PNW: June 2013

Welcome to June my fellow PNW'ers! Days are so long now, and warm summer nights aren't far away. School is almost out!

My husband finished building the stands for the cement mixing tubs for my new little garden! But I had promised the girls they could paint them pretty colors. Ugh! Sanding, priming, and painting with my girls, one-naptime-for-the-youngest at a time added over a week to my project. Finally got them outside yesterday, and found I didn't have enough MM made to fill them!

So I'm still not planted! Not giving up though. I predict I can still get cucumbers and beans, and I can buy transplants for tomatoes and peppers. Hmmmm... any other ideas? I'm thinking maybe I'll direct sow some broccoli for the fall. What are you all up to in your SFGs?

Here's the link to the planting calendar by Mother Earth News:

Well the first day of June was WONDERFUL! and the for cast for our family gardens for the next few days is SUNSHINE

Today we direct sowed some more beans and transplanted some beans that we had extra just in case the birds got to them...or slugs...which they did ...remind me next year to just do starts for the beans.....

our cucumber bush that is in a pot is doing well....the others that we started from seed and transplanted don't look well....if we can find some nice looking starts we will pull them and transplant.....

our son re sowed some more circus carrots in his container and planted a few tongues of fire beans....

the spring cole crops are doing AWSESOME!!!!

Today we also made a list of veggies we want to plant for a fall/winter harvest....its crazy to think its time to start seedlings when our summer just started...... ...will be starting some of them this week....like the cole crops, lettuce, spinach, leeks and onions....will have to wait for root veggies and peas to direct sow as soon as a space opens up for them.....those wont go into the ground until next month....( I sure hope we are doing this right LOL) trying to plant by Mels charts and Territorial seeds company chart.....

we have blushing strawberries and the other berries are all loaded this year :drunken: lots of bee activity too!

the rest of the veggies all look about the same....hoping with the weather warming up the squash, pumpkin, and corn will have a much needed growth spurt....

happy gardening
rose

gwennifer wrote:Welcome to June my fellow PNW'ers! Days are so long now, and warm summer nights aren't far away. School is almost out!

My husband finished building the stands for the cement mixing tubs for my new little garden! But I had promised the girls they could paint them pretty colors. Ugh! Sanding, priming, and painting with my girls, one-naptime-for-the-youngest at a time added over a week to my project. Finally got them outside yesterday, and found I didn't have enough MM made to fill them!

So I'm still not planted! Not giving up though. I predict I can still get cucumbers and beans, and I can buy transplants for tomatoes and peppers. Hmmmm... any other ideas? I'm thinking maybe I'll direct sow some broccoli for the fall. What are you all up to in your SFGs?

cant wait to see the containers painted and planted.....so neat you have little helpers

you could direct sow green onions

how about some herb transplants?

happy gardening
rose

Corn hut corn


Control box corn


Celery from seed and an unhappy purple basil on the right


Cauliflower


Carrots


Peas I've been nibbling them for a couple weeks.


Mostly cool crop boxes

• Bok Choy did great this year.
  
• 12 varieties of lettuce was too much.
  
• I've got P.M. on a couple squash plants; I didn't get any last year.
  
• I sure like the parthenogenetic cukes (Cool Breeze) I'm growing in the greenhouse.
  
• For the fourth year in a row, my spring broccoli harvest is going to be mediocre, but at least I finally figured out why.
  
• Dang leaf miners found half my beets before I got them covered with netting.
  
• No aphids yet this year.
  
• Found the second slug in six years in a tabletop box.
  
• Beans planted at the beginning of the hot spell are 5 inches tall. Beans planted at the end of the hot spell are just now peeking up.
  

Grow garden grow!

boffer wrote:12 varieties of lettuce was too much.

All looks great Boffer! Can't wait until my corn is that tall!

GG

Things are slow to really get going, but there are a few stars out there. My garden right now is a perfect example of what grows and what does not grow well when the evening temps are still a little low.
My peas are doing WONDERFULLY finally, however my beans area all just hum ho. They too will have their time though
These are my turtle beans, I am experimenting with the cattle panel for support

potamaron squash..... second generation

My first year to grow celeriac, a root vegetable, it is not really enjoying the weather yet I suspect, but it has a very long season so in order to get it grown before the frost I had to get it in early.



and my garlic is taking up several of my SFGs, no scapes yet, but I expect soon, seems to me last year we had my sons birthday party mid june and I served them roasted.


AND my artichokes. ... I have grown them for 3 years now, and I dig up the roots in the fall and keep them in a cool place over the winter, and plant again in the spring after the coldest of the winter is over. I already have several artichokes coming up.


AND we ate 7 of the very best strawberries I have had in a year.. .. BUT I have no picture

GWN wrote:...AND my artichokes. ... I have grown them for 3 years now, and I dig up the roots in the fall and keep them in a cool place over the winter, and plant again in the spring after the coldest of the winter is over. I already have several artichokes coming up...

AND we ate 7 of the very best strawberries I have had in a year.. .. BUT I have no picture

Who has time for pictures, when the first strawberries of the year are begging to be eaten!

I'm amazed that your artichoke is blooming already. I'm able to leave mine in the ground, but they are coming around slowly. I did put some starts in pots this year, so I can try over-wintering them in the greenhouse. My globes never get grocery store size, so I always let them flower for the bees. They think artichoke flowers are paradise!

Gwen and Rose, you literally startled me when you said that you're going to start your fall crops soon! Already?! Say it ain't so! But that's what the charts say.

I usually direct seed cole crops in mid-July. But since I've gotten more comfortable with indoor germination, I think I'll join you and start some seeds indoors this month.

I've been doing some reading on scientificky websites about the effects of temperatures on broccoli development. I was mostly looking for info about the effects of low temps, but I did come across this tidbit about high temps: broccoli bolting is not caused by air temps above 80°, but rather by soil temps above 80°. That's a good thing in our climate that has cool nights despite hot days later in summer because the soil never gets to warm up. If one were to mulch with wood chips, that would keep the soil even cooler.

A couple years ago during an August hot spell, I put a shade cloth over one box full of brassicas. The other boxes I left uncovered. The uncovered boxes produced an excellent harvest despite 90° temps, while the plants in the covered boxes were actually stunted and produced little. I don't shade my broccoli and cauliflower anymore.

I do get some occasional bolting, but nothing like the folks living in climates where long stretches of hot days and warm nights are the norm. Broccoli plants can also be predisposed to bolting due to stresses they endure as youngsters, such as long term exposure to temps outside an ideal range, the size of the plant when transplanted, and irregular watering. Broccoli can tolerate temps into the twenties, but they can get cranky about it too, and then decide to rebel by buttoning.

All that said, my fall broccoli has always done better than my spring broccoli.

SO.... are people starting their fall broccoli now? I have never grown broccoli

One of my broccoli plants, how would this compare with anyone else's broccoli.....??

GWN wrote:SO.... are people starting their fall broccoli now? I have never grown broccoli

I'll be starting indoors in a week or two. It will be the earliest start ever for me.

GWN wrote:One of my broccoli plants, how would this compare with anyone else's broccoli.....??

[sing song ~~~>] Mine's bigger than yoooooooours!

lol Is that what you meant by compare? I'm sure I started mine earlier, and I've been eating broccoli for a couple weeks. Your plant looks healthy; what kind are you growing?

Well I have to admit, it was an afterthought. I had a significant radiation injury from Cancer treatment (TMI) and many veggies I cannot eat, but recently discovered I COULD eat broccoli ... so sprouted a few seeds and planted.
I just bought the seeds at local store.... GREEN SPROUTING.
Glad I came across this thread,
Janet..... who is off to sprout more broccoli for the fall.... to keep up with Boffer

PNW SFGers: how do you rate our spring weather so far?
Average, Worse than average, or Better than average.

I'm looking for your gut opinion. No cheating by looking at weather charts! :tsk:

Does your gut opinion portend our summer weather this year?

OR

My gut says yes, meaning summer weather is in store!

Donna, are you playing with me?!

It appears you answered yes to a multiple choice question, and then said we're going to get summer weather! (I sure hope we get summer weather! )

boffer wrote:Mostly cool crop boxes

Hey, where were you standing to get this shot? Did you climb up on your roof?

Yes, I was standing on the roof above Liz's shop space.

GWN wrote:...AND we ate 7 of the very best strawberries I have had in a year.. .. BUT I have no picture

I only have a little strawberry pot, and my youngest has it all figured out. I don't think the rest of us will get a homegrown strawberry this year.

boffer wrote:Yes, I was standing on the roof above Liz's shop space.

Now THAT is dedication to the forum!

Okay, Boffer!

I'll stop playing and keep drinking my coffee. Undercaffeination was the culprit!

Yes, I think my gut usually portends the weather. This summer, I think the PNW will experience average to above-average weather.

gwennifer wrote:

That's a good picture for a 'create a caption' contest.

I can see the wheels turning in Jackson's mind!

gwennifer wrote:

boffer wrote:Yes, I was standing on the roof above Liz's shop space.

Now THAT is dedication to the forum!

You didn't get a chance to see the junk stuff that I have hidden behind my shop. One such item is a ladder that stays in position ready to use so I can clean the gutters several times during winter. It just takes a heartbeat to get up on the roof.

And another heartbeat to fall.

donnainzone10 wrote:And another heartbeat to fall.

Agreed.

I remember being in my late thirties and listening to friends talking about their dads falling off the roof and getting hurt. Well, I'm their dads' age now, and I'm paranoid about it, even though it's one story and only a 6:12 pitch.

I've been pretty successful at getting my younger BIL to clean my gutters for me. (But sometimes the paybacks are a booger-even if they are safer!)