So what if it's January!

It is true, normally the ugliest part of our winter weather hits us here in the Pacific Northwest from the middle of January until the middle of February. It's usually one heavy rainstorm after another supplemented with the occasional snow storm and maybe a hard freeze or two. But not this winter. This winter, we're saying, "So what if it's January!" Unable to resist the lovely view of the islands behind Bellingham Bay from the coffee shop at the park, for the second afternoon in a row, with my Golden Retriever Torrie, we found ourselves out enjoying the trails around Boulevard Park, Taylor Dock and Fairhaven.
Knowing that soon enough these vines would be sprouting back to life, I thought they looked extra strong as they basked in the January sun.

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More "So What if it's January" pics.

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And tomorrow, we'll tackle King Mountain.

Save 40% on Garden Seeds

My feet make squishy sounds when I walk on the wood-chip covered pathway between the raised beds at my Happy Valley Community Garden spot. It's only January, and even though it was pushing 60 degrees today, I know that winter is far from over around here so tomorrow could be a totally different story. It's way too early to plant anything outside, but it did seem an appropriate time to inventory my seed stash, update my seeds inventory spreadsheet and give some serious thought as to what I want to plant, when and where for the upcoming 2010 gardening season.Last year I created an Excel workbook with a spreadsheet to track my seeds inventory, another to tally my gardening costs and one for diagraming the layout of my garden. This worked out very well for me, but I found that when I set up my seeds inventory spreadsheet, I had included a few columns that had perhaps sounded good at the time, but in reality turned out to be not particularly useful. There was also other data that, looking back, I had wished that I had tracked - like the quantities of fruits, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers I had harvested, and their approximate values at the local Farmer's Market or organic farm stands. So, not only did I end up inventorying and oganizing my seed stash, I made some major changes to my original spreadsheet.

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I also began sketching out drafts of my garden spaces so I could start creating the planting diagrams to use for my two 10' X 40' garden spaces.
After completing my seed stash inventory, I drafted a list of the additional seeds and plants I would need to purchase this year, and clipped this coupon from the Fred Meyer weekly ads in anticipation of saving a little money on my seed purchases.
Ed Hume has the reputation of being one of the highest regarded garden experts here in the Pacific Northwest, so I certainly trust the quality of their seeds. Saving 40 percent sounded good to me too, so here is the list of Ed Hume and Lilly Miller seeds I purchased using the coupon:

• Summer Squash - Crookneck (Hybrid Bush), Scallop Bush Mix (Summer Pattypan Types) and Yellow Zucchini (49er Hybrid Bush)
• Cucumbers - Muncher (Tender and Burpless), SMR-8 (Pickling Variety), Marketmore 76 (slicing), Armenian (Cucumis Melo) and Lemon (Cucumis Sativus)
• Beans - Rattlesnake Snap (Pole), Stringless Horticultural Beans (Horto Semi-Bush) and Lima (Burpee Bush)
• Parsnips - Andover
• Bok Choy
• Leeks - Giant Musselburg
• Peas - Oregon Giant Snow Peas and Oregon Sugar Pod II
• Egg Plant - Long purple
• Sweet Corn - Peaches & Cream (Hybrid SE Bicolor)
• Sweet Peas - Royal Family Mixture (Climbing Variety)

Wanting to grow soy beans last year in my garden but after forgetting to include them in my 2009 seed order and unsuccessful at finding any available locally, when I saw packs of soy beans on the New Dimension Seeds rack, in addition to the Ed Hume and Lilly Miller seeds I bought, I also purchased two packs of Sweet Sansei Soy Beans (Edamame).
Not usually big on "gadgets", I did buy this Mini-Seedmaster too. It seems that year after year, I over plant row after row of those tiny seeded vegetables - like lettuce, carrots, parsnips, etc. Then, I always end up having to do some serious thinning. I have considered making my own seed tapes using this method - Best-Ever Seed Tape - as a solution, but I just never seem to get around to making up all those seed tapes. Having seen these Mini-Seedmaster gadgets in almost every seed catalog I have ever received and have thought that perhaps I should buy one, here it is, my impulse buy of the season.My new Mini-Seedmaster promises to make "planting small seeds easier and faster." The packaging goes on to say, "With the help of the Mini-Seedmaster, you can accurately and easily plant the smallest of seeds," and that it "Helps prevent seed waste while eliminating the need for thinning." Is this just a marketing ploy? Has anyone ever used one of these little gadgets? Do they really work? Or, or did I waste my money?

Free Coffee

Watch for me and other members of the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network (WMMSN) at the northbound Bow Hill rest stop on February 5th, 6th and 7th. Beginning at noon on Friday, February 5th, all day long, all night long, all weekend long, we will be participating in the Washington State Department of Transportation's Free Coffee Program, until well past midnight and on into the wee hours on the 8th. This Free Coffee Program is a public service set up at Safety Rest Areas. The service benefits travelers by offering free coffee and baked goods. Also a great fundraiser for not-for-profit organizations, the WMMSN will benefit by receiving 100% of all donations made by visitors during our free coffee service.

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If you find yourself driving up Interstate 5 that weekend, we would love it if you stopped by to meet our group. We'll offer you a great tasting cup of coffee and some yummy baked goods - for free. We love telling people about some of the stranded harbor seals that we have rescued and sent off for rehabilitation, so do be prepared to hear some heartwarming stories.

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Our donations jar will be on the counter, so if you're so inclined, your donation would be greatly appreciated. Donations help our organization purchase some of the necessary supplies we use when out on a beach in response to a stranded, distressed marine mammal. If you won't be travelling up Interstate 5 the weekend we are hosting the Free Coffee Program but still would like to make a contribution, please contact Mariann, our Principal Investigator, at 360-303-3608, or at pi@wmmsn.org. Thank you, in advance, for your generousity!

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The Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network (WMMSN) is an organization of volunteers that are dedicated to the care of distressed or deceased marine mammals. Under an authority granted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the WMMSN does the following:

• Respond to reports of stranded, distressed or deceased marine mammals.
• Assess the condition of stranded marine mammals and determine how best to help them.
• Prevent human contact and interference with stranded marine mammals to protect both the mammals and the humans.
• In some cases, careful and safe removal of deceased marine mammals.
• Determine why marine mammals died, performing necropsies when necessary.
• Determine if stranded or deceased marine mammals pose a biological threat to humans or other marine life.
• Educate the public about local marine mammals and how best to cohabitate with them.

If you share a love and concern for our local marine mammals, there are many ways you can help as a volunteer. If you would like to find out more about volunteering, please contact me, the Director of Volunteers, at volunteers@wmmsn.org.

Wouldn't it be fun if you stopped by!

Happy Birthday Kriss

The birthday girl . . .

Complete with the best of friends, great food and entertainment, what a fun party it was.

Torrie sure had a great time!

More Garden Space

How does your garden grow this time of year? Mine just doubled in size! Complete with a fallen tree branch, here it is, my second 10' X 40' garden space at the Happy Valley Community Gardens.

Leasing community garden space annually from the City of Bellingham through the Department of Parks & Recreation, last year my garden consisted of two 10' X 20' spaces back to back, making it 10' X 40'. With raised beds and square-foot gardening techinques, I felt it a very successful gardening season. I harvested a lot, ate healthy, organically-grown vegetables and saved a tremendous amount of money on my grocery bill. But, I really wanted more gardening space. I wanted to grow more vegetables, more flowers, maybe even plant more raspberries and blueberries.

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The City's community garden leasing policy generously allows up to four 10' X 20' spaces to be leased per family. The only reason I confined myself to gardening in only two spaces was because that was all the City had available back when my name reached the top of their waiting list. It being a new year and knowing that many gardeners continue their gardens year after year (I fall into that catagory!), I also knew that some would not - especially given the fact that the City raised the price from $18 to $25 per 10' X 20' space for 2010 (still a very reasonable price in my humble opinion!). Since the deadline for continuing gardeners to pay for this year has already come and gone, today on a whim I stopped by the Parks office to see if they had any spaces available. I was in luck, they had several. So, off to the Happy Valley Community Gardens I went, garden map in hand, to check out the available spaces.

I had the entire community gardens to myself as I walked the grounds. Some of the available spaces had more weeds than others, some more rocks, and some were covered almost completely with grass. I finally made my selection, two more back-to-back spaces that looked as if the previous gardeners had done a decent job of clearning it last fall. So, standing there in my new, additional garden spaces, I called the parks office to let them know.

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While I had been thinking that it would have been so lazy convenient if my new garden spaces bordered my existing space. But they don't. My new spots are up the hill and a little way from my established garden. Looks like I'll be getting even more exercise while gardening next season. But, if you know me at all, you'd know that I would like that.