Category: Vegetables

More Seedlings

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My local farmers market opened last weekend and at this time of the year there are a lot of seedlings on sale by Neighborhood Farm. I bought: leeks (six-pack), 1 eggplant Fairy Tale, 1 butternut squash, 1 Early Jedi jalapeno, 1 mini bell pepper (forgot the name and the label only says “Flavor”, so I am banking on that), and 4 tomato plants: Paul Robson, Pineapple (late-season), Green Zebra and Cosmonaut (early/mid-season). I planted the eggplant, the Paul Robeson tomato and the jalapeno in containers on my back porch. Everything else will go in the plot.

Tomatoes: I now have 7 plants for the garden plot. The remaining three plants I bought today and three surviving home-grown seedlings: Paul Robson (the Sand Hill variety, they can’t vouch that it is the exact variety and call it Poll Robson), Dr. Wyche Yellow, Green Zebra. I also started another Poll Robson very late, but it is still very small. Not sure if this seedling will make it. This will give me 6 or 7 tomato plants for the plot, which is plenty. I also staggered the varieties to prolong tomato season and will have 2 or 3 early-season, 1 mid-season and 3 late-season tomatoes.

Spring Garden Day

SabineLeave a Reply

I spent three hours in the garden today. What a beautiful spring day! I pulled some weeds, cleaned my rock & brick collection that I keep at the fence, and weeded out my stakes and supports. I thinned the spinach and the radishes and trellised the peas. I also planted: fingerling potatoes (finally!), more peas, more carrots, more Swiss Chard. I transplanted the cauliflower, parsley and lettuce I bought earlier this week. Towards the fence, I planted dahlias (Star Elite and Rip City), sunflowers, zinnias and cosmos.

Garlic (with a cauliflower plant)
Potato patch

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

SabineLeave a Reply

Finally, spring is here. It has been so cold and wet these past weeks, everything in my garden is late. So far, I have only planted peas, spinach, radishes, carrots and lettuce in my plot. The rhubarb is coming up as are the first spears of asparagus.

I went to Allendale Farm this morning to get herbs for my back porch. I indeed got parsley, sage and thyme, but they were out of rosemary. I also got a six-pack each of basil, cauliflower and “Buttercrunch” head lettuce. I will plant a couple of the basil and lettuce cells in pots on my porch. The rest will go into my plot together with the cauliflower and some parsley.

Sage “Berggarten”
French thyme

I also got some flowers: lavender “Kew Red” and Osteospermum. Both are planted in containers on the back porch. And I purchased dahlia tubers (the one I overwintered in the basement did not survive – I forgot to keep them moist throughout the winter), garden twine, labels, environmentally-friendly insecticidal soap (to keep the aphids in check) and organic fish & seaweed fertilizer.

Osteospermum “4D Pink”
Herb shelf (in progress)

Tomato Seedlings

SabineLeave a Reply

I re-potted my tomato seedlings today. I had originally planted two of each: Paul Robeson, Break O’Day (both early varieties), Dr. Wychee Yellow (mid-season), Green Zebra and Baker Family Heirloom (both late season tomatoes). Only one of the Dr. Wychee’s came up, but that’s okay. I still have nine healthy tomato plants, all except for one Paul Robeson will be planted in the community plot later in May. The Paul Robeson will be planted in a container on our back porch. I also re-potted four lettuce seedlings. I put them all back under the grow light for a few more weeks. The remaining seedlings (eggplant, hot pepper, cucumbers, kale, lettuce) are still in the peat pots under the grow light.

Peas

SabineLeave a Reply
Sugar snap peas

I used the perfect planting weather today (63F and sunny in the morning and showers in the forecast for the afternoon) to plant peas. I planted two rows (Sugar Snaps) and sowed spinach in between (Giant Noble). I also planted two rows of carrots (Bolero, pelleted) and spring radishes in between (French Breakfast). These are the first crops I sowed in the plot this spring! This evening, we will have our annual gardeners meeting. Spring is officially here.

This year’s pea bed.

Seed starting

SabineLeave a Reply

I finally started my first seeds indoors. I sowed hot Thai pepper and eggplant. Five each (I will only need a couple of plants each). My setup is just one seed tray on a heat mat under a grow light. We have a small space so the seed-starting operation is tucked away in a corner of my son’s room in front of an unused door.

Crop List 2019

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Tulip this morning, poking her head out on my back porch

Here is my final crop list for 2019. (SHPC=Sand Hill Preservation Center):

  • Cucumbers: Longfellow slicer (have)
  • Tomatoes, early: Break O’Day, Paul Robson (all ordered from SHPC)
  • Tomatoes, mid-season: Dr. Wyche’s Yellow (ordered from SHPC)
  • Tomatoes, late: Green Zebra, Baker Family Heirloom (all from SHPC)
  • Eggplant, Pingtung Long (ordered from SHPC)
  • Eggplant, Fairy Tale (ordered from Johnny’s)
  • Hot pepper, Thai Bangkok (ordered from Johnny’s)
  • Butternut squash (have)
  • Basil, Genovese (have)
  • Carrots, Bolero (have)
  • Carrots, Rainbow (ordered from Johnny’s)
  • Radish, French Breakfast (have)
  • Garlic, Russian Red (hardneck, saved), Transsylvania (soft neck, Burpee)
  • Beets, Golden beets (have)
  • Potatoes, Banana fingerling (ordered from Fedco Moosetubers)
  • Swiss chard, Bright Lights (have)
  • Kale, Tuscan (have) and Curly (have)
  • Lettuce, butterhead, Kagran summer (ordered from SHPC)
  • Lettuce, leaf, Bronze Beauty (ordered from SHPC)
  • Greens, fall green mix (ordered from SHPC)
  • Peas, sugar snap (ordered from SHPC)
  • Pole beans, Kentucky Wonder (have)
  • Bush beans, Tendergreen (have)
  • Spinach, Bloomsdale (have)
  • Bok choy (have)
  • Leeks (buy seedlings)
  • Rosemary, sage (have)
  • Parsley, thyme (buy seedlings)
  • Nasturtium, Dwarf Jewel (have)
  • Cosmos, Versailles mix (ordered from Johnny’s)
  • Dahlias (have and/or buy tubers)
  • Zinnias (have)
  • Marigolds, petite mix (ordered from SHPC)
  • Sunflower Hopi Dye (ordered from SHPC)
  • Ornamental kale, Crane Feather Kind White (ordered from Johnny’s)

I placed my Fedco order on January 31, my Johnny’s order on February 4 and my order with Sand Hill Preservation Center on March 9.