Showing posts with label Garden Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden Planning. Show all posts

Saturday, December 06, 2014

Seed Order. Seedsavers.com. 12.6.14

Seed packets.  Image source Commons.wikimedia.org

Seed packets.  Image source Commons.wikimedia.org
Today I placed a seed order with seedsavers.org.   They have the broadest and best selection.  The seeds are open-pollinated, saved varieties.  No GMOs, and not owned by GMO-godzilla corp. 

In a way, ordering seeds early shows optimism that there will be another year.

These are the varieties that I ordered.  Short season plants were a big priority.  Climate here is cool relatively sort summer, sandwiched between a cool long spring and a cool long fall.

Watermelon, Blacktail Mountain.  65-75 days.  Developed in northern Idaho.  Most watermelons are in the range of 85-100 days.

Watermelon, Petite Yellow.  65-80 days.

There were also 2 varieties of early, small-sized cantalopes.  Eden's Gem 65 - 80 days, Minnesota Midget - 60-75 days, and and Asian melon, Sakata's Sweet. that last one takes longer, 85-95 days.  I might try the melons south of the house, which may be warmer and is full sun.  I grew Minnesota Midget in the past with good result.

The timing for winter squashes doesn't matter as much.  They ripen late fall.

Squash Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck.  10-20#squashes.

Squash, Long Island Cheese.  6-12 pounds.

Summer Squash, Yellow Crookneck.  55-60 days.

Some dry beans.  I don't think the timing is as important for these, either.  I have not grown dry beans before.

Calypso.  A bush variety.  70-90 days.

Hidasa Shield Figure.  I assume this is a vining bean.  90 days.

Cucumber Suyo Long.  For Ning.  65 days.

Lettuce, Seed Savers Mixture.

Okra, Star of David.  60-75 days.  Which is pretty good for okra.   The only way I know to grow it here is in containers, and I'm still learning the best way to do that.  I also have a couple okra plants that I am overwintering.  That may not work at all.

Pepper "Kalman's Hungarian Tomato".  65-75 days.  Last year my peppers were too hot for my surgically modified stomach.  These are milder.

This week I also placed an order with Burpee's.  Those were more in the hybrid category. 

Peppers - Hot Sweet Thing, Golden California, Sweet Nikita, Sweet banana.
Tomatoes - Better Boy - I always grow that one,  Sunny Boy, Jersey Boy, Sungold - always grow that one, Supersweet 100 - always grow that one, and Roma.
Corn - Early Sunglow and Trinity - both early varieties.
Pea Oregon Sugar Pod
Bean, Gold Mine and Early Bush Italian.
Squash, Burpee Hyb rid Zucchini, Walthan Butternut, Golden Egg, Galeux D'Eysines, Pumpkin Rouge VIF D'Etampes
Okra Baby Bubba - good for containers, did well this year, and Clemson Spineless.

It seems ambitious, but not too bad.  I cleared the raised bed for tomatoes today.  The beds have settled, so I added enriched soil to the top.  That was this year's zucchini bed.

I did the same thing for the pepper bed, which will be in the same place as this year.  That bed also got a wheelbarrow of kitchen scrap composed, heavily populated with earthworns.  Lots of coffee grounds and teabags went into that too.

Zukes will go into this year's tomato bed - half ready.

Bush beans will go into this year's onion bed - half ready.  That will have a less enriched soil.  I'm counting on the beans to enrich it.

Other squashes / pumpkins  will be allowed to sprawl, like they did this year.

Corn - to go into the other tomato bed from last year.  Haven't cleared that one yet.  Or maybe outside the raised beds, if I can put up some deer fencing.

Okra - containers.

Others to be determined.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

More kitchen garden planning. 12.28.13

Image source:  vintageprintable.com

This is a table, template originating from about.com.  I edited out the vegetables I don't want, added others, changed for family of 4 to the 2 of us, and made some other changes.

In the raised beds, one row is 4 feet.  A bed is 4ft by 8 ft, a half bed is 4 ft by 4 ft.

Over-planning but have been sick and this makes me feel better.

Beets 1 row Spring + Fall plantings.  Trying again. Protect.
Bush Beans 1½ beds Succession Plant.  Experimenting with varieties.
Pole Beans ½ bed Single Planting.  Northernmost bed due to height.
Carrots 1 row Succession Plantings.  Experiment with varieties.
Swiss Chard 1 row Re-Grows after Harvesting Outer Leaves
Sweet Corn 1 row? If there is room.  Needs deer protection deer.  Needs to be on north side so not shading other plants.
Cucumbers 1 row Single Planting.  Experiment with varieties.  Pickles + fresh.
Mesclun 1 row Spring + Fall Crop for greens.
Lettuce 1 row Succession plantings.
Onions 1 bed Winter onions already planted for winter growth + scallions.
Perennials are June harvest, October re-plant.
Snow Peas 1 row Succession, Spring and Fall plantings
Okra 1 bed Multiple varieties, experiments.  Needs soil warming method.
Garlic 1 bed Already planted.  June harvest, October re-plant.
Sweet + Chili Peppers ½ bed Multiple varieties, some known + some experiments
Winter Squash + Pumpkins 5 hills Outside raised beds due to sprawling vines.  Multiple varieties.
Radishes 1 row Succession Plantings
Summer Squash ½ bed Multiple Varieties.  3 hills.  Bush types.
Tomatoes 1 bed Multiple Varieties. 1 to 2 each.
Turnips 1 row

Spring + Fall plantings.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Garden Planning 2014. 12.24.13

From Victory Seeds, average last frost dates:

Average last frost date for Vancouver WA:  May 14
Average last frost date for Battleground WA:  May 21 

Most of my vegetable gardening is in Battleground.  One difference - I may be using water walls and row cover to protect from frost.  That can pus the date forward a little.  

Then from calculator on "The Cheap Vegetable Gardener" - I edited out vegetables I won't be growing and made a few other changes.  Super handy calculator.  The author has most of the vegetables I want to grow.  I used the Battleground last date, May 21.

Vegetable Name Seed Start Date Estimated
Transplant
Date
Estimated
Harvest
Date
Onion - I'm using bunching2/19/20144/25/20146/24/2014
Pak Choi (1st)3/12/20144/6/20145/11/2014
Parsley3/11/20145/7/20145/25/2014
Lettuce (1st)3/12/20144/6/20145/6/2014
Swiss Chard3/19/20144/20/20145/8/2014
Cabbage (1st)3/19/20145/1/20146/22/2014
Peppers3/25/20145/29/20146/23/2014
Tomato4/2/20146/4/20146/21/2014
Spinach (1st)4/9/2014N/A5/24/2014
Peas4/9/2014N/A6/13/2014
Turnips (1st)4/9/2014N/A6/8/2014
Watermelon4/16/20146/27/20147/15/2014
Basil4/24/20146/14/20147/23/2014
Potatoes4/30/2014N/A8/8/2014
Radish5/1/2014N/A6/5/2014
Beets5/1/2014N/A7/5/2014
Carrots (1st)5/10/2014N/A7/24/2014
Corn5/10/20146/7/20147/29/2014
Cucumber5/10/20146/16/20147/9/2014
Okra5/10/20146/11/20147/14/2014
Pumpkin5/10/20146/7/20148/28/2014
Winter Squash, 5/10/20146/16/20148/28/14
Zucchini / Summer Squash5/10/20146/16/20147/4/2014
Lettuce (2nd)5/14/2014N/A7/8/2014
Beans6/4/2014N/A8/13/2014
Dill6/11/2014N/A8/15/2014
Carrots (2nd)6/27/2014N/A9/10/2014
Cabbage - Napa8/24/20149/21/201411/7/2014
Onion - Bunching8/24/2014N/A11/2/2014
Turnip (2nd)8/24/2014N/A10/23/2014
Lettuce (3rd)9/3/2014N/A10/28/2014
Spinach (2nd)9/10/2014N/A10/25/2014
Garlic11/12/2014N/A3/17/2015


I think radishes could be earlier.  Maybe with peas. The chart is earlier than I've been starting tomatoes.

This year I want to get out the "Wall-o-water" and see if any of them hold water.  Then use them for tomatoes, peppers, okra.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Early early early planning for next year


I ordered the following seeds from http://www.victoryseeds.com/.

3270021Dwarf Green Long Pod Okra$1.951$1.95
3270071Emerald Okra$1.951$1.95
3250351Minnesota Midget Melon$2.251$2.25
3030061Roma II Bush Green Bean
Size Options: 1 ounce - $2.25
$2.251$2.25
3310141Cayenne Long Red Hot Pepper$1.951$1.95
3310171Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot Pepper$1.951$1.95
3370211Dark Green Zucchini Summer Squash$1.751$1.75
3300011Oregon Sugar Pod II Pea$1.951$1.95

It's early.  Planning ahead gives me something to look forward to.

Some of the choices are proven performers for me.  The zucchini, Roma bean, Minnesota Midget melon, and the peppers have all done well.  Some are my standards.  The Okra varieties have potential due to their short season - the okra.  Some are shorter growing, so may work OK in a covered bed.  So far I held back on tomatoes.  I have lots of tomato seeds from previous years.

I also placed this order from Burpee.  Except for the compact Okra, all are heirloom varieties.

YOUR PURCHASE INFORMATION
NAMESKUDESCRIPTIONQTYPRICE/ITEMTOTAL ITEM
Okra, Baby Bubba Hybrid(54114A - 1 Pkt. (35 seeds))54114AThis dwarf variety is only half as tall as other okras and perfect for large containers.1$4.95$4.95
Borage(61481A - 1 Pkt. (200 seeds))61481AYoung leaves for salads and lemonade.1$4.95$4.95
Pepper, Hot, Lemon(54320A - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds))54320AHEIRLOOM. From Ecuador, as hot as any Cayenne, but with a truly unique flavor.1$5.25$5.25
Pepper, Sweet, Banana(62976A - 1 Pkt. (125 seeds))62976AHEIRLOOM. An All-America Selections Bronze Medal winner for 1941 and still extremely popular.1$3.95$3.95
Pepper, Hot, Tabasco(53275A - 1 Pkt.)53275ASmall, very hot peppers that lend the kick to the famous hot sauce.1$4.95$4.95

I want  to use1/2 of a a raised bed entirely for peppers.  Foraging in the vegetable garden for them was fun this year.  They added a lot of flavor to many meals.  They need some extra animal protection.  Maybe a chicken-wire fence.

The plan for okra is to raise plants indoors.   Then transfer to a covered raised bed, for warmer growth.  If last years' seeds grow, I may also have Clemson spineless.  Which didn't do great, but were my first attempt, ever, at growing okra.  It was nice using a few pods in soups.

A raised bed is 4 X 8 feet.  A half bed is 4 X 4 but one will be 2 X 8.

Thinking about it - 

1/2 bed for okra
1/2 bed for tomatoes.  Maybe a whole bed.
1/2 bed for peppers
1/2 bed for bush beans.
1/2 bed for pole beans.
1/2 bed for Zucchinis.
1/2 bed for butternut squash.
1/2 bed for melons.

This totals to 4 raised beds for summer / fall vegetables.

1/4 bed for snow peas. These are early, something can replace them in June.

Currently I have 1 bed planted in garlic.  Done in June so can be used for warm season vegetable.
1 bed for onions.  Also done in June so reusable.  That worked well this year for beans.
1/2 bed is shallots.  Those are done in July so can be used for a late vegetable.
1 bed is ready for winter or fall growing.  Maybe greens, radishes, scallions.

There are 11 1/2 raised beds, or will be when I finish the 1 1/2 currently pending.  3 are flowers, 1 is strawberry, leaving 7 1/2.  Other thoughts:  Eggplants.  have been a challenge, maybe1/2 of a covered bed would be warmer.   Chinese cabbages.  Those get eaten by cabbage worms. Even one with a row cover disappeared. 

The last 1 1/2 raised beds.  I have the wood.  It is cut.  Half of the holes are pre-drilled.  Maybe I'll assemble the sides this weekend.  I need to check on whether I have liner and hardware cloth or chicken wire to annoy the moles that want to tunnel into the beds.

The pics are all from Commons.wikimedia.org.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Planning the garden for next year.

It's early. Way early. But with little more to harvest, and not much to plant, I'm thinking about next year. My goals for vegetables next year: Productive in a short season, cool summer, that I have in Maritime Pacific NW. Reliable. Vegetable crops that are amenable to saving seeds for future seasons. What I'm thinking about so far: Melon, Minnesota Midget (SeedSavers.org) The melons are quite small - 4 inches. Fine with me, less waste. They'll be like apples or other fruit. "Resistant to fusarium wilt. 60-75 days." That's a short season. The vines are short too, 3 feet long. I can grow under a frost protector for warmth. Will look for other choices in the 60-75 day range. Watermelon, Blacktail Mountain. Also SeedSavers.org. 6 to 12 pound melons. Developed by a northern Idaho gardener, where nights were in the 40s. 65-75 days. Roma bush beans always do well for me. Seedsavers doesn't have them, but Territorial Seeds has them, and they are open pollinated. 59 days. Probably a pole bean. I have old old packets of Chinese pole beans, will try to germinate them. If they don't grow, there are other choices to look for. Red Burgundy Okra. SeedSavers.org. Also fast, 55-60 days. I have not thought about growing okra - it's a warm climate crop - but in raised bed with row cover, planted late, maybe it's worth a try. Along with some chilis. Or Dwarf Green Long Pod at VictorySeeds.com which is a compact plant: 24-30 inches tall, and 52 days. Compact size is good if plants need protection from deer. Maybe I'll get some Pink Banana Squash for an out of the way corner in the sun. Rareseeds.com. Long season, 105 days, but some nostalgia there and maybe they'll ripen in the fall soon enough to have for thanksgiving. Chilis - thinking about cayenne, which always produces for me, and a small hot pepper such as Thai. Hungarian Banana peppers always do well for me too. Tabascos are late - might not be worth the effort. I don't know yet. This one looks good -Hot Portugal, SeedSavers.org. 65-75 days. These from Territorial, Miniature Yellow Bell and Miniature Red Bell, both at 55 days. Tabascos from rareseeds.com 90 days. That one's a long shot for me, but I have grown them before. Row cover / raised bed should help for all of the chili peppers. Hungarian Hot Wax also rareseeds.com. There is also Hungarian Sweet Pepper at VictorySeed.com. 68 days. Not bad, might be better than the baby early bells. I like yellow summer squash. There is Early Prolific Straightneck at VictorySeeds.com 42 days. Same source, Dark Green Zucchini 50 days. Those are my thoughts so far. Subject to complete change. This does not include tomatoes. Probably Supersweet-100, Sungold (hybrid but exceptions can be good), Better Boy, an Italian tomato, and a couple of heirlooms. More research needed there. ANother melon that looks good, from RareSeeds.com: Prescot Fond Blanc Melon. 70 days, but not clear on climate needs.