Tomato, Cucumber and Squash Seedlings. 5.9.2021

 About 3/4 of the seedlings are in the ground now.  This is it for planting seeds in containers for the year.

I wanted Pink Banana Squash but none have germinated.  I bit the bullet and ordered a packet on line.  Postage was significant for one packet, but this is the last chance to try to germinate some of this variety for the year.  I found them on the Victory Seeds website, which is a company that I'm coming to like.  They sent the seeds out the next day and I got them two days later.  We'll see if they germinate.

Some of the squash and cucumber seedlings.  Also some Chinese Chives.  These pickle seeds are form ones that I saved last winter, great germination but who knows what the cucumbers will be like, because I didn't isolate the plants or flowers and I don't know if they were hybrids.  Squash seedlings quickly outgrow these little containers.  I planted the Gete Okosomin and one of the Yellow Zucchinis in the garden yesterday.  Others to follow, and giving away a couple of zucchini plants.

I've planted most of the basil but there are still a few to go.  Same with peppers.

A few of the remaining "Extreme Bush" tomatoes.  I'll give away a plant and find a location for the rest.

The Soyu Chinese Cucumber packet was from 2016.  I planted about 6 seeds.  So far, one has germinated.  That's good enough but a few more would be better, so I planted another container.   I'm glad I saved the old seed packets.  This summer I can let one go overripe for seed saving.  [Edit - that photo was yesterday.  This morning I saw that two more seedlings have emerged.]

The rest of the cucumber seedlings.  I planted more than I want, because I didn't know which ones would grow.  Varieties are Alibi hybrid, a Bush type that doesn't designate if hybrid, another Bush type that is F1.  I think I'll plant all of the hybrids together, and try to isolate at least one of the Bush type for saving seeds.  Maybe the ones that I grew form saved seeds this year, and the other Bush type that does not state Hybrid.  These should be ready to plant in the garden in two weeks.

Seedling Update. 4.18.2021

 Here are the current seedlings.  Some of the tomatoes, all of the potatoes, a few of the peppers, the marigolds, and early started lettuce are all planted outside.  Today I up-potted the seedlings of dwarf tomato varieties and kept a few extras.

All that's left to start are some squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers.  If I'm in the mood for it, I might plant some Swiss chard and a few other veggies directly in the garden now, and of course corn and beans in May and June.

Kitchen Garden Seedling Progress Report. 3.24.2021

 They are mostly doing well.  Lots of growth for the up-potted tomatoes, eggplants, and some of the peppers.  Basil is growing nicely.  I also planted some old basil seeds.  The 5 year old seeds had spotty germination.  A pack not labeled by date, maybe a year or two old from Baker Creek, purple leaf basil, germinated very well.   Chinese and regular chives from home saved seeds doing very well.   Lettuce and celery doing well.  Apple seedlings too.

Slicing and Salad Tomato Seedlings

 

Basil, Lettuce, Some Peppers, Marigolds, Celery, and others.

More Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Kale. 

 

Seedling Progress Report. 2.28.2021

 The seeding mat was a bit too warm, with a brief period up to 100F earlier this week.  For most of the seeds, it does not seem to have hurt them and many are germinating earlier than expected.  Not all are growing yet.  So far, most of the tomatoes, the basil, and French marigolds are growing.  The marigolds were first.  The basil and marigolds were seeds I saved from my plants last fall, and the marigolds were from volunteer plant, so now 3rd generation in my garden.

Basil seedlings.  There are a "typical" basil - not one of the fancy big leaf or Thai varieties.  Last fall I cut off the seed heads, and stored them upside down in a brown paper bag in my home office.  Last week, I crushed the dry seed heads in my hands, transferred to a bowl, used my fingers to separate the chaff.  it was very easy to get a large amount of seed, and the process smelled very nice, like basil.

Tomato Seedlings.  Only two have not germinated yet, one of the Moskovic and the home saved volunteer yellow cherry tomato.

Marigold Seedlings - not pictured but similar to the tomato seedlings.  I still have the original plant, blooming in the sunroom.  It's a nice, reddish brown color with orange edges and centers, only about 9 inches tall after a year.

 

Plus, some of the earlier seedlings are doing very well so far.  First, the shallot seedlings are growing nicely.  Germination was poor, but the plants that did grow are doing well.  I also have a shallot bulb that I planted in the garden last fall.  It will be interesting to compare how they do.

 This container has peppers, on left is Banana pepper and with the reddish-leaf apple seedling is Thai pepper.  Those will get separated when I repot the apple plant.

More seedlings under LED lights.

 

 

Celery seedlings.  I planted them too thickly.  The seeds are tiny and I didn't know how good the germination would be.  I thinned them to a few per cell.  Probably thin to one or two per cell, later.

There are also storage onion seedlings and some of the peppers, eggplants, and apples, on the top shelf under the sunroom top window.

Kitchen Garden. Another Way to Eat Zucchini. 7.26.16

Basal in Tree Ring Container.  7.26.16

Okra.  7.27.16

Mid Summer is a nice time in the kitchen garden.  Every day feels like a combination Easter Egg hunt and Christmas. 

Basil in Tree Ring Open Bottom container, ready to pick and make a small batch of pesto. 

I'm very surprised to have actively growing okra.  I had given up.  A true Southern gardener would rightly laugh at these puny okra plants.  The first flower buds are forming, and there are still 2 months of warm weather for potential crop.  I don't know which varieties.  I mixed together several packets and planted all of them.

I used tree branches that I saved to construct fenceposts or other garden infrastructure, along with black plastic trellis with 1-inch openings, to construct a rabbit / deer fence.  One might think okra spines would deter these pests, but they eat blackberry and squash growth tips, despite spines.

We continue to get zucchini, of course, and collard greens.  There are occasional peppers.

Use a mandolin with the thinnest blade, and slice zucchinis into leaf-thin slices.  Add the usual salad fixings and dressing, makes a great salad. 

Today the sweet corn appears ready to harvest.  I'm too tired to prepare it tonight, so leaving in the husks. 

I shifted the largest pumpkin to slide a newspaper under it.  That was to protect it from potential rot underneat, something I read about.  BAD MOVE.  The pumpkin came off the stem.  A ripe one is almost red.  This one is golden yellow.   I will see if I can roast it tomorrow for pumpkin pie fillings and pumpkin puree for pumpkin bread.

This pumpkin was Rouge Vit D'Etamps.  I weighed it - 35 pounds.  What will I do with that much pumpkin?  Annoyed with myself for not letting it ripen on the plant, dammit dammit.  But there are many smaller pumpkins and winter squashes, so there will still be more than we can reasonably use.

Vegetables.  7.27.16

 Some of the radish seeds have germinated at 3 days.   I planted all of the Chinese radish varieties, mentioned earlier.  Meanwhile at one week the first Euro radishes, turnips, kohlrabis, are looking good  one week after sowing seeds.  The carrot seeds have germinated.  I also enclosed this raised bed in netting for deer and rabbits.  I don't know if that will keep out cabbage moths. 

Two days ago, we ate the first Sungold tomato.  Today there were a few more.  I'm impatient for tomato season to start, even though there are so many other things to be happy about.

Okra Cage.  7.26.16

Also noting- We are getting figs every day.  Not enough to overwhelm me, but a really good crop.

Not pictured, I harvested all of the potatoes, other than Burbank Russet, which are almost ready.  Probably 50 pounds total of potatoes.  I harvested about half of the yellow onions.  Maybe 10 pounds.   I pulled out one of the raised bed / cages of favas, and used that bed to plant more Chinese Radishes last weekend.

Sweet Corn.  Trinity is shorter variety.  Bilicious is taller variety.  7.26.16

Trinity Sweet Corn Ready to Harvest.  7.26.16

 Rouge Vif d'Etampes Pumpkin, Harvested Too Early.  7.26.16

Radishes, Turnips, Carrots Seeds Germinating.  7.26.16

The First of the Sungold, by a nose.  7.26.16