Planting Greens. 3.2.17

Today I planted some more seeds for greens.  These went into large containers on the deck.   Mesclun, Swiss Chard, and Spinach.

I've discovered that I have a lot of replicate seeds packets, same variety or same general type but different years.  Some are pretty old.  To use them up, I'm combining seeds from older and newer varieties, then planting.  I always need to thin anyway.  If the older seeds don't germinate, then less to thin.  If they do, then it's the same as if I used all new seeds, but using up the old packets in the process.  No sense keeping the old packets if I don't use them up.  Smarter, would be to always check my collection before buying any more.  This year I did, so most of the seeds that I'm planting are from the box of seeds from the past decade.

Greens in Container Garden. 10.3.15

Cilantro.  10.3.15

Mixed Greens.  10.3.15

 Greens, planted late summer, now eating regularly.  Most are doing well.

Radishes look like they might be woody.

I should thin the turnips.

I'm not as crazy about eating the Swiss Chard, as I am about growing them.

Spring Scallions and Turnips.   10.3.15

Chinese Greens and Cilantro.  10.3.15

Concrete Tree Ring Raised Planter for Daylilies. 9.18.15

 This is the "Tree Ring" planter I put together over the past couple of weeks for some daylilies.  This is a spot that I often drag the garden hose across, damaging plants.  The planter will stop the hose from causing damage.  The planter is raised, which is nice for an old guy  to weed and trim the plants.  About the same size as a half wine barrel.  Especially since I had them sitting around.  This is between a container and a raised bed, in concept.

I leveled the ground for the base.  Arrange first ring, right side up.  Arrange second ring upside down, so the scalloped edges mesh.   Arrange the top level right side up again.

I mixed together yard soil with about 1/4 kitchen compost.  The yard soil is mole hills that I collected in the wheelbarrow.  The soil is finely ground, and taken from deep under my yard.  My soil tests low in magnesium and calcium, so I added about 1/4 cup of lime and 1/8 cup of Epsom salts.  Not rocket science, did not use a measuring cup.  I saved some coffee grounds, added about 4 cups of those for ongoing organic matter and nitrogen.

The daylilies were from other parts of the border where they were difficult to see and difficult to weed.  I wanted one bigger one - the maroon, almost coffee-brown one with darker eye, no name other than "Vigaro" from Home Depot.   The other two were incorrectly labeled or mutant, a very compact, very light yellow and taller, finer sort of apricot pink.  All of these will be easier to view and enjoy at this higher level, about 18 inches higher than the garden border.

I filled soil to the point where I could set in the daylily clumps on the soil.  Between the daylilies, I set hyacinth bulbs and pushed into the soil slightly  Those will have roots deeper than the daylilies.

Then I filled in the rest of the soil, watered in, and mulched with chipped tree trimmings.  Almost no transplanting trauma to the daylilies,  I imagine they will need dividing in one or two years.  No problem.

I saw some of these tree ring sections on the web for about $4.00 each.  That would make it $36.00 if I bought them new, roughly the same as a half wine barrel.  I think I bought them on sale a few years ago for about half that.  They should lase a lifetime.  A half wine barrel seems to last about 10 years in this rainy Pacific NW climate.  Compared to a wine barrel, the rings are easier to carry, can just carry one at a time.  I don't know about insulating properties.  Might not be as good as wood.

Late Summer Kitchen Garden. Starting Seeds. Barrels. 8.26.15

Barrel #1.  Asian Greens, Kohlrabi, Bunching Onions.  8.26.15

 This is a progress report on some of the seeds I am starting for later Summer, or early Fall starts, for Fall and early winter benefit.  These are all barrel planters that I either had with something earlier that finished, or had left alone for a year or two and now being called back into service.   If there were weeds, I pulled out the weed plants - easy with soft potting soil, then turned the top layer of soil with a hand-spade, and added a top layer of a few inches of potting soil.  The one with the dead bamboo, was too root bound, so I just added some potting soil on top.

Barrel #3.  Chinese pole beans and last year's garlic.  8.26.15

Barrel #4.  Roma beans, Turnips, and a few E.W.O. Scallions.  8.26.15

 I want the beans mostly for seeds.  Seeds take longer than fresh beans, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

This year is projected for a warmer winter due to the impending el Niño effect.  I speculate that will extend the season.  If not, that's OK too.

Days currently in 90s.  Nights in 50s and 60s.  Seeds are germinating quickly.  The barrels need daily water.  The plants are concentrated in small spaces, so shade the soil and not needing as much care as if in the ground.  I am watering with 1/4 tsp miracle grow in 2 gallons of water.  Basically fertigating.  For some, I occasionally peecycle with 1/2 liter of home-grown fertilizer in 2 gallons.  Not more, because I don't want salt build up.

I'm getting excellent, rapid growth for Egyptian walking onions,  nasturtiums, and Swiss chard.  Should have some for cooking in 2 or 3 weeks.  Spinach might also be ready in 3 or 4 weeks.  The nasturtiums are for adding leaves too salads.  The E.W. onions are for scallions, and to maintain my crop.  I got about 80% viable from the ones that were in the bed I wanted to renovate, chewed off by rabbits or deer, crowded by wild carrot, and left dry.  E.W. Onions are a damn hardy breed.


As I dig more into the old E.W. bed that I want to renovate, I remove more, clean them up, and plant them in random spots among other plants.  That will give a more extended Fall harvest of scallions, and also some to leave through the winter for Spring harvest and to maintain the clone.

Barrel #6.  Nasturtiums, Spinach, and some E.W.O. Scallions.  8.26.15

Today I planted seeds for Kohlrabi - expect harvest in 60 days, and Turnip - expect harvest in 50 days.  With the hot summer weather, they should get a fast start, then slow down a little as it cools.

Barrel #7.  Egyptian Walking Onions.  ~3 Weeks,  8.26.15

Some of the seeds I am starting.  8.26.15

I also planted an Asian Greens mix that contains equal parts Arugula, Chinese cabbage, Japanese spinach, mustard-mizuna, mustard-green, mustard-Ruby Streaks, and tatsoi. Those were planted about one week ago and now are all germinated.  Cilantro seeds are also included in the barrel gardens, and growing.  The goal with those is to plant a few more each week, for extended harvests.

I planted scarlet bunching onion seeds because I saw them in the store and wanted to try something different.  At the time I didn't know if the E.W. onions would grow.  The scarlet bunching onion seeds are also germinating.

All in all, I think the late summer planting in large containers, has a lot of potential for kitchen gardening.  Easy, more accessible for the older or less vigorous gardeners, and grow more in a very compact space.   Not much bending over at all, very easy to pull out tiny weeds and putter.

Container Garden and Nursery. 6.13.15

Container Tree Nursery.  6.13.15

El Dorado Peach in Container.  6.13.15

 It's getting into the hotter sunnier season.  For container plants, that means more protection and more water.

Previously I took temperatures of container soil with and without reflective foil.  The foil reduced the temperature by roughly 15 degrees.  That was during hot sunny weather.  Based on that information, I've wrapped the 2 to 5 gallon containers with aluminum foil, shiny side out.  I may need to do that with the larger containers as well.

One or  two of the ginkgos may be used as rootstock to propagate my backyard ginkgo tree.  The plums may also be rootstock for next year's scion.  The dwarf peach seedling, I might use as rootstock or might just let it grow.  Without a non-dwarfed peach rootstock, it might never become a tree shape.  In a container, that's fine.  I prefer the compact shape.

I probably should have thinned the peaches better.   But, they are looking good.

I pinched the fig tree branch tips a couple weeks back.  They are responding with figs at the leaf axils.

Nagami kumquat - greening up.  No flowers.

Meyer lemon - lots of flowers.

Container Fig Trees.  6.13.15

 Swiss Chard - we've been eating some in stir fry every day.  It's been a rewarding container crop.

Nagami Kumquat.  6.13.15

Swiss Chard.  6.13.15

Meyer Lemon.  6.13.15

Red Portugal Chili Pepper. 5.31.14

 The first chili peppers from my seedlings.  This is Red Portugal.   I'm happy with the result.  The container is kept on the deck now in full sun.

Red Portugal Chili Pepper.  5.31.14

Potatoes 5.11.14

Potato "barrel" made from concrete tree ring edging.

The potatoes are growing fast.  I didn't have a chance to buy more compost to fill in around them.  So I used partially decomposed, compacted maple leaves from last fall.

They filled in around the potato plants nicely.

I don't know if this will work.  I've read that straw works, so maybe leaves will work.

Container Plants. Flowers and Kitchen Garden. 4.29.14

Dianthus in container

Overwintered geraniums.

 Today was warm, into the 80s.  Nights are still in the 40s.  Prediction for tomorrow is 90.  Wow.

Of the container plants, I cleaned up the dianthus that overwintered outside in a sheltered location.  I sheared it to a compact shape.  There was an agapanthus that did not survive the big freeze.

Of the geraniums that I overwintered in the garage, all appear to have survived.  They have been sitting on the deck a couple weeks.  I cleaned them up, just using scissors to remove dead parts.  I did not attempt to make them into compact looking garden department plants.  I'm going for the "these are old geraniums like grandma had" look.

I planted some of the Mirabilis seedlings into another container.  They are a little floppy.  Sunday I planted several at Battleground, and there was a hailstorm that tore holes in some leaves.  Still, they look ok today - 2 days later.

Overwintered geraniums.  After cleanup.

Mirabilis starts in container.

 I've been shuttling peppers and Mirabilis inside/outside.  Now they are outside to stay.  Now I am moving them into more full sun.

Tomato and okra seedlings are still under lights.  Except the 2 Sungold plants I bought.  They are in containers and in the sun.

The two largest, oldest okra plants are now in a larger container, along with a seedling.  There are early pods on the two oldest plants.  Okra here is a total experiment, there is almost nothing saying they can be grown this way and a fair amount of info saying they cannot be grown this way.  All I want is a few pods now and then for soups or fry.  If I'm getting the starts of pods now, then maybe this summer there will be a lot more.  The two larger plants are Burgundy and Baby Bubba Hybrid.  The smaller one is "Dwarf Green Long Pod".  It may be a stretch to have 3 plants in one container.

Starts of tomatoes, Mirabilis, peppers.  First day in full sun.

At Battleground, I uncovered the peppers that were in the poly tunnel.  I replaced the polyethylene sheeting with deer mesh.  They look good, nice and green and ready to grow.

More plant starts in the sun.

Okra plants moved into larger container.

January Gardening. Puttering. Potato Barrel. 1.26.14

Potato Barrel

Garlic in January

A little puttering, then there is a zxqt-load of homework to complete.  This week staycation.  Mostly rest.  So exhausted....

The potato barrel is an evolving concept.  Several years, I've grown potatoes in large containers, filling as the potato plant grows.  Then empty out the container and it is filled with a surprising number of potatoes.  Home grown potatoes are much better than store bought.

Link to potatoes in container March 2010.   May 2011.  No photos of harvest.  Method.  Another take on the method, Mother Earth News.  Also container Gardening for Food.

Last year I started some,  but a late frost killed them.  I was sick, and there was no chance to do it over.

I've been trying to come up with a better idea.  The sides of the barrel get too hot.  Plastic containers, even hotter.  I have a couple dozen /13 circle tree edging rings.  I was using them for irises.  The irises are now in raised beds, so the rings are free.

They stack nicely.  They should disassemble nicely.  They link together.  I don't think they will fall apart until I want  to take them apart.  The stone (concrete?) will heat on warm days, transferring heat into the soil.  Bot not as exposed and temperature sensitive as plastic.  The volume is more than the 1/2 barrels I was using.  They are free.  I think I bought them for $2 a section a few years ago.  Maybe a sale.  If that cheap, they cost less than a purpose-sold potato barrel or 1/2 wine barrel at the big box store.

I will add screening to the bottom to restrict mole tunneling.

The garlic perks up when frost thaws.  Looking great.

The last of the peppers.

Barrel-grown Thai Hot Peppers

Cayenne, Peter Pepper, Thai Chili Peppers, and a Golden Sweet Pepper

This is the last, or near last, of barrel-grown peppers.  Pretty good for November.

Nagami Kumquat

Kumquot Illustration 1906

 Kumquots are citrus-like small fruits.  They may be classified as citrus or as Fortunella margarita. 

Via Monrovia, Kumquots are native to China.  Small tree, fruit with thin sweet rind and sour juicy flesh. 

Kumquat flowers

Last year, I bought a 1 foot tall Nagami kumquot and kept it on the deck.  If I remember correctly it did have some fruit at the time.  I don't know why I didn't taste them.  It overwintered OK indoors.  Now it's on the deck at the Battleground place.  It did not look enthusiastic this Spring.  About 2 weeks ago I repotted it into a larger, wooden container, watered, and am feeding with a diluted acid-loving plant fertilizer.  1/4 teaspoon per gallon, same as for Meyer Lemon.

Via Wikipedia, Kumquats are Citrus japopica "margarita": or Fortunella japonica.  They are more cold tolerant than most citrus, survive down to 18F. 

The flowers are small and fragrant, similar to other citrus.  The trees bloom in late Spring and the fruit matures in early fall. 

Kumquat at Corfu

From the Purdue horticulture website, Kumquats were mentioned in Chinese literature in 1178 AD and in Western literature in 1646.  Nagami was introduced to London in 1846. 

For growth in containers, Kumquats need to be on dwarfing rootstock (trifoliate orange, Poncirus trifoliata, flying dragon), not rootbound, and have regular watering and feeding.  I did let mine dry out rather badly last winter, and it survived.

Via gardening.ktsa.com,  Kumquats are later blooming than other citrus.  The fruit is aromatic and spicy.  The fruit matures in November.

From greenzonelife.com, kumquats grow poorly on their own roots.  Kumquat dormancy is profound, and they break dormancy later than other citrus. 

All photos here are cropped from photos on commons.wikimedia.org.

Potatoes. Container Gardening.

Pontiac Red potatoes. Bought seed potatoes at Fred Meyer garden section. Cut them apart for separate eyes. Let them dry out for 2 days.  This potting soil contained beans last year. Smaller diameter container. These are "White gourmet" potatoes. I obtained the starts 2 or 3 years ago, also Fred Meyer. They grow well in containers. These starts were in the basement, already grew 3 or 4 inches.  I just cut them apart today.They don't look like much. Covered with a few inches of potting soil.  When the leaves are a foot high, I'll add 6 inches of potting soil, and again when another 6 inches higher, until mid summer.  I could have planted in raised beds but no room.  No ground prepared either.  This method is very easy and productive.  The wider green container is a better choice, more room.

Raised Beds.

Got up to 100 here today. I expect it Fall to arrive like gangbusters any day. Thought it was here last week. * No rain yet. One drizzle, doesn't count. That's not unusual in my area. Last rain was.... June? Will be glad when the rains start. Watered all of the newly planted trees, after applying a thick compost mulch. Labor of love, and maybe a new generation will benefit from the oxygen, shade, and beauty, some day, so a little water invested now is a good thing. *

(Pic from practicallygreen.com) Today I built a raised bed. For engineering simplicity, I used 2X6s that were 8 feet long. Cut some in half, so the beds are 4ft by 8ft. Somewhat like these from Rodale Institute, with modification. They are 2 timbers high, which makes them a foot deep. On the bottom, I screwed on chicken wire. That's to keep moles from tunneling upward and disrupting the plants. Then bottom liner of cardboard and old cotton factory-made quilt that was about to disintegrate. That's to keep perennial weeds and thistle from growing up through the new soil. Eventually the bottom will degrade, so the beds will be connected to the underlying soil structure, which is good. I think. I filled it half full today. Then wore out. The filler is about 3/4 topsoil and 1/4 yard debris compost. Roughly. I get the compost at a composting center locally, $25 per cubic yard, which is what my truck holds. The dry soil is too hard to dig. I made use of mole hills, filling my wheelbarrow with the tops of mole hills. There are many, many, many, many of those. The moles make the topsoil nice and granular and loose in their hills. I figure they are bringing up minerals too, from the lower layer of soil. Thank you moles. We also had a fence put in, and the post holes were surrounded by the finely ground 'waste' soil, so I used that too. Watered it in, mixed together, watered in, mixed, and raked.

Plan on filling the rest of the bed on Sat or Sun. Then I can plant garlic and heritage onions - white multiplier onions, my favorite. I've been growing the multipliers from just a couple, to now a few dozen. Now there are enough that if next year's crop is generous, I will finally have a lot to eat. So far just eating a rare few, to save and expand the "seed" crop. Sticking mainly with Inchelium Red garlic, which grows so well here I find it hard to believe. Love that garlic. Last year I grew them in barrels which worked great, but the raised beds have more room, and with the larger amount of soil should need less watering. Plus, it's in the countryside and the sun is really brighter there - I hope that makes for bigger and tastier crop. Onions and garlic are considered deer resistant, so I'm not worried about the deer problem with this raised bed.

May put in a row of garlic chives too. Saving seeds from existing plants, and there are some I can move there. Plenty of room in the 4X8 bed, I think. The only fall-planted veg's this time, for me, are the onions and garlic. So that is the only bed that needed "urgent" preparation. The others can be built through the winter. Maybe set one or two up as cold frames? Depends on my energy level.

I'm exhausted and my back hurts. And my knees. All of which is good. There was much to get out of my system. * No pics today. Forgot camera. Except for the Rodale pic, which is attributed, all of these are from wikimedia commons.

Beans are ready

These are the beans I planted in tubs April 14, so roughly 90 days from seed to bean.

There are lots more beans on the plants, ready or barely formed.

The beans themselves aren't visible until you get right into the plant.

Trigridia

First one I've ever bloomed. Nice.

Garlic Harvest. Container gardening.

Garlic did very well in containers. Sine one container garlic was falling over and drying out, I pulled up about half. Here they are:

I left in the still-firm plants, only pulling out the drier looking ones. This is Inchelium Red.

Interesting variation of size. I really don't think so many could be grown in this size space in the ground. This is half of the container's plants. This method works very well for me.

Two grocery store garlic heads, average size, are shown for comparison. I'm amazed at the size of these garlic heads. This may be variety and technique. I think they are larger than last year's crop. They've had successive generations to adapt to my conditions - I think I've been growing them about 8 years. I will leave these in the shade and out of rain to dry out for a week. It's in the 80s outside. I'm not putting them in the sun - one ear when I did that, they cooked. They will be stored in the cool dry basement in a single layer, in a cardboard box.