My Favorite Kind Of Flower--No Maintenance!
March 17th, 18th, and 19th were all fertile days in the third quarter, so I was busy planting and transplanting. Fortunately the weather cooperated most of the time.
Planted one raised bed of potatoes (leftovers from last year, mostly Russets, few Yukon Golds, didn't bother to cut them up, just planted whole). Put them in a bed that had lots of mucked out barn hay put in it several months ago. Soil looks great. Potatoes should love it.
Transplanted about a dozen plugs of lettuce seedlings into the edge of the bed where I'd directed seeded several varieties of lettuce (they sprouted well and are looking good): one green variety--lost tag--and a few Dark Lolla Rossa, very small. This was an experiment: first time I'd sowed the seeds in individual plugs instead of in little containers and then moved them into the plugs. Should have thinned out the plugs to one or two plants in each (duh); had great germination rates and ended up with about 10 tiny plants in each little plug. A real mess trying to transplant the tender seedlings into the garden. I just planted the entire clumps. We'll see what happens.
Transplanted pepper seedlings started on 2/6/06 into individual containers:
--Orange Bell (my 2005 seeds)
--My favorite huge sweet red pepper Aconcagua (my 2005 seeds)
Transplanted tomato seedlings started on 2/6/06 into individual containers:
--Thai Pink Egg, incredibly prolific last year (mine 2005)
--Kellogg's Breakfast giant orange tomatoes (Baker Creek 2005 seeds)
--Arkansas Traveler, medium sized pink (BC 2003 seeds)
--English Moneymaker, good in greenhouses (BC 2003 seeds)
--Yellow Plum (mine 2005)
--San Marzano Paste (mine 2005)
--Orange Banana, so sweet last year (mine 2005)
--VFN, standard red heirloom, disease resistant variety (my seeds--old)
--My Secret New Hybrid (2005 seeds)
Note: All seedlings (before transplanting) had major growth spurts when I started watering them with llama manure tea.
Miscellaneous:
--Direct seeded lettuces had great germination rate. Have them in mini greenhouse plot, just covered with an old sheet (Joe calls it the covered wagon plot) . Have removed all other sheets and blankets from plots as we have had milder temps and rain. 20s predicted this week, though, so may need to re-cover turnips, Spanish black radish, pathetic looking chard plants (something has been eating them!), and strawberries.
--Purple kohlrabi seeds came up like crazy, but the cold season greens in that plot have yet to sprout (mache, Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach, New Zealand spinach). Why do I still insist upon trying to grow spinach? Why? (Note to self: remember the definition of insanity--doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.)
--Daffodils blooming all around the yard. So pretty. I think of them as the color 'cheerful.'
--Lilacs are budding. Tiny sucker plants I put into little pots 5 years ago and never got around to transplanting are now about four feet high, growing straight through their pots into the ground, and no doubt cannot be moved from their odd location in the midst of the compost bins. They even have tiny flowers on them this year! Oh well, I'll take lilacs anywhere I can get them. Must really think about trying to move them, though. But to where?
--Volunteer arugula (rocket) coming up like crazy in greenhouse since I thought to water the entire bed. Yay! Chard and beets survived winter and are starting to grow again. So dark green and purple. They loved the llama pellets I scattered all over the bed.
Planted one raised bed of potatoes (leftovers from last year, mostly Russets, few Yukon Golds, didn't bother to cut them up, just planted whole). Put them in a bed that had lots of mucked out barn hay put in it several months ago. Soil looks great. Potatoes should love it.
Transplanted about a dozen plugs of lettuce seedlings into the edge of the bed where I'd directed seeded several varieties of lettuce (they sprouted well and are looking good): one green variety--lost tag--and a few Dark Lolla Rossa, very small. This was an experiment: first time I'd sowed the seeds in individual plugs instead of in little containers and then moved them into the plugs. Should have thinned out the plugs to one or two plants in each (duh); had great germination rates and ended up with about 10 tiny plants in each little plug. A real mess trying to transplant the tender seedlings into the garden. I just planted the entire clumps. We'll see what happens.
Transplanted pepper seedlings started on 2/6/06 into individual containers:
--Orange Bell (my 2005 seeds)
--My favorite huge sweet red pepper Aconcagua (my 2005 seeds)
Transplanted tomato seedlings started on 2/6/06 into individual containers:
--Thai Pink Egg, incredibly prolific last year (mine 2005)
--Kellogg's Breakfast giant orange tomatoes (Baker Creek 2005 seeds)
--Arkansas Traveler, medium sized pink (BC 2003 seeds)
--English Moneymaker, good in greenhouses (BC 2003 seeds)
--Yellow Plum (mine 2005)
--San Marzano Paste (mine 2005)
--Orange Banana, so sweet last year (mine 2005)
--VFN, standard red heirloom, disease resistant variety (my seeds--old)
--My Secret New Hybrid (2005 seeds)
Note: All seedlings (before transplanting) had major growth spurts when I started watering them with llama manure tea.
Miscellaneous:
--Direct seeded lettuces had great germination rate. Have them in mini greenhouse plot, just covered with an old sheet (Joe calls it the covered wagon plot) . Have removed all other sheets and blankets from plots as we have had milder temps and rain. 20s predicted this week, though, so may need to re-cover turnips, Spanish black radish, pathetic looking chard plants (something has been eating them!), and strawberries.
--Purple kohlrabi seeds came up like crazy, but the cold season greens in that plot have yet to sprout (mache, Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach, New Zealand spinach). Why do I still insist upon trying to grow spinach? Why? (Note to self: remember the definition of insanity--doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.)
--Daffodils blooming all around the yard. So pretty. I think of them as the color 'cheerful.'
--Lilacs are budding. Tiny sucker plants I put into little pots 5 years ago and never got around to transplanting are now about four feet high, growing straight through their pots into the ground, and no doubt cannot be moved from their odd location in the midst of the compost bins. They even have tiny flowers on them this year! Oh well, I'll take lilacs anywhere I can get them. Must really think about trying to move them, though. But to where?
--Volunteer arugula (rocket) coming up like crazy in greenhouse since I thought to water the entire bed. Yay! Chard and beets survived winter and are starting to grow again. So dark green and purple. They loved the llama pellets I scattered all over the bed.
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