Mid-Atlantic - April 2015

Until today I felt like the Cobbler whose children had no shoes, but now I feel like I've made some progress.

I added a little more Mel's Mix to my 2' x 23' bed - it's been 5 seasons and now it's ready to be seeded.

We're still having wild swings in temperature so I'm hesitant to put out any transplants.

It was satisfying to see that the Mel's Mix had very few weeds and was loose and friable. And it was a complete treat to harvest a few turnips and carrots and to see a square of mustard looking all beautiful.

How are things progressing in your garden?

I took a big chance an planted two rows of my snap peas.
I covered them with weed cloth just in case it gets frosty.

We leave tomorrow afternoon to go outside of Buffalo, NY to visit son, daughter in law and 2 grandsons for Easter, make homemade pierogies,  and return next Wednesday afternoon. The next day, Thursday I will be making homemade pierogies to bring to my other son, daughter in law and 1 grandson that live in Washington, DC on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with them....

So that is why I planted my snap peas today....

So on your way to DC you can drop some off at my house.

I planted peas and lettuce this week.   A bit late, so I hope summer is delayed too.  Next week, carrots.

AAAAAHHHHHH It rained last night and my Mel's Mix was moist. I was FINALLY able to get out to the garden and plant some seeds. I had fun using my SEEDING SQUARE for the first time.

I watered well, put on my trusty GARDEN COMMANDERS and threw some plastic over the whole shebang since some of what I planted still needs to be protected.

The tomato seedlings and some other things are doing well in the hoop house.

SOOOOOOO have you been able to get out in the garden?

I saw pea shoots popping through my soil today!  This even after I moved the seeds that I'd planted from one side of the box to the other!

moswell wrote:I saw pea shoots popping through my soil today!  This even after I moved the seeds that I'd planted from one side of the box to the other!

Yippee! I know the feeling - mine have popped up, too!
CC

Peas are coming up!  120 of them!(Back row with the trellis above them)

zackshea wrote:


Peas are coming up!  120 of them!(Back row with the trellis above them)

Holy cow, 120!??!   And yay!

Yup, I had great success last year with freezing them for stir-fry.  And my daughter eats them by the handful  

Here is the other end of the same bed

I only planted two squares last year and then found out the grands LOVE them.

sfg4uKim wrote:I only planted two squares last year and then found out the grands LOVE them.

My sister says that hers never make it in the house between the four kids.  I don't have kids, so I'm usually overwhelmed and freezing them!  I do four squares of peas.

you can never have too many peas!

They grow so fast and I find them to be my best plants in SFG.  I have to chop off the tops because they start to fold over the top of the 7' trellis.

So the day after tax day is planting day for me here in eastern PA.  Got the bed cleaned out and planted seeds for arugula, lettuce, spinach, onions, kale, chard, and peas.  Does anyone think it's too early for any of these?  They all seem to do ok in the cool weather so I went ahead and planted.

I had some lovely bunches of lettuce that survived the brutal winter under the hoop, so I just filled in the rest of the squares.  I had a lot of spinach survive too, although it doesn't look too good - lots of yellow, spotted, and some fuzzy leaves.  I picked about half of it and fed it to the compost.  Hoping the new growth looks better.

Next up are beans, carrots, beets, turnips, and parsnips.  They'll probably go in this weekend.  Again, someone please tell me if you think it's too early for these!  This is my first time being ready so early in the season, so I'm just planting everything to see how it goes.

The best surprise when I looked under my hoop was my lovely garlic shooting up from the leaves I mulched them with.  They have almost doubled in size and I can't wait for the scapes to grow!  I'll try to post a picture soon.

Well, maybe that was the second best surprise.  The best surprise had to be the green onions that were growing under the plastic and mulch.  I dug them up today since I'll be planting onions in a different location this year, and I wasn't sure how they would grow.  If they taste ok, they will be my first harvest of the season!

Plants will go in around Mother's day I guess so I'll have a few weeks to sit back and watch the seedlings grow.

I also picked up a rain barrel kit from my local water authority last weekend, so I have another project to fit in.  Can't wait to have free water for my garden!

zackshea wrote:you can never have too many peas!

They grow so fast and I find them to be my best plants in SFG.  I have to chop off the tops because they start to fold over the top of the 7' trellis.

Wow!  I wish I had enough room in my garden for that many peas.  Mine barely make it in the house either - I only have 3 squares.  How many plants do you have per square?  I usually do around 6 - that seems like so many, but if I can squeeze a few more in they will go to good use.  I grow mine on a trelis too.

I do 8 to a square and 15 squares all down the north side of my deep cinder Block bed. It creates a high wall and with the cherry tomatoes on a trellis running along the other side of the sidewalk it creates a cool tunnel without a top. It looks so cool in late June and July when everything is full grown.

zackshea wrote:I do 8 to a square and 15 squares all down the north side of my deep cinder Block bed. It creates a high wall and with the cherry tomatoes on a trellis running along the other side of the sidewalk it creates a cool tunnel without a top. It looks so cool in late June and July when everything is full grown.

That's good to know!  I actually planted 8-9 seeds per square, expecting 1 or 2 not to make it.  I like the pattern you use, I will try planting that way next time.

Got the last of my seeds in this afternoon - just in time for the rain they are predicting for overnight and tomorrow.

Anyone worried about frost later this week?  I've got carrot and scallion shoots coming up, onion sets in the ground, peas that are really taking off, and some herbs (all but the basil) in pots.  Other than maybe the oregano and parsley, should I cover anything?

Haha yes I am worried!  We are supposed to go down to 32 but it says the breeze and cloud cover will prevent frost.  I have everything out, including peppers and tomatoes! I did it early because I don't have the room to repot in bigger pots indoors so I had no choice... I am gonna cover with bowls and straw but I am not sure the more tender plants will make it.  I think the peas and onions will be fine. Good luck!

When we returned home from visiting family, it was a nice surprise to see my peas already 1-2 inches high.
This past Saturday I was able to plant my different types of lettuces in with the box with peas.
I feel I am so late since we had a long winter...thank goodness for Spring!

My peas are about 4 inches tall now, they grow so fast!  The spinach, kale, and lettuce are loving this cool, wet weather and are taking off.  I started my watermelon seeds inside yesterday for transplant later in May.  I cannot wait to plant the cukes and bush beans.  I will have 32 cucumber plants this year!  I made gallons and gallons of pickles last year and only had 10 plants.  Hopefully I will have the same luck this year.

I know!  It was just a week ago I was saying that I saw they were just peeking up through the soil, and now most of them are actually looking like pea plants and are at least three inches high!

zackshea wrote:My peas are about 4 inches tall now, they grow so fast!  The spinach, kale, and lettuce are loving this cool, wet weather and are taking off.  I started my watermelon seeds inside yesterday for transplant later in May.  I cannot wait to plant the cukes and bush beans.  I will have 32 cucumber plants this year!  I made gallons and gallons of pickles last year and only had 10 plants.  Hopefully I will have the same luck this year.

32??? crud, I'm happy if I can get 4 to grow and stay alive. What variety do you plant? Don't they get powdery mildew?

CC

I didn't lose any cuke plants last year.  My zucchini had the powdery mildew and they were planted right next to them...weird.

I bought straight 8 heirlooms from mypatriotsupply.com and smaller pickling cukes from Gurney's.  Everything I have purchased from mypatriotsupply.com has 95-100% germ rates and I haven't had any diseases yet. I plant tons of flowers and beneficial plants, maybe that helps with the disease and pests.  The worst I have had to deal with are potato beetles which I just picked off and fed to my salamander  

I also have extremely large amounts of worms in my beds. about 7-8 per shovelful, and tons of spiders in my vertical plants.  I must live in a very bio-diverse part of Chester County!