7 Random Things About Me

I have been tagged by Tracy who blogs at Outside in a meme called "7 Random Things About Me". Being picked is a honor, but I usually write about my garden - not about me. So I'm not sure what to write. While I'm thinking, you can read the 7 things Tracy wrote about herself.

Okay, here goes - seven random things:

1. I went through the classes to become certified as a "Master Gardener" back in 1995 through The Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. It was really great even though I was the youngest one in the class by far. As part of the service hours required in the program, I wrote gardening articles for the local newspaper and taught composting seminars at the Gardens Alive retail store in Lawrenceburg Indiana. I was also honored to be employed by Gardens Alive at that time. I worked for them a couple weekends per month as a "product consultant" (okay maybe that was two things).

2. I married my high school sweetheart! We have been married for almost 17 years, but we have been together for 24 years. Pretty cool, huh?

3. My regular job is with a Television Production Company. We make all sorts of videos, commercials and TV related things. At home I watch very little TV.

4. from 2001 to 2005, I almost stopped gardening entirely because I was spending all my free time working in Children's Ministry and performing magic shows for summer camps, vacation bible schools and churches.

5. I can't stand mustard! As a kid, I ate only a few different kinds of food. As an adult, I've learned to like many new foods and flavors. Mustard is NOT one of them and never will be!

6. I have two wonderful daughters age 13 and 10. They are a big help in the garden and on the computer. I teach them things about gardening and they teach me things about the computer!

7. My ultimate dream is to figure out how to make gardening at home my full time thing! Maybe with a combination of market gardening and writing about gardening it could happen, who knows?

Well there you have it - seven totally random things about me. Now comes the part where I am supposed to tag seven other people to participate in "7 random things about me". This too is a hard decision, but these are the people I am tagging:

The first two are the first two blogs that I followed before I began blogging. Because of that, they have become among my very favorites. First is Skippy's Vegetable Garden. Skippy is a dog. the blog is written by his owner. I'll let her decide if she wants to tell things about her or about Skippy. The other blog is Compost Bin by Anthony.

3 and 4 on my list I am picking because they are the closest in the blogosphere to me geographically and they have wonderful blogs. They are Kasmira at Cincinnati Cape Cod and Kerry of Kerry's Garden.

Next are two blogs written by people who have great blogs and seem to me to be very nice. I would like to know more about them. They are Edible Landscaping and Gotta Garden.

Lastly, I am picking Kenny from Veggie Gardening Tips. Kenny doesn't seem to be the meme type to me, but I would love to know more about him. What I already know is that he is a real pro. He knows more about gardening, and specifically organic gardening, than anyone I know.

So to recap my list, I tag:

• Skippy's Vegetable Garden
• Compost Bin
• Cincinnati Cape Cod
• Kerry's Garden
• Edible Landscaping
• Gotta Garden
• Veggie Gardening Tips

If you are one of those people, here are the rules that Tracy wrote in her post:


Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.

Thank you Tracy for including me in your list.

What should a garden blogger write in February?

What should a garden blogger be writing about in February? This is the question I've been asking of myself all month. Of course it depends on a lot of different things, and to me it raises a second question: Why do you even write a garden blog? I'm not exactly sure about my answers to these questions, but I know why I garden and why I started a garden blog. For me, the main reason for gardening is to harvest bountiful produce!

A good way to ensure that I get the maximum harvest possible, is by recording which varieties of vegetables have performed well and which have not. It also helps to record what I as the gardener did to help or hurt the success of the harvest.

I started raising an intense vegetable garden back in the early 1990's when there was no such thing as blogging or the World Wide Web. There WAS such a thing as logging - keeping track of things in written form. Blogging is simply short for Web Logging - keeping track of things in written form via the Web. I "logged" my garden season on paper, sitting at my physical "Garden Desk" in the middle of my vegetable garden. I started this blog entitled Garden Desk to do the same thing as back then, only this time with pictures!

The other difference between a web log and a paper log is that others can read it and even comment on it! Of course you know that already, but isn't that the most interesting thing about blogging? You can actually communicate with and get feedback from other gardeners. Think about it. That is the true power of blogging.

Unfortunately that can also be the thing that distracts you as the author. Can that cause you to get away from your original reason for blogging in the first place? That brings us back to my original questions. Why do I write a garden blog? The real reason for me is what is written under my title; to document the happenings in my organic garden. If I'm able to get some readers interested and they are kind enough to comment on what I'm doing, then all the better. But even if I can't keep readers interested, I STILL should blog to aid in the success of MY garden.

With that in mind, what should I be blogging about in February? I think I should be writing out my strategies for making the upcoming season a success! I should be forming my battle plan, my game plan if you will.

I have come up with a list of "new" things that I plan to do this year to hopefully make the harvest better.

• I will use companion planting strategies.
• I will grow Horse Radish to keep Blister Beetles Away.
• I will build a tall fence around my corn to keep critters out.
• I will use vertical gardening techniques to grow crops on the fence.
• I will use raised beds and square foot garden beds.
• I will use the Florida Stake and Weave for most of my tomatoes.
• I will try to have early tomatoes ripe by July 1st!
• I will grow many new heirloom tomatoes!
• I will use more composting techniques including "worm composting".
• I will try for giant pumpkins.
• I will try some new vegetables and fruits that I haven't grown before.

I'm sure if I thought a little longer, I could come up with more. Wow, I think I just wrote an outline for what I should blog about for the rest of February! I answered my title question.

What about you? Why do you write a garden blog and what do you think we should be blogging about in February? Many people will not read this entire post, so if you actually have, please comment and let us know YOUR thoughts.

Thanks!

Garden Desk

What's better than gardening and writing about it? Nothing! I've always enjoyed gardening. I used to have huge vegetable gardens but haven't for the past few years. I also used to keep a garden journal (on paper) and even wrote a few gardening articles for a local newspaper.

My busy computer-oriented job has kept me from gardening or writing for the past few years, but this year I am back at it! And why not journal it all here in these electronic pages?

I know the growing season is already in full swing. Yes I am a bit behind. Soon I will get organized and visit this blog on a regular basis. Check back soon! Thanks for stopping by!