More Seeds Planted for Kitchen Garden. Seedlings. 3.24.16

Today I planted tomato seeds.  This year I want to experiment with grafting tomatoes onto performance enhancing rootstocks.  I tried this about 5 years ago, but was sidetracked. 

Several rootstock varieties are available for tomatoes, also grown from seeds.  The improved rootstock gives much more vigorous growth, much better productivity, and confers disease and nematode resistance.

I have some old seeds of Maxifort rootstock.  I don't know how well they will germinate at 5 years old, but the seeds can be expensive so I will give them a try.

This year I bought "Supernatural Hybrid" which is also a performance enhancing rootstock.

Tomato Seeds planted 3.24.16

All of the tomato seeds are from previous years, so they were no cost at all.

I planted seeds for the following:

Both rootstock varieties.

Roma
Jersey Boy Hybrid
Supersweet 100 hybrid
Sungold Hybrid
Sunny Boy Hybrid
Better Boy Hybrid.

It looks like I'm not so enthusiastic about Heritage varieties this year.  I may get some out and try, depending on how this experiment goes.

They are planted in the usual seed starting medium in 6 packs, on a seed warming mat.

Kitchen Garden and Herb Seedlings.  3.24.16

Kitchen Garden Seedlings.  3.24.16

Meanwhile, the seeds from last week have all germinated -

Dill
Edible Chrysanthemum
Thyme
Japanese eggplant
Catnip
Chamomile
Johnny Jump Up

The catnip seeds were about 8 years old so I planted thickly.  I want to attract cats to my yard to eat voles and rabbits.  Catnip is also a good nectar plant for beneficial insects and bees.

I let the original okra seedlings dry out.  Too much trouble to grow such a vigorous plant indoors, so early.  So now starting again.  When they size up, I can plant them in the sunroom until outdoors is more summery.

The peppers are blooming.  I started them too early.  They look good in the sunroom.  They had spider mites.  I treated with "Dr. Earth" which seems to have done the job.  I am skeptical about such products but I do not want to spray carcinogens around.

Sweet and Chili Pepper plants, started in January  3.24.16

More peppers and other plants.  3.26.15

These peppers probably need larger containers now. There are so many, that will be a project.

Kitchen Garden Progress Report. 3.6.16

Germinating Fava.  3.6.16

New Strawberry bed.  3.6.16

 Late winter kitchen garden.

The first favas have emerged.  These are the variety "Windsor".   I think this is about 3 weeks.  They are not pre-soaked.   I did not worry about placing them with hilum down.  The white pellets are Sluggo slug bait.  I read favas are tasty plants, the slug bait is prophylactic.

The strawberries all grew, every plant.  Starks did a nice job with them.

Garlic is growing fast. 

Many of the potatoes that I planted from salvaged, very sprouted saved potatoes, are showing thick green leaves. 

There are also seedlings of spinach, kohlrabi, radishes, and turnips growing at the old place, in wine barrel containers, and the second crop of favas along with snow peas to germinate in the next 2 weeks.

Overwintered Garlic.  3.6.16

Salvaged Potato Sprouts Growing.   3.6.16

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

Kitchen Garden. 9.1.15

Part of Kitchen Garden.  9.1.15

Kitchen Garden, ready for fall more or less.

I finished the first of two new raised beds for Chinese chives.  Those are reused cinder blocks.  Very easy.  I can add one or two or three...  blocks and call it a day.  Then the next day, or next week, add some more.  Soon enough, they are all in place.  The soil mix is mainly decomposed sod, molehills, and well aged chicken house compost, all from this yard.

I planted the first of the chive beds.   These are mainly from the prior one.  They needed refreshed soil, and needed dividing to regenerate the clumps.  Some were from a container that we sprouted last year in the sunroom, then had in the yard waiting to be replanted.  Some are volunteer from other raised beds.

I feel better, with all of beds either in use for producing something, or with cover crop for regenerating the soil and feeding the honeybees.

New Chinese Chive Raised Bed.  9.1.15

Kitchen Garden.  9.1.15

Its not Martha Stewart, but good enough. 

Kitchen Garden. 8.23.15

Late beans.  8.23.15

Onion Wells.  8.23.15

Beans growing ok.

Added well aged chicken compost to barrels, and more of the EWO scallion starts into those.

Tomatos, getting an excellent crop this year.  More than we can eat.  Time for some more salsa.

Tomato Cage.  8.23.15

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.

Kitchen Garden. 8.8.15

Bean Bed, 2 Weeks after Sowing.  8.8.15

 It looks like about 1/2 of the beans germinated.  If they reach maturity before frost, that's plenty.  The big thing I want from the Chinese pole beans is enough seeds for next year.  With 15 plants, if there are only 2 beans each, 4 seeds per bean, I'll have 120 seeds.  If those germinate, it's more than enough.  The big question is time.

There are about 15 Romas growing.  I filled in with soaked bean seeds, in between.  Regardless, if they bear, they are enough for one or 2 meals, for the 2 of us.  Zero cost, since the seeds were old packets.

I'm letting the 1st bean patch go to seed.   There is nothing to that other than watering the plants so they don't dry out and die too soon.

From the Kitchen Garden.  8.8.15

Elusive Pullets.  8.8.15

 Lots of squash, zucchinis and summer squash.  I'm less enthusiastic about the zucchinis than the other summer squash.  They grow too big, too fast.  The historic  varieties are less like something steroid-induced.

The new pullets have been here a month.  They are starting to look like hens now.  I forget the age.  They hang around together.  Rooster is very protective.  Won't let me near the pullets.  When I feed them, he calls them to the food, then stands back while they eat.  Which is his role.  If they make baby chickens, they will be some kind of off-breed, which is fine.

Elusive Pullet.  8.8.15

Protective Rooster.  8.8.15

Walking Around. Vegetables. 6.7.15

Corn and Squash Bed.  6.7.15

Walking Around.

Corn and Squash are growing nicely.  Squash includes winter squash, summer squash, zucchinis, and pumpkins.  So are the beans, and tomatoes.  Peppers are OK, we might get some.

Ning's garden is ahead of mine.  He's proving to be a great gardener.

I've left this bed un-mulched, so the sun warms the soil.  Then it requires some hoeing.  As long as I don't let the weeds grow beyond small seedlings, it's easy.

The corn and squash have been boosted via pee-cycling.  I think that's why they are so green and lush and growing so fast.

Vegetable Gardening in Raised Beds. 5.11.15

Raised bed planted with bean seeds and protected with fencing.  5.11.15

 The former strawberry bed was weedy and the soil level sunken lower than I wanted.  I pulled what weeds I could, turned the rest over, and moved a few wheelbarrows of soil from a pile we keep for that purpose.  The pile consists especially of sod removed for other planting around the 2 acres.   Decomposition of the sod makes the soil a little better than it was.

In this bed, I planted Roma and Yellow Wax beans.  Also a small row of cilantro and some onion sets that were laying around already sprouted.

The cover is meant to deter deer and rabbits.

Tomato plants ready to set outside.  5.11.15

The fencing is not perfectly sealed and  birds may also get in.  Better than nothing.

Tomato plants in the sunroom were ready for planting.  That meant removing weeds from a second raised bed.  I had prepped it during winter but failed to cover to prevent weed growth.  The grasses were over 3 feet tall.  I pulled, then used weed eater, turned the soil over and raked somewhat smooth.  Planted tomatoes.  Mulched with thin cardboard food packaging.  Not pretty.  that gets covered with straw or grass clippings later and will no longer show.

Tomatoes started in raised bed, cardboard mulch.  5.11.15

Final Seed Order. 12.12.14

 

 Today was the final seed order for next year.  This batch was via Rareseeds.com / Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  Beautiful catalog, amazing selections of open pollinated, often heritage varieties of vegetables and flowers.  I ordered almost as much to support the company, as to buy the seeds.  Again, emphasis is on short season, or cool summer varieties, or ones that emphasize flavor and look possible in this cool maritime climate.

Jing Orange Okra - 60 days, very pretty looking plant.  Not many seeds for the price, but it only takes a couple.  I am trying several okra varieties again.

Melrose Pepper - Italian variety, sweet.  I have plenty of left over hot pepper seeds, but my stomach doesn't  handle them now.

Crookneck-Early Golden Summer Squash - love summer squash and it will be fun to have something other than Zucchinis to share.

Gelber Englischer Custard Squash - ditto.

Jumbo Pink Banana Squash - nostalgia variety.  My great aunt gave me seeds and they were so productive, made great pumpkin pies.  Listed as good for this region. 

Petite Mix Marigold - I've grown this one before.  Nice, maybe the marigold scent will repel animals.

Alaska Mix - Nasturtium - I've grown this one before.  I wonder if it will be pest resistant, with the peppery leaves.  I can't see buying annuals when a packet of seeds goes much much further for much less money.

Most of the vegetables will only be a couple of plants per packet.   This will be the rest of my "test garden" - see which ones do better for me.

Image source:  Vintageprintable.com

The effect of compost. Kitchen garden winter prep. 12.7.14

Untreated soil vs. soil with 2 1/2 years of compost and TLC.

Garden gold.  Chick house cleanings for the kitchen garden.

 Today I did some cleanup and winter prep for next Spring.  I don't like seeing the raised beds full of dead tomato and pepper plants and weeds and bean stalks.

Several of the raised beds have settled significantly.  I topped the off with soil from this raised bed.  That used 2/3 of the bed's soil.  The other 1/3 is perennial - Chinese chive, which I consolidated from this raised bed and another.

The difference is soil appearance is dramatic.  The native soil, on the left, is what the enriched soil, on the right, looked like 2  1/2 years ago.  The difference is 2 /12 years of adding chicken house compost, leaves, kitchen scrap compost, worm compost, coffee grounds....

I filled partially full with yard soil, then mixed in a wheelbarrow full of chicken house cleanings.  That is a year old, but dry so not composted.  Too rich to use immediately.  This being December, there will be 5 or 6 months to mellow before use.  Plan for this area is bush beans.

I also added a cup of lime based on last year's soil test result showing low pH and low calcium.

Then I topped off with more yard soil, then more chicken house cleanings.  Let the earthworms and bacteria and fungi do their thing now. 

Several of the beds are cleaned up now.  When spring comes, prep for planting will need minimal effort.

The other thing that needs to be done for these beds is better animal fencing.  That is another project for this winter.

For the beds that I topped off, I removed the larger, tougher plant stems to go into the compost heap.  I covered the cardboard/grass clipping mulch with a layer of improved soil.  No major digging, the soil is already well aerated and rich.

Cleanup half done.  12.7.14

My kitchen garden in winter.  12.7.14

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.

Today's Kitchen Garden Yield. 9.21.14

Kitchen Garden Yield.  9.21.14

Fingerling potatoes, Asian Pears, more Tomatoes, various winter squash, a yellow summer squash, okra, various peppers, containerized Thai and Tabasco peppers, and probably some things I forgot.

This is one of our best garden yields ever, for this time of year.  Very happy with the result.

Summer Squash. 7.9.14

Yellow Summer Squash.  7.9.14

Belated posting.  These were the first of the summer squash.  Like zucchinis, the squashes form very quickly.  Zucchinis are equally productive as of today.  These yellow summer squash are so delicious.

Rootcrops. Snowpeas. Kitchen Garden. 5.26.14

This is the standard Turnip variety.  And some Cincinnati Red radishes, and some White Icicle radishes.   

That's the season end for root crops.

After cleaning up the root crop bed, I planted some of the squash seedlings and bush cucumbers.

Then harvested snowpeas, and cleaned up the strawberry bed.

Snowpeas and 3 strawberries.

Puttering. 5.17.14

Early bloom on wildflowers

Early bloom on wildflowers

Tomato seedlings planted.

 Ning's wildflower meadows are starting to bloom.  He seeded these in March.  The mix is from outsidepride.com, NW wildflower mix.  Plus I added in some agastache  for bees and domesticated California poppies to be different.  There may be some snapdragons in there too.  The wild type poppies are blooming but not the domesticated ones yet.

This mix contains annuals for the first year, and perennials for subsequent years.  The annuals may also self seed.

The flowers are minimal now, but they are just beginning.

The seedling tomatoes have settled in.  I have a couple of plants left over.  Not sure what to do with those.

The store bought tomato plants are growing fast, sturdy and dark green.  The Sungold have their first flowers.  I gave them a dilute dose of organic nitrogen boost.

The peppers are growing nicely.

I planted the last batch of potatoes.  Those were fingerling potatoes from Tsugawa.  They are in the 4th tree-ring potato well.  The earlier potatoes have nice leaves.  Something is eating some.  Maybe slugs.  I sprinkled around organic slug bait.  The late potato planting should mean we get a few months of fresh potatoes.

Radishes continue to produce.

Deer and rabbits continue to be a challenge.  I need more fencing.

Store bought tomato plants in place.

Pepper bed

Snow Peas

Raised bed garden