Starting Again

Last year was an interesting year in the garden. There were several ‘firsts’…first time planting a Square Foot Garden, first time keeping a blog, first time limiting what I planted to a reasonable amount. The garden was actually a resounding success. Not once during the year did I lose control of it. Some crops didn’t perform as I had hoped, but that is to be expected in a garden. The amazing thing was that it never turned into a raging jungle, and that was another first!

The blog, however, did not fair so well. Oh, I took plenty of pictures of the garden as it progressed, and had the best of intentions, but I think sitting in front of a computer all day makes me less inclined to sit in front of a computer during my leisure time. But I am ever the optimist, and I am going to try again this year.

Today, I planted the first of the seedlings. Yes…today…March 31. The latest I have ever planted my seedlings. Usually, I plant them much too early and they become tall and gangly before I can get them outside. Maybe a little late is better than much too early.

So, what did I plant? My tomatoes this year are San Marzano tomatoes. I’m sure they will not be quite as sweet as the canned ones I buy since I doubt that Lucketts has the same sunny, Mediterranean climate that Italy has, but they are a lovely, meaty tomato, great for sauces. And…I suspect…great for drying in my new dehydrator! I’m thinking dried tomatoes packed in oil! Yum!!

I also started some lettuce inside – Santoro Butterhead Lettuce, Edox Butterhead Lettuce, and an heirloom variety of Romaine called Forellenschluss. Again, starting small…worked so well for me last year.

Until the garden begins to pick up speed with more planting – I have peas to put out as soon as the rain stops and the ground dries a bit – I am going to use this early spring to review last years garden and post some of the pictures.

Last year, there was quite a bit of 'animal nibbling' that went on. In fact, I returned from a business trip to find all the beet plants eaten right to the ground and half the carrot tops gone. A trip down to the local antique store to snag this gate solved the problem for the summer. Unfortunately, during the fall, I found the deer had decided to go for it and jump the fence so this year, I will need to come up with another plan.

It was also a great year for basil. Of course, I did buy many more plants than might normally be needed. This is one plant that doesn't have to follow the rule of keeping it small and controllable....you can never have too much basil!

Busted!!

For the last 2 weeks, I have been puzzling over what appear to be footprints in my garden. Not anything I can identify, just a random indent in the soil. I noticed the first one in my carrots, where it appeared that something had stepped onto one of the very small, very delicate carrots. Just one indent, just one footprint. It couldn't be a rabbit. I thought perhaps a cat, just walking through, but why just a single footprint?

This morning, when the boys and I took our first stroll out to the garden, as I headed across the yard (imagine dramatic, suspenseful music here), I spied a deer (music swells), walking casually by the garden...just passing through. Hmmm, not a good sign. And when I got to the garden, this is what I found:


One of my eggplant seedlings, suddenly almost leafless!! It might be time to put a door on the fence that goes around the garden.

Hot, hot, hot!

This weekend was blistering hot!! Lots of storms during the week, some were pretty destructive, and then the 100° temperatures and Washington humidity hit. So what to do on a hot, hot day? Well, since there was one last box to plant, and a new pile of vermiculite, peat moss, and compost calling to me, the thing to do was mix some more Mel’s mix and plant the final box. So that’s what I did….and boy, was it hot!

This one has my eggplant seedlings, cilantro from the farmers market, and kale. In the other boxes, I was also able to plant some additional basil and cilantro seedlings which came in my CSA box. You can never have too much basil or cilantro!

Just 2 weeks ago, I planted the baby corn and beans. It’s amazing just how fast they sprouted, and now they are growing like crazy.

These little guys certainly will be “knee high by the fourth of July”, as the saying goes. Of course, that may be as big as they get! Right now, they seem to be about the same size as the beans.


And, finally a little harvest. Some radishes!! Look at these little beauties!!


My original plan for this blog was to also share the recipes that I use to prepare the harvest, and I did think about how I could prepare these little guys. I actually found a recipe for a radish sandwich. In the end, though, I decided to just wash them, sprinkle them with a little course salt, and eat them!

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day always seems to signal the start of the summer season. I’m not sure why that is…the schools kids are not done – their summer will not really start for several more weeks. It’s a big beach weekend, traditionally, as if now that Memorial Day is here, you can go to the beach. I actually think any day at the beach is a good day, regardless of the time of year or weather. But whatever the reason, it does now officially feel like summer!


So, how did I celebrate Memorial Day in the garden? I planted corn. Seemed like a summer time vegetable. In my purchase of seeds for this year, I did have one, crazy, spontaneous, frivolous purchase. I bought a collection pack of what were called baby vegetables (hmmm, aren’t all vegetables babies at one time?). In this was a pack of seeds called baby corn. According to the package, these seeds will produce 4” to 5” ears if left until maturity, but they can be picked early to get those little edible corn cobs you can find at salad bars and in Chinese food. So, while this will not take the place of all the wonderful sweet corn I get from the farm stands in the summer, it seemed like it could be kind of fun. I also planted beans in with the corn. And once those all begin to sprout, I will plant my butternut squash.


Yes, you guessed it. This box is patterned after a Three Sister’s Garden. Of course, my corn will not grow as tall as standard corn, but it will still benefit from the nutrients that the beans will put into the soil. And my beans are bush beans…because that is what I had purchased before I got this idea…so they really don’t need any tall stalks on which to grow. In fact, I am hoping that the beans and the corn don’t all end up being the same size! And the squash? Well, that is intended to keep down the weeds, but I suspect that there is so much corn and beans in that one box, I may have to rethink the squash. Where I was so disciplined in my other boxes, planting only what was recommended for a Square Foot Garden, this box is a tribute to that unorganized, disheveled part of my personality.


Most of the seeds I had planted earlier have started to sprout. We had quite a bit of rain earlier – it is now official – this was the 4th wettest May ever. But this weekend has been beautiful, warm and sunny. I think these are perfect growing conditions for the garden. I still have one box that is in need of Mel’s mix and some plantings, but I finally feel as though the basic garden is planted. Let the growing season begin!!

A Shopping Trip

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day. It was such a nice day that an early morning trip to the farmers market turned into a trip to Home Depot, where we did not find any compost, followed by a trip to Southern States in Purcellville, where we found not only compost, but a tray of seedlings, and ended with a trip to the Kubota tractor store. The results of this excursion were basil, one jalapeno plant, 4 tomato plants, 6 mystery plants and the bug to buy a tractor.

Wait….mystery plants?? Well, they look like broccoli to me, but they were not marked. The sales clerk agreed with me that they looked like broccoli, although according to her, they could also be cauliflower. I like broccoli…I like cauliflower….and a little mystery in the garden could be fun. So I brought the plants home and planted them in the most recently prepared bed. What do you think they are?

A major step forward for me is the fact that there were only 4 tomato plants!! There is one Brandywine – my favorite – and one Mortgage Lifter. Also, one Roma tomato and one yellow tomato. And no cherry tomatoes at all!!!



Today was also moving day for the sage/mint monster. It was a pretty big job but the whole corner of the one box was dug up and moved to the box that is home for the thyme. Some of the mint went into the wheelbarrow to be dumped in the woods. It will undoubtedly grow there; earlier, when I was dumping some other weeds, I found a large patch of mint growing in the dark woods behind my house, where you wouldn't think a sun-loving plant could grow. I got this sudden mental image of, years from now, mint covering the entire 5 acres. Hmm, it will be mojito heaven!

Now, 3 of the square boxes and one rectangular box are prepped and planted. They will enjoy the rainy Sunday we are having today. The first to poke through is this radish...salad is on the way!

The old guy has been a constant gardening companion. Oh, and that tall grass in the background?? Yes, that is the front yard. That is what grass can look like when you hire someone to cut it - hense the trip to the tractor store. I think there is a Kubota B7610, with a 60-inch mower deck and a front end loader in my future!! Oh, the gardening possibilities that would open up!

A Late Start

I should be harvesting my spinach and lettuce and sugar snap peas now. There should be fresh radishes and beets from my own soil in my salad. I know this because when I go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings, those vegetables are waiting on the farmers tables for me. In the time that some grew the lettuces, and spinaches, and sugar snap peas I see, I managed to kill 2 trays of seedlings, and still nothing is growing in my garden. Sad…very, very sad. But not too late.

For Mother’s Day this year, during a weekend that I had to work, I got a very special gift. I got several hours of garden labor from my husband to get some of the beds ready for planting. We pulled up the weeds, moved all the dirt out of the smaller, square box into one of the larger, rectangular boxes, and filled the square box with Mel’s mix. Two boxes ready for planting!!

Then it started to rain!! And it rained and rained and rained. This is now the 5th rainiest May ever, and the first rainiest May in my lifetime. I had to wait for the rain to stop, but now, planted in at least one bed is lettuce, spinach, radishes, beets, carrots, kale and swiss chard. And, in the larger bed, sugar snap peas. I even got some cilantro started indoors. Hopefully, it is not going to prove to be too late.

The neglect certainly hasn’t hurt the thyme, it is bigger than ever. I suspect soon it will take over the entire box. Too bad the other kind of time isn't this easy to come by!

And the mint and the sage battle on…I always wonder who is going to win.

And so, the garden is finally started. And during this very busy month, during the peak stress times, the old man - below - and I walk out to the garden daily and wait for it to begin!

Survivors

It looks like I have a few survivors after all.

Some of the lettuces didn’t quite make it, and all of the basil did not survive. It’s sad but not too terrible as there is still plenty of time for me to get in some additional lettuce plants and new basil. It is, after all, just April. But just look at this happy broccoli!! It’s amazing what bigger pots and a little feeding could do for the broccoli and cabbage seedlings. They are continuing to grow stronger and larger, as is a whole tray of parsley seedlings so I have begun to set them out each day for a few hours in the morning sun.

This weekend, I will plant more lettuce and basil. In fact, I may start most eveything else. I have started calling around to find a source for vermiculite – a necessary ingrediant in the Square Foot Garden model. Hmmm, this is not going to be quite as easy as I thought. I had no luck today finding a local source, although I did find a place where I can order it online. You just gotta love the Internet!!

In the meantime, spring has continued to awaken so many of my favorites….

The deer will be so happy to see the Hostas returning, bigger each year!

The Virginia Bluebells are just starting to flower.

My most favorite of all…my peonies….always glad to see them…

And finally, I just had to include this picture...

It is not the best picture, I didn’t have a tripod set up for the zoom, and I had to shoot through the glass – which of course, was dirty – but look closely. It seems that my squirrel buddy doesn’t understand that the large plastic top is a squirrel guard, not a shelter from the rain. Oh well….