#Gardening--Winter to Summer #Therapy by Karen Rose Smith

Our winters in Pennsylvania seem to last forever. I have arthritis, fibromyalgia, and osteoporosis, all conditions which are not winter friendly. I don't venture out in ice and snow. Fluctuating temperatures can affect pain levels. The weather can lead to inactivity (except for work which is ongoing and sedentary.) I care for stray and feral cats for their welfare and to keep me moving on a basic level. Our four rescued cats inside have their own demands but they aren't taxing. Every year I look forward to an activity that helps me focus on better health and spring. That activity is
gardening.

After the bustle and busyness of the holidays, the activity slowdown led me to look for motivation and something positive to keep my activity level up. My husband gave up his work table and we set up another. On those I put a plant heat pad and above each a grow light. I order seeds and I get started with my winter-to-spring therapy--starting flowers in January and February, heirloom tomatoes in March, and sunflowers and zucchini in May. Around Memorial Day, I use my cane to dig a trench and I drop zinnia seeds and cover them lightly with the loose dirt, again with my cane.  Zinnias are one of the easiest flowers to grow.

This year in January I started geraniums, petunias and impatiens. Each year I don't know which will grow heartily. This year the impatiens have really taken off and they are already a size that could be planted. They have two months before I'm ready to do that. So I've taken them off the heat pad and just put them under a grow light. The geraniums are coming along slowly and nicely. The petunias, which take the longest, are puttering along. I started the heirloom tomatoes this week.

But whatever plants grow...they give me the activity I need with standing time to plant and water as well as movement in shifting around trays with varying weight levels. As I transplant each plant into a larger peat pot, the plants themselves help me increase the amount of weight I'm carrying and manipulating. Come spring, I'm lifting full trays of plants and gallon pots.

There is such satisfaction in seeing a seed develop into a tine seedling and then a six inch plant. There is such joy in watching these plants bloom or bear fruit. There is also more patio activity involved in trimming the plants and watering them on the patio throughout the summer. When tomatoes are at their height, I freeze them for winter. We still have tomatoes in the freezer from last summer that are so wonderful as a basis for soup. I'm hoping for a banner crop this year. My husband plants about 25 tomato plants and we give the rest to neighbors and family.

Most of the flowers I plant attract butterflies and hummingbirds which is a side benefit to the color and scent. I enjoy photographing both the gardens and the creatures--more activity. Some years I collect rose petals and dry them to make sachet bags for Christmas presents. Gardens just keep on giving.

We each have to find whatever benefits us to keep us strong. Gardening does that for me...and relaxes me too. Therapy at its finest.

*****************

,

Pre-order SILENCE OF THE LAMPS on Amazon

Pre-order SILENCE OF THE LAMPS on Barnes and Noble

*****************

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 95th novel will be released in 2016.

Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens.  And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.

Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below. 

*****************

Karen's Newsletter IN TOUCH

******************

Karen Rose Smith's romance website 

Karen Rose Smith's mystery website 

Karen's Cat-Themed Zazzle Store

******************

Karen's Facebook Author Page

Karen on Twitter

Letting #Spring In by Karen Rose Smith

There comes a day after a long cold winter when no matter what the weather is doing outside, spring needs to be coaxed to life in my heart. Maybe it's after that first 50 degree sunny day. Maybe it's after seeing a crocus blooming despite a late snow. Maybe it's just because we need hope every April.

Last year's crop...this year's promise

This year's seedlings

I plant heirloom tomatoes from seed in out basement on a heat pad with a grow light. Today I transplanted seedlings that have developed four or five leaves just in the past few weeks. Transplanting brings the promise of beautiful beefsteak and cherry tomatoes come summer.

Another way I "experience" spring is to change my bedspread and the valances at the windows in at least one room. I change from heavier winter colors to whites and pastels, from fleece to light chenille and seersucker.

Zoie Joy enjoys the freshly changed bedspread

Then there's the clothes closet--moving long sleeves, corduroy and sweatshirts to the side to give more room to short sleeves, cottons and capris.

In the kitchen, I switch from making soups to incorporating more salads into our menus.

Although we're still having freezing temperatures some nights, I can start spring inside. Isn't that what renewal and a new season is all about? As soon as the sun shines again, I might have to open a few windows and let the cats and our family inhale a breath of spring.

How do you let spring in?  

********************

Karen's Search For Love Series Website

Karen Rose Smith's mystery website 

*******************

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 87th novel will be released in 2015.

Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens. And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.

Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below. 

Karen's Newsletter IN TOUCH

***************

Karen Rose Smith's romance website 

Karen Rose Smith's mystery website 

Karen's Facebook Author Page

Karen on Twitter

©2015 Karen Rose Smith

How Growing #Seedlings Is Very Much Like #Plotting by Karen Rose Smith

With the beginning of a new growing season, I've been planting tomato seeds. I concentrate on heirloom tomatoes because their flavor is supposed to be richer and sweeter. I ordered several varieties of seeds from cherry to plum to fine slicing tomatoes. What I love about the heirloom tomatoes is their history. The one I planted with the richest history and most elaborate one (Marianna's Peace), is a variety that the seedlings pop up quickly and with hardy determination. The leaves are deep green, growing with vigor. They will grow into terrific plants, with tomatoes that are pink-hued and can weigh over a pound. These seeds have been cherished, protected and promulgated since the early 1900's. Care and thought and lots of emotion have touched these tomato seeds.

Novel plots are very much like heirloom tomato seeds. An idea takes root in my mind like that tiny seed in the proper soil with the right amount of heat and light. Some ideas don't take root. They don't gather energy or germinate and no book grows. But others start with a conflict that develops into a plot or a character who generates conflict, or an issue that rolls through circumstances or a crisis that comes to a head. Suddenly conflict seems to draw light from the characters. The plot absorbs the proverbial "water" or energy from ideas generating ideas, developing into scenes, all of it uniting to produce a book. The richer the idea, the better it will grow. The more care given to the original premise, the better it will grow. The more emotion the characters generate, the further the plot is pushed. A rich storyline is rooted in the history, knowledge and research behind the plot. Plots and seeds are very much alike!

©2014 Karen Rose Smith

Finding Mr. Right Boxed Set 1 on Amazon



Karen Rose Smith's romance website
Karen Rose Smith's mystery website 
Karen Rose Smith's SEARCH FOR LOVE SERIES website 

IN TOUCH WITH KAREN ROSE SMITH ezine

#Heirloom #Tomatoes and #Garden Therapy by Karen Rose Smith

For the past few years I've planted heirloom tomato seeds to fill our garden, as well as our friends and family's gardens, with lush plants that produce terrifically tasty tomatoes.  Each year, I use one or two of my favorite varieties and also add new ones.  Since tomatoes are one of my main staples for soups and sauces, I like to have my freezer stocked full.  Most years I can freeze enough to take us through the winter.

Last summer we had a particularly weak growing season.  So I bought tomatoes from a local vegetable stand to see us through. But this year I'm hoping for a bumper crop again.  My varieties this year consist of three favorites--Marianna's Peace--a huge beefsteak, Anna Russian--a heart-shaped wonderfully tangy tomato, and Big Italian Plum.  In addition I'll plant these seeds too--Brandywine--Suddath's, Missouri Pink Love Apple, Amana Orange, Beauty and Lilian's Yellow Heirloom.

Heirloom tomatoes have history and the seeds have been handed down through generations.  Although I've purchased from several sources, Tomato Fest  seeds always seem to do the best.  They are organically harvested.

Raising tomatoes isn't only practical and economical for us, but it's therapeutic for me.  I have arthritis and fibromyalgia, and winter is usually my worst pain season.  Starting seeds in March gives me a jump on spring as well as a therapy-type past time.  Standing, planting, reaching, lifting in all stages from the gentlest with seedlings to the quart pots by May enable me to transition from winter to spring to summer gradually with physical activity.  

I'd love to hear about your experience with heirloom tomatoes and planting them in your gardens!  Let's hope we have a produce friendly year.

©2014 Karen Rose Smith

Search For Love, Boxed Set 1 on Amazon

Gardening--More Than A Hobby

I like to garden for relaxation.  Urging plants to grow from seed and taking care of them throughout the process fills a basic need for me to get away from everything technological for just a little while each day.  Nurturing plants is a lot like nurturing kids and pets!

I'm planting more heirloom tomato seeds this week.  My geraniums and impatiens are growing stronger.  The petunias are popping out of the soil.  It's time for our major growing vegetable.  We usually plant around twenty-five tomato plants in our garden to produce fresh tomatoes as well as to freeze for winter.  But I grow about 100 plants so we can give plants to friends, family, neighbors.  I never know how many will thrive and once they start growing, I nurture them.

This year's geraniums and impatiens

2013 tomato seedlings

The first year I grew tomatoes, I started with a basic beefsteak variety and paste tomatoes.  I watch cooking shows and was intrigued by the chefs using "heirloom" tomatoes which were supposed to have a richer, more vibrant flavor.  In our area there wasn't a market where I could find heirloom tomatoes.

What are heirloom tomatoes?  To me the term means tomatoes with a history and possibly a story behind them.  They are open pollinated and are true tomatoes without genetic engineering.  When I decided to grow them, I understood that they might be more prone to disease and cracking.  But that hasn't been my experience.  To my surprise, almost all of them grew and the result was close to a hundred healthy plants last year.  Maybe this was the result of the varieties I chose.  Or maybe my crop was the result of where I bought my seeds.  I found an organic farm online (Tomato Fest) that is California-based. (http://www.tomatofest.com/)  This year I purchased seeds from another venue, too--Totally Tomato  ( http://www.totallytomato.com/ )

I'll give you an example of the history of an heirloom tomato.  My favorite variety is Marianna's Peace.  This tomato is an indeterminate that produces a 1 to 2 pound beautiful fruit.  (It's officially a pink tomato!)  It has a bountiful, not too acid taste, wonderful for eating and also good for sauce.  The seeds date back to the early 1900's when they were smuggled out of Czechoslovakia by a seventeen-year-old named Marianna.

Another favorite of mine is Anna Russian which has a heart-shaped red fruit.  The seeds came from a Russian immigrant.  Here's a photo of last year's fruit.

This year I'm trying some new varieties along with Marianna and Anna Russian.  A few are Ponderosa Pink, Ponderosa Gold, Big Italian Beefsteak, Bull's Heart and Watermelon Beefsteak.  As the garden progresses, I'll blog and post photos, comparing this year's crop to last year's.

Do you grow tomatoes?  What are your best varieties?  What does the process of gardening give you?


©2013 Karen Rose Smith

Boxed Set 1 on Amazon

Boxed Set 2 on Amazon

IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH ezine
Karen Rose Smith's romance website
Karen Rose Smith's mystery website

THAT TALL! Gardening, week 11

Hi, everyone.  I was away for almost a week and when I returned...  Oh, my how everything had grown. Outside the bluebells opened and the lilacs bloomed.

Inside... While we were gone, our pet-house sitter watered every day and turned the trays so the plants weren't always facing into the light the same way.  I had planted paste tomatoes before we left and asked that she water those from the bottom and spray the new plants as they popped up. The lights were on timers and the heat pads were still on at three of the stations.  We had warmer weather and the basements warmed up, too, which I'm sure helped the growth process.  This morning I moved many of the petunias to a sun porch greenhouse--one I purchased at Lowe's. At night I'll lower the plastic covering.  Earlier today I also transplanted some of the tallest tomatoes and staked them.  For stakes I collect strong outside branches that fall.  I also have some bought at Lowe's that my husband sawed in differing lengths. I use a heavier twine to tie the plants loosely to the stake.  This will change as the plants grow.  I might transplant again, substitute a taller stake, and retie as needed. But we're on our way!

RENEWAL AND NEW BEGINNINGS, Gardening Week 9

I suppose it's fitting with Easter this weekend that I see this week as a time of renewal and beginning.  Outside, buds from bulbs planted last fall are blossoming.  Bleeding Hearts are coming back to life.  Tulips are in full bloom and lilacs are budding.  Our Dwarf Redbud is blossoming with green leaves starting to open.  Inside, I have to recommit to the process I've begun.  The sprouts need the most care at this transition time from baby to youth.  Sometimes I need to water them twice a day, move them to the best location for success and think about the next stage--if I remove them from the heat mats and grow lights, will the sun porch still be too cold at night?  I'll watch and decide day by day.

The petunias are off the heat mats but are still positioned around the edges under the spreading rays of the light.  They are doing beautifully and a few were even big enough to pot for a neighbor for Easter.  (The two blue survivors are alive, though one has yellow leaves under the same conditions as it's sister.)  The geraniums are growing slowly.  The "Rose Ice" variety are fewer and behind the others.

The first heirloom tomatoes I planted (Marianna's Peace and Carmello) are growing steadily in larger containers.  The "Big Orange" variety are popping up vigorously and "Anna Russian" isn't far behind.  New beginnings are everywhere.

Transplanting is an activity I do every day with sprouts that are very tall with two leaves or have grown three or four leaves.  I have to care for them and decide daily which to transplant so their roots, already spreading and attaching to the peat pot, won't be damaged.  Handling the earth and the plants is relaxing and makes me feel as if I'm part of nature and the growing process.

Renewal and commitment.  Isn't that what life is all about?

 

©2012 Karen Rose Smith

Karen Rose Smith's web site 

Karen Rose Smith's SEARCH FOR LOVE SERIES web site 

IN TOUCH WITH KAREN ROSE SMITH e-zine 

Strong Sprouts, Gardening As Therapy, Week 8

What's blooming in our garden now

I am a writer.  So I see the world through those glasses.  After I write a rough draft, I have to edit.  Editing can take weeks and is so important to the whole creative process.  I see this phase, week 8, of raising flowers in our garden as an editing process.

Every morning and evening, I check the plants to make certain their soil is moist.  I continue to thin as more than one sprout might pop up in a peat pot.  Something really interesting happened with that this week.  This is the first year I've grown impatiens and I thought they might be hard to grow.  I had thinned a few and sometimes I just drop those "extras" into the tray that collects extra water from the pots.  Well, the next morning a few of those impatiens baby sprouts were still alive and well!  I'd pulled dirt with the sprout and they were laying in a low puddle of water.  Since they'd so vigorously survived, I replanted each one in a peat pot.  Three days later, they are still growing strong.  Sometimes these tender plants are heartier than we give them credit for.

Also during this time, I'm filling in pots with more soil.  One reason I water from the bottom and spritz on the top is so the soil doesn't erode.  Now the sprouting plants are growing taller and need more support.  As soon as they grow three to four leaves, I will transplant them into the next size pot.  Tomatoes might go through this process three times.  I save quart size yogurt containers and poke holes in the bottom and sides as well as using plastic pots I've collected over the years.

The earliest petunias are already larger than those that I usually buy at the garden center.  Each has plenty of room for the roots to elongate and spread.  I'm looking forward to them budding.  The two blue plants definitely haven't grown as well and do not look healthy.  They are miniscule compared to the purple and yellow plants.  Some seeds just don't germinate to their hoped potential.  I had a 75-80 percent grow rate on the purple and yellow seeds.

The geraniums are starting to form their third leaves.  The "Violet," "Elite Pink," and "Apple Blossom" varieties have pushed up the best.  The "Ice Rose" hybrid doesn't seem to be germinating as well but it could merely be slower.   Below I've included a 16 oz. water bottle in the photo to give size perspective.  The petunia is the tallest.  In front of that is a Marianna's Peace tomato and to the left is an "Apple Blossom" geranium.

With the heirloom tomatoes, Marianna's Peace and Carmello are the first and hardiest to spring up.  I've planted others in stages and will give you reports on them as they grow.  My husband is already counting how many neighbors we can give plants to!

Until next week...

© 2012 Karen Rose Smith

Karen's Latest Release - CASSIDY'S COWBOY 

Karen Rose Smith's web site

Karen Rose Smith's SEARCH FOR LOVE SERIES web site 

IN TOUCH WITH KAREN ROSE SMITH e-zine