This and That in the Kitchen Garden. 13 Apr 25.

 Lots going on in the kitchen garden.

This raised bed has bib lettuce, snow leas, daikon and turnips (almost too small to see) and radishes (ditto).  So far the main challenge, birds eating the plants, hasn't happened this go-around.  Maybe due to pre-starting them?  And the lettuce and snow peas are store bought plants.

We got the first crop of Chinese Chives for jiaozi dumplings.

I planted broccoli plants (not shown).

Today I gave the garlic plants some nitrogen fertilizer.

Also the onion plants.  Growing really nice.

Alpine strawberry plants have started to bloom.  I still have one container to separate / thin.

The Gravenstein apple is blooming.  Also Tasty Red columnar apple has started blooming.  I haven't seen any bees yet.

Dividing and Repotting Alpine Strawberry Plants. 31 Mar 25.

 These are the Alpine strawberries that I grew from seeds last year.  They bear tiny berries, very intense flavor, very sweet.  I think they are too crowded.

I started dividing them.  A lot remaining to divide.  I planted three in this large container that already contains some lilies.

This is good for accessible gardening.  I can sit on garden stool, to tend them at a comfortable height.

Forsythias in Bloom. 31 Mar 25.

 These are the forsythias that I grew from cuttings a few years ago.

Deer don't eat them.  I never water them during our months-long dry summers.  After blooming, I'll cut back to about three or four feet tall.

Repotting Tomato Seedlings. 31 March 2025.

 I repotted the taller tomato seedlings.  These are the Roma VF II, that I grew from self-saved seeds.  Heirloom, grow true from saved seeds.  Bush type, determinate growth pattern.   Meaty, good flavor for salsa and tomato sauce,

They were a bit leggy, because I didn't get them from the warming mat to the LEDs immediately.  So I planted them about and inch deeper.  They will grow roots from the sides of the stems, and planting deeper is standard for tomatoes.  They perked up again in a couple of hours.

I re-use the plastic pots.  These have been used about a dozen times so far.  I wash thoroughly to remove all soil, then run through dishwasher to sterilize them.  

I also re-potted the SuperSweet-100 Cherry tomatoes.  They are taller, hybrid, and more vigorous, indeterminate.  Mostly I'm growing dwarf varieties, but these are my favorite cherry tomatoes.

Tomato Seeds Planted. 15 March 2025.

 Today I planted these tomato seeds.  Except one variety (Supersweet 100) they are mostly fairly old, from my seed stash.  Most are dwarf or compact.  I hope they all germinate.  Some are seeds I've saved.

After trying many varieties of cherry tomatoes, I continue to have the most success with Supersweet-100, and like its flavor the best.  By far.  It's too vigorous, but I will grow it anyway.