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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Thanks everyone.  I will give it a shot.

Yesterday, DH made me a nice 4 ft plant stand out of scrap wood.  It is
about 5 ft tall, and currently has two shelves, but will eventually have
4 or 5.  Currently, it has one light with 2 grow bulbs for plants.  We
bought one, but the fixture died so we will be taking it back and right
now we are just using the shop light we already had.  With time and
funds, we will add shelves and lights so by mid summer, I should be able
to grow 8 flats of plants under lights, not that I would really need the
light in midsummer, but that is when I will be doing some major seed
sowing again.  In the off season, I will use the stand for nursing
African violets(I love them, but they need more light than I can easily
provide) and for storage.
Anyway, I put the flats of cole crops under the lights and they look
much better. The first true leaves are just starting to develop on some
of the plants.  On Superbowl Sunday, DH just couldn't wait and planted a
sweet mesclun mix of greens in a large container. That, too, has now
sprouted and is growing.  There is no sign of germination on my peppers
and tomatoes yet, but it's only been 3 days.  I've also sowed a few
herbs, namely lavender, rue, marigolds, Valerian, parsley, sage, and borage.

I'm excited about getting cranberries from Gurneys.  I hope they do well
and moreso, I hope I can propagate more plants from stem cuttings.  If I
planted my entire garden space in cranberries, I still don't think that
would provide enough juice for me...lol

The other big gardening project in progress that I haven't mentioned yet
is a semi-formal herb/potager garden.  This garden will be right outside
the back door as tradition demands and will primarily be a culinary
garden, but will also contain some tea and medicinal herbs like yarrow
and echinacea for color and interest.  The space we will use is rather
hemmed in and hard to mow-well suited for a change of use and it is
sunny, well drained spot. The only thing is that it will necessitate
that we use another path to the back door with the wheelbarrow full of
wood.  I may also grow some garlic and maybe even a tomato or two in
there..The area is about 14x10 and will contain 4 rectangular beds, 18"
wide rock footpath dividers, and the beds themselves with be framed with
either logs or landscape timbers. All 4 beds would be assessable from
the outside with wheelbarrow, so the narrow interior path width should
be okay.
We've already started building it.  Yesterday, we chipped out part of
the existing walkway so that we might better align the garden with the
house. It will look something like this:
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardendesignplans/ig/Formal-Herb-Garden-Design/Laying-Out-and-Herb-Garden.htm
but the beds will be more rectangular than L shaped.  Each bed will be
approximately 17 square feet.    The Gurney's French tarragon is for
this bed.


Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:
> I order from Gurney's quite often. I did the $25 off thing, too. I
> ordered a bunch of seed and got a Lapin Cherry tree for free. Their
> plants aren't the highest quality (they sometimes have them shipped
> from a 3rd party), but the price usually makes it worth it. If some
> of the plants die (and they WILL replace them), it's still cheaper
> than anywhere else. I can experiment with things I couldn't otherwise
> afford.
>
> Lynn Wigglesworth Tioga Co. PA ----- Original Message ----- From:
> "Cathy" <goosecreekfarm AT gmail.com> To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org> 
> Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 9:57 AM Subject: Re: [Homestead]
> Opinions wanted-Gurney's
>
>
> > Let me chime in here a bit late with a thumbs up for Gurneys.  They
> >  honored their guarantee twice for me--gooseberry and blueberry
> > plants.  Second try was a charm for both.
> >
> > Cathy
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 6:24 PM, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I have heard good and bad reviews from Gurneys.
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--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge