Garden Report for Feb in So Cal - a little early

Since it is so mild and I am going out of town for a few days, I thought I would get the garden report out now. It is the last month to plant PEAS and you may be pushing it depending how warm it gets and how early. It is also the last month to plant BRASSICAS.

Otherwise here we go:
Beets
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Leeks
Lettuce
Onions/Garlic sets
Peas
Potatoes
Spinach

In my own month old garden things are going slowly. All the peas are up except one square which never sprouted so threw some more in. Got one potato slip with leaves and the cabbage and broccoli are threatening to show their first true leaves. Beets and carrots are sprouting slowly but I am working on some seed packets that are 5 years old. May be time to buy new. Ya think?

March starts the summer planting season and I am wondering if this year we might not start a little early. Of course I won't have any free squares then but I can live vicariously through everyone else.

And YIKES. I saw some half grown Early Girl tomatoes in Lowes today. I am already feeling like I am behind! I will not have space for tomatoes at least until March.

I planted my seeds on the 7th and 11th of January and so far have sprouted,
Radish, lettuce, carrots (as of yesterday or so), peas

Nothing came up for
Spinach, basil, green onion

In February I intend to go with
- carrot carnival (3 colors)
- Cilantro
- Leeks
- Sow again Spinach
- Brussel Sprouts (I didn't knew I could start that early)

You guys make me so jealous I wish I could be planting right now. But it's fun to hear what you're planting, at least!

melusine wrote:I planted my seeds on the 7th and 11th of January and so far have sprouted,
Radish, lettuce, carrots (as of yesterday or so), peas

Nothing came up for
Spinach, basil, green onion

In February I intend to go with
- carrot carnival (3 colors)
- Cilantro
- Leeks
- Sow again Spinach
- Brussel Sprouts (I didn't knew I could start that early)

I sowed on the 5th and my spinach is JUST starting to show. I think the radish seeds I have are definitely old. Someone gave them to me. They are usually fast and prolific but not these.

Chopper,

are you starting the seeds indoors or just planting them outside?

also my boxes are going to be table tops if that matters.

My boxes will be done tomorrow and I have to figure out what to plant and what to start indoors. this is the hardest part...

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and everything is tarted outdoor, except if you want to start tomatoes indoor for later on.

shawn350 wrote:Chopper,

are you starting the seeds indoors or just planting them outside?

also my boxes are going to be table tops if that matters.

My boxes will be done tomorrow and I have to figure out what to plant and what to start indoors. this is the hardest part...

Sorry I missed this. And melusine is correct. Generally I start everything in the ground. This has a lot more to do with lack of planning than good garden practice. This is the first year I have started anything by seed but I did start some tomato seeds that go in the sun during the day and I take them in at night.

My non-scientific observation is that spring plants tend to be fussy about being transplanted and summer plants tend to be ok with it.

And it should make no difference whether you are using a TT or a raised bed.

Chopper wrote:

melusine wrote:I planted my seeds on the 7th and 11th of January and so far have sprouted,
Radish, lettuce, carrots (as of yesterday or so), peas

Nothing came up for
Spinach, basil, green onion

In February I intend to go with
- carrot carnival (3 colors)
- Cilantro
- Leeks
- Sow again Spinach
- Brussel Sprouts (I didn't knew I could start that early)

I sowed on the 5th and my spinach is JUST starting to show. I think the radish seeds I have are definitely old. Someone gave them to me. They are usually fast and prolific but not these.

I sowed my spinach in December, the seeds sprouted quickly but they are growing so slowly now! I don't know if its because of the heatwave (for Jan) that So Cal has been having?

My basil didn't sprout at all either, I think I will start some indoors and transplant them this time.

Fireopal36 wrote:

My basil didn't sprout at all either, I think I will start some indoors and transplant them this time.

Basil is definitely more cold sensitive. I have found basil to be wonderfully prolific here. I ended up with way more than I could handle and ended up freezing a lot of pesto which I lost when I had to move

No worries. One square at a time and if it doesn't work the first time, hey, give it another try.

Chopper wrote:

Basil is definitely more cold sensitive. I have found basil to be wonderfully prolific here. I ended up with way more than I could handle and ended up freezing a lot of pesto which I lost when I had to move

No worries. One square at a time and if it doesn't work the first time, hey, give it another try.

Good to know it's cold sensitive. I've never planted herbs from seed before, so sounds like transplants are a good way to go.

I can't wait to have enough basil to make pesto to freeze!
(Do you freeze yours in ice cube trays for ready to use portions?)

I'm bumping this to show what we can plant in So CA in February.

Plus in looking at this:
http://allthingsplants.com/apps/calendar/?q=92316
I decided to try some others.

This week I have planted in the garden onion plants, carrots, beans, corn and radishes. May be a bit early for some but I had empty squares and it is only seeds(some of which were a couple of years old).

Inside I am just starting tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, chard, kale, celery and more lettuce.
Today I harvested my largest ever broccoli and some Red Sails lettuce which will be combined with my last good onion from last summer for a salad tonite. I also still have 3 more broccoli, garlic, Red Sails and romaine lettuce.

So what is everyone else in So CA growing right now?

Thanks for that link Lindacol..ATM I'm growing broccoli, cabbage, spinach, cauli, lettuce, onions, Toms and peppers...
Have a great season!..

Tomorrow I'm going to replant the spots where nothing sprouted in the squares I planted Christmas eve. I seriously over planted lettuce, LOL! Oh well, better too much than not enough!

Same as you guys, lettuce, spinach, peas, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, radish and onions. Just planted some cucumbers in my big greenhouse bed, they should get a good start there. I also planted a couple of squash - if I can keep them warm enough it will be a great start - if not, they were just from seeds I took from previous harvest :-)

I have several types of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon and peppers started inside. I still have carrots, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard, onion & collard greens growing outside. I'm hoping this cabbage finishes up quickly, otherwise it won't be out of the way when I'm ready to plant in March!!

I was so impatient to get started that I started some hot peppers at the beginning of December and then basil, tomatoes, and zucchini at the end of December. I have a 4' ballast with 4, T-8 daylight bulbs. HOLY SMOKES. I was watering with worm tea from my worm bin's castins exclusively and need to get the tomatoes outside ASAP - the two zucchini already have multiple flowers (I have been pinching them off) and the tomatoes are blooming too. One of the German Johnsons may already be setting fruit. It's a little nuts. Next weekend I start putting buckets together for them because they can't stay inside any longer, there's no room for them under the lights (where I have starts of kale, melons, more tomatoes and more peppers).

In a fit of optimism I have already transplanted out the basil and am covering it at night with a big clear plastic bin. I also put out 2 Giant Noble Spinach and 1 rosemary starts that I got from the farmer's market last weekend. And yesterday I sowed radishes, carrots, beets, 2 more kinds of spinach, 4 squares of chard, and onions. I'll sow bush and pole beans around March 1.

Here is this summer's garden plan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ak4iZbFe__xldEdwR3IzMGFaTVlQazlXdkZqcGIwVEE#gid=9

Wish me luck that my eagerness to get started doesn't bite me. My garden is on the north side of the house so I couldn't grow anything over the winter and I knew that we would be rebuilding the beds, which we did a couple of weekends ago. I went from 2, 4x4 beds to a 2x12 (with trellis on the long side) and a 3x12. I'm still pondering how to put hoops on them!

Coelli,

I just spoke with a friend in Los Angeles. She reported that the area is about to get quite a cold snap, with the snow level falling to around 1500'.

My suggestion would either be to keep your plants inside for a few more days, or protect them THOROUGHLY if you put them outside.
I know that basil, tomatoes, and squash are quite cold-sensitive. I don't think I'd chance it.

The only things outside right now are the basil, spinach, and rosemary. And my daughter's snapdragons which she planted yesterday in a pot. The tomatoes won't go outside until it warms up at night a little bit, for sure. And the peppers are still too tiny to go out.

I'll cover the basil again with the plastic bin as soon as I get home this evening. We're in the foothills at around 1600 feet, so it's possible we'll see a little snow this evening (just a little). If the basil dies, well, I have plenty of seeds and we'll just eat these seedlings and I'll start more. I'm a little worried about the seeds in the ground, but I hope as long as there's no freeze they will be okay.

Coelli,

If you can find some, I'd suggest you purchase some frost cloth and add a layer of it over your basil in addition to its other protection.

Please keep us posted!