It has been a cool and wet couple of weeks. Not OMG will the rain ever stop kind of wet but wet enough that I rarely have to water and cool enough that the beans are sitting there staring back at me refusing to budge.
Potatoes
A few of the Russian Banana fingerling potatoes have started to bloom. The lavender flowers are really quite pretty. The tops are so lush. I didn’t use any nitrogen on them but they are really putting out the top growth. I hope they save some energy for the potatoes.
Oca
This spring I learned about oca, the South American staple that has leaves that look like clover and tubers that range from sweet to tart. It prefers summers much like what we have here in the PNW. I looked for it in the grocer store where I found the Jerusalem artichokes to no avail. I happened to be at a BG and they had 2 of them on clearance. I picked up one 4″ pot each of Hopin and Twilight. For now they are in 1 gallon pots on the balcony. It is probably too late to get any kind of harvest this year (they tend to be a long season plant) but I can get to know them and hopefully get enough of a harvest for a taste. Then I can decide if I want to attempt them next year.
Broccoli
I had originally understood that we weren’t doing brassicas this year. I saw a few new kale and broccoli plants and decided what the heck. I’ll give it a try. I put in a 4 pack of Bay Meadows I picked up at BH&F At first sign of clubroot they will come out though. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Olla
The two olla (or is it ollas?) I purchased at Home Depot came in the mail. They were in a huge well padded box and came through shipping marvelously. I planted one of them next to the zucchini. I decided to make it the only water for my zucchini once it has matured enough to send roots over to the vessle about 10″ away. Till then I’m only watering between the olla and the plant so as to draw the roots in that direction. Of course with all the rain we’ve had…
Parsnips
I decided to try my hand at parsnips this year. I had a relatively hard time finding seed locally but did manage to find a pack of Gladiators. We shall see. The rust fly I had so much trouble with does like them so if I have any hopes of any kind of harvest I’ll have to cover them.
Nasturtiums
This year there, in addition to the orange volunteer there is a yellow variety. Both are very pretty but I have a suspicion they have eyes on taking over my 200′ ft space. I’ve pulled out a number of seedlings and have left several. I may have to do something with them too as they are growing quite long and bushy.
Harvests
- Chard (ongoing)
- Kale (ongoing)
- Snow Peas (ongoing)
Plantings
- Parsnips – Gladiator (6/12)
- Radish – French Breakfast (6/18)