April 2013 New England

Interesting info on the shallots, ladies. Thanks! The Wiki site says: Shallots should not be planted on ground recently manured.

I wonder if that includes compost containing manure? If so, could that be what happened to your shallots and garlics, Camp? Do you have manure in your compost? I'm rethinking the horse manure that's coming Tue.

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Interesting info on the shallots, ladies. Thanks! The Wiki site says: Shallots should not be planted on ground recently manured.

I wonder if that includes compost containing manure? If so, could that be what happened to your shallots and garlics, Camp? Do you have manure in your compost? I'm rethinking the horse manure that's coming Tue.

CC

My recommendation is don't over think this. I believe they are referring to freshly spread manure on the field, not compost.

Crud, no rain in the forecast in my area for the next 10 days! Of course I saw this AFTER raking off a bunch of leaves from the perennial gardens. Soooo, had to turn on the outside water, drag out the garden hose, and fill up my completely empty rain buckets so the chlorine evaporates. Everything's so dusty out there. Hope it's not a sign of things to come this summer...

One of these days a handsome prince or princess will come galloping up on their white horse and build me a drip system... ..WITH a filter on it.

BUT a Verizon guy stopped by today when I was out at the SFG's. He says "I wanted to ask you about these boxes..." Welllllll...let me tell you alllllllll about it. And so I did. Whatta gas!

Meanwhile, back in the SFG, Lilly is mad coz she can't get in...not that she ever wanted to beFORE the tulle went up...kids!:


CC

cc....I love the look on your cat's face. Cute.

I went out to water my beds today. No rain in sight for several days forward and I had to hurry so turned on the hose (we're on an artesian well).
For the first time I saw my asparagus coming up. I check it every day and nothing yesterday. But today, I have some spears that are about 3-4" tall. Mine are in an SFG berm behind my regular raised beds.

This is the 3rd spring so I can harvest the pencil-sized ones but only for 2-4 weeks. Next year its the bonanza year and all the following years.
Anyone else have asparagus yet? I'm so thrilled you'd think I had a baby or something. I'd give out cigars if I had any.

I'll be potting up some seedlings today. Lots are getting outdoors every day for hardening off, including some peppers and of course, tomatoes.
I potted several herbs yesterday for outdoors and in the next few days I'll be putting some in my flower garden among the iris and roses and other perennials along with brassicas. Its another experiment of mine to gain more veggie space since I won't have community garden rows this year. My flower bed gets morning shade but afternoon sunshine. I thought brassicas might work well there.
I'm so thrilled that spring has sprung.

Woohoo, qb!

I planted 26 asparagus crowns in early April, but those chickens kept getting in there and digging them up, and I'd re-cover them. Now I have 3 asparagus sprigs and that's it - one of them had its head chopped off, I'm not sure what that's about, maybe a critter?

They sure are pretty tho. I love asparagus, I'll add to mine next year if no more come up.

Okay, this is my main beef right now. Everyone says lettuce is so easy to grow, well I have not had any luck with it, this is year #2. GRR. Last year I scattered seeds and pretty much the big bubble, I had to buy lettuce plants. This year I sowed in trays indoors and they were great, until I put them out and then they pretty much just disappeared.

For one thing, I will never sow lettuce in trays anymore. I did have to rip roots apart and that's probably where the problem lies. Next time, it's individual cups for everything, I am a very much non-believer in tray seeding, the roots get too tangled.

Anyway, why does everyone say lettuce is so easy to grow when it's the bane of my existence?

I'm thinking of re-seeding in cups indoors to get them going again. Either that, or just scatter seed in the lettuce beds. Hmm.

Did direct seed carrots today! I dare those not to come up.

I hear you NHGardener. I wonder if it is our weather here this year. My lettuce was doing great in cells. But since it has been out for over two weeks now it hasn't done very much. In my case my theory is not watering enough. We haven't been getting any rain lately, and I am not sure if I have watered deeply enough.

-Ed

I have not had any rain for more than 10 days. I am watering what I have planted every other day.
I never have good success with lettuce. I baby it, it finally comes along and then BAM! within a week it bolts.

Yup, I finally watered today, water might be my issue too. In April? Wow.

Some people grow lettuce indoors. Maybe there's a good reason for that.