Tag Archives: Onions

Running out of Space

I’m typically much better in the planning department garden wise. I have a map and a schedule and while I don’t always follow it 100% I am pretty good about getting just about everything in and out if not on schedule pretty close to the plan. This year is totally different. No plan, barely a map and the garden is full well before I am ready to quit planting. Part of the problem was the many rows of garlic I planted last fall. Nobody needs that much garlic but like an addict needing a fix I just kept planting. Fortunately the kale isn’t long for being pulled. I picked one plant clean this weekend and will get to the other three as soon as we can eat what we have.

The leeks are about 5″ tall and went into the ground today. I planted about 30 for us and had barely made a dent in what had come up. I gave the extras to Anita, the owner of Rock Farm.

I accidentally demolished one of the rows of beets I planted last month. Large feet and not paying attention. Today I planted a 2 more rows of the cylindrical beets where the Roquette was. I noticed a few beets survived the winter as tiny seedlings and are sending up some seed pots. They are next to the ow kale and will come out as soon as I can get the kale picked and pulled.

I also scattered some dill in an 18″ circle. Last year I planted the dill with the nigella. Not a great idea as they look too much alike.

It looks like the birds have made off with the bulk of my peas. 3 seedlings have emerged and there are holes where the others should be. I replanted into some 4″ pots that I’ll keep on the deck till they get big enough to be able to fend for themselves.

The kale, chard and zinnias I started under lights were large enough to go into 4″ pots. The basil is suffering. Not sure what the problem is but it isn’t happy. The green onions were a bust too. I picked up some variegated nasturtiums and started 6 pods of them under lights.

Dirty Knees and a New Toy

Today was my first REAL day in the garden. The rain had finally stopped long enough to dry things out enough to get down to business. I planted some “Palco Spinach” next to the overwintered Kale. Some ‘Cut and Come Again Lettuces aka Renee’s Baby Leaf Blend” went in between a couple of rows of garlic. I opted for two types of beans this year. Today I planted a single 5’ row of the long cylindrical beet and two rows of “Red Baron Dutch Beets”. I don’t know what makes them Dutch beets or if that really means anything. I picked these two varieties because they were among the offerings at the local garden shop and their days to maturity were 10 days apart.

On the ‘because one can’t have too many greens’ front I planted a mild mesclun blend. It is in Territorial Seeds ‘Groumet Greens’ group. We shall see. The greens I planted last fall were a bust. Too late I suppose. My goal was to cover them and tend them through the fall. Life had other plans and they were left on their own. Perhaps this year.

The mystery greens I discovered in late Jan are going to town and have been identified. I looked back through my photos and notes to discover that I planted Roquette in that spot in early October. Looks like they are probably going to go to seed. If the arugula that went to seed last year has its way I’ll have enough of that in a while to furnish all of Kitsap County.

2' Grow light In the name of getting the starts I really want when I want them I purchased a small 2′ grow light. Living in a condo I don’t have NEARLY the room I had in my last place. There I had a double 4′ light in the basement where I could start to my heart’s content. Now I have to find a corner (on the office floor) to place a small light that will allow me to start some hard to find (and not so hard to find) goodies for the coming season. I eneded up choosing this unit. I ended up getting two 1′ square flats with the little peat pods rather than a 1’x2′ flat. This way the shorter starts can be lifted a bit to raise them to the same height as the taller ones if need be. My first seeding was a row of each “Litt’l Bites Windowbox Cherry Toms”, “Persian Carpet Butterfly Zinnias”, “Bandit? Bunching Onions”, “Italian Pesto Basil”, “Bright Lights Rainbow Chard” and some more “Russian Red Kale”.