On May 29th and continuing through May 31st the second annual garden blogger meetup will be held here in Chicago. The event provides an opportunity for bloggers big and small to get together and socialize. Full details about the event can be found here:
Chicago Spring Fling.
All of the activities haven’t been set in stone yet, but so far a tour of Rick Bayless’s urban/edible garden has been planned, along with hitting some of the Chicago Park District’s facilities of note. The Rick Bayless tour is only open to bloggers who have been blogging since February 1 of this year. In order to plan the activites they request that you register through the registration form they’ve developed on their site.
Now for something a little closer to home: Happy 1-month birthday to The Marigolds!
They’re doing pretty good. They’re even showing bud formation on a few of them. If you look right near my finger tips you should be able to see them.
These are Marigold Petite Orange and should only grow six to eight inches. A couple of years ago I had marigolds that were taller tan my six-foot-plus son. They were georgeous. Silly me (that was before my seed saving savviness was developed) I threw out all the seeds when I cleaned the garage. They grew so well that they grew three feet tall in one of those oblong planters that are about 5″x12″. When I took them out of the container there was nothing but root mass.
I chose marigolds because they are reputed to deter pests, soil nematodes in particular. I intend to interplant them through the veggie garden. I’ve also started some petunias, which are a little more finicky than the marigolds.
- Easy to grow
- Excellent garden plant for kids
- Edible petals
- Deter pests
- SAVES YOU MONEY
These marigolds were seeds from last year that I paid ten cents for. I’ve got 34 seedlings that I expect to progress to full grown plantdom. Almost six six-packs for a dime…plus the cost of electricity, but that’s offset by the gee-it-feels-good-to-see-that-little-bitty-seed-grow-into-a-nice-looking-plant.
Happy Gardening!!!!
