Wednesday, April 30, 2014

The Garden is Getting Started

Conditions have been pretty good for getting vegetables started. I transplanted kale, parsley and lettuce on the 21st just before a couple of days of nice light rain. Then on the 25th I sowed seed for scallions and more spinach, carrots and beets and it rained the following day. I haven't had to water those seeds since. Except for the spinach they are covered with burlap to keep the soil moist.

The first carrots are coming up and so are the peas (close to three weeks for them to show themselves). The April 9th beets and lettuce have been visible for about a week. No sign of the fava beans (seeded over two weeks ago).

On the grape front I have been checking every other day, searching for some sign of buds beginning to swell. I would think it is hard for Concord grapes not to do well, but today is the first day that both Janet and I see signs that they are beginning to start. I plan to watch them carefully because I have to figure out how to get this year's new growth to go back over the arbor. Grapes develop on the past year's growth, which grew from the previous year's growth, and that from the growth of the year before that. This would seem to mean that the new growth is always farther and farther from the original vine, but there has to be a way to cause new growth closer to the original vine than that.

I recently re-potted the tomatoes and peppers and today re-potted some of the basil. The tomatoes and peppers seem to be growing quiet well and should certainly be ready to transplant by May 20th (assuming there is no frost in the forecast then). We are not supposed to have any frost after May 10th - except, of course, for that 100 year frost - although we used to take May 10th as the average last frost date. Seems to be a small change in the climate.

We have a few days of rain coming up, then some warmer, and hopefully, sunnier weather.

I planted half of the potatoes on the 19th but don't expect to see them coming up for about another week. They, like the carrots, are in a frame filled with compost. I didn't sift that compost because potatoes ought to be able to handle the woody content of the compost. I did buy more finely sifted OCRRA compost for the second carrot frame but still need another couple of cubic feet before I start carrot seed.

We harvested our first produce yesterday - a little less than an ounce of asparagus.

Basically, things are coming along, although slowly.

1 comment:

  1. I am looking forward to hear how they are doing.
    i only have about a quarter of my garden sprouted so far
    i get to excited tho i check my gardens many times a day

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