March Newsletter from Garden Chick!

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt"
- Margaret Atwood

Saturday, March 24th 2007
What a wonderful way to usher in Spring here in North Georgia. The weather for the last few days has been in the 70's and the high for today? 82! Is it obvious yet? I hate cold weather. I know this is unusual and it WILL get cool again before I can do any serious planting, but I am going to enjoy it for now. Just because it is not planting time for warm weather vegetables and annuals, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do in the garden.

The vegetable garden has been turned over for the third time to loosen the soil and ready it for the garden. Potatoes and onions have been planted, and in the next few weeks I will pick up a truck load of compost to side-dress any plants that are purchased for planting.

Yesterday I picked up 20 bags of pine mulch to place in garden beds and around plants. The young man at K-mart insisted 20 bags of mulch would not fit in the back of my Mitsubishi Montero, but he obviously didn't know how much junk I have packed in the back of that SUV before! It fit, and I refrained from saying I told you so.

The chickweed has taken over many of my garden beds, and tomorrow will be spent pulling this up and putting down mulch. Some of the chickweed will be infused in olive oil. (More about this next month).

Garden Activities for March and April may include

depending on where you live

• Sow vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collards, eggplant, lettuce, peppers, pumpkins, squash, spinach, and tomatoes, in flats.

• Beets, collards, chard, turnips, potatoes (including sweet potatoes), parsnips, peas, and mustard, are some of the vegetables that can be sown direct, and if you have plants large enough that you have sown earlier, or purchased from the nursery, you can transplant directly. These would include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage cauliflower, collards, leeks and lettuce. Many of these plants have been outside at the nursery, and won't need to be hardened off.

• Plant fruit trees and berries, grapes, asparagus, roses, and some perennial flowers now. Ask your garden center the best varieties for planting in your zone.

• Sew perennials in flats for later transplanting.

• Fertilize your berries, grapes, and asparagus.

• Remove the mulch from around your plants as the weather warms up

• Dig organic matter into your beds

• Divide crowed perennials and replant. This is a great way to save money and expand your gardens. Have a plant swap with friends.

• In April, you can sow a number of annuals in flats for May planting.

• Harden off any seedlings you may have planted early, by gradually setting them outside for longer periods of time.

If there is anything I like as much as gardening it is junking. Flea markets, yard sales, auctions, and especially other people's side of the road giveaways, have helped fill my shed and now threaten the basement. I am honestly looking at renting a storage unit. A number of these items are refurbished and taken to the garden shows I attend. My husband no longer looks at it and asks what was I thinking? This "garden junk" is almost always the first to go, and he is always amazed at what people pay. I still haven't been able to get him to pull over on the side of the road and pick things up yet, but I'm working on it. I am lucky to have several friends who are veteran junkies. Carol and I have a trip planned to the Summerville Flea Market the first week of April. Read how Carol uses some of her "found treasures" in her booth at the Galleries on Gordon in Chickamauga. Her journal entries can be found at www.ourreddoor.blogspot.com

Here are a few pictures of my latest "finds". Next month, I will show you what I did with them, and we'll see if they will sell at the Williamson County Master Gardener Show I am attending April 13-15.

Garden Glider: Cost: $62.00 at the Galleries on Gordon in Chickamauga.

Motel Chair: Found on the side of the road. Cost: Free plus a few strange looks, and a couple of horn blowers.

Rusted Ice Cream Cans: $5.00 each at Knitting Mill Antiques in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dent de Lion: "tooth of the lion"

For those of you in quest of the perfect lawn, you may want to skip this praise of the lowly dandelion. Did you know that the dandelion is actually grown commercially in the United States and Europe? Their roots and leaves are used for herbal supplements. The next time your neighbor suggest a way to get rid of those pesky dandelions, just tell them you are supplementing your income. Offer them the leaves telling them what a great source of vitamin A they are and that they rich in potassium. They also contain a fair amount of vitamin D, vitamin C, various B vitamins, iron, silicon, magnesium, zinc, and manganese.

Rethinking that lawn treatment yet? Well here's more to convince you. For centuries, dandelion has been used stimulate the kidneys to produce urine (diuretic), and the liver to produce bile. Congestive heart failure, heartburn, liver ailments, gall stones, and jaundice were all treated with dandelion. Check with your health care provider and an herbalist before you embark on any medical treatment using dandelions.

Do something a little different for your next garden party, or outdoor celebration. Check out Peter Gail's book, The Dandelion Celebration. It includes some of the world's best recipes for dandelion greens, flowers and roots. Peter Gail, a colleague of the late Euell Gibbons, collected the recipes over a twenty-year period from friends, colleagues and students. The recipes cover everything from soups and casserole to ice cream and wine.
http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/wildflowers_store/dandelions.htm

On Peter Gail's other website www.edibleweeds, you can find recipes from the Dandelion Cook-Off.
Here is the First Place Winner.

Millennium Dandelion Salad in a Potato Bowl
Gail Harshbarger, Akron, OH

6 large potatoes
4 c. dandelion greens, chopped
12 strips of bacon, fried, drained, and chopped
1/3 c. green onion, chopped
1/3 c. red pepper, chopped
1 c. honey mustard dressing
1/2 t. Mrs. Dash seasoning
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. cheese, grated

Bake potatoes in microwave for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Let cool and cut in half. Score potato, not cutting through skin, then scoop out insides with spoon.

Mix together the dandelion greens, bacon, green onion, and red pepper. In a separate bowl, mix together the honey mustard dressing, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and red vinegar.

Put both mixtures together with the potato chunks and toss gently. Spoon complete mixture into the potato skins, arrange and garnish with cheese.

Makes 12 servings.

As a southern girl, I can tell you anything with 12 strips of fried bacon HAS to be good.

This dandelion jelly recipe comes from LaDonna. Log on to her blog at: www.gracioushospitality.blogspot.com

Dandelion Jelly
4 cups of fresh dandelion blossoms
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
5 1/2 cups Florida Crystals (unbleached, vegan sugar)
1 3/4 oz. powdered pectin

In a stainless steel saucepan, boil the blossoms in 2 quarts of water for 4 - 5 minutes. Cool and strain, using care when pressing the liquid out of the flowers. Measure three cups of the liquid and place into a kettle. Add lemon juice and pectin. Bring this mixture to a boil. Add the Florida Crystals (sugar) and stir until dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to mixture boils gently and stir for 2 1/2 minutes more. Remove from heat and pour jelly into jelly glasses. Seal with paraffin or cap with canning lids and water-bath until sealed.

*I haven't checked with LaDonna, but you could probably use regular sugar as well.

What's New?

I have added a couple of new products to the website and I hope you like them.

Dress for Success: Wear your passion proudly. The "Play in The Dirt" garden t-shirts, hats and totes were a great success at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show in March. In fact, I had to come back and reorder for the website. Pair these items with my Gardener's Hand Soap and Can You Dig It Hand Therapy and you have a great birthday present or housewarming gift for your favorite gardener.

Mackenzie's Garden: These kits were named after my first granddaughter, Mackenzie, who is now three. These will make great Easter Gifts, Birthday Party Favors, Birthday Gifts, and help cultivate a love of gardening for kids.

Pitch Your Product!

I am proud to say, I was chosen by Country Living Magazines, "Pitch Your Product" panel to present these to the staff of Country Living as a possible product to receive recognition in a future magazine article. Along with about 75 other women who were chosen, we presented our products and will know in June if we were picked. Please cross your fingers, toes, and eyes, and wish me luck that these will be chosen. I also want to wish great success to all of the other presenters. There were a lot of talented women there.

Upcoming Events

If you are in the Nashville area, please come by and see me at the Williamson County Master Gardener Show April 13-15. You can get more information at www.wcmga.net.

Until next time,
Let's Keep Growing!
- Karen