Sunday, April 26, 2009

Winter-sown project update


The cabbage has done very well in this system, I only wish I had started some other brassicas like this too.  I think since our forecast is going to have rain for a few days I will transplant today, so they have a chance to get established.  



Last summer we planted two varieties of hops in the garden; Centennial and Brewer's Gold, they grew very tall and produced loads of flowers.  We planted bare rhizomes, they just looked like twigs...   This year they have already sent out new shoots and have spread a bit.  They are very vigorous and the vines can grow to twenty feet tall.  Hop gardens are very beautiful things, tall rows of green, they look like giant's hedges.  We'll select three or four shoots from each crown and pinch back the rest.  Since we only have two plants we wont have the lovely green rows, our hop garden might end up looking like a big green arch, or a bit of rickety stick and string construction with hops growing on it.



This photo above is of the garlic bulbils (top set garlic clones) that I planted last fall, they are on their way to becoming cloves, I hope!  I didn't realize how many I had planted, there must be thousands..... eek!  If this works as planned I might need to get a second plot.

Last I have a little fava question.... how long do they take to come up???  I planted them with the peas very early this month and not even a rogue one has come up!!  Am I being impatient? (Most likely)  Or is there a fava trick I don't know?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Green Brains..... Spring is Here!!!


A little rhubarb from my parents house. Yum!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A day of firsts!!


First greens harvest... First cutting of chives...

I wasn't expecting the green onions or spinach to be ready, I hadn't even brought a bag to put them in!!  They were all planted last season and are coming back very quickly.  The chives are always welcome spots of green in the early spring.


First sprouts from the 'winter sown' project!!

I finally took a few decent photos of the winter sown projects.  These seeds were planted outside in late February in one gallon containers.  The Spinach/Swiss Chard container is on the top, and has a decidedly 'brassica-esque' sprout,  the Cabbage container is below and is looking good!!!  The cabbages don't have true leaves quite yet, but man are there a lot of them!


Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Parsnips on the table and seeds in the soil

I have seeds in the ground two and a half weeks early!   Wow!! 

 Today was a marathon of digging and planting.  After three days of warm weather the soil was thawed-out and dried-out, so I began turning the beds in my garden.  The forecast for the next few days has rain, so I knew I had to get a lot done.  I pulled the second half of the parsnips and turned in some good mulch. 

Most recent addition to the garden series time lapse
 In the bed closest to the plum tree I planted greens, radishes and favas, as well as lettuce and kale to transplant.  I planted crops that like sun but are quick, in 'the shade zone' because by the time there is shade from the tree, these crops will be done.

Nero di Toscano (kale) with Pirat (lettuce)
4 varieties of nameless saved lettuce seed from last year
Pak Choi
Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach (seed is from '07)
Plum Purple and Halestone (radishes)
The Windsor favas are on the end and will not be shaded, I know they take a while

Two beds down....

Golden Sweet peas went in, next to a mystery snow pea that I love!
Purple Top turnips went on along side the peas. I'm trying to get a quick crop in.
Bull's Blood and Red Ace beets went in there as well.
I have my fingers crossed for all of these seeds, but have more of each of them incase they don't come up.  

So far I think I'm off to a solid start, so many early veg varieties, and I am digging around in the garden on April first!!!!

My kit and booty

An update on my little green houses:
Cabbages-  these look so great!  They are up and lively, they don't have true leaves yet, when they do I'll start hardening them off a bit quicker then transplant then straight into the ground!!!  Woohoo!

Leeks- haven't seen any:(

Onions- I see a few but they are super tiny, don't think they will get to the right size any time soon.  Not a big deal, it was a great learning experience.

Spinach- 3 are up, no true leaves yet... 

And so it begins!!!

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