Preparing the Plot for Spring

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This morning, I spent a couple of hours in the garden weeding, spreading compost and replacing the hay in my plot. It is now ready for planting. For the first time in years, I have not been planting peas, which I would have done mid to late March. The last couple of years were just demoralizing with the birds getting all the peas in the end. And I don’t feel like dealing with bird netting. I might transplant my lettuce seedlings tomorrow (they have been hardening on the porch for a few days), which would be a good time as rain is in the forecast for the day after. So, currently, I have garlic, rhubarb and strawberries coming in, and a lot of calendulas, which self-sowed from last year (they can be seen right behind the timber border to the left). I will thin them once they are a little bigger and plant them in different spots around the plot and also outside the community garden.

Repotting Tomatoes

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On this sunny and warm Saturday afternoon, I repotted all my 24 tomato plants. I had started them on March 16, and they definitely had outgrown their little cells. Here again are the varieties: I have two each of Scotia (E), Stupice (E), Green Zebra (M), Ailsa Craig (M), Brimmer Pink* (M), Ananas Noire (L), Black Krim (L) and Dr. Wyche’s Yellow (L) plus 4 each of Mountain Magic (M) and Peacevine Cherry tomatoes (M) [E=early, M=mid-season, L=late tomato]. The 8 cherry tomato plants will go in the communal bed outside the community garden for the whole neighborhood to enjoy.

* One of the Brimmer Pink plants is a different variety (the one seen to the right in the front row) as it is a potato leaf-type, and Brimmer Pink has “regular” tomato leaves. We shall see the mystery unfold.

Current dining table plant operation. Not much space left and I still have to start the curcubites.

Repotting Seedlings and More Seed Starting

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Re-potted kale, Thai peppers and Thai basil (plus leeks in the far left corner)

Today, I re-potted my kale, Thai hot peppers and Sweet Thai basil seedlings. They had outgrown their little seedling cells. The kale and peppers were started on February 16, the basil on March 1.

Okra in our community garden, September 2020

I also started more seedlings: Siam Queen Thai basil (6 cells), Italian basil, Clemson Spineless okra (6) and 6 cells each Merlot lettuce, Allstar Gourmet lettuce mix (Johnny’s), and Salanova green butterhead lettuce (Johnny’s), plus more flowers: Crackerjack mixed marigold (12), Oriental Nights Alyssum (6) and Tall Double Mix strawflower (6). It is my first time growing okra. The okra and flowers are for the communal bed, but I may keep an okra plant or two as they are just so beautiful (even though I am not particularly fond of eating them).

Strawflower and gomphrena seedlings, sown on March 1
Current dining room table situation: Seedlings in their various stages

Gardeners’ Gathering

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Sweet potato slip freebie from a workshop today

Today was the 49th Boston Gardener’s Gathering. It is an annual event held at Northeastern University that brings together gardeners from Boston and surrounding areas for a day of workshops and exchanges, and for reestablishing (and/or forging new) connections after the long New England winter. Mayor Michelle Wu (accompanied by her two-month-old baby daughter) delivered the keynote address, which was a beautiful, reaffirming optimistic message of growth and resilience. I went to two fantastic workshops, one about soil health and concocting microbial inoculates (it really was a chemistry lab and a lot of fun!), and one on growing sweet potatoes, led by the legendary Elnora Thompson. I met a lot of neighbors and fellow Boston gardeners and went home with a sweet potato slip (thanks, Elnora!) that I promptly potted up. I really needed this kind of kinship today. I also went home with about 200 packages of free seeds for our community garden. I can’t wait for spring!

All potted up!

Early Spring

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Seen in my backyard
Back porch container arugula and radishes are sprouting, yay!
Emerging bulbs in my flower container on the back porch

Things are waking up in my containers. The radishes and arugula I sowed on March 10 sprouted, and the 20 flower bulbs I had planted in my large flower container in early November are beginning to emerge. The bulbs are a mix of White Splendour Anemone, Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica), King of the Striped Crocus and Blue Grape Hyacinth. I am so excited for some color on my back porch soon!

Starting Tomatoes

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All the seeds I started yesterday

Yesterday, I started my tomatoes. As always, to stagger harvest, I planted a mix of early (E), mid-season (M) and late tomatoes (L): 2 cells each Scotia (E), Stupice (E), Green Zebra (M), Ailsa Craig (M), Brimmer Pink (M), Ananas Noire (L), Black Krim (L) and Dr. Wyche’s Yellow (L). I sowed two seeds per cell to ensure germination as many of my seeds are from previous years. If both seeds germinate, I will pinch off the weaker one.

All of those varieties are meant for my garden plot. I will have too many as I only plan to have ten plants maximum, but this way, I should have a good number to choose from. I also started 4 cells each Mountain Magic and Peacevine Cherry tomatoes, all of those will go in our communal bed for the neighborhood to enjoy.

In addition, I started Swiss chard (8 cells), Black-Seeded Simpson leaf lettuce (4 cells), May Queen butterhead lettuce (4 cells), lettuce mix (6 cells) and Siam Queen Thai basil (6 cells). I sowed more Thai basil as I did not get the germination rate I wanted from the seeds I had started two weeks ago. Siam Queen is a new-to-me variety, and I am excited.