As We Transition to Gardening Indoors
Season 5, Episode 51, November 1, 2023
As the leaves start to turn colors and fall in both of our climates, on this week’s episode, we thought it would be fun to discuss vintage garden accessories, while Carol tells us more about how to grow microgreens. We also found a new book by Marc Hamer, and then we traveled down some pretty deep rabbit holes.
Why don’t you come along?
Once again we discussed my stupid orange tree which I’ve been trying to offload to someone all summer. I am sick of dragging it into the greenhouse, and it gets terrible citrus scale every spring. I’ve only gotten oranges off of it once in six years! I talked my husband, Bill, into putting it into the back of his truck to dump it in our company dumpster. Well, guess what? He took it into his office because he can’t throw anything away.
Sigh. Why don’t we let that go and look at my favorite thing this week, my ‘Sheffield’ mums that are still blooming outside my kitchen door? Have you ever grown this older variety?
After the podcast, I did a little research and found this interesting piece on Garden Rant by Allen Bush. Apparently, no one really knows the name for this mum. From Allen: “The Royal Horticultural Society lists ‘Sheffield’ but says the name is “unresolved.” Fred and Mary Ann McGourty found a plant growing in Sheffield, Massachusetts, in the 1980s or early 90s, and brought it back to their Hillside Gardens in Norfolk, Connecticut.”
Isn’t gardening and plant naming fascinating?
In our flower topic, we discussed collecting vintage gardening “stuff.” Check out Blooming Vintage OK on Instagram and Gardener's World Episode 30 (via Britbox on Amazon.) It’s worth paying for especially when we can’t garden in winter.
Because Carol bought The Microgreens Cookbook: A good water farms odyssey by Brendan Davison (Amazon), we discussed microgreens. Here’s Carol's FH article on growing microgreens. Sadly, I couldn’t find our old podcast episode about the two guys who created microgreens quite by accident, but here’s a quick explanation.
On our bookshelf, we found Spring Rain: A Life Lived in Gardens by Marc Hamer. (Amazon) We also chatted about his other two books, Seed to Dust: Life, Nature, and a Country Garden (Amazon) and How to Catch a Mole: Wisdom From a Life Lived in Nature (Amazon.)
For our dirt, we visited about Emily Lex painting a robin on Instagram. We then pondered the differences between American and English robins. Frances Hodgson Burnett had a pet robin.You can read more about it in Unearthing the Secret Garden: The Plants and Places That Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett, by Marta McDowell.
I went down the fall dishes rabbit hole because I had to go to Sur La Table to buy a salt ratchet mill after I broke mine. This type is good for people with arthritic hands and wrists. They don’t require twisting to grind salt and pepper or spices. While there, I also bought the most beautiful baking dish. It’s on sale!
If you’re worried about lead in your antique dishes, check out this website.
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We also love hearing from listeners! Tell us about your favorite vintage items in your garden or are you growing microgreens like Carol is?
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For more info on Carol, visit her website or blog, May Dreams Gardens.
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