Seasons 2014 - We Found the Veggies Today!

Having waited long enough for summer veggies and berries, here is what we found in the garden today:

Black raspberries, kohlrabi, lots of turnips, and lots and lots of bush beans.  The rain held off for a couple of hours this morning, and we took advantage of it, getting in to weed and pick these before it started to rain again!

Things are starting to look more like summer in the garden with flowers all over the squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  At least one tomato is now turning orange.  The rainy, cool weather has benefited most of the veggies, but the eggplant will need a few sunny, warm, dry days to get on with flowering.

Seasons 2014 - A Great Start!

By mid-May, all was planted in the ground: the 18 tomato plants, six eggplants, a dozen cabbage and Brussels sprouts plants.  The day after planting, we got several inches of rain, cool weather, more rain, and finally, dry warmer weather.  By Memorial Day weekend, a handful of the tomato plants were still standing, most of the cabbage plants were thriving, a few eggplants and Brussels sprouts had survived.  They are now supplemented by store-bought tomato and eggplant, cucumber, and squash plants (front, right-hand side), a good save.

Cold frames gave a great start to radishes, turnips, lettuce, and bok choy.  Peas were planted twice, and still nothing doing.  Perhaps this weekend we will see some peas sprouting.

Left-hand side has neat rows of 10 types of beans, carrots, parsnips, Swiss chard, and kale.  We also reinforced the strawberries with some additional plants, and they are covered with flowers.

We have been eating fresh asparagus for the last two weeks, as well as fresh chives and oregano.

Overall, it has been a good start to spring, now that it has finally arrived.

Seasons 2014 - And the Gardening Season Begins!

Yes, it is cold, rainy, and windy today (and may last possibly all week!).  But with seed packets that say "plant as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring" we planted spinach, bok choy, snow peas, lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips yesterday when it was warmer and more pleasant to be outside.  Our investment in a rototiller (Mantis) made easy work of turning the soil, breaking up weed roots, and spreading composted manure into the beds.  It was so tempting to start the garden right away yesterday, and we did!  We received our mail order last Tuesday of young asparagus roots, Egyptian onions, fingerling potatoes, and a Honeyberry bush.  Since they can stay in the fridge no more than a week, we planted them all.  A few inches of rain this week will give them a great start.

Meanwhile the tomato vines and eggplants have outgrown their stations in the greenhouse and we moved them to the basement so that they can get acclimated to cooler temperatures.  Likewise, the cabbage and Brussels sprout plants are downstairs awaiting their turn to go outside.  With luck, a little sun, and a little bit warmer air temperatures, we will plant them over Mothers' Day weekend along with the remaining seeds.

Let the 2014 gardening season begin!

Seasons 2014 - Ready for Planting Already

By end of March, look at these cabbage and tomato plants.  They are ready for planting but with snow remaining in the garden, they have to make do in the little dining-room greenhouse.  We will have to move them to a larger space, soon.  With planting time still several weeks away, we might need to eat some of the cabbage leaves to keep these plants in check until they can go outside.  We will see if we get tomato flowers in the next few weeks, and if so, the tomatoes may be ready to eat by early July.

The indoor garden expanded this winter to include baby portabella mushrooms.  This is our third round of mushrooms from one kit.

This brutal winter may have been hard on us but the houseplants have been amazingly happy.  Our Christmas cactus started blooming again this week to welcome spring.

We visited a wonderful bookseller today that specializes in gardening publications of all types: Terrace Horticultural Books.  A great resource for us right in our neighborhood, and on the Web serving gardeners everywhere.  

Seasons 2014 - The View Outside; The View Within

Last Thursday night a foot of snow fell upon us, and our backyard lit by a streetlamp looks much like a snow globe.  By morning, the trees were thick with snow.

Beautiful, but now challenging: Where to put more snow?  In all the years we have lived here, we have never seen the snow this high in our yard, covering the raspberry bushes and completely hidden in this photo are the cold frames under what is now 2-3 foot drifts of snow.

I am standing in a narrow path to the front steps, and behind me the plum tree is half submerged in snow.

The view inside, however, is green and warm.  Here are cabbages and Brussels sprouts, now transferred to small pots in the greenhouse. 

Here are tomato plants transferred to their larger pots.  All growing well, getting larger and stronger by end of February.

Need to get more potting soil for transplanting the eggplants later this week.

Seasons 2014 - A Visit to the Conservatory

On this sunny February day, a visit to Como Park Conservatory was just the remedy for winter blues.  But first, take a look at the little greenhouse making great progress in my dining room.  Plants are now large enough so I thinned them to the strongest ones.

Now, to the Conservatory's show of orchids, lilies, azaleas, and amaryllis.

Seasons 2014 - Catching Up, February 8, 2014

Since last post, we made our seed choices, and I placed our order with Jung.  A few weeks later, I received the little packets by mail and started some early seedlings in our indoor greenhouse. Below are the tray and styrofoam foundation of the Bio-Dome kit from Park Seeds.  

I planted heirloom tomatoes (including Mr. Stripey), eggplant varieties, broccoli, baby cabbages, Chinese cabbages, and Brussels sprouts seeds.  The cabbage, Chinese cabbage, brocolli, and Brussels sprouts seeds look very much alike; cabbage seeds are shown below.

Place 3 seeds into the openings in each planting medium, then add water to the tray.  The Bio-Dome keeps the medium evenly moist.

All planted and ready to go into the greenhouse now.

The heat mat under the tray keeps the seeds warm, promoting germination.

The Bio-Dome keeps the heat and humidity high inside, and the greenhouse is ready to begin.

Just a few days after setting this up in the greenhouse, the seedlings have started.  

It has been below zero just about everyday through January and into February, but inside the greenhouse and Bio-Dome, it is as warm as a summer day.

All the rest of the seeds will wait until May for planting directly in the garden.  For now, this year's early seedlings are getting a good start indoors.