spring seeds started

After mixing in about 2 yards of compost, we finally get some spring seeds started.
Nantes carrots
Snap peas
Cilantro
Bibb Lettuce
Rainbow Chard
Spinach
went in the ground today. I've laid newspaper down on top of the seeds to keep the hungry birds at bay. I swear there was an entire flock of starlings sitting in the hedgerow waiting for me to finish planting so they could swoop in and eat them up.
I also separated and replanted strawberries, doubled the size of the raspberry bed and thinned out the existing canes to start the new area.

Black seed simpson lettuce

Just 2 small, sad looking heads have survived the rabbits at 4 1/2 weeks.

Spring Vegetables

Despite the complete lack of blog posts, things are growing in the garden. I got the first group of seeds - carrots, spinach, black seed simpson lettuce and leeks - in the ground the first weekend in April. The first lot has been a disappointment with good growth out of the carrots and spinach, but the seeds have come up very sparsely, despite the chicken wire dome I built to protect the seeds from cats, birds and 2 year old D. The lettuce has been mostly eaten by the rabbits, and the leeks have been mostly trampled by D.
I followed up with a second sowing of spinach, carrots and lettuce 2 weeks later, around April 17th. A few carrots and spinach emerged. I haven't seen anything from the lettuce.
In mid-April I also planted cilanto, parsley and snap peas. A few dozen cilantro came up and no parsley. The snap peas, carefully protected from turkeys by a chicken wire dome, have come up robustly and are about 14" tall at 4 weeks. I also started red onions from starts. I'm determined to have all the makings of salsa in the garden this year.
On May 7th, I added greens beans and cucumbers (persian and pickling). The cucumbers are up in good numbers and the beans are just starting to poke through.
On May 15th, I transplanted tomatoes, 8 varieties (big boy, celebrity, golden girl, 2 sun golds, 2 plum and a purple krim). I also transplanted some very tiny basil that looks like it might not survive and peppers (4 japapeno, a cubanelle and 4 yellow bells). All from Russells. I also planted out my broccoli seedlings which are very spindley (no artificial light source) and small. After 2 nights in the garden, they are holding up pretty well. I dropped in some zucchini seeds along the outer, eastern bed that doesn't get as much sunlight. I resowed:

• lettuce - there are currently just 2 heads from the 50+ seeds I've planted
• spinach
• carrots
• leeks

And added some radishes, between the thinly growing cilantro and the red onions and some additional basil and parsley seeds. The parsley resowed naturally from last year, so I have a decent amount already growing, but it is already going to seed. I expect the rabbits will get the parsley seedlings as they start to emerge.

But, most significantly, my honey built me a rabbit fence to keep the critters out of the central garden. This will protect the most vulnerable and sought after plants - carrots, spinach and lettuce. I'm hopeful that the now-protect lettuce will actually make a go of it. Though, May is all about being hopeful about the garden.

Spring 2010

The flooding rains of the last few weeks have caused spring to erupt from the landscape. I guess it's March showers bring April flowers. Ahh, global warming.
It was warm enough a few weekends ago to start some spring seeds - carrots, bibb lettuce, spinach and leeks. These were all from last year's seeds, so I don't know how well they will do. I covered the planting with newspaper to keep the cats and birds out. Then it rained and rained. A few seedlings have emerged.
I also started broccoli seeds in paper pots inside. These have just popped out.
The strawberries and raspberries are coming in nicely.
Even some parsley managed to survive the winter. I wonder if that bodes well for the rosemary making it too!

Planting vegetables in August

On a 1 week vacation, my grandfather would enjoy himself for 3 days. Then, on the 4th day, he would start packing up to go home.

Don't write the summer off already. Early to mid-August is great time to plant a 2nd crop of cool weather plants. The first frost in Boston isn't usually until sometime in early to mid-October, which leaves just about 60 days for some lettuce, spinach or radish to be ready to eat.

This August, I've planted cilantro, parsnips, and bibb lettuce. Having seedlings emerging in the heat of August, is an entirely different game. Make sure everything gets enough water and watch out for rabbits who've been breeding like...well rabbits...all summer and have lots of hungry mouths to feed.

Growing spring vegetables

Despite the cool, wet weather, the spring vegetables were done by early July. The snap peas grew so tall they toppled over. The lettuce, mesclun and mache went to seed.

We've pulled the first round of carrots planted April 5th and ready from 11-13 weeks. There is a second crop of carrots still growing.

I've pulled the snap peas and lettuces. I've replaced the mache with parsnips planted July 3rd, and the snap peas with swiss chard. I'm leaving the lettuce section free to replant with lettuce in late August.

Vegetable garden in Massachusetts

It's been about 10 weeks since the garden was started with some of the earliest seeds - bibb lettuce, mesclun mix (spinach, blood beet, mustard greens, lettuce), carrots, snap peas and mache.

The bibb lettuce and mesclun is in full swing. We are eating salads exlusively from the garden right now and have been for about 10 days. Unless the weather turns suddenly hot, I think we'll have lettuce for a few more weeks. The mache never really took off, though. I'm thinking it needs more water...?

We are also starting to get snap peas - which are delicious snapped right off the vine (so delicious I've been eating most of them before they make it to the kitchen).

The carrots are almost, but not quite ready.

Frost damage

So we had a minor frost here two nights ago. I thought I was OK as long as temperatures stayed above 32, but apparently anything in the 30s is too much for the heating-loving plants. The eggplants looked wilted, the basil was burned black. The good news is that both seem to be doing fine after temperatures rebounded.

Pictured: Frost damaged on basil

C brought home some beans from school, so I planted those into the mix on the bean teepee.

The peas that I started inside are no bigger than the peas I planted directly in the garden. It seems there is no advantage to starting peas indoors.

Still no sign of corn. (Damn turkeys!)

When I plant the lettuce again in the fall, I will plant much more thickly so I get a blanket of lettuce coming up. When it comes time to thin, I can just eat what I thin. It should give me a few nights of salads of baby greens and allow a few heads to develop to full size.

Bibb lettuce at 5 weeks

Bibb lettuce started from seed in garden April 5th are still wee at 5 weeks.

Bibb lettuce

The bibb lettuce started from seed directly in the garden are doing well at 3 weeks. The bibb lettuce I started in pots in mid-March and transplanted are not doing well.

Survival

The garden survived our week away. The peas have sprouted and are going strong. There bibb lettuce, mesclun and mache are all showing great promise. There are even some chard and carrot sprouts starting to poke their way through. Nothing yet from the parsley or cilantro in the herb beds.
As if the chipmunks, bunnies and squirrels aren't enough to content with we now have wild turkeys as well! The bunnies are easy to scare away and Lucky does a good job of keeping watch. The chipmunks are a little cheeky, but even they will run when chased by a large grumbling animals (me). The turkeys, however, are terrifying. They're huge, and they just look at you. I am afraid of the turkeys.
Temperatures have been very warm - it's been in the low 90s for a few days. The leaves on the large trees are starting to come out.
As it stands now, the central and western beds get full sun from aboutb 9-5, with some additional dappled sun in the early morning and evening. The eastern bed gets full sun from about 11:30-5:30, but that big oak hasn't set its leaves yet.
On 4/26/09, I started some additional seeds in pots in doors. Despite the hot temps, we are still (technically) in frost territory. I started 2 pots each of Persian Cucumbers, Asian Cucumbers, French Beans, Kentucky Beans, Parsley and Basil.
The strawberries are looking perky and green. I mulched them with pine needles to up the acid content of the soil.