These are the sweetpeas that I set out about March 25. They don't look great but it is still early.
These are seedlings outside that still need to be planted. Among them are oregano, thyme, four o'clocks, coreopsis, the last of the carnations. I have some planting to do LOL. There is oregano and cilantro in the ground here, too.
These were sprouted grocery red potatoes that I planted April 6. So now is 23 days later, about three weeks.
Three of the six have emerged so far.
Most of the seedlings are still too tender, and the nights too unpredictable, to leave them outside or plant them.The sunroom gets too hot during the day, to leave them there, plus they need the outdoor conditions and sun, when it happens, to grow healthy.
So, I bring them in at night, and back out during the day.
Those are mostly tomatoes, chilis, eggplants, basil, and a few others. The geraniums on the bench, to the right of the rack, have stayed outside for a week or two. They are ready to plant in the ground or permanent containers, now.
I think the statice, four o'clocks, and remaining carnations can stay outside permanently. Unless we get a frost. I want to plant them in their long -term locations within the next week. Also some Chinese cabbages, celery, and kale.
When the pepper plants look like they are starting to grow better, I like to remove the growth tip. The growth tip produces auxin hormones that travel downward, and inhibit buds from growing branches. When the growth tip is removed, branches grow. That means more blossoms and fruits, and a stockier plant less likely to fall over. I'm also trying that with some of the eggplants this year.
Chili Pepper Before Pruning.
And After pruning.
And After Pruning.
The camassias that I moved are starting to bloom. They survived the move without problems although the leaves are a little bent.
The flowers are like stars. They should continue to shoot upward and bloom a lot more.
I'm almost out of dandelions now. I dig the big plants in bloom, then feed them to the hens and duck. They eat it all - flowers, stems, leaves. This enriches the eggs and makes for yellower yolks.
I hope I can grow a big bunch of marigolds this year, which have the same benefit.
I weeded the garlic, then cut brown butcher paper for mulch. That should minimize weeds and conserve water. I laid the soaker hoses in place. When it heats up and dries out, I'll test the soakers, possible punch new pinholes in the hoses, and test them. If they work, then tuck them under the paper mulch.
Here are the rhubarb divisions I forgot to photograph yesterday. I'm happy they are growing so well. They probably need another year to harvest. I gave them a good dose of organic vegetable fertilizer when I moved them to their current locations.
The top one is too close to a clump of camassia. I'll dig, divide, and move the camassia this summer when they are dormant.
The original rhubarb plants are quite lush now.
I forgot a photo of the divisions so that will need to happen another time.
This is Zestar. Last year I grafted Rubinette to make the top two tiers. It needs to fill in but this is a good start. I haven't installed weed barrier and mulch here yet. Soon (LOL).
This is Redlove (TM) Odysso (TM). I grafted something else (Freedom. I made a mistake in the prior post and said Liberty). to the top a couple of weeks ago. Not a great grafting job but buds are starting to swell. This is my first bloom for Odysso. Lubera nursery in Switzerland, who created the Redlove varieties, claims Odysso is the sweetest of their red flesh apples.
Last year, the areas where I installed drip irrigation were so much easier to water. For areas without the drip lines, I had to carry buckets of water or haul garden hose around. I'm not always up to all that work, especially in the heat when it is needed the most.
Plus of course, drip is considered more water conservation friendly. So win/win.
However, I had to pull out the lines to install and repair the raised beds.
Time to get to work before summer. Waiting too long made it harder for me last year.
This year, each of the beds will have a shut off valve. So when water isn't needed for a particular crop, I can turn off that bed's water supply and still water the others. Or, when one needs less water thN the others, I can control that.
This is the start of the system for the tall raised bed. Next it will need lines to distribute water to each plant. I may wait until the lettuce and radishes are done, and tomato plants are in place. It's not needed yet.
Here are some of the tomato plants now. I'm glad I did not plant them as early as last year, although I could probably have waited one or two additional weeks.
Reisentraube and Dwarf Johnson Cherry. It's interesting that, at least at this stage, Reisentraube is growing a lot like a dwarf variety. I didn't expect that. It will be fun to compare it to other varieties.
Most of the other dwarf varieties. They have shorter, stockier stems compared to non-dwarf types, and the leaves are more compact and stockier too. Brandyfred and CC McGee (not shown) have potato-type leaves.
"Bush" type (Early Girl Bush). These are not dwarf type, but grow multiple stems that in the end don't grow as tall as regular tomato plants. To confuse matters, "Extreme Bush" is both dwarf and determinate. The blue labeled plants, "Honeybee" and "SunGold" are regular height varieties that I planted a few weeks later. I had those varieties planted at the same time as the others, but gave them away to someone who I think will appreciate that they are already blooming.
There were lots of tulips there. South of Oregon City. I think Rufus got a little overstimulated but if so, he's all better now.
For the past two years, I grew sweet corn in this area. The year before, it was potatoes, and squash the year before that. Last winter, I buried a dead chicken who was viciously murdered by some sort of chicken-obsessed predator. Then I planted nematocidal mustard in the bed for green manure and to kill of any nematodes.
The lush thick leaves are the mustard on the chicken grave. The test is the mustard where there are no buried chicken victims.
It's the same seeds, but obviously the area over the chicken is much more fertile than the rest. Those leaves are green and lush, and the plants are very vigorous. The other mustard plants are puny and unhealthy looking.
That proves that the soil there is now depleted and needs fertilizer (preferably organic) or nothing will grow well there.
It also proves that chicken corpses make a good fertilizer, at least for mustards.
Thanks to my helper who dug the trenches, I was able to plant two rows of late potato Elba and one of mid season potato Soraya. This area has not been used for garden before.
That's the last of the potato starts. I could celebrate by having an impromptu parade on Main street, but I feel too tired LOL.
Just because potato starts in a trench aren't all that interesting, here is a free vintage illustration of potatoes from a website called freevintageillustrations.com.
After my mom's cousin Pearl died, my mom gave me the cookbook that she had inherited from Pearl.
It's mostly just sat in my baking cabinet. Thanks to the pandemic, I've been baking more and got it out. With feelings of nostalgia, I bought a Sunbeam stand mixer. I didn't want a mixer made in "that" country. Plus I could have bought a Kitchen Aid, which ate certainly high quality, solid made-in-USA machines. However, the big Kitchen-Aid mixers are too big and heavy for me, and the mini model still cost more than double what the Sunbeam cost. Plus nostalgia, my mom had a Sunbeam. This one is remarkably like hers. More plastic, not as heavy, but it still reminds me of her.
So I used her recipe book to make a batch of gingersnaps. I've never made them before, but it was pretty easy. I love molasses, so these were right up my alley.
Edit: I looked at the label on the bottom of the mixer. Made in China. Well, I will keep it but won't buy another from them if this one breaks. I don't mind buying imported goods, but I think we should have the ability to determine where something is made before we buy it.
It was raining and I am feeling the effects of a shot from yesterday. I was able to plant the potato growing bag that I made yesterday with five chitted starts.
Here is how they looked before I covered them.
