sprouts

So, I now have pea sprouts (maestro) and carrot sprouts (purple haze, scarlet nantes) in addition to the radishes (organic radish sparkler), which I never wrote about here I guess, but I have radish sprouts. Radish and carrot seeds were planted either at the same time as or a couple days later than the peas. Very exciting. Especially since I put them in the ground weeks ago. So much waiting and wondering if anything is going to come up.

I'm restless. I have so many different seed packets, so many interesting varieties of vegetables and herbs, and 192 square feet of raised beds in addition to the hills I plan to sow melons, squash, and pumpkins in. But I have to wait another month to put most things in. And then there are the flowers too...

I'm a little overwhelmed, a little afraid that everything will fail. I've done so much planning and dreaming, and now is the time for the DOING.

I starting turning my compost today, the pile that I started in the fall. The contents were very recognizable for the first couple of feet, but the bottom of the pile looks very compost-y. That was gratifying. I would have finished turning it, but it got dark. I plan to let that pile sit for a year, with periodic turns, of course. It should do well in the summer sun. I am confident I will have some nice homemade compost for next spring.

update

The new beds are in. 6 cubic yards of soil dumped on our driveway and hauled to the backyard by my husband! (Not all of it was for the garden beds.)

I planted more carrots (scarlet nantes, purple haze) and radishes (saxa 2) today, 2 cabbage seedlings (cairo), cabbage, califlower (amazing), and brocolli (packman) seeds, dill (fernleaf), arugula, and watercress.

So far, in the bed I planted earlier, only the radishes have poked up, but I dug up a pea seed last week that had sprouted. I still have hope for the carrots, and I'm doing my best to keep it watered.

My tomato seedlings are doing beautifully! I have most of them in peat pots and my hybrid determinite in its pot. My pepper seedlings are also doing well. Got a tomatillo seedling too. I had trouble germinating those last year.

I planted my self-watering earth box with lettuce, and I am very pleased. It's on the front porch.

I also put three pots with 3 basil plants each out. I can move them in if it gets very cold.

I moved my sage to the backyard where it will get some shade and morning sun but no afternoon sun. I think it will be happier there.

late winter projects

Put some peas in the ground today. I decide to try growing them around some tomato cages, since I have them.

I started seeds yesterday for:

• lettuce (3 loose-leafed varieties)
  
• basil (large leafed Italian, red rubin, cinnamon)
  
• cherry tomatoes (jenny, ladybug)
  
• regular tomatoes (early girl, container choice, pineapple, glory)
  
• peppers (karma, carmen, sweet pickle, sweet banana, golden summer, ancho 101)
  
• eggplant (black beauty)
  
• califlower (amazing)
  
• cabbage (cairo)
  
• some herbs including coneflower white swan, which I intend to plant in the trouble side of my front garden.
• tomatillo (toma verde)
  

I feel like the califlower and the cabbage may be a little too late, but maybe not...

I also mulched the front beds. I called a local supplier of soil and was much impressed by what he told me about their soil/compost blend. My husband is going to build the rest of my beds this weekend, and then I intend to have soil and mulch delivered near the next weekend.

It's funny to think back on last year and how I planted everything so late and didn't water nearly enough, didn't mulch, had no idea what I was doing... I'm surprised I grew anything at all!

Reflections on 2008

Well, I stopped updating, but I thought I would just write a little bit about everything that I grew last year, so that I'll remember!

Warm-Season Vegetables:

• Beans: I grew bush beans, Bean Festina, purchased at Park's Seed. They were so easy to grow and delicious. I plan to grow lots of them again this year and hopefully save some seeds too.
• Tomatoes: I tried growing Tomato Container Choice and Tomato Glory Hydrid. I failed. I did not understand how to harden off seedlings, and I started them way too late.
• Peppers: I grew two Pepper Golden Summer Hybrid plants. (Was available from PS.) They survived my inexperienced hands, and produced four peppers. They would have produced more, but we had a frost. They were tasty, but not that much different from bells in the store.
• Tomatillios: (Toma Verde from PS) My beautiful tomatillo plant was killed in a frost. I started it too late in the season for it to fruit in time.
• Squash: I grew Early Butternut Hybrids from PS. They produced 2 squashes, which were delicious. Again, they needed to start earlier and needed more water and mulch.
• Pumpkins: I grew Little Pumpkaroon (PS) and Howden (PS). I got one or two Pumpkaroons. The Howden didn't fruit--too late and not enough water.
• Gourds: Grew several types. Harvested one small gourd. Gardener error.
  

Cold Season Vegetables:

• Califlower: Califlower Amazing (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Cabbage: Cabbage Cairo (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Carrot: Scarlet Nantes (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Lettuce: Various from PS. We had one really awesome salad from a red type. The bunnies appeared to eat the rest, sadly.
• Radishes: Organic Radish Sparkler (PS). A few of these did quite well.
• Onions: The onion sets I got from PS did not grow. I think maybe they were planted too deep or didn't have enough fertilizer. OR WATER.
  

These herbs did pretty well in containers. All from PS.

• Basil Large Leaf Italian (also grew in garden for son to munch on)
• Garlic Chives
• Sage
• Peppermint
• Spearmint

These herbs didn't work out, I need to try again:

• Fernleaf Dill (Burpee)
• Lavendar Sancho Panza

Free Issues to Gardening Magazines

I love to read magazines, and I love to garden, so I've been looking for some magazines that I could try for free first. The following magazines offer a free issue (at this time):

• Organic Gardening
• Horticulture
• Gardening How-To
  

If you know of more, please comment.

My tomatillo plant

It's starting to smell wonderfully tomatillo-like! I love this huge, sprawling thing! It's had the most beautiful flowers. I thought one of the branches had broken in a tropical storm, but it's kept on growing.

Update

Oh, my. I was hoping I had blogged when I had planted my radishes and carrots, but I guess I forgot. Anyway, I planted one round of those, and the radishes are getting big.

I planted a second round a couple of days ago.

Yellow onion sets went in yesterday.

My lettuces are growing beautifully. Sowed some more seed the other day. I'm hoping to keep us in greens for most of the winter.

Peppers almost ready to harvest! They are gorgeous!

Planted 2 crape myrtles, which I hope will make a nice hedge someday from the neighbor's porch. If they don't die. They came in containers, and I waited a week or 2? to plant them.

Front garden looks pretty except for some bare patches. Well, the one side. The other side looks awful.

Pansies and snapdragons are hard to start from seeds, but of the 2, the pansies are easier.

Started some ornamental cacti from seed.

Growing some ornamental kale for front garden too.

I think I have one califlower plant and one cabbage plant growing, but it might be 2 califlowers or 2 cabbages. I have no idea. Will try again on those in the spring! I am really excited about putting in some additional beds.

Tomatillo plant is HUGE, sprawling, and starting to smell wonderful. We are going to have TONS of tomatillos, I think!