Kitchen Garden Progress Report. 7.14.19

Standing Amid the First Sweetcorn Crop.  7.14.19

Seedlings of Chinese Radish and Japanese Turnips, about 10 days after planting. 7.14.19

 Here I am amid the sweet corn.  This is the first crop, planted mid may.  They are growing nicely.  I've planted 5 blocks of sweetcorn, roughly 4 rows of 6 plants each with some variation, about every 2 or 3 weeks after this first batch. 

Seedlings of Purple Top Turnips, about 4 days after planting.  7.14.19

The purple top turnips and Chinese Radishes and Japanese Turnips all germinated very quickly.  The main challenge with planting mid summer, is keeping them watered.  So I water every day or every other day.

 Here I am next to the summer squash, zucchini, and sauce tomato crops.  For what it's worth, when out in the summer, I wear a white long sleeved shirt, that has been treated with a Rit  UV blocker for UV protection, and a straw hat.  It's not fashionable, but this helps with healthy skin.

Planting Summer Seeds. Radishes and Turnips. Jul 8, 2019

Japanese Turnip and Chinese Radish Seeds.  Jul 8, 2019

Today I planted experimental rows of radishes and turnips, in the location where I dug two rows of potatoes.  Not a lot, about 3 foot rows for each.  It might be too early - late summer might have them growing mostly in cooler fall weather.  I can plant more later.

I love turnips, and these East Asian types of radishes can be very good for fresh eating or roasting.

I plant potatoes in trenches, starting at about a foot derp and filling in soil as they grow.  Digging them, I insert the shovel under where I expect to find spuds.  By the time the taters are dug up, the soil has been mixed and softened more than a foot deep.  I think that's ideal for these root crops.

Given summer dryness, the soil dryness extended the depth of the trenches.  Watering is needed.

There are as many potatoes still growing, as I dug already.  There are plans for those rows too Western - type turnips and radishes, maybe sone cabbages, and I want to move a row of daylilies there for easier care.

Edit:  by 7/14, all of the seeds are germinated and growing vigorously.  They germinated in about one week.