PNW: March 2013

keep us posted GWN on what your find works best for the tomatoes..... thats a great experiment!

we too are pushing the limits with early planting

when i start to worry about if we should be doing this or that....I hear Boffer in my head telling me its only a few seeds and its so true....we dont always use up our seeds....we have lots that are going on their forth year

so let the experimenting begin!

hugs
rose

Yesterday I just took a look at my bowls with the seeds and what do I see?!?!? The bowl full of marigold seeds had germinated with the first two leaves!!!

FamilyGardening wrote:I just found out that scarlet runner beans can be a perennial..

has anyone here in the PNW grown them and had them come back again?

it would be awesome if that is true.....as we only cut off the vines and left the roots in the MM as we wanted to have them break down over winter....i would love it if they came back and had a perm spot in our SFG.....it would change our lay out for this year...but we can deal with that

happy gardening
rose

The quote is from the PNW Jan Update thread.
Have you seen any beans growing yet? I may dig mine up to use the trellis for indeterminate tomatoes. For now, the roots are still in the ground. Please let me know if yours are doing anything. I usually plant scarlet runners mid April.

Ever wish you planted more of something?
Purple Sprouting Broccoli

I should have dedicated an entire box to Purple Sprouting Broccoli instead of just a few test squares. Live and learn. There is precious little kale left but the purple sprouting broccoli is just coming into its own. Next year...... (already thinking about next year?).

Under the kitty cover

I have wanted to grow purple sprouting broccoli since I first read about it in Steve Solomon’s book, Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, some twenty years ago. Ed Hume had seed on the rack so I paid the $1.39 and gave it a grow. Instead of filling the box with purple, I stuck in squares of Umpqua and Thompsons (both OP) just to see how they would compare. So far Purple Sprouting is the early spring winner.

On a side note, I'm fixen to clip my 2nd bowl of salad for Sabbath dinner tonight.

Debs..... Keepen the nuggets happy with buckets full of weeds, slugs, grubs and worms cleaned up from all around the beds.

From six inches of fresh snow to dinner on the deck. That is what we call wild times in Everett. No snow predicted for today, but we still need to get through April before the cover comes down. For March 29, under the waning Worm Moon, the best guess for today is 61/41 with a nod to PNW spring by saying there is a10% chance of rain. Who knows? Yesterday I went out to photograph the broccoli under bright morning sunshine when suddenly I realized it was raining. Sunrise at 6:52 setting 12 hours and 43 minutes later at 7:35 making for a very nice day.

Wow Debs, your purple broccoli looks beautiful! I've never tried to grow broccoli! You have so much growing in your squares already!

Bush beans germinated - check.
Cherry tomato germinated - check.
Stupice tomato germinated - check.
Tyee Spinach germinated - check.

Zucchini and Summer squash are almost there. I can see the seeds sprouting.
Basil and Oregano still have some way to go.

So... the big question is what do I transplant them in? Can I use the plastic drinking cups? I've a lot of seedlings so if I were to buy the peat moss pots they would be expensive. I'm looking for some cheap way to transplant them.

After I transplant them, I was planning to put them inside this greenhouse. Is that good enough?

I saw one of these set up against the side of a house on the south side and a big light bulb to provide some heat. We were past our frost date but still had nights in the low 40's. Tomato and pepper seedlings were doing ok from what I could see.

Kay

happycamper wrote:

FamilyGardening wrote:I just found out that scarlet runner beans can be a perennial..

has anyone here in the PNW grown them and had them come back again?

it would be awesome if that is true.....as we only cut off the vines and left the roots in the MM as we wanted to have them break down over winter....i would love it if they came back and had a perm spot in our SFG.....it would change our lay out for this year...but we can deal with that

happy gardening
rose

The quote is from the PNW Jan Update thread.
Have you seen any beans growing yet? I may dig mine up to use the trellis for indeterminate tomatoes. For now, the roots are still in the ground. Please let me know if yours are doing anything. I usually plant scarlet runners mid April.

not yet....still hoping they will show soon if this warm weather keeps up

happy gardening
rose

Debs everything looks so good under the kitty cover

did your purple broccoli over winter?....how does it taste?..the same as other broccoli or a differnt flavor?.....love the color!!

we planted some watermelon radishes ....they are white on the outside and purple on the inside....kids and i cant wait!!

happy gardening
rose......who really enjoyed the video link Debs had on here face book with gardening in Vegas..... ....that guy has a great garden!

smriti...we up pot our seedlings into plastic cups and they do great make sure to put some holes in the bottom for drainage....and with the tomatoes....i dont always fill the cup full of soil.....for as the tomato grows then i add more soil....this should give the tomato a better root system...

as far as the green house goes....i dont know....we are still new to using our green house.....

happy gardening
rose

Thank you so much for the info, Rose! Plastic cups it'll be then! I'm sure all us gardeners up-ed the sales of plastic cups
I also realized that I've some of those clear containers (in which you get strawberries/spinach/etc.) and just saved them from getting trashed. They'll be put to some good use.

I don't have a greenhouse yet but everywhere I read that plants need warm temperatures, so I thought maybe we should buy one. During the germination, I'd the pots inside the house but after transplanting I don't think I would be able to accommodate that many pots so I need to look for alternatives. I went to Home Depot yesterday to get that greenhouse but apparently they don't carry it anymore

glad to help smriti

we also reuse things like yogurt containers and the left over cardboard of TP & papper towels ... ....you can also do a search for home made new's papper seedling cups....or something like that...i know there is info here some place

happy gardening
rose