Planted this week were 6 cucumber seeds (that's going to be totallly too many cucumbers if they all grow and survive) and three pots of basil seeds (roughly 6 seeds per pot). The cucumbers are bush plants that are in an earthbox. I hear they're heavy feeders, so perhaps they'll like the constant water-availability of the swc.
My spinach is not looking so hot. Or... maybe it IS looking hot. It's been kind of warm some of these days (up to 85F or so this weekend), and the leaves on the spinach are looking brown and dry. Perhaps it's time to harvest the "baby" spinach before anything crazy happens like mass bolting.
Chard also doesn't look great. Peas look good, though. They're not more than 8 inches tall yet, though. I do hope to get some peas out of them before the weather is in the Summer And No Doubt About It temperatures. The sage is blooming. Lovely purple flowers.
I harvested a bunch of mint that was sneaking up under the rosemary plant, and I made a quart of cold mint tea. It tasted a little funny, though. Perhaps I let it steep too long.
In non-garden news, we're going to a strawbale building workshop the weekend of the fourth of July. Yay!
Also, our dog had some seizures this weekend and has been diagnosed as epileptic. We are officially the home for broken animals.
Double also, I've been to a yoga class three out of the last four days. Love it. Going again tonight.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Independence days - Potato
This weekend I managed to plant a potato. Ha. It's a very good potato. I think it's the red kind (I threw most of our overwintered potatoes out on the patio a couple weeks ago and now I can't really tell the difference between the varieties). I put it in a container with some soil that grew... basil or something last year, and as it grows up, I'll cover it with leaf mulch to promote the production of more baby potatoes.
When I went to choose which potato to plant, I investigated the potatoes that had been rolled off the patio into what I thought would be a potato patch (I since realized that it is directly beneath the laundry line and thus is not an ideal place for planting). They've rooted themselves and are beginning to grow leaves. Hunh. I didn't even bury them when I rolled them out there. They've just gone ahead and attached themselves to the ground. I'll help them along as time goes by by also covering them with leaf mulch and trying not to step on them when we do the laundry.
This brings me to the idea that planting isn't a particularly exact science. The packets and books say specifically when to plant and how deep to plant, but oftentimes, seeds just want to grow and may very well do just fine if you LEAVE THEM ALONE. I have half a mind to put all my seeds in the garden in the fall and see what happens when they have the option to grow as soon as they sense that conditions are appropriate.
As for harvesting, I pulled a dandelion and chopped up its root to dry for tea. I think that's it. I did make tomato sauce out of home canned tomatoes plus a red and a green pepper from the greenhouse grower at the farmer's market for lunches last week.
We visited the Queens Farm Museum yesterday with some friends, and it was really nice to see farm animals in abundance, plus their growing plants. They already have tomatoes and squashes in the ground, which means I could probably plant mine. The animals I saw included goats, sheep, baby pigs, big pigs, a donkey, tons of chickens including banties and roosters and all manner of colors, a cow, ducks, geese and peacocks. It was interesting to see the pigeons in among the chickens. They were about the same size as one of the banties.
When I went to choose which potato to plant, I investigated the potatoes that had been rolled off the patio into what I thought would be a potato patch (I since realized that it is directly beneath the laundry line and thus is not an ideal place for planting). They've rooted themselves and are beginning to grow leaves. Hunh. I didn't even bury them when I rolled them out there. They've just gone ahead and attached themselves to the ground. I'll help them along as time goes by by also covering them with leaf mulch and trying not to step on them when we do the laundry.
This brings me to the idea that planting isn't a particularly exact science. The packets and books say specifically when to plant and how deep to plant, but oftentimes, seeds just want to grow and may very well do just fine if you LEAVE THEM ALONE. I have half a mind to put all my seeds in the garden in the fall and see what happens when they have the option to grow as soon as they sense that conditions are appropriate.
As for harvesting, I pulled a dandelion and chopped up its root to dry for tea. I think that's it. I did make tomato sauce out of home canned tomatoes plus a red and a green pepper from the greenhouse grower at the farmer's market for lunches last week.
We visited the Queens Farm Museum yesterday with some friends, and it was really nice to see farm animals in abundance, plus their growing plants. They already have tomatoes and squashes in the ground, which means I could probably plant mine. The animals I saw included goats, sheep, baby pigs, big pigs, a donkey, tons of chickens including banties and roosters and all manner of colors, a cow, ducks, geese and peacocks. It was interesting to see the pigeons in among the chickens. They were about the same size as one of the banties.
Monday, May 11, 2009
independence days - leeks and dandelions
in the past two weeks, i've managed to plant a row of leeks, keep everything alive, eat a butternut squash (only two left now!) and cook tomato sauce from my canned tomatoes. oh, and i made some iced dandelion tea again. tasted pollen-y this time.
peas and spinach are growing well. some radishes are up, though oddly the ones that i planted second are doing much better than the ones i planted first. chard is up but still tiny. no sign of garlic or carrots or parsnips or the lettuce i planted this year. some volunteer lettuce around about the yard, though.
tomatoes look good in their pot indoors. need to prepare their beds for them to go outside. cabbage that's indoors is getting mighty leggy. not sure what to do about that. perhaps transfer the pot to the patio so they can have more light and wind.
planning to plant:
basil in all available pots
bush cucumbers in self-watering-containers
flax seed around about
a loofah or two
peas and spinach are growing well. some radishes are up, though oddly the ones that i planted second are doing much better than the ones i planted first. chard is up but still tiny. no sign of garlic or carrots or parsnips or the lettuce i planted this year. some volunteer lettuce around about the yard, though.
tomatoes look good in their pot indoors. need to prepare their beds for them to go outside. cabbage that's indoors is getting mighty leggy. not sure what to do about that. perhaps transfer the pot to the patio so they can have more light and wind.
planning to plant:
basil in all available pots
bush cucumbers in self-watering-containers
flax seed around about
a loofah or two
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