PNW: March 2013

Whoopsie daisy - been checking in every day and completely forgot that it was a new month and we should have a new general discussion thread started!

So here we are in March. What a great month - Daylight Savings coming up on the 10th, First Day of Spring on the 20th. Locally our weatherman has declared we can stick a fork in winter because it's done. I still see frost most mornings and our warm, sunny days are interspersed with plenty of cool, rainy ones.

So much can be done in the garden now! Here's a link to a planting calendar on Mother Earth News for the PNW: What to Plant in March

Two of my fave's this month: Potatoes (traditionally on St. Paddy's day!) and carrots (you can save some for carrot week, but really ought to plant now).

Lots is growing on in our FamilyGardens

spring seedlings....cole crops, lettuce and spinach went out to the green house



started our tomato and pepper plants



planted our potatoes....still need to put on a thick layer of wood chips



direct sowed potato, parsnips and turnips in our SFG...



our new Peach tree



our new 4 or 5 way apple tree...also our artichokes from last year are coming up :drunken: you can see them behind the apple tree




flowers and herbs under lights



our first home compost



we have noticed that our berries are starting to bud

happy gardening
rose

I have just seen the Mother earth's map of the Pacific Northwest and I realise that I am located just to the right of that. I don't know what the area is called, but do you have another page in ME for my area? Otherwise I think I will read the PNW article and plant everything two weeks later.
I am in the British Columbia Southern Interior just above the 49th Parallel. Still haven't figured out my Last Frost Date.

Kelejan wrote:I have just seen the Mother earth's map of the Pacific Northwest and I realise that I am located just to the right of that. I don't know what the area is called, but do you have another page in ME for my area? Otherwise I think I will read the PNW article and plant everything two weeks later.
I am in the British Columbia Southern Interior just above the 49th Parallel. Still haven't figured out my Last Frost Date.

Kelejan, here's the link to the What to Plant now regions on Mother Earth: Regional Map

You do need to know your last frost date - all of these regions cover vast areas and one planting date won't work for everyone within one region. If you can't find any of the frost date calendars that work for your region, just call a local nursery (a real one, not a big box store) and they will be able to tell you.

gwennifer, thanks for the help. I have decided that the Rockies are more my area. The two printouts I did for the March Planting guide are way different. Our area of British Columbia has so many Zones in it that I can only recognise the Okanagan, the semi-desert region next to the Kootenay. I will ask our gardening centre if they know the last frost date when they open next month.

Kelegan
I have found a chart that says that Castlegar's last frost date is May 1st and first frost is October 5th.
So you sound just a teensy bit warmer than me.

janet

GWN wrote:Kelegan
I have found a chart that says that Castlegar's last frost date is May 1st and first frost is October 5th.
So you sound just a teensy bit warmer than me.

janet

Oh, thank you, janet. That is so helpfull of you.

ETA Now added to my calendar.

I did a quick trip to Fred Meyer's today and at the front entrance to the grocery side of the store there were flats of vegetable starts. I spotted peas, a variety of leafy greens and, this one surprised me, carrots!

So if you are new to gardening, or you don't want to mess with seed starting, go grab some starts!

FamilyGardening wrote:Lots is growing on in our FamilyGardens
spring seedlings....snip....
...snip...

Growing up in the shadow of a fork and masher.... yikes!


Chitting spring potatoes.

I do not get out much to take pictures. The best light comes and goes while I am stuck at school, so not a lot to show. (Most of my facebook and blog pics are taken on Sundays)..... I've never "chitted" potatoes before (golly my boys would have fun with that statement). I have trays of potatoes in the green house chitting. It takes a long time....which explains their slow growth in the ground. These look like they will be ready for St Patrick’s Day.

Peas of all kinds are planted, fava beans and plain orange carrots too. The greenhouse onions and salad are coming along, slower than I would like, but then again, I don't have a lot of time to garden, so it's all good. The nuggetts are laying big spring eggs (poor miss purdy passed and I miss her). The winter garden is still giving leeks, kale, parsley, celeriac, herbs of all kinds and a few chard leaves. Under the kitty cover we have carrots for mid week soup. There will be some kind of cole crop, it is a little stunted but started taking off when I took care of the spring slug population. My garlic looks fantastic!

"I eat local because I can" is our theme. I actually do not can much but there are still pears, beans and jams to add back-yard flavor to our daily fair. We used the last of the frozen tomatoes but are still enjoying local roast peppers (hot and sweet), Chinese peas and precious few fava beans. We might just make it to spring with the dry Rockwell beans (and the inexpensive store beans in the pantry) So far, with me making $800 a month, Ray in school, and the boys renting rooms, we get to keep our Toy Box, stay off of government aid and eat like the elite.   is good.
Thursday, March 7; the puppies will want to pause and shake off the wet while we are walking tonight. 80% chance of rain in Everett means ....it IS going to rain. 48/36 means that it is going to be a cold rain. I guess, as long as I am stuck at a desk, it may as well drip. Sunrise at 6:37, setting at 6:03 for 11hours and 26 minutes of gray day.... Sabbath is supposed to be pretty!

Ha! The Official Forum does not like the name of my deity. That last line should maybe say YHVH is good instead of the G word.

LOL Debs....it was quick....seedlings sat there just to take their picture...glad we had the butter covered.... ....that is their last resting spot though.....unless they get munched on while working in the gardens.....

sorry to hear about Miss Purdy (((hugs)))

I wonder if your taters are slow because its cooler in the green house?
we chitted ( you should have seen the look on our childrens face when i was explaining chitting) our taters in the house and it only took about a week....

sounds like you have some great treats that over wintered we are really hoping to over winter more this time around....

this year we are trying to sneak in growing food in every inch of our lot......even our front yard grass is getting smaller by the min... ....hubby is in full force turning our front yard into a mini fruit orchard and veggie paradise we too are living on a small budget and it keeps shrinking....

hugs
Rose

The kids help sow 6 differnt kinds of carrots and some more shelling peas the sun was out and it felt so good!

hope you all have a great weekend and are able to get some dirt under your nails

happy gardening
rose

That is what I've been waiting for!
Italian kale fixen to bud... spring harvest!

Sweet sister Russian Kale

Now and then I get on a stupid kick to try and cut down on salty-sweet snacks after school. I've been going a little nuts with kale smoothies. Toy Box kale, San Diego Strawberries, Avocados from I don't even know where (shame on me!) and half a local apple with almond milk. MMMM-mm.
Spring is coming! Spring is coming! Meanwhile, Everett is suddenly on alert for flooding. Persistent rain and mild temperatures (snow melt) could factor out into lowland flooding. Ptttttthhh. (Monday, 3/11) 52/46. The 60% chance of rain has not dribbled out on us yet but it is kicking up to 90% tonight. Between 7:29 AM (dang-nab DST) and 7:09 there will be 11 hours and 40 minutes of daylight. Last night of the snow moon (good night moon).

we need a break from rain ....cool weather seedlings are still in the green house

still wanting to direct sow some onions, spinach and lettuce....we also picked up some seeds yesterday to start some more leeks...

we up pot some of our tomato seedlings that are curently cozy under lights....re-sowed a few that were taking to long to sprout....but found the older ones showing them selves this morning..... ....its ok to have extra's....we have a few neighblors that are going to start gardening this year and it will be nice to give them a few extra veggie starts

a few of our pepper seedlings just came up today.....was getting worried about these guys.....peppers are soooo slow

we need to sow some more parsnips.....i watched a video on youtube about parsnips and how hard it is to get them to sprout if direct sow them in the garden...so the gardener suggested sprouting them in wet papper towels and then plant them once they get a little tail coming from the seed....well...we have lots of seeds with little tails....now we need a break in the weather so we can go out and plant these guys!.....may just have to get wet and do it

whats everyone else up too??

hugs
rose

So far this year I have (2) 2'x8's planted and everything has sprouted and growing. Yesterday, I amended another 4'x4' that I was using for winter crops and pulled everything but one chard, a few garlic and gave the rest to the chickens. I ate two german giant and one daikon radish that was about 4 inches that was a nice surprise.

I pulled out the rain barrels and have put them up for the season and just need to connect them together.
I have been slowly up-potting the tomatoes a few each day and discovered quickly that they won't all fit into the wagon. I had to improvise and placed a cut piece of plywood over the wagon for more area.
I still need to amend 3 4'x8's, the 4'x12' and one 2'x8' before they are ready for the growing season which means alot of compost sifting on my part!
The leeks I planted last fall are almost ready to pull and I have been eating alot of salad. This was actually the best winter garden I have had the past three years and I will continue to try and improve. Lack of proper watering seems to be my issue and I am still trying to get it right!

sounds like you been busy camp ....great to hear your winter garden did so well whats sprouting in your beds?

we tried a few things to over winter to experiment to see what would grow well. We have found so far kale, swiss chard, collard greens, cabbage, celery, onions and leeks did well ( need to work harder on the slugs!) and figure out how to have a fall/winter harvest of broc’s and cauliflowers…..those failed....plants grew great...heads turned black....

we have also learned that planting over winter crops in the next years corn bed work well...as by the time we pull them it will be time to plant the corn....thats one area we have been working on....like planting a fall harvest of beans in the potato bed after harvest....

We were able to plant the parsnips today, add wood chip mulch to the potato bed and cole crop bed…..hoping to be able to get the cole crop sprouts into the bed soon….

While out working in the back garden… we found a nice surprise…some lettuce growing from over winter….didn’t know any had survived

We also have been changing some of the layout for the gardens……finding some shaded spots for lettuce and spinach…..last year our spinach bolted before we were able to eat any……so this year I have been working hard trying to get a feel where the veggies would do the best when planted…..

Debs i forgot to mention that your Kale looks so pretty! our son picked out some new kale we are going to try this year....he is so excited

hugs
rose

FamilyGardening, in one bed I have 4 squares radish, 2 squares arugula and 10 squares of spinach coming up. The second bed contains peas (yes, all peas) better than 2010 when I planted a 4'x8' and half of another bed with peas, lol.
I am glad your kale, chard, leeks, onions and celery worked, they all survived for me also. I have never tried the collards, cabbage, broc and cauliflower here. Sounds like you have been busy in the garden also! (I love fresh steamed parsnips)
I am sure you will have better luck with the spinach this year and if nothing else, it will over winter in the PNW so there is a chance at a fall crop.

yes Camp cant wait to try parsnips....never had them we were able to plant in three squares :drunken: hubby turned his nose up at the thought....but he has never had them fresh from the garden....so we shall see

had a break from rain showers today we were able to transplant into the beds from the green house...large and small cabbage, bok choi, broc's, cauli's, lettuce, spinach, leeks, and put in some red onion bulbs we also direct sowed a few spinach seeds into a wooden pot....( glad to hear your spinach is up camp!)and sowed some poppy flower seed around the two cherry trees that are in wine barrels.....

also in the back garden beds ....on top of the fresh mushroom compost we put down a couple of weeks ago ...we top off most of the beds with fresh wood chips....still need to do the corn beds after we take out the cool weather crops that over wintered.....

we also gave all our garden beds, fruit trees, berries, flowers, rose bushes and such a good feeding of epsom salt....

the most exciting part......drum roll please.....our surgar snap peas are poking thru how cool is that! ( we love our peas too camp!)

so nice to get out today and get dirt under my nails
hugs
rose.....

we had some sun breaks today....so out we went to sow more seeds!

a little bit windy....hoping our baby cole crop seedlings can handle it....we still dont have the garden fabric up on the hoops....but so far they seem to have settle in well.....

in the Back garden we made another cole crop bed because we ran out of room in the larger bed....its the bed that has the over winter celery in it....so....we sowed 2 SQ collard greens, 2 SQ kohirabi one green and one purple, still need to transplant 6 baby cabbage, 2 broc's, 2 cauli's....going to add hoops and garden fabric.....

in the bed next to it we sowed......2 SQ parsnips, 2 SQ turnips, 4 SQ carrots, 2 SQ radish french breakfast & watermelon, 2 SQ golden beets, 3 SQ green onions.....

transplanted three fava beans in the back garden

out front....transplanted a few Kale & swiss chard and sowed some flower seeds....

sowed a couple planting pots with a mix of lettuce, kale, swiss chard and spinach....

and...did a finale Garden plan with some changes.....

happy gardening
rose....who was able to get a lot done and *thinks* almost all of the family gardening spring plantings is done :drunken: just a few transplants to go!

Oh my goodness Rose! You are the queen of the northwest!
All I did was clean up an area between beds (what a mess! who da' thunk?), laid down a stack of paper grocery bags before setting a cradle on them to help keep them in place until I can score some mulch to cover them with. Put some soil mix and compost with a light sprinkle of lime into the barrel before tucking six nicely chitted yellow (Satina, determinant) potatoes in. (how much longer can I talk about chitted potatoes?)

Looks like a bucket of dirt, but honestly, it is potatoes.

Peas are starting to show but no sign of fava beans or carrots. Greens are growing so fast! I don't know why I haven't stuck a few radish seeds under the kitty cover to go with them. Maybe that will be my project for tomorrow.

Had my first harvest today, but I am not REALLY sure that it counts as a harvest.

Microgreens on sharp-nutty cheese, all melty from the warm crusty bread.

Tasted like more but cheese is a treat, not a meal. Still, yum!

Finally got tomatoes and peppers started. True to type, I have a ridiculous number of tomatoes started. As soon as they are off of the warming tray, I'll start more greens, including kale. Rose... what is the new KIND of kale you teased about?

Debs..... who noticed the purple sprouting broccoli is starting to head-up!
Onions, and now, peas, in the green house. The Worm moon (Nisan) is waxing (growing) and is nearly into the 2nd quarter already. This is the Moon that announces spring! Daffodils are swollen, chives are off to a good start and the lawn is lush. We have bird song by day and a chorus of frogs at night. If I can ignore politics then I can believe all is well for yet another year. Sun breaks and Showers for St. Patrick's Day. 46/37... when the sunshine was on my shoulders it had a chilly bite to it. Sunrise at 7:17, setting exactly 12 hours later at 7:17.

Debs your harvest look sooo yummy!!....i love a good cheese, on warm bread with fresh micro greens....who could ask for more

Not really a Queen of the Northwest....more like Queen of ants in her pants....LOL....pushing the limits on how early we can plant

the new kind of kale our six year old son picked out is called:

The Taste Of Italy
Cavolo/Kale Palmizio Senza Testa
Authentic Italian Seed



we grew Blue Curled Scotch Kale last year and he said it wasnt the right kind.....at school he eats a differnt kind of kale out in the school garden... LOL... so we looked at seeds together and this is the one he picked out we put a seedling in his self watering container with MM today....

we loved seeing your puppy tonight Debs.....our son is still awake....has a bad cough...he loves seeing your puppies

hugs
rose and son

Hi Rose
I have used seeds from that Italian company for years, usually basil, tomatoes and peppers, never been disappointed
Debs.... the strawberry that is HUGE on your plate, was that for your garden or SB? LOOKS yummie

I have been fluffing up my beds and tracking down every last weed. Despite still freezing nights, I have planted many of the artichokes that I had overwintered the roots of and they seem to be thriving out in the garden. I DO have a few peas up that are under cloches. I dug up a few long stray roots from raspberries last fall and kept them in the greenhouse and sure enough the roots have a little knob every inch or so along and each nob has turned into a raspberry plant and I have planted about 20 of them. They do not seem to mind the cold weather, however it is supposed to get really cold tonite, pehrpas I might cover them. The spinach in my cold frame is growing for me a large bowl of spinach every 3-4 days.
My son and my husband are learning how to keep bees. I figure I am the one who runs everything in the garden, so I am encouraging them to learn this totally and I will just watch

The kale from last year seems to be sprouting nicely so perhaps I do not need to plant this year. I even have 2 spinach plants that survived the winter.

Too much gardening this weekend, very sore back now so will work on seeding today.

The kale from last year seems to be sprouting nicely so perhaps I do not need to plant this year. I even have 2 spinach plants that survived the winter.

You will get a good spring crop from overwintered kale, but as soon as the weather starts to warm up a flower stalk will pop up and the kale will taste uggggg. So be sure to get a new crop going.

Kay

So be sure to get a new crop going.

THank you for that info.
Last night we bought some greens to go with my spinach and baby Kale was in with it, I am thinking perhaps that harvesting Kale when it is more tender might be a good option.... it really tasted good...

for dinner tonight.... over winter cabbage..who knew ....small center heads of 2 cabbages..... that the slugs didnt get too.....



lesson learned.....even if the outside of a cabbage is taken hostage by slugs.....there still maybe a tasty treat on the inside....

happy gardening
rose.......