Blog

June 25, 2008

I see that I have not written since December. There's so much more time in the winter! Spring was spent planting a large vegetable garden in our back pasture. Ever committed to growing my veggies organically, I admit to spending most of my summer fighting bugs. I walked in with a basket of tomatoes, all nibbled on by our friends the beetles, and declared "bugs have no values!" I mean -- really now! I don't mind sharing a few of my veggies with our little friends from Mother Earth, but do they need to take up residence in EVERY tomato?

This week we planted pumpkins. My children are both October babies so I thought it would be fun to have their parties in a very large pumpkin patch. We planted twelve different varieties, some miniature and others giants, some white, some striped, and some traditional jack-o-lantern style. I'll share pictures with you in the fall. I don't have a lot of seeds, but if you want some, I could probably share a few of my left overs. Just email me at gginfo@alltel.net .

I hope you are enjoying your summer.

Book progress: I've finished writing my book! Organic Container Gardening: A Guide to Reducing Pesticides in Your Family's Diet should be released in August, 2008. If all goes well, I will be spending much of spring, 2009 promoting the book.

December 3, 2007

Finding Credible Sources of Gardening Information and Respecting Mulch

This weekend, I had the amazing privilege of sitting around a table of talented garden writers, photographers, editors, and others in plant related professions. While I must admit that I felt somewhat like a ten year old sitting at the grown-ups table for Christmas dinner, I was also thrilled with the opportunity to see such talented people map out the future of the Garden Writers Association. One topic we discussed was the amount of misinformation that circulates on the web. A member of the team told how a recent rumor about mulch spontaneously combusting became a "factoid" as it spread around the web. When the original poster of the information was tracked down, he admitted the information was made up and kindly removed it from his website. (At this point in our meeting, one gentleman laughingly exclaimed "We need to respect mulch!") Sadly, there is little respect for accuracy on the web. Information is copied and pasted from website to website, often without even a correction of the typos) with little fact checking or analysis. Not only is it often plaigerism, it is also frequently harmful. We want our customers and gardening friends to know that we do not engage in this activity. With many horticulture classes under our belts, and many years of gardening and cooking with our harvests, we know when our own knowledge on a subject is adequate and when we need to seek out CREDIBLE experts for additional information. We may not have much respect for mulch (well, ok, we do respect it's place in the garden), we do respect the truth. We also respect our customers enough to provide you with accurate, in-depth information. We want to encourage you to ask us all your gardening questions. When we don't have the answer, we'll research it for you.

One other note, our dwarf citrus and olive trees are selling quite well this holiday season. If you want to order any for gifts, please do so soon!

October 17, 2007

Growing, Harvesting, & Preserving Inchelium Red Artichoke Garlic Now is the time to plant garlic! Order soon as supply is limited. We prefer inchelium red garlic for it's moderately strong flavor and nice sized bulbs. It's called artichoke garlic because it has layers of cloves that resemble artichokes. Garlic grows fairly easily, only needing a nice loose soil and to be kept weed free. PLANTING TIME: In cold regions, plant 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. In milder areas, plant from October through January. In extremely cold areas, plant soft-neck varieties in spring. SOIL PREPARATION:Garlic needs fertile soil with lots of organic matter. Garlic does not like compact soil, so add compost to clay soils. HOW TO PLANT: Break the bulb into individual cloves. Small cloves usually grow small bulbs, so plant only the larger ones. Use the small cloves in your kitchen. Where winter is mild, plant cloves 1 inch deep, root side down; where winter is severe, put them 2-4 inches deep and mulch lightly, immediately after planting. In spring, the garlic will have no trouble pushing through an inch of mulch. Minimum spacing on raised beds is 4x8 inches. To grow the largest bulbs, try spacing your plants 6x12 inches. GROWING: It’s important to keep garlic weeded well, being careful not to damage the shallow roots. Fertilize in early spring and prior to bulbing. Chicken manure is a good organic sidedressing choice. Spray with fish emulsion every two weeks during this period. Sidedressing with compost is also an option. Do not fertilize after bulbs begin to form. Keep soil moist during rapid growth faze. HARVEST: As the bulbs mature, the leaves turn brown. When there are still 5-6 green leaves remaining on the plant, dig a plant every few days to check the bulb. Loosen the soil with a garden fork and gently, brush off the soil from around the roots. Move the garlic out of direct sunlight immediately and DO NOT WASH the bulbs. CURING: Garlic stores longer if its is cured with its stalk or leaves attached. Tie the plants by their stalks in loose bundles of about ten. Curing garlic requires good air circulation. You might even place a fan in the curing area. After curing, if you are not braiding, cut the stalks off 1/2-inch above the bulb and gently clean the bulbs with a soft bristle brush, taking care not to strip off the papery skin. STORING: Hang bulbs in netted sacks, with good air circulation on all sides. Inchelium is a soft-neck variety and is great for braiding. Perfect storage conditions are 45-55°F. at 50% relative humidity. Do not store below 40º F.

September 30,2007

Preserved Lemons

Though store bought lemons can be used, those of you who are growing Improved Meyer Lemon Trees will soon have the perfect lemons for making Moroccan preserved Lemons. The pickling of Myer lemon rinds creates a very unique flavor that brings me right back to my Peace Corps days in Morocco. To make them, place kosher salt in the bottom of a crock. Quarter 4 lemons down to 1/2 inch of the the base. Fill them with salt and then reform the lemon. Place the lemons in the crock, with a layer of salt between each lemon. Then add lemon juice squeezed from four additional lemons. Cover the lemons in the crock with additional salt. I like to pour a little olive oil over the top, but this is not required. After a day, lemon juice will begin extracting from the lemons. Holding the top tightly on the crock (mine leaks!), shake it upside down to mix the salt and juice. The lemons should be completely covered. I usually add more fresh lemon juice and salt to keep the lemons covered. (Don't use water or the commercially made lemon juice...fresh is the only way to go with these lemons.) Note: Some people like to add cinnamon sticks and cloves between the layers of salt. Continue to shake your lemons daily for 30 days.

Recipe: from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives page 136-137

Ingredients

One 4-Pound chicken preferably free-range or kosher	Salt
One preserved lemon, rinsed and quartered, pulp and skin reserved	Pinch of saffron threads
1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger	1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long
Pinch of cayenne	1 small onion, grated
Freshly Ground Black Pepper	1/2 tsp. sugar
3 garlic cloves, chopped	1 cup green olives (pincholine), rinsed
3 Tbs.extra virgin olive oil	2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Early in the day, rinse the chicken inside and out; thoroughly pat dry. In a bowl, combine the pulp of the lemon with the ginger, cayenne, 1/4 tsp of the black pepper, the garlic, and 1 Tbs olive oil. Place this mixture in the cavity of the bird. Tuck the wings under the chcicken and tie the legs together. Cover with paper towels and refrigerate until 3 hours before serving. Let the chicken return to room temperature before roasting. 2. About 2 hours before serving, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Rub the chicken with salt and black pepper. Lightly oil a shallow roasting pan, set an oiled V-shaped rack in it, and put the chicken on the rack, breast side up. Set the pan in a cold oven and (CAREFULLY!) pour the 3 cups boiling water into the pan under the chicken. Add the saffron, cinnamon stick, onion, and sugar to the hot water. Turn the oven temperature to 550 deg. F and roast until the breast of the chicken is golden brown, about 45 minutes. 3. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 deg. F. Turn the chicken on one of its sides, brush with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the bird onto its other side, baste again with olive oil, and continue to roast for another 20 minutes. Finally, turn the chicken upside down to brown the back; roast for about 10 minutes. Test for doneness: an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh should register 160 deg.- 165 deg. F. 4 Leaving the oven on, remove the chicken on its rack to a carving board, cover with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. (The internal temperature will rise to 170 deg. F.) Meanwhile, skim the fat off the pan juices. Add the olives and half the cilantro; mix and return the pan to the oven to reduce for 20 minutes. 5. Carve the chicken and arrange in a heatproof serving dish. Spoon the olives around the chicken. Season the pan juices with additional salt and pepper and pour over the meat. Arrange the preserved lemon peels on top. Garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro.

Citrus Topiary

I've never made a citrus topiary, but I did a little research and contacted a friend who makes a lot of topiaries and discovered that dwarf citrus trees, with their long supple shoots, make excellent topiaries. Keep in mind that we're learning how to do this together. So far, this is what I've learned: Step one — Prepare the tree. Once the tree is at least two years old, trim the side stems back by a third. Do not trim the leader -- the central branch of the tree When the leader reaches the height you want for the center of the ball, pinch back its tip. Two-thirds trunk and one-third ball is the general proportion rule. Step two — In early spring, remove all the lower branches on the main stem up to what will become the bottom of the ball. Pinch the tips of the remaining branches to encourage the tree to bush. Let the tree grow for up to a year, pinching any branches that grow outside of the ball shape. Continue to trim your tree lightly to keep it ball shaped. Some people tie a string to the center of the ball and measure out enough string to encompass the size of the ball that they want. This helps to serve as a pruning guide. I'm thinking back to my kindergarten days when I learned to cut circles. Being a little bit of a perfectionist, I would trim and trim and trim to get the perfect circle. Soon, my circle was half the size that I needed. I think I'll try the string thing! If you decide to make a citrus topiary, please send me pictures! I will post them for your fellow gourmet gardeners. Good Luck!

June 22, 2006

Green Beans

They are a rather lowly looking vegetable, but can be delicious if you grow the right variety. We grow fin de Bagnols because they stay very tender and are stringless. My eight year old son planted eight seeds in our home garden at the beginning of spring and we've had an ample supply of beans with very little care. We started his garden with a layer of peat and a bag of commercial garden soil. After tilling and raking out all the weeds, we mixed our soils and and spread them out, about 3" thick across the plot. I let the soil sit for a week to allow nitrogen levels to stabilize. Brian planted his seeds about 4" apart, 1" deep. He handwrote "beens" on his wooden plant marker and then got to work on his cucumbers! That's really all there is to growing beans. About halfway through the growing season, I noted that we had a few caterpillars taking up residence in the leaves. We cut off a few of the leaves and placed them in a plastic jar to watch the critters grow. We squished the rest and then sprayed with an organic pesticide (BT) and haven't had any more problems. We had a cold snap soon after planting the beans so I worried that we'd have to replant. Not so! As soon as the earth warmed, the seedlings began popping up their heads. About two months later, Brian rushed into the house with a handful of beans...they weren't anywhere near ready to harvest, but his excitement was just too great to leave the beans on the bush! We've been eating these delicious beans all summer. I love that my son will eat green beans and that I don't have to worry about the high pesticide residue that is normally found on green beans bought in the grocery store.

December 15,2005 GROWING AN HERB GARDEN FROM SEED Growing an herb garden from seed is a very rewarding endeavor and a fun activity. In general, herbs tolerate poor growing conditions and still reward you with aromatic leaves and flowers. There are few things that add so much quality to a person's life with so little investment of time or money. Most herbs can be started indoors or out. They can be grown in containers or in the garden. They usually grow best in full sun, but tolerate partial shade.

1. I like to soak my seeds in water a few hours before I plant them.

2. While soaking the seeds, gather up the other items you will need: Containers-(these can be recycled yogurt cups, peat pots, or plastic flats. Peat pots and flats can be purchased at garden centers and discount chains such as Walmart or Lowes; Soil-I like a mix of equal parts vermiculite, perlite, and sphagnum peat moss. These and other potting soils can be purchased inexpensively at your local nursery or at a discount chain.

3. Fill containers with soil mixture. Pat down the soil to be sure there are no air pockets or your seeds might drop right to the bottom. Dampen the soil.

4. Sow herb seeds 2-3 times deeper than the size of the seed. The very tiny seeds need only to be pressed into the soil. Read the package to determine if the seeds need light to germinate. Most don't and should be covered lightly with soil.

5. Cover containers tightly with plastic kitchen wrap. This will keep the soil warm and eliminate the need to water until the seedlings emerge.

6. Place flats in a warm, sunny area. Until the seeds emerge, I keep my soil damp.

7. Once seedlings emerge, remove plastic and water twice daily.

8. If you plan to transfer your seedlings to the garden, wait until at least two sets of leaves have emerged. Once it is warm enough, start leaving them outside a few hours a day. This will "harden them off" and get them ready for the harsher outdoor conditions.

9. Remember that some herbs, such as Basil, will die in cold weather. Read seed packets for temperature and sunlight requirements of specific herbs.

10. To transplant, pinch off the lower set of leaves. Dig a hole deep enough to hold the plant just over the point where you pinched the leaves. (These leaf nodes will grow roots!) Gently turn pot upside down and allow plant to fall out into your hand. DON'T pull the plant by the stem or leaves. If using peat pots, you will not need to pinch off leaves or remove plant from container. Just bury peat pot to neck of pot and water in.

11. Place plant in hole and pat the soil around your plant.

12. Water once daily for a week and twice weekly thereafter.

13. When plants begin to get bushy, add mulch around them to discourage weeds.

14. There you have it...an established herb garden!

Notes: Over water can cause "damping off." Damping off is a bacterial problem that causes the stems to break off and the plants to die. I have no damping off problems as long as I allow the soil to dry for a few hours each day. I never mist the plants. You can bottom water by placing the plants in a pan of water. I prefer this method because it allows the plant to take up water without getting the leaves and stems wet. Plus, it requires no daily effort to remember to water the plants. -Seedlings should get plenty of sunlight. If they appear to be very tall and thin ("leggy"), and are bending to reach the light, they need to be moved to a sunnier location. You can also supplement with fluorescent lighting. There are expensive "grow lights", but I've had good luck just using a typical fluorescent house lamp. www.gourmetgardener.com

December 6, 2005. I've been doing some research on the chemical residues found in produce. Much of the information is sketchy because residue levels differ depending on the country of origin. Basically, you and your children will consume less residue if you grow your own food or at least buy organic food that is grown locally.Some residue has been found in produce that was supposed to have been grown organically, but in far lesser quantity than every day grocery store fare. But what if you can't grow all your own food? Who has time for that? At least grow the produce with the most residue or seek out an organic supplier of these foods. After visiting several consumer websites, I've compiled a list of the produce with the reportedly highest levels of residue. By selecting the items from this list that you most frequently eat, and growing these organically, you can significantly cut down on the amount of chemicals that you feed to your family: Strawberries, apples, peaches, pears, bell peppers, winter squash, celery, nectarines, green beans, grapes, raspberries, spinach,potatoes, celery, nectarines, cantaloupe, and hot peppers. The good news is that most of these items are very easy to grow. Squash, cantaloupe, and green beans practically grow themselves. Strawberries and hot peppers grow very well in containers. We will begin carrying organic varieties of all these products on our website this spring. The better news is how amazing these crops taste when they are fresh and haven't travelled 1000+ miles before you buy them. I've never bothered with buying organic seeds because I've always thought paying attention to the amount of chemicals in a tiny seed was silly. However, I know that it is important to many of you so we will be more vigilant about this in the future.

November 28, 2005Isn't citrus the most surprising thing about winter? Amidst the gray skies and leafless trees, is a crop of bright orange, green, and yellow fruit with flavor like no other fall or winter crop. Growing up in Central Florida, I remember fondly days spent with my sister on horseback in the orange groves across the road from my house. We often brought books with us and layed reading on the horses' bare backs while they munched grass that grew between the trees. We preferred to eat tangerines over the juicing oranges because they were so easy to peel. Now when I bite into a tangerine on a cool day, I'm carried right back to my childhood.

Several improved dwarf trees now make it possible for everyone to grow citrus right in their homes. We'll soon be offering Improved Meyer Lemons and Kaffir Limes on our website, www.gourmetgardener.com , as well as on our Amazon and Shop.com sites.

Other citrus trees that are suitable for container growing include the following: Naval Oranges:Washington and Trovita; Lemons: Eureka; Grapefruit: Oro Blanco; Limes: Bearss Seedless; Calamondin:Kalamansi,Variegated; Citron

October 22, 2005 Everyone starts hitting my website, www.gourmetgardener.com , for pumpkin seeds this time of the year. The problem is, of course, that they should have been planted back in June for an October harvest. I've done internet searching today for pumpkin seed recipes. I wanted my seeds to be crunchier than in years past and think that I finally found the missing ingredient: Melted butter. Start by washing the pulp off the seeds. Dry seeds with paper towels. Cover with a small amount of melted butter and season as desired. (I used a recipe today from all recipes.com that called for Worcestershire, salt, and garlic salt in addition to the butter.) Bake on low heat (250 -275 deg. F depending on the recipe) in a shallow baking dish for about 45 min- 1 hour. If you use the allrecipes.com site, I recommend checking your seeds at 45 min. as mine were a little overcooked at the hour mark. Try 'em - you'll like 'em!

June 25, 2005 The flowers are blooming! Sunflowers, Gladiolus, Asian Lilies, Broom...they are all smiling at me in the garden. We've started an email list that alerts customers when our flowers are blooming. Click here to sign up Flower Email Wow. What a treat to walk out past the old cattle pens and weeds (yep, we've got 'em too)and suddenly walk into a field of blazing red gladiolus and smiling sunflowers. The tomato garden looks great right now. I've interplanted with Basil because it grows so well with tomatoes. I left some of the tomatoes in containers. I intend to make a photo journal of these to demonstrate how nearly all veggies can be grown in pots.

June 15, 2005 Wow. I can't believe two weeks have passed since I last made a Blog entry. Time flies when you are planting tomatoes! All the time in the garden has given me time to think about so many things regarding my personal life as well as the business. Maybe it's my age/stage of life, but I just think that life should be about more than making a living! My time in the Peace Corps was meaningful, but now seems so long ago. So there I was with my fingernails and most other crevises full of dirt and sweat pouring down my face when I decided that I needed a mission statement. Not just for my work, but also for my life. Most importantly, I wanted my mission in work to reflect my mission in life. Since, of course, my family comes first, I knew that I would not be heading over to Africa in the Peace Corps any time soon. And why should I? We have people right here in Live Oak that need as much help as the people I met in Morocco. I also knew that I didn't just want to help people. I wanted to enjoy my life too. So there you have it: My personal and professional mission statement is to enjoy life and help others to enjoy their lives. For my customers, I'll be adding a lot more information to The Gourmet Gardener website. I'll do everything that I can think of to make your gardening experience more pleasant. Locally, I intend to start assisting with the community garden that my good friend Barbara Gill has spent so many hours getting started at our Primary School. And there will be more coming! Let me know how I can make your life more enjoyable.

May 26, 2005 I harvested the first cutflower crop of the season this week. The sunflowers (gold and red), along with lilies and wild oats look beautiful. They are so pretty that I have to remind myself to sell them! Beetles have taken a big chunk of my sunflower profits this year. I grow organically since the well for my family is downhill from my fields. My boys and I are on "beetle patrol" each morning. Rhett, my 11 year old, is a naturalist and is normally opposed to killing anything -- including bugs. But by the end of our first day, he flatly stated "kill 'em. There are thousands of them." Thank goodness because relocating that many beetles was going to be a difficult task. Where would we take them? I can't think of anyone that I dislike enough to dump beetles on their property in the middle of the night. So now they've all gone to beetle heaven, but their offspring still outnumber me and I'll be going out to wage more war this morning.

I've been thinking that there are not a lot of T-Shirts for gardeners available. These might help me with sales through the summer months. What do you think? If you have any ideas, please email! T-Shirt Suggestions May 9, 2005 It's a sunny day in Florida. The birds are singing and my dogs are waiting patiently at the back of my van because they suspect that I'll take them on a hike. Who could resist on a day like today? Today I'm going to look at some land with highway frontage that is for lease. I'm hoping that my cut flowers will sell themselves if they are more visible. The sunflowers that I planted in March are blooming now. I'll be making my rounds to the florists and farmers markets this week. There is never any trouble selling them, but it is a lot of work! With highway frontage, I think I'll sell out before the first flower is ever cut. Herb sales are big this week as well as lavender and strawberries - all good choices for Mother's Day. I'm mailing my own tomatoes this week for the first time (instead of drop-shipping.) I've spent a lot of time devising what I hope will be the perfect shipping container. The unseasonably cool weather has slowed growth a little, but the plants look very healthy. It's been a long time since I have felt this excited about my company. I don't want to get complacent, but things seem to be falling into place and I feel like we are starting to bloom! May 1, 2005 More rain! I planted 350 sunflowers last night in my cut-flower garden. The rain waited until I finished. How nice! The Cerise Queen Achillea are now blooming. They will be nice in Mother's Day bouquets. I intend to sell these cut-flowers locally, but will happily mail to any online customers who like to make their own bouquets. Just email the quantity that you need and I'll work up a price for you. Cut Flowers April 27, 2005Good Morning Gourmet Gardeners everywhere. It's been raining everyday in Florida this week. For me, that requires a daily move of my seedlings from a screened enclosure to shelter from the moisture. I don't complain about the rain, though. I'm always happy to avoid a season of forest fires. I've got the plant moving procedure down to an art now. Moving several hundred plants takes me just a few minutes. Today, I'm transplanting Cinnamon Basil plants and filling orders. Seed orders are up this week so I'll be packing a lot of lettuce, basil, and tomato collections. I'm especially happy that customers are noticing our tomato selection. Grocery store tomatoes are tasteless and, surprisingly, most of the tomato plant varieties are not much better. Consumers often don't realize that most tomatoes are grown for shelflife instead of flavor. I'm not sure why someone would go through the work of growing bland, mushy tomatoes when it requires no more work to grow gourmet varieties. By the way, I'm always happy to test new varieties! If you recommend a variety that I don't yet carry, please email me! Variety Suggestions April 25, 2005 Bon Jardin! Tomato sales are taking off this week -- especially our European Heirloom varieties. Here's a tip. Start tomato seeds in 3" pots instead of the small "cells" that fit forty+ seeds to a tray. I did a little experiment and found that seedlings started in larger pots grew much faster than those in the smaller cells. In the past, I've started them in smaller cells to save space, but when the time has come to transplant, I've had to find space for the bigger pots anyway. Starting the plants in larger pots also saves me time as I don't have to transplant to larger pots before mailing. And, of course, transplanting can be stressful on the plants so the less, the better. Today, I'm preparing plants to mail. All garden companies seem to have their own "patented" system for packaging plants. This is our first year of sending out plants instead of drop-shipping so I've been experimenting with different methods. My family and friends are happy to receive the plants that I'm mailing them as part of my package testing! Plant packaging is just one example of the many unforseen details involved in running a business. I've had many conversations with people interested in going into business for themselves. They usually talk about having one company drop-ship and another do the marketing etc. If only it were so easy! The truth is, it's hard to find dropshippers who will maintain the quality standards that you set for your company. And it's expensive to hire marketing firms. At this stage, we believe that businesses are best started from scratch, with little investment. Mistakes should be made when a business is small and other people's money is not weighing heavy on your mind. Then, gradually, you'll find a model that works (and it probably won't be the one you expect to work) and customers will start spreading the word about your fabulous business. Well-that is how things have evolved for us anyway...I'm sure other people have done it differently. I will say that sticking it out year after year until we find that perfect business model is stressful, but also very rewarding. Confidence grows like the perennials in my garden. Season after season I live through periods of drought, pestilence (ok, so my competitors aren't all that pesty), and completely unexpected problems (when folks didn't want to buy anything "french" for example) and still manage to hang on to the belief that the quality of our service and products will pull us through. And here we are -- blossoming! April 22, 2005 Hello Fellow Gardeners, Today is the first day of blogging for www.gourmetgardener.com . I think that it will be a great avenue for providing current gardening information. We'll also use it to share stories on growing this little business. The business stories might be interesting for those of you who are interested in turning your passion into a business. Today my big gardening activity is transplanting Sweet Basil. Since we started selling our plants on Amazon.com, we've seen a big increase in orders for herbs, especially basil. I have several hundred basil seeds planted and they are all smiling at me as I walk past them in the morning as if to say "is today our day? " (My husband says that he grows a little concerned when I not only talk to my plants, but also imagine that they are talking to me!) So I've gathered up my peat pots, filled them with a mix of peat, vermiculite, and perlite, and started transplanting. Basil is very resilient. You shouldn't have much trouble transplanting it at the seedling stage if you are careful not to pull the plants by the stem. I run a tongue depressor down the side of the cell that is furthest away from the plant and then gently push it toward the bottom of the plant. I raise the wedge of soil with the depressor and gently pop the plants out. If I feel any resistance from the roots on the way, I start over, making sure to dig the depressor down deeper. It is a time consuming process, but I have good success so I'm a little resistant to trying a different method. Having already made a hole in the new soil, I am able to lower the depressor into the new pot and gently slide the plant into the hole. Using the tongue depressor almost completely eliminates handling the seedlings by the stems, roots, or leaves. After patting down the soil around the seedlings, I wet the soil down well to eliminate any air pockets. You will see your seedlings double in size after just a week in a larger pot. Because Basil loves warm weather, I usually start it in a screened enclosure by my pool. Today I will have to move all the seedlings onto my patio, though, as we are expecting violent weather and a cold front. (I suppose we should call it a cool front as I know my Northern readers scoff at what Floridians call cold!) From the business end, I am working on brochures for publishers today. Being a small business, I'm dependent on getting free press from horticulture and cooking magazines. Catalogs are too expensive to produce and mail right now, so we are sending out brochures in hopes that publishers will visit our website. Thanks for reading our first blog. I will be on the look-out for interesting tid-bits to add each day.

Sincerely,

Barbara M Barker

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