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Google
My Garden Adventure, 2012
+12
Chopper
givvmistamps
donnainzone5
camprn
rod champion
morganfam7
quiltbea
GWN
Dunkinjean
FamilyGardening
Danni
AvaDGardner
16 posters
Page 1 of 3
Page 1 of 3 • 1, 2, 3
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
GWN wrote:I find every new place you garden, you have to learn the weeds.
I have unfortunately had gardens in many many places..... I am calling this one my "final resting place".
But each time I have carefully cared for plants that eventually turned out to be weeds....
I have even transplanted weeds from the forest into my garden
LOL! I'm glad it's not just me!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Hi there AVA...
There is a carrot growing contest on this site that everyone starts in April, so perhaps all is not lost.
I am holding out to plant then, but then again I HAVE to wait until then to plant ...
You really seem to be having a good time!
There is a carrot growing contest on this site that everyone starts in April, so perhaps all is not lost.
I am holding out to plant then, but then again I HAVE to wait until then to plant ...
You really seem to be having a good time!
GWN- Posts : 2804
Join date : 2012-01-14
Age : 67
Location : british columbia zone 5a
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
quiltbea wrote:
First off, what are your temps there? You are in Calif and lots of Cal gets mighty hot this early. Are you having an unusally warm spring? Boccoli is a cool-weather crop. When temps hit the 80s they will start to go to seed.
I'm in Southern CA, and when I tarped the garden to protect the seeds just planted from the Santa Anas (hot desert air during the day, cold desert air at night), and the winds suddenly stopped, I think it got too hot on the broccoli for a few days.
I cut the head off tonight. We should be getting a lot of mild temperate weather until July 1. With the weather this year, who knows? The experienced plotters encouraged me to put in winter plants.
I probably will next year. Thanks.quiltbea wrote:
Your walking space is just too narrow. You'll have to be thin as a rail to manage to get thru there when crops start filling in. They'll overshoot that narrow space. If you can, change it to only 2 long beds.
Well that explains a lot. When we get the winds, it gets hot. Every onion on the property turned yellow on top, even though they aren't ready to harvest yet. They were starts, planted 2/28/12.quiltbea wrote:
When did you put in your onions? Around here when summer arrives, the onions start to get brown. They are usually ready to harvest when half the tops fall over.
Are they really good? I've never heard of them. I planted Cascadia, Green Arrow, Marvel, and Oregon Sugar Snap (all bush). They are all popping. The soy (bush) beans are slowly coming up. The lentils (bush) are not responding yet.quiltbea wrote:I've got Mizuna and Tokyo bekana in cups in the A-frame to harden off today. You are way ahead of me.
Tomorrow I'll be seeding my tomato and pole beans. And round 2 of carrots. Several seeds seem dead...bell peppers, daisys, cabbage, broccoli raab, caulflower. I'll give them another week then retry.
We love baby salads. The lettuces were all starts. The green red mix is not identified on the tag. (bummer!) Several of the lettuce seeds I bought are mixed...can they be separated? Can you tell which is which? I don't like how my starts are choking each other out. I think I've lost 4 plants so far.quiltbea wrote:Another thought about your lettuce. When you buy a lettuce or greens mix, they usually list on the package what crops are mixed in together so you know what you're growing. Check the package info. Thin out your lettuce anyway and use the thinnings in a salad (baby greens). Nice and tender.
What a wild idea! I never saw a beetle on them and barely had any roses on it in 18 years. VERY thorny! I'll pass it along to the gal who bought it. She raises lots of Austins.quiltbea wrote:I love roses too, so seeing yours will be wonderful. I have all David Austins so they don't take as much care and I have to go hunting for Japanese beetles several times a day to keep them alive. I bury banans peels beneath them to fight black spot. Works for me. Have fun in your gardens.
Thanks Bea!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
GWN wrote:Hi there AVA...
There is a carrot growing contest on this site that everyone starts in April, so perhaps all is not lost.
I am holding out to plant then, but then again I HAVE to wait until then to plant ...
You really seem to be having a good time!
There is something so peaceful about gardening. Like a few days ago, my ear was felt like it was partially filled, and every noise seem magnified. Off the garden I went, just to hang out.
Thanks for the tip on the contest! I found the thread. I have Nantes seeds...mid April...will do! My carrot area is 10+" of soil, so I'll have to go for longest, LOL.
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Ava, I just wanted to say that your roses are beautiful and your gardens look great! I'm glad to hear the garden was saved when dd replanted the carrot! lol I love gardening with kids.
morganfam7- Posts : 111
Join date : 2012-02-29
Location : Grand Prairie zone 7b/8a
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
AVa.....Mizuna and Tokyo Bekana are greens, like lettuces. Never tried them before but this year we're getting into lots of greens and green vegetables so my garden is changing. Got the Curly cress, Claytonia, Arugula, and Corn salad/Mache also sown yesterday In the A-Frame. All new greens to me. It probably too hot for you to grow them right now. The ones started indoors are outside hardening off. I wanted to try both ways to see if starting indoors is really necessary.
quiltbea- Posts : 4712
Join date : 2010-03-21
Age : 81
Location : Southwestern Maine Zone 5A
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Am curiuos to know why you have your little plants under the milk jugs.
If the weather is semi hot, will it not fry those plants?
If the weather is semi hot, will it not fry those plants?
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
The peat moss in the dirt sample settled enough that I was able to finish testing the "vertical" box. N is higher (to be expected); P is still unreadable; and K has come down in a normal range. I must say the N was a gorgeous purple-red!
Headed over now to seed some tomatoes and pole beans!
@ Rod.
Well...if it was hot, I guess it would fry plants! These are just for germination. It's been very cold for us (41-55) and mostly they are to protect from the high winds (when we get them for days at a time) blowing the planting surface and seeds off.
While the rest of the country is warmer than usual, we are colder, getting the air first from the artic before warming it and sending it over to you!
Works great as a mini-hothouse. It causes the weeds to germinate too, so you can clean them out right away.
We still carry jackets, especially if going over a few miles to a coastal city. North of the freeway it warmer, south (and closer to the ocean) it's cooler.
@ Thanks Bea! I wondered what those were!
Headed over now to seed some tomatoes and pole beans!
@ Rod.
Well...if it was hot, I guess it would fry plants! These are just for germination. It's been very cold for us (41-55) and mostly they are to protect from the high winds (when we get them for days at a time) blowing the planting surface and seeds off.
While the rest of the country is warmer than usual, we are colder, getting the air first from the artic before warming it and sending it over to you!
Works great as a mini-hothouse. It causes the weeds to germinate too, so you can clean them out right away.
We still carry jackets, especially if going over a few miles to a coastal city. North of the freeway it warmer, south (and closer to the ocean) it's cooler.
@ Thanks Bea! I wondered what those were!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
I've Got ASPARAGUS!!!
More happy dancing! I've got Asparagus sprouts! Whoo Hoo! I LOVE Asparagus! Saturday there were 3, today there are 5!!!
With two year crowns, I didn't expect anything. At this rate, I might get a serving this year.
We had heavy rains on Sunday (about 4"). Photos were taken Saturday. Monday, the boxes show lots of "splashed dirt" on the side and the plant markers. Everything else looks good.
Strawberries rubies and little pea plants (right), with one little soy bean (left, lower 1/3, just above a strawberry plant) pushing up...
Little broccoli side shoots are starting (I trimmed up this cut with a better tool).
After reading the "biggest brassica broccoli" thread, I replanted the broccoli and Brussels sprouts down to their first leaves, and gave the Brussels a TeePee to help straighten it up. It's responding well to guidance! Replanting gave me a chance to put the 2" cardboard protection around them better, and to get them well anchored.
I harvested 10 strawberries and a gallon container of lettuces...this is so fun!
With two year crowns, I didn't expect anything. At this rate, I might get a serving this year.
We had heavy rains on Sunday (about 4"). Photos were taken Saturday. Monday, the boxes show lots of "splashed dirt" on the side and the plant markers. Everything else looks good.
Strawberries rubies and little pea plants (right), with one little soy bean (left, lower 1/3, just above a strawberry plant) pushing up...
Little broccoli side shoots are starting (I trimmed up this cut with a better tool).
After reading the "biggest brassica broccoli" thread, I replanted the broccoli and Brussels sprouts down to their first leaves, and gave the Brussels a TeePee to help straighten it up. It's responding well to guidance! Replanting gave me a chance to put the 2" cardboard protection around them better, and to get them well anchored.
I harvested 10 strawberries and a gallon container of lettuces...this is so fun!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
AvaDGardner wrote:
And then there are the mystery plants...{snip}
This came up where I have not planted. The seed (bean?) does not want to let go. Very nice fan shape...what is it? [It opened up later that day to reveal 2 perfect oval leaves...and I found two more of them in other areas of the boxes).
This little guy is exposed!
Someone on the forum was writing about dicotyledons. When I looked it up to find out what they are, Wiki had a picture of this, with true leaves. Sure enough...the true leaves on mine were beginning to show when I pulled them.
I should have recognized it. We used to have the mature ones on the edge of our property at home. They are huge plants here, 25' weeds. They have very deep roots and take over quickly. Can you imagine having to remove these? It reaches this height in less than a year, and seed constantly!
Then today, as the DH was viewing the garden & plots, I saw this wiggling toward my baby asparagus:
What is it? It's about 1.5" long on a tiny lettuce leaf. Do I need to be concerned about 'brothers & sisters'? Do I need to take action? It is an organic garden.
Ava
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
The saga of the purple broccoli...
When I saw them again they were carrying in SFG boxes! They had found the forum and decided to convert their garden.
They have the coolest self-watering system. I hope they join the forum so they can explain it.
Anyway, they have transplanted it into a box. They have laid down their weed block, filled their boxes, have weed block on top to protect and have marked off their grid.
As for my cole crop seeds NONE of them have popped. Not a one! Not the purple Brussels spouts, pixie cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kohl rabi...nuthin'! Was it the heat (85*)? Was it the cold that followed (50*)? They stayed damp.
Someone gave me a cauliflower start. I had it at home in it's little 6pak container. It was being eaten by a super tiny cabbage worm that ate only it, and not the Brussels sprouts starts next to them (I had bought a box 6, planted one, reserved the rest). With hesitation I planted this eaten cauli in the garden, and it is doing better. No more attacks! I guess it shows that bugs attack weak plants.
The existing coles are getting bigger but not doing much else. The broccoli put off side shoots but they are getting ready to flower. Now the question is: are they pereniels or annuals? Should I keep the box for coles or convert it for summer growth? At least the cabbage has a head!
So much to learn.
When I saw them again they were carrying in SFG boxes! They had found the forum and decided to convert their garden.
They have the coolest self-watering system. I hope they join the forum so they can explain it.
Anyway, they have transplanted it into a box. They have laid down their weed block, filled their boxes, have weed block on top to protect and have marked off their grid.
As for my cole crop seeds NONE of them have popped. Not a one! Not the purple Brussels spouts, pixie cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kohl rabi...nuthin'! Was it the heat (85*)? Was it the cold that followed (50*)? They stayed damp.
Someone gave me a cauliflower start. I had it at home in it's little 6pak container. It was being eaten by a super tiny cabbage worm that ate only it, and not the Brussels sprouts starts next to them (I had bought a box 6, planted one, reserved the rest). With hesitation I planted this eaten cauli in the garden, and it is doing better. No more attacks! I guess it shows that bugs attack weak plants.
The existing coles are getting bigger but not doing much else. The broccoli put off side shoots but they are getting ready to flower. Now the question is: are they pereniels or annuals? Should I keep the box for coles or convert it for summer growth? At least the cabbage has a head!
So much to learn.
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
wow what incredibly healthy broccoli and ?? cabbage, they are HUGE
GWN- Posts : 2804
Join date : 2012-01-14
Age : 67
Location : british columbia zone 5a
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
@GWN, maybe it's the zoom lens! They are about a foot tall. But there's nothing to eat (except for the 3" cabbage head)! From the end it's Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and (not shown) cauliflower.
I believe that larvae was a harmless crane fly. You know...those giant looking mosquito-looking things that pop up in the early spring?
I brought home some lettuce a few days ago, and while cleaning it for salad it we found another larvae. We think it was an armyworm. They come is so many colors! No damage to the plants though (image from wikipedia.org).
DD found ladybug eggs too, but didn't know what they were, and having just found the army worm, thought they were also bad, so she destroyed them. (from Wikipedia). Poor ladybugs (image from PrayingMantis.org)!
It's too weird to think of them as caviar! They hatch in a few days. Next time they'll go out by roses. Although so far I've only had aphids on one bud for a few days and I've had cut roses to enjoy since mid-February. VERY UNUSUAL, and at least a month early for my roses. I'm going to the Rose Society meeting this week to compare notes with other growers.
It sounds so hoity-toity!
AvaDGardner wrote:
Then today, as the DH was viewing the garden & plots, I saw this wiggling toward my baby asparagus:
What is it? It's about 1.5" long on a tiny lettuce leaf. Do I need to be concerned about 'brothers & sisters'? Do I need to take action? It is an organic garden.
Ava
I believe that larvae was a harmless crane fly. You know...those giant looking mosquito-looking things that pop up in the early spring?
I brought home some lettuce a few days ago, and while cleaning it for salad it we found another larvae. We think it was an armyworm. They come is so many colors! No damage to the plants though (image from wikipedia.org).
DD found ladybug eggs too, but didn't know what they were, and having just found the army worm, thought they were also bad, so she destroyed them. (from Wikipedia). Poor ladybugs (image from PrayingMantis.org)!
It's too weird to think of them as caviar! They hatch in a few days. Next time they'll go out by roses. Although so far I've only had aphids on one bud for a few days and I've had cut roses to enjoy since mid-February. VERY UNUSUAL, and at least a month early for my roses. I'm going to the Rose Society meeting this week to compare notes with other growers.
It sounds so hoity-toity!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
My First Harvest!
Praise God for radishes! Such a fast grower, it really makes a new garden feel productive.
Here's my first harvest - White Icicle Radishes. Planted from seeds March 1, 2012.
Lessons learned:
1) although all seeds go in the ground together, they do not all germinate at the same time.
2) although the package says harvest in 28 days, it is only a guide. Only those on the left are MAYBE close to harvest size, and they're small.
3) temperature is everthing. Plants are definitely more productive in warmer weather, even if they are a 'cool' crop.
4) leaves are a great indicator to root size. At least 5 on the left look like they need to be replanted! For a radish, the baby ones have more of a diacon flavor.
Growing & learning...
Here's my first harvest - White Icicle Radishes. Planted from seeds March 1, 2012.
Lessons learned:
1) although all seeds go in the ground together, they do not all germinate at the same time.
2) although the package says harvest in 28 days, it is only a guide. Only those on the left are MAYBE close to harvest size, and they're small.
3) temperature is everthing. Plants are definitely more productive in warmer weather, even if they are a 'cool' crop.
4) leaves are a great indicator to root size. At least 5 on the left look like they need to be replanted! For a radish, the baby ones have more of a diacon flavor.
Growing & learning...
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
LOL, I replanted the tiny radishes. Several people asked what I was planting now, and laughed when I told them because they weren't big enough...we'll see what happens. Maybe they'll recover, maybe not.
SOMETHING is coming up in the center position where I planted bell peppers over a month ago. They are too young to identify!
The onions:
Now they look like this:
These are what sweet onions are supposed to look like...[image from wikipedia]
Isn't what I have too close together for them to bulb? Do I need to separate them? This is seems like a situation when Mel would say to take your scissors and snip, except they are getting kind big now.
Separate, or cut?
I'm resigned to the fact that I've transplanted dandelions!
They're coming out tomorrow. Lettuce seeds (or onion transplants?) will be in their place!
SOMETHING is coming up in the center position where I planted bell peppers over a month ago. They are too young to identify!
The onions:
When I planted them, they looked like that.AvaDGardner wrote:
Now they look like this:
These are what sweet onions are supposed to look like...[image from wikipedia]
Isn't what I have too close together for them to bulb? Do I need to separate them? This is seems like a situation when Mel would say to take your scissors and snip, except they are getting kind big now.
Separate, or cut?
Now that they look like this,AvaDGardner wrote:And then there are the mystery plants. This one comes up wild in the first box we finished. I've transplanted 5 so far. Are these lettuce...or something else? They may not all be the same thing...
I'm resigned to the fact that I've transplanted dandelions!
They're coming out tomorrow. Lettuce seeds (or onion transplants?) will be in their place!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Ava, lift the little clumps of onions out, separate them and replant the individual seedlings. They look quite healthy and should do fine.
43 years a gardener and going strong with SFG.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3574-the-end-of-july-7-weeks-until-frost
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. ~ Henry David Thoreau
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1306-other-gardening-books
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Ava,
Why not transplant the dandelions into their own space or pot? Then one day you can add them to your salad greens.
Why not transplant the dandelions into their own space or pot? Then one day you can add them to your salad greens.
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
AvaDGardner wrote:LOL, I replanted the tiny radishes. Several people asked what I was planting now, and laughed when I told them because they weren't big enough...we'll see what happens. Maybe they'll recover, maybe not.
The radishes responded well to the replanting.
Then the greens went into a dead faint. I gave them all buzz cuts (removed all the wilted greens). They are now growing new greens and doing well.
As you can see in the photos, the Brandywine sprouted in the passing of time. It's so cute, I couldn't help but make a pun of it..
Thanks to the feedback from CampRN and Curio, they now look like this, and take up 8' plus the corners of a square. 6 plants became 25 plants!AvaDGardner wrote:The onions:When I planted them, they looked like that.AvaDGardner wrote:
AvaDGardner wrote:Now that they look like this,AvaDGardner wrote:And then there are the mystery plants. This one comes up wild in the first box we finished. I've transplanted 5 so far.
I'm resigned to the fact that I've transplanted dandelions!
They're coming out tomorrow. Lettuce seeds (or onion transplants?) will be in their place!
donnainzone10 wrote:Ava,
Why not transplant the dandelions into their own space or pot? Then one day you can add them to your salad greens.
We tried some, today even. With the rains we had several leafy, non-flowered dandilions. We found them rather flavorless, so into the city compost they go.
Now the area is planted with Sea of Red lettuce.
Even though yesterday's storms were more electic and gave more water, there was less damage to the garden. My bush peas were knocked over, but they'll stand back up. All my lettuces, arugula and spinach need a hair cut. And the tree mulch all around the garden is very springy!
Except for succession planting, every square is planted! Even 4 rows of Nantes for the Carrot Week 2012. Boxes seeded 3/1 finally popped around 4/10, because I think I planted them too deep. I'm trying to be more careful. Poking my finger in the medium is such fun!
One tomato, the Bell peppers, Portugese kale, and 3 varieties of bush and pole beans are popping. 3 sisters are coming together (the squash is 4" high and to the left of the corn.)
First planted celery is about 9" tall! You can see seedling covers on the left. In the front right of the picture, you can see the tops of younger/shorter celery.
There are a few oddities...of 12 soya seeds, one has germinated. Will have to call Ferry-Morris on Monday.
Of 12 or more lentil seeds, one has responded. I've got more seeds - maybe I'll do a germination test.
The other big excitement was BIG GREEN CABBAGE WORMS! So soft. So SQUISHY. Such a delightful color of green ooze.
I first found several worms & eggs on my Brussels sprout, and Thursday I found one tiny worm on the lowest leaf of my broccoli. There is a white cabbage moth that flits around constantly. I opted for white bread clips and with a few days of use, the Brussels sprout has been worm free. I caught a fat cabbage worm running away from the lettuce (SQUISH!), and today I saw the moth light on a strawberry then the arugula. They seem rather indiscriminate to be called a 'cabbage worm!'
The trick is the moth thinks another moth is already on the plant/leaf, and seeks another area. Territorial are they! The magic to the trick is to use White Bread Clips (which are also used on bags of potatoes). Gently open the clip, slide in the leaf, and release the clip (used clips are easier to work with!).
I'll keep you posted on this one. So far, I'm stoked!
Thanks for your interest in my garden adventure!
Ava
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Wow Ava, everything is looking great from my standpoint! I'm intrigued by the way you've marked off your soil...it's like a ladder with long narrow spaces on either side and then some squares running down the center...instead of the traditional squares. How did you come up with that arrangement? It looks like you're planting mostly salad greens and onions outside the squares, is that right?
givvmistamps- Posts : 862
Join date : 2012-04-01
Age : 52
Location : Lake City, (NE) FL; USDA Hardiness Zone 8b, AHS Heat Zone 9, Sunset Zone 28
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
givvmistamps wrote:Wow Ava, everything is looking great from my standpoint! I'm intrigued by the way you've marked off your soil...it's like a ladder with long narrow spaces on either side and then some squares running down the center...instead of the traditional squares. How did you come up with that arrangement? It looks like you're planting mostly salad greens and onions outside the squares, is that right?
Hi! Yes, my grid is like a ladder. It's made from lath, that thin wood behind real plaster walls. I use the middle bar to make a visual division on the thin side-planting areas.
Yes, in the thin side areas I'm planting small things like onions, lettuce, spinach, arugula, carrots, (groomed) herbs, flowers, etc. The 'main crop' is in the middle, the side bars are companion plants. The northern edge of the box especially, so they can be shaded. The southern edge has things like onions, bush beans, bush peas, shallots, etc.
I came up with it as the only solution to surround the main crop with companion plants and provide shade for the delicate ones.
One of these days I'll figure out how to post a grid. I have it in Excel. I tossed my first plan (WAY over planted), have re-arranged the second one then come back to the original 2nd version...one of these days!
Thanks GMS (GiveMeGreen is so garden-oriented!)
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Time for an update.
I called the soy bean seed company. A new pack is on the way. Go Ferry Morris!
Tonight I bought a used Rodale Press book on Organic Gardening for $0.50! It's from 1969. No author's name on the cover, and it's written like a personal journal. I also purchased a Burpee seed cataloge for a quarter...their Silver Jubilee edition (2001). They will make fun reading.
My family saw the garden tonight. My DH squealed when he saw the corn. He couldn't get over that it's there (and about 9" tall). He kept saying "LOOK AT THAT CORN! CORN!!!" It was pretty funny. He was impressed how much the garden had changed (greened up) in a few weeks (thanks to warmer weather!).
I'm wondering if planting other things with the strawberries was a mistake. The peas are about a foot tall, and hiding the strawberries.
My broccoli keeps flowering. I keep cutting it, and putting it into salads. Gotta make lemonade! All my neighbors have heads, so maybe its the variety plant I chose. The cauli hasn't headed, and except for size, no activity from the Brussels sprouts, either. (No worms however...the plastic tabs are working!)
The heavy rains last weekend caused my cabbage head to split. Here's my 5"Wx7"T head before I took it home.
I'm blanching a head of celery for harvest in approximately 2 weeks. I reseeded the celery (the plastic hothouse to the right), and I think the seedlings are showing!
Salad greens are all doing well. Some seedling are showing. I'm already harvesting from the spinach and arugula plants.
Then there is the monarch moth:
Nearly everything has popped: eggplant, Italian kale, Portugese kale, brandywine tom, green zebra tom, mini orange bomb tom (that's my name for them), bell peppers, kohlrabi, leeks, Asian melon, carrots, celery, pole beans, bush beans bush peas, spinach, and lettuce. A few haven't popped yet...some of the seeds already mentioned, Broccoli Raab, mini yellow pear tom, cherry tom, daisys and cosmos. The replanted beets and radishes are doing well (we ate two of the radishes tonight in the salad). The first round of carrots (long imperators) are in sprout:
It cracks me up how the same plants of a variety on the west side of the garden are larger (even if just a bit!) than the ones directly east. Look at the carrot sprouts!
As for my patio, the latice lath cover is up, and now I see I have partial sun/dappled shade in that area. I've planted cantaloupe in a mound, and am going to plant the rest in salad greens. We like our greens really young, and I'm harvesting 'young adults with long necks' from the plot. Having them here will make it easier to pick for dinner, too.
I do wish I could figure out a way to make a salad table there (without rotting legs!), but I'll just have to get my stretching and bending exercises in. Go glutes!
I haven't done anything with herbs...except transplant some basil I bought. The more I read about their spreading, the more I ponder planting seeds!
Overall, 90% of what I harvest now is from starter plants planted in mid-February. The only thing with flower are the flowers and the broccoli. Certain things should be in flower (peas) or with heads (cauli and Brussels and broccoli). The rest of it is all very young and less than 2" tall. But hey...the less plastic hothouses are needed, the greener it is!
I called the soy bean seed company. A new pack is on the way. Go Ferry Morris!
Tonight I bought a used Rodale Press book on Organic Gardening for $0.50! It's from 1969. No author's name on the cover, and it's written like a personal journal. I also purchased a Burpee seed cataloge for a quarter...their Silver Jubilee edition (2001). They will make fun reading.
My family saw the garden tonight. My DH squealed when he saw the corn. He couldn't get over that it's there (and about 9" tall). He kept saying "LOOK AT THAT CORN! CORN!!!" It was pretty funny. He was impressed how much the garden had changed (greened up) in a few weeks (thanks to warmer weather!).
I'm wondering if planting other things with the strawberries was a mistake. The peas are about a foot tall, and hiding the strawberries.
My broccoli keeps flowering. I keep cutting it, and putting it into salads. Gotta make lemonade! All my neighbors have heads, so maybe its the variety plant I chose. The cauli hasn't headed, and except for size, no activity from the Brussels sprouts, either. (No worms however...the plastic tabs are working!)
The heavy rains last weekend caused my cabbage head to split. Here's my 5"Wx7"T head before I took it home.
I'm blanching a head of celery for harvest in approximately 2 weeks. I reseeded the celery (the plastic hothouse to the right), and I think the seedlings are showing!
Salad greens are all doing well. Some seedling are showing. I'm already harvesting from the spinach and arugula plants.
Then there is the monarch moth:
Nearly everything has popped: eggplant, Italian kale, Portugese kale, brandywine tom, green zebra tom, mini orange bomb tom (that's my name for them), bell peppers, kohlrabi, leeks, Asian melon, carrots, celery, pole beans, bush beans bush peas, spinach, and lettuce. A few haven't popped yet...some of the seeds already mentioned, Broccoli Raab, mini yellow pear tom, cherry tom, daisys and cosmos. The replanted beets and radishes are doing well (we ate two of the radishes tonight in the salad). The first round of carrots (long imperators) are in sprout:
It cracks me up how the same plants of a variety on the west side of the garden are larger (even if just a bit!) than the ones directly east. Look at the carrot sprouts!
As for my patio, the latice lath cover is up, and now I see I have partial sun/dappled shade in that area. I've planted cantaloupe in a mound, and am going to plant the rest in salad greens. We like our greens really young, and I'm harvesting 'young adults with long necks' from the plot. Having them here will make it easier to pick for dinner, too.
I do wish I could figure out a way to make a salad table there (without rotting legs!), but I'll just have to get my stretching and bending exercises in. Go glutes!
I haven't done anything with herbs...except transplant some basil I bought. The more I read about their spreading, the more I ponder planting seeds!
Overall, 90% of what I harvest now is from starter plants planted in mid-February. The only thing with flower are the flowers and the broccoli. Certain things should be in flower (peas) or with heads (cauli and Brussels and broccoli). The rest of it is all very young and less than 2" tall. But hey...the less plastic hothouses are needed, the greener it is!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Occupy! Reaches Garden Grove
Today we spent 5 hours at the garden, as it was monthly community clean-up day.
There were only 4 of us today...usually there are 15+. Our project was remove everything but what was native in a planting strip that runs the length of the dividing fence. (Our garden is two side-by-side properties where they removed the houses).
I rescued for replanting a number of geraniums, nasturtiums, a corn, a beet, and some strawberries. I gave the veggies to another gardner for their plot who has a lot of space.
Then we came to our beloved poppies. How can you remove our native poppies! We protested, but the coordinator wouldn't budge. With a weedwacker in hand, he was pretty formidable!
So my DD staged the Protect the Poppy Sit In. Here she is, looking Shasha-fierce. (I recommend you enlarge to see her expression...it's priceless!)
In the end, he won. But before he wacked, we dug up what we could. I gave one away to another gardener who came to help, and have a big plant of them to take to the nursing home (along with the geraniums and nasturtiums).
They are soaking in water in my truck right now...waiting for Monday!
The pole behind her is the dividing line of the fence. They are removing what she is leaning against so the left side gardners can access their plots and the trash cans more easily (about 4' of fence). The poppies were mostly rooted on the other side, and they'll reseed (right???).
We pulled all the weeds (lots of cheeseweed, crab grass and dandelions), updated the soaker hose, laid down heavy black pastic as weed block around 3 existing plants, dug in 3 more native flowering sage through the plastic, then covered the plastic in red bark mulch. It looks great!
Ava
There were only 4 of us today...usually there are 15+. Our project was remove everything but what was native in a planting strip that runs the length of the dividing fence. (Our garden is two side-by-side properties where they removed the houses).
I rescued for replanting a number of geraniums, nasturtiums, a corn, a beet, and some strawberries. I gave the veggies to another gardner for their plot who has a lot of space.
Then we came to our beloved poppies. How can you remove our native poppies! We protested, but the coordinator wouldn't budge. With a weedwacker in hand, he was pretty formidable!
So my DD staged the Protect the Poppy Sit In. Here she is, looking Shasha-fierce. (I recommend you enlarge to see her expression...it's priceless!)
In the end, he won. But before he wacked, we dug up what we could. I gave one away to another gardener who came to help, and have a big plant of them to take to the nursing home (along with the geraniums and nasturtiums).
They are soaking in water in my truck right now...waiting for Monday!
The pole behind her is the dividing line of the fence. They are removing what she is leaning against so the left side gardners can access their plots and the trash cans more easily (about 4' of fence). The poppies were mostly rooted on the other side, and they'll reseed (right???).
We pulled all the weeds (lots of cheeseweed, crab grass and dandelions), updated the soaker hose, laid down heavy black pastic as weed block around 3 existing plants, dug in 3 more native flowering sage through the plastic, then covered the plastic in red bark mulch. It looks great!
Ava
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
AvaDGardner wrote:Today we spent 5 hours at the garden, as it was monthly community clean-up day.
Our project was remove everything but what was native
Then we came to our beloved poppies. How can you remove our native poppies! We protested, but the coordinator wouldn't budge. With a weedwacker in hand, he was pretty formidable!
In the end, he won.
Ava
But the California poppies ARE native. What was that about? What a dufus.
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
Chopper wrote:AvaDGardner wrote:Today we spent 5 hours at the garden, as it was monthly community clean-up day.
Our project was remove everything but what was native
Then we came to our beloved poppies. How can you remove our native poppies! We protested, but the coordinator wouldn't budge. With a weedwacker in hand, he was pretty formidable!
In the end, he won.
Ava
But the California poppies ARE native. What was that about? What a dufus.
So glad to see you, Chopper!
Yeah, they are native. But they had to come out because the fence is coming out behind her. Now...we didn't remove the poppies on the other side...and the trash cans go right up to their edge. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Hey...the nursing home will get some poppies!
AvaDGardner- Posts : 634
Join date : 2012-02-17
Location : Garden Grove, CA (still Zone 10b)
Re: My Garden Adventure, 2012
ava your garden looks great!!
thanks for sharing!!!
love the stories too!
hugs
rose....who is sooo tired tonight.....long day...but worth it to be in the garden with sunshine
thanks for sharing!!!
love the stories too!
hugs
rose....who is sooo tired tonight.....long day...but worth it to be in the garden with sunshine
FamilyGardening- Posts : 2424
Join date : 2011-05-10
Location : Western WA
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