Garden Fuss

Tat Tsoi sprouting 2012 2012 Vegetable/Flower Seedlings My mini hoop/green house With their little new leaves just beginning to poke through the surface is Tat Soi, Cabbage, Zinnia, Marigold and two types of Romaine lettuce. I am so super excited by this sighting I had to share it a.s.a.p.. It's been less than two weeks (... if that) since I started my winter/spring sowing and erected my mini hoop greenhouse. These are the first signs of life by seed for our 2012 flower/vegetable garden. Looking very closely I can see that the cucumber and squash will soon begin to germinate. *not pictured*

This early spring has had me on my toes and a little stressed about possibly missing the planting markers for this growing season. I've started sowing seeds and have them tucked into my little green house due to the crazy weather shifts; However, I know it's still April for one more week but the blooms on my lilac bush and my tulip and daffodil are starting to pop. I've read that by the time lilac blooms fade it is time to start planting summer veggies of which I have non to plant... yet! I'm a little bummed that some of my tulips are already beginning to fade. The barren stems in the front of the house compelled me to race into the back today to grab a few of the remaining tulips and a dusty vase for a spring display. I wish you could smell the lilac via internet because this scent has really helped my mood. For some reason it seems very strong this year so I'm not going to over do it by putting blooms in every room. I may put some in the bathroom though. That...

I don't know how I haven't posted about Pham's Deli before today. Pham's is located in the Midtown Global Market or where we Minneapolis'ans call "The old Sears Building". When ever the little man in the family says sweet chicken we get our sesame chicken fix on at Pham's in Midtown. Pham's seems to stay busy Especially when it's lunch time... So we prefer going as soon as they open because it can get packed pretty quickly. No matter what you will get delicious hot food for unbelievably reasonable prices. Don't let me forget to mention my Pham's weakness, Bubble Tea. If you are in search of amazing bubble tea in a variety of flavors [green tea, red bean, mango, banana, chai tea, papaya, honey dew, taro, strawberry, almond, coffee, I'm sure there is more] be sure to stop here. I've always been a tapioca freak and at Pham's you have the choice of pearls or no pearls. I always get the pearls because that's just who ...

It seems like I've had no time to get my seeds started until today. It may have been the cold then warm then hot, then cold again weather.... The gray skies, countless chores, and errands have no doubt played their part as well. In spite of all this I have successfully winter sown cucumber, red and green romaine, zinnias, marigolds, winter squash, tomatoes [stupice, chocolate cherry, yellow pear], red noodle longbeans, summer squash, lima beans, halogen melon, tat tsoi, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things.... So in other words I am a busy bee who has no time for spell check but will work on this blog posting later...[or not]

Happy Planting! UPDATE: So I have managed to come back and do some spell checking and to provide some additional information for you about my whole 2012 seed starting journey. As you can see from the previous pictures I have chosen for the second year in a row to use Organic Mechanics seed starter . This organic blend contains so many goodi...

When you've braved the multitude of stairs at Minnehaha Falls to make it down to the creek... Just remember you have to get back up to the top some how some way.

 Once your lungs have inflated and deflated rapidly for what will seem like several minutes whilst you recover... head on over to Sea Salt seafood eatery for a nummy Po'Boy to help speed up your recovery. I must admit that I was not so impressed last year when I first tried the eatery. However, that is probably due to EXTREME heat, crabby kids, and the fact that my appetite had not recovered from a recent procedure I'd had due to my Myositis. Bad form on my part because this sandwich today is Slammin! [I usually hate fish]. I wax on and off about the falls a whole lot because it's just a great place to go alone or with friends, and definitely with family (4 legged members included). 
You may have to dodge several bicyclists and other pedestrians with and without dogs to make your way to the sights a...

Today I figured why let the guinea pig have all the fun eating the crunchy carrots? That and a copy of a Martha Stewart magazine was the impetus for this creation. It doesn't hurt to have kids and a hubby who have been very sweet deprived of late. After doing some research on moist carrot cakes I found several recipes containing pineapple. The recipe I used today not only had pineapple it also contains yogurt which I used to cut some of the fat out of the dessert. This is the perfect spring treat for us and I wish I would have thought of it sooner.

What an awesome sunny day to distribute information and seeds to my fellow local food resource hub participants ! Thanks to the hardworking people at Gardening Matters this event was more than a success today. I have been meaning to write more about this organization since participating in their fundraiser a month ago at Powderhorn Park . For those who are not familiar with a food resource hub I urge you to visit www.gardeningmatters.org and click on the link for Resource Hubs under the Projects header. There you will find in the description that a hub is made up of City Residents who have networked together to build a larger gardening community.  I love this idea because it is a great way to find that we ALL have things in common and working together with shared knowledge towards common goals is a recipe for success. My personal goals are to have access to the healthiest foods right outside my doorstep, meeting like minded individuals and families, broadening my gardening rep...