N & C Midwest: April 2017!

Also, the special hex cells designed to help root development did such a great job there were 6 to 8 inches of roots hanging out too the bottom of those things....well, needless to say, that all just got ripped off....fingers crossed.

Scorpio Rising wrote:CK, I leave my hotties on the heating pad after sprout for about 2 weeks...No reason...just the late bloomers.  Like Ground cherries take foreve!

I'm pretty sure my problem has mostly to do with the soil temperature, since it was about the time I moved them under the lights that they stalled out. I think on my next try, I'm going to keep them on heat when I move them to more light. Thanks for the tips!

Yep, I agree, worth a try!

I just came up from the basement.  The peppers and tomatoes will need potted up this weekend, they are big!  Might need to do same with herbs.  

Romanesco cauliflower is also big, and it and some more spinach are spending the night outside....going outside this weekend!  Will also direct seed radish, peas, beets, turnips, carrots.

 Also, will start melons, squash...yum!

Harvested the whole mache plants, man is that a delicious leaf!  Buttery.  Survived the winter with no cover...WOW!

Warm here today, but predicting RAIN for Easter....going to bring up some baby plants to stick outside for a while....and hopefully I can pot up some bigger plants and get the cauli and last few spinaches in the beds.  

Hope I have time to direct seed my roots and snap peas.

Got nothing seeded, but did get the Romanesco Cauliflower in....lettuces looking good...spinach not doing anything...I am sure I was too late...I can't get this timing.  Last year, I lost a bunch of spinach and lettuce due to late low freezes.



So, prepped the old beds, which means getting the grass out!   



These things rock!  Amazon!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Got nothing seeded, but did get the Romanesco Cauliflower in....lettuces looking good...spinach not doing anything...I am sure I was too late...I can't get this timing.  Last year, I lost a bunch of spinach and lettuce due to late low freezes.

That timing thing can sometimes be a moving target. Best done earlier one year, but later the next year... One of the things I love about gardening is how it locks your consciousness into nature. On the other hand, I'm glad I don't make a living raising food for others... I'd have to see a therapist.

Got the tomato seedlings upgraded with more mix in their pots to get new roots growing up the stem, and got my cabbages out into the bed, so my leafy bed is a full house, now.  It's shaping up to be a little more colorful this year...



We have had such a lovely mild spring this year... cooler than normal, but an abundance of much needed rain, dispensed slowly and gently, with no harsh cold snaps or or violent thunderstorms so far...

Calendar Perfect!! If that a bridal tulle frame at the top of the photo?

It is, indeed.

sanderson wrote:Calendar Perfect!!  If that a bridal tulle frame at the top of the photo?

You said it, Sanderson! That pic should be in a magazine.

Oh, that's lovely, Kate. Lucky you to have all that growing already.

Gorgeous!  Great color, texture, just...wow!  What is that super deep red thing to the left of the blue cabbage?

countrynaturals wrote:

sanderson wrote:Calendar Perfect!!  If that a bridal tulle frame at the top of the photo?

You said it, Sanderson! That pic should be in a magazine.

+1

Carrot and seeds in the ground today...two 4x4 boxes...trying to stagger a few squares of radishes.

Me: 1
Squirrels: 0


Other things growing and doing well...beets, tatsoi, napa cabbage, shallots, onions, and sugar peas.  Lettuce seedlings struggling with double whammy of rains followed by hot dry 30 mph winds all day long.  


I had a mouse or two top of the majority of my pepper seedlings under the grow lights so I ordered more from Tomato Growers Supply (King Arthur and Touchdown), and Baker Creek (Giant Marconi) and got them started right away (trapped the mice)...germination in about 3 days on heat mat (pre-soaked in damp paper towel overnight).  I think they'll be ready in about a month when I typically plant around Mothers Day.
  

I am doing 10 tomato types: mortgage lifter, Kosovo, beefsteak, red brandywine, health kick, san marzano, black krim, carbon, anna russian, and black cherry.  Looking forward to fresh pico and salsa.

Trying to stay patient and leave squares open for some green beans.

Looking good,landarch!  I wish I had been earlier on the roots....

Hopefully, will get some of those in this week, along with getting some peppers and maters potted up....possibly the herbs....not sure where they are gonna go.

Plans!  Versus time....

landarch wrote:Carrot and seeds in the ground today...two 4x4 boxes...trying to stagger a few squares of radishes.

Me: 1
Squirrels: 0

Ha! Squirrels going, "What the [expletive]???"

Scorpio Rising wrote:What is that super deep red thing to the left of the blue cabbage?

That is some Sea of Red lettuce from Renee's Garden.  I'm just trying for the first time this year.  So far, I like it a lot.

No planting this weekend; but everything is up as of Sat except the carrots.  All planted either 4-2 or 4-9.  I will be doing more planting this weekend.

Just got maters, peppers, and herbs up-potted, and groundcherries...

CK, keep me posted on the Sea of Red, it is beautiful!

Herb, I only got some transplants done, so this weekend, hope to get carrots and beets in, maybe a radish and turnip....and sugar snaps, if it isn't too late!

And I will be danged  if one of the spinaches, freshly transplanted, is BOLTING!!!!  I think it is that Gigante de Inverno, which must like it way cold.   And I never ever seem to get an early enough start, or sometimes, too early...wha?

Scorpio Rising wrote:

And I will be danged  if one of the spinaches, freshly transplanted, is BOLTING!!!!  I think it is that Gigante de Inverno, which must like it way cold.   And I never ever seem to get an early enough start, or sometimes, too early...wha?

Spinach for me is so high maintenance! I think we concluded last year that it has something to do with the number of daylight hours. I can't remember what the turning point number was, maybe it was 12 or thereabout. I'll see if I can find some notes on it.

CapeCoddess wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:

And I will be danged  if one of the spinaches, freshly transplanted, is BOLTING!!!!  I think it is that Gigante de Inverno, which must like it way cold.   And I never ever seem to get an early enough start, or sometimes, too early...wha?

Spinach for me is so high maintenance! I think we concluded last year that it has something to do with the number of daylight hours. I can't remember what the turning point number was, maybe it was 12 or thereabout. I'll see if I can find some notes on it.

Yes!  I know it, I think I might have better luck with all the early spring stuff to just direct seed and pray???  Lettuces seem to do OK, and hotties obvo....

Scorpio Rising wrote:Just got maters, peppers, and herbs up-potted, and groundcherries...

CK, keep me posted on the Sea of Red, it is beautiful!

Herb, I only got some transplants done, so this weekend, hope to get carrots and beets in, maybe a radish and turnip....and sugar snaps, if it isn't too late!

And I will be danged  if one of the spinaches, freshly transplanted, is BOLTING!!!!  I think it is that Gigante de Inverno, which must like it way cold.   And I never ever seem to get an early enough start, or sometimes, too early...wha?

Doh! Spinach really is such a finicky plant, and it's so hard to predict what the weather's going to do from one year to the next. Around here, getting them out in early-mid March seems to be their sweet spot, as long as the weather doesn't deviate too far hot or cold from the norm. I was a little surprised to see just how much cold they could tolerate at times, but even they have their limits.

On the Sea of Red... I'll be playing outside tomorrow, so I'll shoot some closeups of it and post them. It really is beautiful, and really starting to take off, now that it's warming up some more.

Today, I got to start working on some flowers, and was happy to see a couple of local nurseries are now carrying more plants to make the bees and butterflies happy, including a couple of varieties of milkweed. Finally getting to do this!

Love it!!!  Saw my first bumble yesterday, so adorable!!!

OK, my tomatoes, peppers, herbs are spending the night outside tonight, supposed to be 59 tonight....they are smallish, potted up.  High tomorrow is 77, so gonna take a chance.  

Need need need to get my seeds in for roots.  Where do I get the time!!!????

Scorpio Rising wrote:Love it!!!  Saw my first bumble yesterday, so adorable!!!

Same here, but he/she was in a hurry to make an appointment elsewhere...  still, a happy sight.  Also, a couple of butterflies touched down in the newly-purchased flowers I had sitting outside yesterday.  They were back for additional visits throughout the day.  Almost got all my butterfly/bee plants potted on the patio... butterfly weed and milkweed "silk mix" that I found locally, yarrow, shasta daisies, marigolds, and others.