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Gapeys Grub

Paula Thomas's homestead and food adventures

Category: Gardening

Must Grow Tomatoes

It’s the beginning of March and that is the time I start my tomato seeds. I love trying new varieties every year, but I always grow a few I’ve grown before because they are so good that I just have to grow them again. I will be growing 20 varieties this year and these are… Read More Must Grow Tomatoes

March 5, 2019May 13, 2020 gapey4 Comments

Tomato and Pepper Varieties 2017

For the past couple of years I have been blogging about the tomato and pepper varieties I’m growing for the year and every year I seem to grow a little more of them.  Last year it was 22 tomato varieties and 12 pepper varieties. This year I’m also doing 22 tomato varieties but will be… Read More Tomato and Pepper Varieties 2017

March 17, 2017May 13, 2020 gapeyLeave a comment

Best Fruit and Vegetable Varieties to Grow

I have been growing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in the garden the past couple of years and have a few favorites I wanted to write about that I’ll definitely grow again and think you should try too. Garlic I prefer the hard neck varieties of garlic because I enjoy the garlic scapes… Read More Best Fruit and Vegetable Varieties to Grow

December 30, 2016May 13, 2020 gapey1 Comment

Tomato and Pepper Varieties 2016

An assortment of last year’s varieties (Dester & Latah not pictured) I’m growing more varieties of tomatoes than I did last year as if 15 wasn’t enough. I’ve got 22 varieties started. I’ll just be putting one plant of each in the garden but have started 3 of each and will be selling off the… Read More Tomato and Pepper Varieties 2016

March 4, 2016May 13, 2020 gapey1 Comment

Seed Swaps – Free Seeds

I’ve become addicted to seed swaps over the course of a year. There are so many different ways you can get seeds besides buying packets online or at your local big box stores. I can’t even count the number of seed swaps I’ve participated in the last year. I’m sure it’s over 20. I should… Read More Seed Swaps – Free Seeds

February 9, 2016May 14, 2020 gapeyLeave a comment

2015 Bean Varieties

I’ve never grown beans from seed before but harvested what was already planted by previous owners last summer. I don’t even know what variety they were but they were obviously a pole bean and had nothing to climb on which made it a challenge to harvest. I didn’t save any of the seeds because I… Read More 2015 Bean Varieties

June 2, 2015May 14, 2020 gapeyLeave a comment

This Year’s Lettuce Varieties

In addition to planting a bunch of tomato and kale varieties, I’ve also planted quite a few lettuces (7 of them) and they are just about ready to harvest. There are a few more varieties I will be starting soon to replace these after harvesting. I had originally planned to put the lettuce in the… Read More This Year’s Lettuce Varieties

April 23, 2015May 14, 2020 gapeyLeave a comment

Backyard Garden

This is my first year planning and planting a garden that is big enough to actually require detailed planning. I gotta say it’s kind of fun. My parents always had a garden in the backyard but the majority of it was filled with tomatoes and peppers and not much greens of any kind.  I also… Read More Backyard Garden

March 4, 2015May 14, 2020 gapeyLeave a comment

Garden Compass App

It’s been a busy few months! I unexpectedly sold my house to my neighbor’s sister and managed, within a couple of months, to find a newer bigger and better home that’s 15 minutes closer to work. It was a little more than I originally planned to spend but still affordable. I had an awesome realtor… Read More Garden Compass App

August 27, 2014May 14, 2020 gapey1 Comment

How I got into IFBC 2010

IFBC 2010 is the 2nd Annual International Food Blogger Conference organized by Foodista and has a host of other sponsors including Sur La Table and POM Wonderful. I didn’t know I was going to IFBC until Friday, the first day it started, though I would only be attending for one day. I remembered several months… Read More How I got into IFBC 2010

September 1, 2010May 14, 2020 gapey5 Comments

Instagram

Today is #worldbeeday! The bumbles love the blueberry blossoms much more than the honeybees. It’s good to have a diversity in the garden as not all bees like the same flowers.
Most of you have seen my pepper in a can posts but this year I’m adding tomatoes in a can. The canary yellow just sprouted in the @rogueales Honey Kolsch can. Let’s see how this goes.
The peony patch is full of flower buds and this Firelight Peony from @gilberthwild is the first to bloom.
Planted a bunch of the sweet alyssums I grew from seeds in our new garden bed along the chicken run. I’m still deciding what else to plant with it. Maybe more flowers and perhaps the sesame.
We have a new retractable hose for the backyard thanks to @giraffetools! This guy is a long 100ft and reaches all the way to the back deck where all my garden starts are. I’ll no long leave hoses laying around the yard after watering. 🤣 if you want to see how easy it is to install and use, see my newest video on YT.
So thankful for the greenhouse. Without it, I would not have these babies. I grow the majority of my figs in pots which are stored in a shed during winter. I’ve struggled with in ground figs. I’ve yet to have one over winter successfully without protection. Even desert king that’s the most popular to grow here appears not to have survived. It grew 8 ft tall last year and was looking forward to a big fig crop this year. I’ll keep trying but most will just remain in containers. I’ve added a few more varieties this year. Maybe I’ll do a fig update soon.
Harvested all of the arugula from the greenhouse today cuz it was all bolting. I plan on trying an arugula pesto recipe I just saw today from @thekitchengirl. Now what to do with all the bolting spinach?
Happy #nationalhomebrewday! I’ve been making meads and a few fruit wines for the past several years. I just bottled our first dandelion wine that was started last April and have been recording video of the process and have put it all together into one video which is now up. Have you ever had dandelion wine before? It’s so good!
Those @johnnys_seeds microgreens I posted about are still growing in the raised bed and are actually starting to bolt. Trying to harvest as much as I can before it’s time to rip them out to plant tomatoes and other goodies.
The #pepperinacanchallenge peppers are 1 month old and doing well. We have mini chocolate, Count Dracula and marbles. I have some extra Count Dracula and marbles starts as well as a few other varieties and other veg/flowers if you’re local.
First flower started from seed this year is in the ground. I’ve only ever had white alyssums but got a packet of mixed colored alyssums from @ferrymorseseed and had to plant this pretty colored one in a new garden bed along the chicken run fence. More of these and other flowers will join this one soon.
Today I potted up a few of the fig cuttings I started mid-February. This is how much roots I like to see in the clear cups I start them in before potting up into 2 gallon pots. I started them in a mix of perlite and vermiculite and now they are in @kellogggarden G&B potting mix with some added course perlite.

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