RAIN! BLESSED RAIN!

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A break in the storm-views from the house

Well, it rained a little last night and a little today and boy we sure need it. Ahhh! It smells so good. I opened the windows to breathe it in! We haven’t had rain for 60 days and it is dry, dry, dry. We are starved for moisture here in the Southwest while the Northwest has been getting soaked. That’s La Nina for you. The jet stream goes north and the storms miss us here in Santa Fe.

La Nina “continues to weaken,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said and neutral conditions for the U.S. are in sight by the end of June.

“As La Nina continues to wane, we can expect that rainfall over the drought regions of the southern U.S. will gradually return to normal levels by mid-summer,” said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and co-founder of Weather Underground.

I sure hope these forecasts of La Nina breaking down are true so we can get more rain, otherwise we will have a tough summer gardenwise and waterwise…

2010 veggie list

Jan19

Here is my list of veggies I will grow this year for food.

2010 VEGGIE LIST

BEANS-Rattlesnake and Tavera

PEPPER-Shishito

SUMMER SQUASH-ZUCCHINI-Costata Romanesco and Lungo Bianco

SUMMER SQUASH-SCALLOPED-Yellow Custard and Bennings Green Tint

WINTER SQUASH-Marina di Chioggia and Galeux d’Eyesines

EGGPLANT-Little Fairys

CUCUMBERS-Parisian, Boothsby Blonde, Poona Kera, and Parade

CORN-not sure of variety yet

LETTUCES-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Provencal Mix, Mesclun Mix, Buttercrunch, Yugoslavian Red, Santoro Lettuce, and Little Gem

SPINACH-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Indian Summer and Double Choice

CARROTS-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Kaleidoscope (mix of red, purple, orange and yellow)

BROCOLLI-Brocolli Romanesco

ARUGULA-Apollo

BOK CHOY-Extra Dwarf Pak Choy

CHARD-5 Color Silverbeet

PEAS-DWARF SUGAR, OREGON SPRING II

Hello fellow gardeners!

Jan10

Welcome to a new year and to my first blog on growing vegetables and particularly giant vegetables! I wish to share with you what I have learned during my attempts and trials of growing many veggies through 25 years and to share this year’s season as it unfolds.

First I am an organic grower. So I will be sharing my knowledge from that point of view. I don’t believe in spraying for bugs with poisons or fertilizing with chemicals that kill the soil. I don’t believe in GMO seeds and try to grow heirloom varieties as much as possible but do also grow some hybrids.

So enuf! Let’s get down to talking about growing stuff! What can you or I do in winter? Prepare for the next season! Get catalogs, order seeds, prepare the soil just to name a few things. So far I went on line and got my catalogs. Ah, they feed my soul while it is cold and snowing outside. I love going over them by the fireplace, dreaming of what I might try to grow this year…