PNW: March 2013

GWN wrote:Debs.... the strawberry that is HUGE on your plate, was that for your garden or SB? LOOKS yummie

....snip.... The spinach in my cold frame is growing for me a large bowl of spinach every 3-4 days....snip.....have 2 spinach plants that survived the winter.

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

TOO MUCH GARDENING !?! Never! I say, not enough wine with your whine (in my old age a glass of wine at sunset has become my cure for the after effects of hard work and a soft body, no offence intended)

The Strawberries are from San Diego (I think) by way of Trader Joe's. It will be mid to late June before I show off my first strawberry. I just put them on the plate for color (like I said, I WISH I had grown a few radishes)

On Facebook I put up a pic of my St Paddy's potato bin and whined (<--- ) that I needed a couple more bags of bark mulch for my birthday (yesterday, it was awesome, being a teacher has its perks). This is what I found when I came home from school.

There was a time when I collected Pink Flamingos, they still come with (or as) gifts.

Debs.... who thinks cold frame spinach was a brilliant idea! Did think of cabbage but tossed them to the nuggets when I saw the slug dammage, now I'll have to rethink slug dammage.

Never! I say, not enough wine with your whine (in my old age a glass of wine at sunset has become my cure for the after effects of hard work and a soft body, no offence intended)

LOVE IT! and very true.
I still spent the whole day gardening yesterday, but not as much digging weeds.

I am VERY nervous right now as my greenhouse dropped below freezing last night and I have a few hundred seedlings in there. I was working in the greenhouse harvesting my worm castings, and it got too hot and so I turned off the little heater. WHOOPS... it dropped down to -6 last night and the greenhouse was -1C. I am hoping that it JUST got there when I woke up and rushed out to turn on the heater. SO got my fingers crossed. I sure hope I do not have to start everything over again.

oh no GWN I hope your seedlings will be ok....it would be awful to lose them

we woke to frost on the car windshield this morning.....eek

hugs
rose.....

You ladies are sure busy little gardeners! Love your frequent posts and enthusiasm. I hope you realize how much your updates with what you've been doing in your gardens helps those people who read the forum but never post. It's very useful to see what those in our local areas are doing.

I've been pretty quiet... I sold my SFG. I have one cement tub table top just built this weekend (thanks to hubby!), which now needs to be painted, and two more tubs waiting for their frames. I also bought a used pigeon coop off of craigslist yesterday that I'm hoping to convert to be used for a few chickens. Big plans, and I'm feeling an immense time crunch to get it all done and not completely waste the season. We'll see.

You SOLD your sfg, does that mean you sold your house that had a sfg?
That is SOOO sad.
I have left so many gardens behind, I think that is why I am so incredibly obsessed about this one. We have made SOOO many raised beds in previous places, and left them behind for others.
Our last house we built a beautiful hoop house with cedar sides etc, and when I went back to visit the new owners had torn it down.

SO we are calling this place our "final resting place". I feel for you .

good to see you gwen

I love hearing from everyone as well

how exciting you are going to get some chickens

GWN I told my husband if we ever had to move ...we were taking the MM and Compost with us.....not sure hubby would agree....but...i think making the bed's is the easy part....its the work and cost making the soil thats like a fine wine...it gets better over time....

hugs
rose....who was ice cold all day....brrrr

oh no GWN I hope your seedlings will be ok....it would be awful to lose them

I just got home from work and immediately went out to check the seedlings and they seem to be fine a bit finicky work, so not keen to do it all again.
I have celeriac, 6 types of tomato 3 types of peppers, cilantro, italian rhubarb, English lavender, 2 varieties of eggplant, fennel, potatoes chatting, and they all seem quite happy tonite.... hope I did not forget anyone.

GWN wrote:....snip..... I am VERY nervous right now as my greenhouse dropped below freezing last night and I have a few hundred seedlings in there. I was working in the greenhouse harvesting my worm castings, and it got too hot and so I turned off the little heater. WHOOPS... it dropped down to -6 last night and the greenhouse was -1C. I am hoping that it JUST got there when I woke up and rushed out to turn on the heater. SO got my fingers crossed. I sure hope I do not have to start everything over again.

Oh no! how do things look today? (late Tuesday)

All is well in the cold greenhouse. and no more whining.... after the wine. and an icepack for an hour

the next few days we might get a little snow WHAT???

happy gardening
rose

FamilyGardening wrote:the next few days we might get a little snow WHAT???

happy gardening
rose

Everett got hit.

All my tomatoes sprouted. Made space for them in the greenhouse by setting up my cold frame for the onions and peas. Before Bible study, I felt uncomfortable leaving those babies in the unheated greenhouse all night so I brought them back in. There was snow coming down when we left Bible study.

When I let the dogs out at 4AM it looked like the rain washed the snow away, but golly it was cold out.

Cold here too. Perfect example to my girls of what I've been trying to teach them - that just because the calendar says it's the first day of spring doesn't mean the weather will magically cooperate. Last night I climbed into bed wishing I hadn't changed out the fleece sheets, whereas last week I was sweating in them and had to sleep without the covers. Gotta love the springtime swings! There was hail the night before I picked up my soon-to-be chicken coop.

Died eggs with the girls for our First Day of Spring fun. Today we'll make worms and tomorrow we'll make bird seed cakes. Actually, I need to find a frog craft too to round out our spring celebrations, as they've come out in full force here. Any ideas?

Hope everyone's "babies" are surviving the temps. Take care!

My neighborhood received only a dusting of snow early this morning. I'm jealous!

Here comes the sun! (soon it will be rain)

Everett, Washington, March 22, 2013

Wow - that's a lot of snow! "Feels" like snow here, but just occasional hail showers, alternated by sun and rain breaks. Typical Spring weather.

wow Debs....we only had a brush of snow and it was gone as fast as it came....today bright sunshine......

have to say though.....your snowy toy box sure is pretty!

hugs
rose

we are pushing the limits this year

not sure how much earlier we can plant with hoops and a green house....but we are just going for it

yesterday was another bright sunny day here in the PNW....hubby started on the new front yard fence...(with an arbor :drunken: )....its going to look like the one he built in the back garden area....very excited!

decided to sow some summer crops a week early.....

cucumbers: pickling, straight eight, burpless, yellow and pickling from saved seeds from that hudge cucumber we found last year....started them in the container they are going to stay in and put them in the green house for now....( i know its cold, just trying it out to see how it works)....in the past we have had trouble transplanting them and if we direct sow they always get eatin or die off......we also started some for the childrens self water containers.....

squash: acron, butternut, crookneck and delicaata

Pumpkin: saved seed from Amish pie and Big Max

Melon: started and keeping inside for now

Zucchini....... black beauty

found some Walla Walla onion starts at Home D yesterday....a pack of 5 or 6 for two dollars....couldnt turn them down....since our starts from last fall still look like grass

Direct sowed in some pots...wild flowers for humming birds, butterflies and bee's.....

the cole crop seedlings still all look good ...handling the weather ....the leeks however are laying down and look sad .....not freaking out because thats how they acted last year....and then they perked up after about a week or so...

Tomato and peppers are all doing well under the lights....amazing how fast the tomato grows compared to the peppers.....

happy gardening
rose

Experimenting with carrots this year

we have already planted carrots in the Back garden and in our new Back to Eden front yard garden.... saved a SQ in our SFG area for carrot week....yesterday decided to do some experimenting....

in a 5 gal bucket we put a thin layer of wood chips and some mushroom compost at the bottom of the bucket ( so not to have to use so much mix to fill ) then we filled with an organic light and fluffy potting soil, added organic sand, bone meal, wood ash and Epsom salt.....

then 2nd container.... using TP rolls.... we filled with the light and fluffy potting soil, sand, bone meal, wood ash and Epsom salt...then placed them into a container.....

we placed the bucket and container into the green house....once they are up and growing well we will set them out on the patio.....hoping to get some full size carrots this year.....

anyone else experimenting in the garden this year?

happy gardening
rose

Our experiment - we're starting from seeds this year I'm keeping my fingers crossed - that's a BIG experiment!! What if the seeds don't sprout?!?!

smriti wrote:Our experiment - we're starting from seeds this year I'm keeping my fingers crossed - that's a BIG experiment!! What if the seeds don't sprout?!?!

Hey that's going to be fun! I've not had many problems getting seeds to sprout - especially indoors. Keep us posted!

smriti.....how exciting to be planting from seed....i love being able to drop some seeds in the ground and then look after them....how happy we get when we see them sprout

we have only had problems with cucumbers and carrots...so..we put in a few extra seeds and then just thin them as needed....i have to warn you...its really hard to thin....i look at that baby sprout and hate the idea of it going to waste......so we end up with way more seedlings then needed....but..we give them away or make room some place in the garden....

keep us posted on how the seeds do

happy gardening
rose

Thanks for the encouragement gwennifer and rose!
We transplanted some onion starts (or is it bulbs?) yesterday.

MY experiment this year is.... I have many many tomato seedlings starting in my greenhouse. ( I grow WAY too many all the time and give many away as well) but since I have so many, I am going to try putting out a tomato plant in the garden with a cloche over it.
I have already done this a few days ago and it died, but I am going to keep trying this, since I have so many... until they survive, and then keep track of that.

I have tried the hoop houses before, and did not do well, so this year am trying cloches. The point is to determine how soon before the last average frost I can start tomatoes outside.

GWN wrote:MY experiment this year is.... I have many many tomato seedlings starting in my greenhouse. ( I grow WAY too many all the time and give many away as well) but since I have so many, I am going to try putting out a tomato plant in the garden with a cloche over it.
I have already done this a few days ago and it died, but I am going to keep trying this, since I have so many... until they survive, and then keep track of that.

I have tried the hoop houses before, and did not do well, so this year am trying cloches. The point is to determine how soon before the last average frost I can start tomatoes outside.

This is an excellent experiment, GWN! Can't wait to get the answer. Are you noting the temps by any chance?

Btw, your peppers have sprouted! I now have 2 or 3 of each of the 3 different types you sent in the window. Thanks so much!

CC