April 25, 2011

What a long way we've come since February!  In two months' time, we've fleshed out the bare bones of the vegetable garden.  Green onions are now ready for harvest (the rest will be left to fatten into bulbs); spinach and lettuce are producing well, and these herbs are ready to toss into our culinary makings:  rosemary, chives, sage, Greek oregano, tarragon, thyme, mint.  Garlic scapes, the rage of high-end gourmets, are here; if you don't know what all the fuss is about, try an internet search for details and recipes.  We love adding them to eggs, sautés, and garnishes because of their fresh, light garlic flavor, unlike anything we've tried from a grocery store.

Transplanting is almost finished; Bryan moved all varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs dill and basil into their permanent growing locations in the garden.  We quickly ran out of milk jug covers for all these plants, but the broccoli have adjusted and are growing so well they were ready to relinquish theirs to be reused on others.  That master garden plan drawn up and dreamed over in January is finally coming to life.  This Saturday, Bryan made a trip to Whispering Pines Stables in an experiment to see just how smelly he can make our SUV!  Not really, but he did find plenty of fully composted and garden-ready horse manure which he brought back in buckets.

High temperature more consistently in the 80's F is warming the soil so that cucumbers, cantaloupe and honeydew melons, zucchini, squash, green beans, and corn will now readily sprout.  We plant way too much of this stuff to finish in one weekend, so sections of the garden are divvied up and each planted on a schedule.  Coming up this week are the vine crops, cucumbers, and melons.  We leave our cardboard and leaf mulch in place to discourage weeds and to keep developing fruit off the soil.  This way we do not have to till and disrupt soil structure underneath (keeping those earth worms happy!)  We simply pull a circle of leaves away from the planting mound, dig in lots of composted manure, and plant our seeds on top.

 Don't miss it!  Coming next month:  our attempt at growing the Great Pumpkin.  In summer 2009 Bryan grew this 83-pound Bix Max, and that was only the start of the fun.  This year we have Prizewinner seeds, and it will take all the right conditions - water, nutrients, and weather, to make a heavyweight that beats our previous record!

April 11, 2011

Spring has arrived in earnest:  once again trees are shading us with their emerald green canopies, while a robin has chosen the grapevine wreath on our front door in which to build a nest.

Seedlings grown under fluorescent lights indoors are stocky and green, but they would wilt and scald if moved suddenly to full sun.  Hardening off is the process of conditioning a plant grown indoors so it is tough enough to withstand direct sun, wind, and rain.  Moving plants in and out every day is a lot of work, so a simpler method of hardening off is to set plants in shade and gradually move them to full sun.  There is a perfect spot under the dappled shade of a river birch in our yard that receives ideally sheltered conditions for these seedlings to acclimate to the great outdoors.  Plants purchased from garden centers usually require no process at all.

These four-week old broccoli seedlings are already acclimated and ready to transplant to permanent growing locations in the garden.  I use a shovel to dig holes large enough for each mature root system, back fill some top soil, and mix well with composted manure and a sprinkling of 10-10-10.  I top each transplant with a milk jug with the bottom cut out, to protect it from insects and the elements while it is still vulnerable.  Greenhouse conditions inside help ensure each plant is off to a good start.

The garden is changing to green as we are harvesting leaf lettuce and spinach.  To keep these crops in production longer, we snip just a few outer leaves from each plant and spare the crown to keep producing.  This weekend saw the completion of a cucumber fence and some needful weeding; I also re-tilled the future corn patch to better incorporate organic matter from last week's decaying cover crop.  Though the summer vegetable patch is still taking shape, the spring garden is ready to harvest!