May 1st, New England

camprn - too bad we didn't live closer, we could share one!

Time to go feed the Black flies... ... they suck!

Looking at the weather forecast the next several days, I'm bracing for the rainy, cloudy, cool weather pattern. For days it looks like.

Today is the last frost date. I still have to get more MM ingredients to finish my last box and top off the rest. Better do that today before the yuck sets in. But I guess it will sit there idle for now... don't imagine it's worth it to try any direct seeding?

I sure hope this weather pattern changes and we get a nice, hot, sunny summer...

NHGardener wrote:Looking at the weather forecast the next several days, I'm bracing for the rainy, cloudy, cool weather pattern. For days it looks like.

Today is the last frost date. I still have to get more MM ingredients to finish my last box and top off the rest. Better do that today before the yuck sets in. But I guess it will sit there idle for now... don't imagine it's worth it to try any direct seeding?

I sure hope this weather pattern changes and we get a nice, hot, sunny summer...

If you have a few beds done & ready and you want to plant the cool weather seeds (carrots, beets, chard, spinach, pea, etc) or start plants (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage) today would be a great time to do it before the rain!!! Just put those puppies in and in a week you will have seedlings!!! WOW!!! Really, sowing seed in raised beds before the rain is perfect here in New England; confidence is high for success!

The beds that need more work are still on schedule because the hot weather plants really like hot weather, like tomato, eggplant, pepper will do better if put in the ground in a few weeks, around Memorial Day.
When is the right time to plant? <~~~Click, fact sheet from UNH Coop Extension Service

Our weather forecast is DEPRESSING. Especially after yesterday... and today looks like it will be stellar. I haven't mixed my MM yet. Too windy this week. I'm going to wait until after this round of rainy weather. My 2nd SFG kit is scheduled for delivery on Tuesday anyway. Maybe by the end of next week I'll be ready to plant. I hope so... my kitchen counters are starting to look like a jungle and it's BUGGING me!!! Plants belong outside, not in my kitchen!

I hear you, Tril. I wilt in stretches of gloomy weather.

And camprn, thanks for the heads up on that! I was thinking maybe I missed the window of opportunity for seeding peas... but maybe not! And I need to swing by a nursery and grab some broccoli plants. I'm not seeing a lot of nurseries in my area, I know there's one about 12 miles from here and I'm hoping they have transplants. If I can get the soils today (just need one more verm. and one more peat and maybe a bag or 2 of compost to mix with what I have leftover here) I'll try to swing by the nursery. The race is on.

And what about potatoes? Those should probably be plantable today too? Those are going in planter pots, but they need my MM soil. Have you planted your potatoes yet camprn?

Working between raindrops.......

Yup, I planted some potatoes last week; what ever was sprouting in the kitchen drawer I cut up and plunked in the area for potatoes. I'm not really dedicated to potatoes yet this year, as I am trying to expand my garden and that is taking some of my attention. If I see any seed taters for sale this weekend I may get a few more to plunk in.

I picked up some beautiful large baking potatoes at the grocery store a few weeks back (I think they were Idahos) and they are now sprouting nice eyes on top of my fridge. Hoping they work. We'll see.

Well, I worked for hours out there today and finished buying, mixing, and putting all the MM in the boxes. After that I was too exhausted to plant peas. I don't know how people are able to mix and fill more than one box at a time - one box about wears me out.

So tomorrow I'll string up some grids for the boxes, and after that hopefully, plant some peas. I also got the potato buckets ready, but I'm too tired to plop potatoes in those right now.

This is hard work.

HOORAY!!! you are doing it! we need more photos!!! Tomorrow morning will be perfect for stringing the grid and sowing seed!!

Yeah! It's our turn to mix and plant and post pictures!!!!

Thank you, camprn! You encouraged me to get out there, and by golly I did. (I was really afraid you were going to ask me how it went... ha) I had to go out and get string (mason string - I think it's synthetic, not sure) and then I used a staple gun and gridded four boxes (still have one to go). And THEN I planted 6 squares of peas and 8 squares of lettuce - woo hoo! And I thought to myself as I was planting around dinner time: I'm not going to bother watering these, because it's just going to rain anyway. And guess what. Now it's raining! So at least I didn't have to do that.

I did forget to plant the potatoes tho. I have container pots on the deck with about 6" of MM in them, I'm going to plant the potatoes in those and then keep adding layers as the plants grow. The containers are about 18" high. Next year I hope to make some towers. Anyway, I forgot to plant those, but tomorrow I can throw some potatoes in there, that's easy enough.

Phew. Another step done.

Now let's see if anything happens.

The rain is miserable and ongoing. I wanted to harden off my tomatoes outside this week. Can't. The rain is on and on and on. And the temps are down in the high 40s or low 50s days and low 40s nites. Oh, where are those nice days we had a week ago.

I've got tomatoes in 4-5" pots and the peppers and eggplants in 16-oz cups. I keep moving the lights up higher as they grow taller. They really need to be going outdoors soon or they'll take over the furnace room.

Here are others a couple days older. Its getting to be a jungle in here.
Outside my peas enjoyed the rain and jumped a couple inches taller.

They are just starting to feel for the trellis.


The broccoli and cabbages haven't yet drowned, but I'm worrying.

Has anyone got tomatoes outdoors yet?

Beautiful, quiltbea!

Oh, I hope this isn't one of "those" summers. I hope it rains itself out and then we have to water the rest of the summer.

I'm worried my tomato/pepper and a few struggling small eggplants are going to give it up altogether before I can get them outside.

And I hope my new seeds don't rot in the ground out there. Good thing MM is so well-draining. This will be a good test.

Trying to be patient, and remember that above this layer, the sun is shining bright..

NHGardener,
I began my SFG in 2009, the year of the deluge. We got so much rain that gardens all around me were ruined. My raised beds saved my garden. I had a bountiful crop except for the corn that got too wet too soon and never grew beyond a few inches tall.
So having the raised beds should save your garden. I'm just worried for the newest seedlings. After they get established, they can handle a lot.

Just another reason to love raised beds!