May 2013 New England

Nice! What greens are you growing?

NHG....I wanted to try a few different things to see how things worked in there I've got shallots, carrots, red cabbage, Swiss chard, celery, Chinese cabbage and a cauliflower...oh and yesterday I transplanted a Totem tomato (mini). The rest of the squares I think I'll reserve for the peppers and eggplant which like it warmer. In my area I always have trouble getting enough eggplants. Its never warm enough but now the nights can be better controlled with the greenhouse cover.
Everything is doing very well inside the greenhouse which I open completely daytimes.

Greenhouse bed a few days ago.

Phil, Your garden looks really great. Wish I had a big bed of strawberries like that blooming.

quiltbea wrote:NHG.....Yes, so far I like my greenhouse cover. I haven't rec'd the replacement they said they were going to send me, the one I wanted with the netting, but I really don't need it. I plan to put my own netting, and in larger spaces, across the frame when insects are bothersome or they need shading. As I've mentioned before, this type is easier to reach into than the other.
I just now transplanted 4 more toms to my SFG. I have one to go but I can't decide which one to use in that last space. I have about 10 left over indeterminates including Valencia (bright orange), Thassalonika, and Wapsipicons. I got the last two types from Ray on Praxxus Utube and would like to find space for them. Maybe in the cuke berm this year. I know any leftovers will be appreciated by the comm gardeners whose director got a late start on theirs so they are still very small right now.
My determinates; Defiant, Polbig, Iron Lady and a mini Totem will go in their pots maybe next week.
The garden is looking nicer as more things are added. Hooray for spring finally arriving in the great white north.

I was planning on only putting 1 swiss chard in a square foot but you seem to have more than that in yours. I've already learned that I can plant 18 peas. How many swiss chard can I plant?

Are all the numbers wrong? I was planning on 1 cilantro, 4 basil, 4 lettuce, 4 parsley, 9 bush beans, 1 pepper and 1 tomato per square.

Deborah....I plant 4 per square of Swiss chard from Mel's original book.

DeborahC wrote: How many swiss chard can I plant?

Are all the numbers wrong? I was planning on 1 cilantro, 4 basil, 4 lettuce, 4 parsley, 9 bush beans, 1 pepper and 1 tomato per square.

4 swiss chard to a square, the rest on this list is good spacing.

With having most of my tomatoes in the ground this week, I wasn't taking any chances against a frost. We were told there might be frost patches here and there. I should have taken a picture. I had anything I could find; heavy towels, sheets doubled, heavy row cover, and blankets over all my tomatoes last nite. It dropped to 37 here but my babies were well protected and are looking fine when revealed this morning.

As for my peas, the ones I sowed directly are catching up with the ones I painstakingly started early indoors and transplanted. Setting them out, even in separate cells, set them back so I see no reason to start them indoors in the future.

Taken 3 days ago, early starts in the 2 right squares. The difference right now is hardly noticable.

I started some Bushy Cuke seeds under a milk jug yesterday. I'll let you know when they germinate.

Harvested lettuce, radishes, and asparagus yesterday. And yes, French Breakfast has a milder bite.

I have to figure out how to grow lettuce. I'm doing something wrong. I tried transplanting but they didn't take. So then I scattered seed on the bed but that didn't grow either. I wonder if I could just container garden them on the deck.

QB, you may be right about the peas, I'm seeing the same thing: from seed about the same progress as from starts. Altho less slug/bug damage I think when you transplant them as starts.

It's getting really close to time to get everything out there. I'm keeping my transplants outside 24/7 now.

NHG......Yes, you can transplant and direct seed lettuce into pots. I do it every year so I have a couple of pots next to my kitchen door for a quick salad.
Use leaf or buttercrunch lettuce and you can cut it back time and time again, to about 1 inch, and it'll grow back. I've even used an iceberg type and done the same. Stick it in a shady spot when it starts getting too hot. I grow mine right into August this way.

Here's some above cut back last year and leafing out thickly again. I mulch with a bit of straw.

I transplanted outdrs my Red Malabar Spinach today. I hope its not too early but they were getting too big for their pots.

All but two of my tomatoes are now in the ground and a sweet pepper went into the greenhouse bed. I'm making some headway. I'm heading back out there in ten mins.

I didn't get anything in today. For one thing, it's too windy. For another, I wanted to organize the inside before I got to the outside and that's as far as that got.

Can we go back to lettuce? If you pot it outside near the door, does it have to have partial shade? And QB, are you potting it in potting soil or MM or just regular dirt?

It is my life's goal (obsession) to have big leafy lettuce one day.

NHG....All my pots are filled with organic potting soil mix plus my own homegrown compost. I want the pots heavy enough they don't fall over and full of nutrients. That includes my potted determinate tomatoes as well.

My kitchen door is on the west side of the house. It gets morning shade. Then sunshine for the afternoon but when its hot weather in July, early Aug, I place them in the shade under my garden bench out of the hot sunshine.
I sprinkle the lettuce seeds over the top, press down with my palm, sprinkle a hairs breadth of soil over the top, then gently water it in and keep it moist til it germinates. Thin it out when its about an inch or so high.

In the SFG beds of lettuce squares, I just poke a few wire hangers around the square and clip a piece of cheesecloth over them once the lettuce is up and the sun is getting too hot for them.

I will also transplant the thinnings under the leaves of broccoli, cauliflowers, and Brussels sprouts so their shade keeps them from bolting. In my garden, you never know where you'll find a head of lettuce growing.

Interestingly, I did find lettuce growing in last year's bed, which is now strawberries. It's at least the size of the few transplants that are still alive.

The moral of that story is, why plant anything when whatever you planted last year will volunteer anyway.

Ooo, you ladies are busy. Good save on your toms, QB.

I saw last year that my transplanted peas caught up with my direct planted ones. So this year I thought I'd plant just sprouted seeds along wtih direct to see if that made a diff. The direct are now about 6 inches taller than the little 6 inch sprouted ones which seem to have problem growing up. They are minis - mini leaves, mini tendrals - wonder if they'll have mini peas? Anyway, I won't sprout again unless it's to eat.

Those 6 experimental toms that I planted out earlier in the week look so good that I planted out all the rest of my toms today, along with one experimental pepper. I also have my cuc seeds soaking tonite and will plant them out tomorrow, plus put a few seeds in a cell pack just in case the outside ones fail.

Went out in search of a soil thermometer today - $23 at Agway! Travesty! Guess I'll just have to use my trusty(?) finger.

Those darn gypsy moth worms are out in full force! They are devouring everything! I must have squished 100's off my new little fig tree today. Fortunately my SFG's aren't too near an oak so I haven't seen any there yet, but once the wind shifts I'll have to cover everything. So gross.

NHG, I've found that lettuce seeds and lettuce want loads of water. What happens when you plant store bought babies?

CC

Store bought? Blasphemous.

Glad to know the hotties seem to be doing okay. I'll probably plant my stuff on Monday, tomorrow looks a little chilly.

I have a digital meat thermometer I figured I could use for the soil, once I saw prices on soil thermometers. Johnny's seemed to have the cheapest soil thermometer I could find.

Maybe water is my lettuce's problem. It's been a dry spring, I don't think I watered enough.

Worked outside all day today. Ended up planting out everything that was left - the tomatillos, the rest of the peppers, cuc & spag squash seeds, and also potted up the Roma's & some Rainbow Chard to make pretty pots like they sell at the nurseries around here for way too much money.

I'm exhausted and heading for the shower. Sure hope it rains tomorrow.

CC

Good for you, CC! Now the hard work is done, all that's left is the watering...

Phew!

No time for me in the garden today. It took me half the day to mow the lawn.

Mowing, ugh. I did my 2nd mowing on Thursday.

NHGardener wrote:Good for you, CC! Now the hard work is done, all that's left is the watering...

Phew!

Watering and a deal with Mother Nature about the tomatillos. Their final resting place isn't very nice...sand & rock that doesn't seem to drain well. I'm hoping it's like Mexico.

Each peony has a tomatillo to the right of it. Spag squash mounds in the front.


All in all, there are 3 peonies and 3 tomatillos out there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

When do you folks think you'll plant out?

CC

I'm thinking tomorrow.

At this rate, Memorial Day and later.

I put peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes out on Wednesday. All lived.

You're waiting that long, camprn? My transplants may be dead by then.

I'm gone from home each day from 7:15 ish am until at least 4 pm. I'm still having to redo all the beds and that is a pain in the neck and time consuming. Also, I have been waiting for my compost to be done. Additionally, it was really cold here last week so not much was gained there either. Next weekend is soon enough.

I sowed the rest of my cuke seeds today and found three more spots in the Hosta Hill garden for more tomatoes so I put in the stakes. I only need to find homes for 7 more indeterminates or give them away. I have determinates waiting to go in pots along with peppers and eggplants now hardening off for both SFG and pots.
The snap peas I transplanted to a pot seemed to stop growing for a couple weeks, but now they are picking up and growing upward once again. Maybe they didn't like the cold.
We're going to have rain just about every day this week (30-40% chance) so I'll have to get things in the ground between showers.
Except for more glad bulbs and flower seedlings for the flower beds, I'm in pretty good shape this spring.

CapeCoddess wrote:
[snip]

When do you folks think you'll plant out?

I keep wanting to get the transplants out but I know it's too soon for me yet. After that hard frost a few days ago I ain't takin' no chances.

I may move the pots into the 3-season-front porch-room-type-space, though. The grow lights are as high as they can go on my shelving unit and the leaves on the toms are almost touching. It's either that or go buy more lights, which I'd rather not do. I think the porch might be "it" for the rest of the month, I just don't know if it gets enough light, as it has a North-westerly aspect.

Otherwise, all's good since we're getting a nice, steady, soaking rain!