Spring Is Coming.....Slowly

It certainly seems like it's been a long winter here in the midwest. Spring seems to be exceptionally slow in getting here. We've had some days into the upper 70's, only to be followed by a hard freeze, cold rains, and more blustery weather. I'm not sure when I've longed for spring quite as much as I am now.

But, once again, it appears to be "right around the corner". The weather-critters are calling for a warm-up this week, along with perhaps our longest dry spell in a couple of months. That should get the garden to a state where we can get some things planted, I hope!

I've never been much of a gardener the last several years (like 30+). What gardening I was involved with as a kid didn't require I LEARN anything about it....Dad would point and say "Hoe!". Fortunately, I'm now finding it enjoyable to study the gardening books and magazines. I also have relatives who DO have a wealth of knowledge they are more than willing to share.

I plan to write a series of articles here, sharing some of what I'm learning. Stay tuned for the first of them later this week. I hope you'll find some benefit from them!

So for now, keep your fingers crossed that it really IS spring at Bolaura!

BG

Gardening.... Old Seeds or Heirlooms?

We're working on getting the garden going..... if it ever dries out enough to work in it! Hopefully, we'll at least grow more than we did last year. Our ONE pepper plant produced ONE pepper before the autumn frosts ended it's efforts.

I've been doing a little reading on plant varieties, and have become interested in "heirloom seeds".

Heirloom seeds have made a dramatic comeback in recent years. It's said that there are more than 5,000 heirloom tomato varieties alone. But heirloom seeds are much more than just some old seeds. Each variety has its own life story. Each seed has been sown, cultivated, harvested, saved, and passed on, often for hundreds of years, down through the generations.

Some seeds have mysterious tales. Others have been smuggled out of native countries in the hems of ladies dresses or the inside of shoes, to end up with their owners in a new land. Whatever their story, these precious seeds are now stealing the limelight from their F1 hybrid cousins.

What makes heirloom seeds special?

Heirloom seeds can actually be saved from season to season. They are often 'true' to their original ancestor species, having been lovingly planted and cultivated year by year with little or no cross-pollination from other similar varieties.

This is what makes heirloom seeds special - a tiny seed is cast into the soil, weighing no more than a spec of dust, only to emerge 100 days later as a magnificent vegetable weighing more than one thousand times its original weight. Then nature comes full circle and creates seeds that weigh no more than a speck of dust, and the cycle goes on.

There is one dramatic difference between heirloom seeds and F1 hybrids - this cycle of life only pertains to heirloom seeds. Hybrid seeds can only manage one season of growth. The seeds they produce are either sterile (non-germinating seeds) or at best create plants that do not look like their parents or do not bear fruit.

F1 hybrids have been cross pollinated to make 'super species' of cultivars - either grown to produce more fruit, or produce early or longer. This modification has come at a price - inferior flavor, weaker plant lines and more susceptibility to disease.

Try something - plant one hybrid and one heirloom seed of the same variety side by side and, provided you supply the correct growing conditions, you'll see the difference. The F1 hybrid will burst into life with wild abandon, produce an abundance of fruit, then die without a thought of tomorrow. The heirloom however, will grow slowly and steadily. It will take longer to produce a strong framework on which it will bear fruit, and then seed. It is as though the heirloom plant knows it has to pace itself to produce viable seeds for the next season and the continuation of its species. This way of growing produces vegetables and fruits with flavors so divine, like nothing you can buy in a store.

Another distinct advantage of heirloom seeds is that, because they are 'true' to their ancestor varieties, they contain more good nutrients than F1 hybrids. They also come in wild shapes and dramatic colors like yellow and purple carrots, deep purple beans, lime green cauliflower and red Brussels sprouts.

Each heirloom seed variety has a life story which is part of its mystique and this story is often handed over along with the seeds.

Unfortunately, over the last 60 years the majority of seed saving has been left to commercial business and it has been reported that one thousand heirloom varieties a year are lost forever. An heirloom gardener will cherish their seeds because they know that they may never find that particular variety again and that one failed crop can wipe out an entire cultivar.

Heirloom seeds are meant for sharing, but you need to take the responsibility seriously, sow and save your seeds with pride, and keep them going for a hundred more years.

Saturday morning, EARLY spring......

I've had a chance to spend a REALLY pleasant morning.

It's still early March, and we've enjoyed 2 days of 70 degree weather. While this morning is in the low 50's, and cloudy, it still feels very much like spring. The new growth of green grass is showing beneath the tan and beige coat of last year's leftovers. There's a pretty sharp breeze blowing, stirring up the rich aroma of wet, fertile soil.

I've spent a nice, relaxing hour here, sipping coffee and watching the birds come and go at the feeding station outside the front window. The male cardinals began singing their love songs earlier this week, and I can hear one now as he tries so desperately to entice his lady friend. This mixes with the more gentle trill of a red-winged blackbird, one of the prettiest bird sounds I know. The goldfinches are starting to turn really yellow now. They don't visit the feeders too often yet, but are a welcome sight when they do. This morning, I've seen juncos, chickadees, downey woodpeckers, cardinals, and several kinds of sparrows as I've sat here, enjoying my coffee and the start of the day.

I truly do love being back to the country!

"The Stars at Night Are Big and Bright.........."

One of the reasons behind my move back to the country was the view of the sky from outside the city limits. I've always loved gazing at the stars, and the prospect of better stargazing was certainly exciting.

To share a little of this fascination with you, I present:

The Basics of Astronomy

Most people find astronomy to be a daunting hobby, picturing the need for expensive telescopes, confusing star and planetary charts, dozens of calculations for every heavenly body, and the like. But while advanced astronomy does, indeed, involve quite a bit of expense and number crunching, it's simpler forms can be enjoyed by anyone. All you really need to get started in astronomy is to have a deep and abiding love of the night sky in your heart. Everything else follows.

At the start, the only thing you'll need to pick up, at most, will be a blanket to lie down on, a small map of the constellations, a pair of binoculars, and a notebook. Most astronomers start out just lying on a sandy beach or a hilltop and looking up at the sky, gazing out at their favorite constellations. From there, they move on to studying the constellations, moon study, or to another, equally amusing hobby, that of watching out for shooting stars.

You can start out this way, and some people are actually content to restrict their astronomy hobby to this, it's simplest level. But if the astronomy bug bites you, where do you go from there? The first step I'd suggest would be to add a little something extra to your itinerary of skywatching. The moon. You can check the internet or books for scheduled changes in the moon, as these are quite an experience to watch. View the moon during her different phases, and especially at times when she's brighter than usual like at the solstice, or when she changes color like the rare but impressive lunar eclipse.

Once you want to branch out even further, you can expand your hobby in one of two ways. The first is to pick another celestial subject, like a planet or far away galaxy, and add it to your aky study itinerary. By taking this slow but steady approach, you add another something to the list until you wind up keeping an eye out for most of the major celestial figures, eventually buying a telescope for enhanced viewing.

The second approach is one you can take at any time. Astronomy, contrary to popular belief, isn't a solitary hobby for loners and contemplatives. There are actually hundreds of astronomy hobbyist groups out there. One quick way to expand your knowledge and skills in this fascinating hobby is to go out and find those other groups and join one.

These basics let you learn the ropes. Once your skills get better you'll be able to exchange ideas with your group mates as an equal. Where you go with your hobby from that point on is up to you.

Doggon' it! We have a dog!

There's been a new addition to our family!
Rorri came home with us on June 16. We'd been looking for a dog to replace Dad's border collie, Radar, who vanished late last summer. Rorri, an Austrailian Shepherd mix, finally appeared at the Liberty Animal Shelter a little over a week ago. We took Dad to see her, but he wasn't sure that she was what he wanted. However, WE fell in love with her, and now she's home!

All Gassed Up?

I recently heard a nationally syndicated "pundit" bemoaning how much gasoline it took to produce the traditional beef found in the grocery stores.  By the time you add up the fuel used to grow the corn to feed the steer, to haul the steer to and from the feedlots, to haul the processed beef to it's final destination in the supermarket, it's a significant amount.  This "expert" then coyly asked if it wouldn't be better for the planet, more "green", if we all stopped eating beef.

 

Well, there's another alternative.

 

Why not START eating grassfed beef?  The use of fossil fuels to produce such a product is a small percentage of that of the grainfed beef.  My guess is that most grassfed beef in the US is bought and eaten within a short distance of where it is produced, instead of being shipped 1500 miles or more, as is the average distance travelled for most products in the typical supermarket. 

 

Wouldn't this be a way we could have our beef and eat it, too?

 

GO GREEN!  EAT GRASSFED!

The Lowline Lifestyle

What is it?
It's a lot of things, grassfed beef, country living, urban ranching, and more.
Find out about it at:
http://lowlinelifestyle.com