Amazingness.

You know what's amazing? Good people. Well, duh. But seriously. I just finished instant messaging with a sweet lady in Pennsylvania whom I 'met' online on Gardenweb a couple or three years ago...maybe more. We catch up with each other a few times a year. She also happens to be a nun, the only nun I know, and shares the same somewhat unusual first name with me, which led to our initial conversations. We've exchanged various tomato cultivars and other seeds through the mail, and she just told me about a brand new open-pollinated variety that she is helping to test...and she is sending me some seeds! I am so excited! I didn't know what new varieties I wanted to try this year. Now I'll have one, and a very special one at that. It's called Anna Indiana and is a pink potato leaf type. She didn't even want anything in exchange. How generous is that? 

You know what else is amazing? Saving money and reusing stuff. I expect you'll find that to be a regular theme of my blog as time goes on. I love to garden, and even more, I love to spend as close to zero dollars doing it as possible...it's almost half the fun, for me. Today's little tip is how to make your own plant markers. If you're like me and you are loathe to throw any type of reusable container away, you'll like this. I do most of my grocery shopping at the local co-op, which means I can reuse containers for most of what I buy on a regular basis. Some things I still have to buy in plastic containers, though, such as yogurt. I go through a fair amount of yogurt, so I have many of the quart size plastic containers saved up.

To make terrific, sturdy plant labels, cut the top inch or so of the container off. Cut straight down the side, then turn the scissors and cut all around the bottom. Put the cut off parts in the recycling bin, of course...I have not yet found a use for them, but maybe you can. Then, take the remaining middle section and cut strips from top to bottom, about 3/4" wide. Make them just slightly wider at the top end, to accommodate the curve of the container. Once the strips are cut, very little curvature remains; they're pretty flat. I get about sixteen of them from a quart size yogurt container, and they are the perfect length. 

Zoomed out view showing many saved containers in the bin

And a bit closer view

You can see how bright white the inside of the container is, perfect for easily visible garden markers. Write your cultivar name on one end with a Sharpie (I use the laundry marking type because it's the one I have on hand, and maybe it's a little more waterproof?), and sink the other end into your container or seed starting cell. These markers make it through the garden season just fine. If you want to reuse them another season, the ink can probably be wiped off with rubbing alcohol...although I haven't tried that yet. ღ

Let there be...my first blog.

And it begins.

My 2009 garden, that is. Today I planted three types of eggplants: six Ping Tung from Taiwan, six Rosa Bianca from Italy, and my one remaining Fairy Tale hybrid seed. They should have been started a couple of weeks ago, but things happen. I'm sure they won't hold it against me. That's the thing about plants...but I digress. I also planted twelve cells of cauliflower 'Amazing' hybrid. They're all on the southern exposure window sill for now, until the heat from the sun germinates them. Then it's under the grow lights they go. 

I was happy to find seed starting flats at WalMart for $1 each, consisting of two 12-cell units and two drip trays per package. SO much more convenient that the big old rectangular 72-cell flats. This way I can easily separate varieties and vary their position under the lights as some grow taller than others more quickly, keeping the light at the optimal level for each. I am philosophically opposed to shopping at WalMart, but nobody's perfect...

Here is my first picture, to go along with my first blog post...enjoy. I'm off to plant more stuff. ღ