Up-potting Chinese Chives. 6.2.2021

 Chinese chives are not usually in regular grocery stores.  They are the main and essential ingredient in Chinese dumplings, so we grow our own.  Chinese Chives are a grassy looking perennial, and grass often invades them, which is a mess.  So then it's time to grow new ones from seeds.  It takes two growing seasons to be ready to harvest.  Growing in containers raised beds is good, it keeps them a lot cleaner.

These seedlings are ready to transplant into larger containers, so I did.  I grew them from seeds that I saved last summer/fall.   I've been meaning to transplant the  for a few weeks now.

I Planted the Last Batch of Sweet Corn. 6.2.2021

 I planted the last batch of sweetcorn.  From what I read, sweetcorn seeds don't keep long, maybe two years.  I plant the row with every other seed being last year's seeds, fest is this year's, to use up old seeds.  If the old ones grow, they will likely get thinned out.  However, there is often a need to plant extras because they dont all grow, or something eats them.  Hence the closer spacing at sowing time.

Last year I plants the last batch June 15.  I think those were not as productive as those planted June 1, and this year already seems hotter.  It's funny- for years I read that sweetcorn didn't grow here.  But it does, if you choose early or relatively cool-tolerant varieties.  And it's really good.

This batch is "Delectable".  The new seeds were from Johnny's in Maine.  Last year's were from  Territorial Seeds, bit they are too expensive now and their shipping is jaw-dropping expensive.  

I'm happy to have the last of the sweetcorn planted.  That's pretty much the almost final seed planting, except some odds and ends.  That's good because I don't have energy now for any more major soil prep and planting.

Calcium Spray to Prevent Tomato Blossom End Rot. 6.2.2021

 Since the tomatoes are blooming, I want to try calcium supplement to prevent blossom end tot.  That happens mainly with sauce tomatoes.  I really don't know if it helps.  Internet sites are all over the place on that, as is research on google scholar.  It seems like the bottom line is, they just don't know and have not really done the work - spray some and don't spray others, and see what happens, and report on it.   Some sites say, absolutely, use the calcium.  Others say it's useless.  The joke is on me since I didn't think of that until I sprayed them all.

The instructions say, spray in early am or evening, during periods of rapid growth.  Spray to point of run-off.  Apply every 5 to 7 days.  It's just calcium chloride so I don't think it will hurt anything.  For the rest of the sprays, I'll spray all but one of the hybrid Romas and also leave a nonhybrid Roma unsprayed to see if there is a difference.

Alstroemeria. 6.2.3021

 These are looking nice.  They seem to be a dwarf type.  I read that Alstroemeria can be invasive in warm climates.   These are in containers so probably ok there.

Germinating Home Saved Bean Seeds. 5.30.2012

 These are seeds from a bean cultivar that I've been saving for two decades.  Some times I miss a year and have to use an older batch.  I saved this batch in 2019.  These are a pole beN, making very large, meaty wide green beans.  Apparently they are traditional in Northeast China, Jilin Province.  I'm soaking them for a day before planting.  That seems to encourage germination.  I hope they grow.

Squash Update. 5.30.2021

 Most of the squashes are looking pretty good.  There are some leaf irregularities on some.  I wonder if that is slug damage, so put out slug bait.  The plants in one of the Galeux d'Eysines  hills seem to have yellowish, pale leaves.  I don't know why.  Too much rain last week?  The others look OK.

Top to bottom, Galeux, Pink Banana, Red Kuri, Fordham Zucchini. 

Garlic Scapes. 5.30.2021

 Most of the garlic is producing scapes now.  These are the "flower" heads.  I put "flower" in quotes because they don't actually bloom.  Instead, they make clusters of tiny bulbs instead of an actual flower.  I think these rob the bulb of some nutrition, and the cloves will be smaller as a result.  So I cut the scapes almost as soon as they appear.

These are actually quite tasty, stir fried.  I think they would also be good in a soup.  They need thorough cooking for best tenderness, then they are a bit like a bean in texture but with mild garlic flavor.

Drunkards Path Blocks For Quilted Pillow Shams. 5.30.2021

 I decided to use up most of the rest of the shirt scraps, making quilt blocks quilted  pillow shams.   The colors will match the brick pattern quilt, but the look will be different.

So I practiced sewing drunkards path blocks.  I think these are a misnomer when used as circles.  Quarter Moon blocks might be a better name.  But what do I know.

These are handy.  They use up all sorts of small and odd pieces.  This completely uses up some of the shirts.  I added another shade of blue that is not in the  brick pattern quilt, because I wanted the flexibility of another pattern and shade.

These get sewn together so that the quarter moon pie slice is sewn to the piece that holds it, making a square again. Then the squares are sewn together however you like. The hard part isxsewing the curve - it's actually three dimensional that flattens to two dimensionsl, and needs stretching exactly right for the curves tomma to match. I can't say I'm good at it, but I'm learning. Here are four completed squares, which when sewn together will be a circle in a square:

This is something like how I'll arrange them. I'm still moving them around a little:

Some Irises, 5.28.2021

 These are Bumble Delite, Gay Parasol,  Edith Woolford, top to bottom.  I'm very happy with how well they did with the mulch.

Itoh Peony 5.28.2021

 These are amazing.  They are like the peony version of dinner plate dahlias.  The variety is Bartzella.  Third year - I think much more vigorous than "regular" peonies.