Seminar Series class four weeks ago. Check it out.

Area Nurseries and Stores for Gardeners

2009-03-09T23:25:00.001-04:00

While reading one of my favorite Frederick, MD blogs, I came across this useful post from 2007 about nurseries and stores for gardeners in the Frederick, MD area.If you are looking for a good place to buy plants, vegetables, and gardening products beyond the box stores, check it out.

How to Keep Houseplants Alive

2009-03-09T17:58:00.003-04:00

Is you thumb some other color than green? Do you consistently kill your plants? Here's a great and short article on just how to keep houseplants alive.

TV Shows on Gardening

2009-03-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

In my quest to learn about gardening, I have turned to classes, web sites, books, and, yes, television. I recorded a slew of shows that mentioned "garden" in the description. Thus far, I have found three that have been worth my time. Maybe they'll warrant your attention, too.Victory Garden on PBS. This is a classic. It has a series of small segments in each 30 minute show. Each segment

Class: Growing Your Family’s Produce

2009-03-08T19:55:00.000-04:00

I attended a class on Growing Your Family's Produce by Ted Lambert and Moira Weldon on Thursday night at the Frederick County Cooperative Extension. The class is a part of the Master Gardeners Seminar Series that I've mentioned previously.This class, like the one two weeks ago on pruning and soil, was very informative. Mr. Lambert and Ms. Weldon discussed techniques for creating a raised bed (

Soil Analysis Results

2009-03-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

I received my soil sample analysis results back via email a couple days ago and then again via snail mail the next day. I used Waters Agricultural Laboratories.I'm not sure, but I think these results are telling me that my yard is basically OK, but I just need to add some lime. So, I guess I'll add lime and a spreader to the shopping list.

Getting Organized

2009-03-08T19:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't yet built my raised bed(s). I'm excited about getting started, though, so I took advantage of some great weather this weekend to get organized. A few days ago, I purchased some essential gardening tools at Sears. I had some rusted out tools already, but wanted to replace them with ones that I swear to take better care of! I also had a Sears gift card, so I managed to pick up:

Step 1: Taking a Soil Sample

2009-02-22T15:34:00.003-05:00

According to Gardening for Dummies, my instructors at the pruning and soil class I attended Thursday night, and www.thegardenshed.net, a good first step when planting a garden is taking a soil sample and having it professionally analyzed.Many gardeners fight year after year with problem spots and plants in their garden. They try different nutrients, additives, and techniques hoping to get their

Class: Pruning and Soil

2009-02-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

I just got back from the first class in the Spring Garden Preparation Master Gardener Seminar Series offered by the Maryland Cooperative Extension. Six classes, two hours each taught by master gardeners, $58 total.I learned about pruning for one hour, following by an hour about how to take care of your soil (nutrients, mulching, preparing for planting, etc.). To the uninitiated, I admit this

Welcome to A Garden Geek

2009-02-19T22:15:00.001-05:00

I'm just an average geek. I like computers, sci-fi, and telling my wife about a cool algorithm I tried out at work until her ears start to bleed and she cries, "no, no, please make it stop." Lately, though, I've been feeling the need to do something that is very different from the world of abstractions that is my work and, for the most part, my hobbies. I mean, how many linux transcoding media