Tag: covercrop

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General Update Spring

Harvest time and update

I made my first toy choy stir fry this weekend almost 6 weeks after planting my first toy choy seeds on March 20th. In truth they could be a little bigger before harvesting (they were about 2 inches tall), but I actually needed to thin them a little and decided they shouldn’t go to waste, so I made a chicken stir fry.

    

The beets and radishes are growing well and I have started to thin a few radishes. These were sown in mid-April, so about 3 weeks on, this is what they look like. The radishes should be ready in another 2-3 weeks, while the beets will be another month or so. The beets, like the Swiss chard, seems to have multiple seeds in one pod, so I had to thin the double beets.

 

The mesclun mix is also growing well, and I transplanted the stray lettuce that was growing amongst the buckwheat. I’ve been thinning out the mesclun every few days, as they can grow to be full-sized heads of lettuce if I let them. I’ll try to keep them around the size of the plant in the foreground so the plan is that we’ll have salad greens once a week or so.

 

The Swiss chard is a bit of a mystery to me. I wonder if I should have just direct-sown them into the pot rather than starting them indoors and transplanting. They started out quite tall and spindly, though they are starting to grow their second and third sets of leaves and beginning to look like Swiss chard. However, they are still very floppy and fall over whenever I water them. I’ve since sown a few more seeds in case some of the transplants don’t make it.

My two varieties of peas are really starting to do well. The Little Marvel that had struggled with our cold, wet spring is starting to fill in, though again, I may have to sow one or two more seeds. And the Oregon Sugar Pod in the hanging basket is also doing well. I notice they have tendrils for gripping and climbing, but I’m hoping the vines will trail downwards. I’ll have to keep an eye on them and train them to trail (if possible!).

The squash seedlings I started indoors for my dad’s garden, Baby Blue Hubbard squash, are doing well… almost too well because they’ve started blossoming already! I have moved them outside to start hardening off the stems and readying them to be transplanted soon. The early butternut squash are also being prepared for transplanting too.

 

The buckwheat has also struggled with the cold spring, and they never really did a good job as a cover crop because they didn’t flourish. However, they will still work as green manure, adding nutrients and improving soil composition as they break down once it is turned-under into the soil. After rescuing the errant mesclun, I turned the buckwheat under to prepare the soil for my butternut squash experiment. Buckwheat can apparently break down within a few days, but I will give it a week or two before planting the squash. I’m also tossing the thinned seedlings into this pot for additional compost.

Aside from veggies, my flowers are doing well. Still no sign of blossoms on the crocosmia, but the columbine is in full bloom now and I’ve spotted a few pollinating insects checking out the flowers. I also have an alpine columbine that is a dwarf version planted in the same pot. I thought it was done-for as it has struggled in past years, but lo-and-behold it is blooming this year! As well, I have FINALLY seen the first sign of life of the butterfly bush (Aesclepias), so now I know they won’t generally pop up until the first two weeks of May.

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General Update Spring Vegetables

General Update – Busy week

I’ve been pretty busy this week and didn’t get to post as much as usual, but I did take some photos. Temperatures have warmed up to consistently above 10 degrees Celsius and have had some very sunny days, as well as some very rainy days! Ah springtime in Vancouver! But we also had several days where the wind was blowing in from the west and there was a salty sea air that is so refreshing! That’s one of my favourite things about living on the coast!

It’s about 5 1/2 weeks into Spring and since I started working on my outdoor vegetable garden. I have seedlings galore and can’t wait to start harvesting!

Toy Choy – At 5 1/2 weeks, my baby bok choy is about 2 inches tall. I’ll wait until they get a little bigger before I harvest them, as I really like them in stir fry! I initially spread seeds all over the container, then 2 weeks later added more to the right-hand side of the planter, then 2 weeks after that I reseeded the left-hand side. Next year, I will seed one side, then seed the other, and alternate… that makes more sense.

Buckwheat – At 5 1/2 weeks the buckwheat seems to be suffering. We’ve had a pretty cold spring and quite a bit of rain, so I think that’s why the buckwheat is still so small and yellow. It does tell me that I need to add some more sand to the container to improve drainage, though, before I plant my squash in the same soil. However, I have a rogue mesclun lettuce seed that grew from last year (the purply plant). This is what the mesclun in my small patio table container will eventually look like.

Mesclun – About 11 days after planting the mesclun seed mix, I have a lot of tiny seedlings. They benefited from being covered for two days under a plastic produce bag to create a greenhouse effect. The planter was uncovered for several days after sowing with no movement, then I covered it over and within a day they sprouted. Just providing the extra few degrees of warmth really seems to make a difference. I will have to thin these out soon, but when they are a little bigger.

Peas – Both the Little Marvel and Oregon Sugar Pod are doing well after their second sowing. The Oregon Sugar Pod seems to have done well even with the cool Spring, though it is placed much closer to the building and likely got more ambient warmth to help with germination. The Little Marvel has been less successful and I think I may need to re-sow a third time to fill in some gaps. However, that planter was further from the building and was exposed to more cold, wind and rain. It’s very possible that, even though I didn’t soak the seeds prior to sowing, they could have gotten water-logged with all the rain we’ve had. I also didn’t plant them very deep, so that could have also exposed the seedlings a bit too early. In any case, the Little Marvel seems to be doing better and I still think they’ll flourish soon.

 

Swiss chard – About 6 days after I transplanted the Swiss chard outside, I seem to have had a planter mis-hap… or more accurately, a planter misplacement. I inadvertently had placed the planter under the corner of the balcony above my patio. We had some heavy rainfalls this week and the rain gathered at the point right above my chard planter and continuously dripped on my poor fragile seedlings (and made a big splashy mess on the patio floor!). So I’ve moved the planter and planted some backup seeds in case my seedlings don’t make it. I also went over to a friend’s house (she is the one who gave me the chard seeds) and found that she has over 10 plants growing really well in a much shallower container! Even if all of my transplants survive and the new seeds sprout, I think I’m safe to keep them all!

 

Beets & Radishes – The beets and radishes have also already sprouted and they’re not kidding that radishes grow fast! These seeds were sown about 14 days ago. The bigger seedlings with heart-shaped leaves are radishes, while the seedlings with the thin red stems are beets. They look similar to the Swiss chard seedlings because they are closely related.

Columbine – Aside from the Skimmia, the first of my flowers to bloom will be the columbine. It has had foliage most of the year, but it did die back in the winter. It has about 5 flowering stalks this year with multiple buds on each. Can’t wait for it to open!

 

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General Update Vegetables

General Update – I’m addicted!

I’m officially addicted and can’t seem to stop planting things. This weekend I even went over to my dad’s garden (dragging my accommodating hubby along with me) to weed, till, and plant some side beds. Now he’ll have some buckwheat and a blend of wildflowers that will attract bees to pollinate his garden.

Below is an updated shot of the seedlings in my Aerogarden. The butternut squash (at the back) and Swiss chard (in the middle) were planted on Easter Monday night (9 days ago). I need to get larger peat pots because the butternut squash seedlings are quickly outgrowing these small ones. I already see roots poking out the side walls! About 2 days ago, I planted two more pots of swiss chard (1 ‘Bright Lights’ and 1 rhubarb chard) and two pots of baby blue hubbard squash (which will go to my dad’s garden). Those are the pots with the little domes over top to help keep the soil moist. In the close up shot you can see the different colours of the Swiss chard stalks.

The Toy Choy sprouts continue to grow. You can see some smaller seedlings coming up from when I had thrown more seeds into the right-hand side of the planter 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I added some more seeds to the left-hand side of the planter. This is so that I hopefully have some good successive crops because I really do love baby bok choy stirfry!

My peas are really starting to do well. The Oregon Sugar Pod in my hanging basket is doing great! I think I may pop in a couple more seeds to fill in the gaps. It will be a good time to top up the soil too! I also found this great swivel connector that will allow me to spin my hanging planter around to share the sunshine evenly.

I posted a few days ago that I replanted my Little Marvel peas because only one out of about twelve seeds sprouted. That was a little disappointing and I still don’t know what happened. However, just a few days later and I can already see some sprouts beginning to pop out (the white things in the foreground below) in front of the lone seedling from the first round of planting.

I wasn’t supposed to add another container to the patio – this is what I said last week after I bought a 24″ pot for the Swiss chard – but I’ve added another one. But in my defense it is small (8″) and is meant to be a decorative but edible feature that will sit on our patio table. And I had the seeds already from last year, so I couldn’t let them go to waste, could I? I’ve planted a mesclun mix of mustard greens with a few spinach seeds thrown in for good measure. These will be ‘cut-and-come-again’ salad greens for when I have a hankering for fresh salad.

Below are photos of the buckwheat (29 days) and beet & radish (4 days) progress.

 

Categories
General Update Spring Vegetables

General update – More seedlings!

Spring is finally coming, though I wouldn’t call it consistently warm outside. I had a visitor in the garden the other day, this lovely little ladybug. Hopefully it will eat the disgusting spittlebugs that have made a home in my herb pot!

In any case, lots has been happening in the garden!

 

 

There are buckwheat seedlings in the foreground. I think I mistook an errant fall rye seedling left over from past years for buckwheat. That’s ok, fall rye is good for the garden too!

 

 

The Columbine just keeps growing and growing…

 

 

 

… And the Crocosmia too! I hope I’ll have flowers this year. Last year I must have planted them too late and only got foliage. See how these looked on the first day of spring.

 

The herb container is also doing well. The rosemary continues to flower, and the oregano and thyme are filling out.

 

The peas that are growing in the hanging basket are coming up, creating a circular pattern of tiny sprouts! Just how I sowed the seeds.

 

 

Last but not least, my first Little Marvel seedling!

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Garden Stuff General Update Spring Vegetables

General update – Seedlings!

I went away for the Easter weekend, during which we had sunshine and warm temperatures. The weather, and likely just the few extra days, have led to seedlings in the garden!

 

Toy choy

 

 

 

Buckwheat

 

 

 

Oregon Sugar Pod

 

 

Last night I also pulled out my Aerogarden to start seedlings that will go outside in May. The Aerogarden is a counter-top hydroponic system for growing tomatoes, herbs, salad greens and flowers. I’ve tried the tomatoes and herbs, but I find it is better used as a seed starter rather than growing the seed pods they offer. It takes a fair bit of electricity to run this because it has a water pump (24/7) and lighting (17 hrs/day).

I have started ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss Chard (3 pots x 4 seeds) and Early Butternut Squash (2 pots x 2 seeds). I’ll also start my Baby Blue Hubbard Squash that will go in my Dad’s garden too, but have to pick up the seeds first.

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Vegetables

Toy choy!

Yay! I think it’s true! I think some of the Toy Choy is coming up!

 

 

 

 

It seems they are coming up around the edges of the container, so they must need a bit more light to germinate quickly. Next time I will sow these seeds very shallowly. In fact, I will add some more seeds, as it’s good to space out the sowing in order to have successive harvests.

I also saw one sprout coming from the buckwheat!

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General Update Herbs Spring Vegetables

General update – Container progress

This week has been slightly warmer, with temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius. Here is a photo log of seed and plant progress:

Toy Choy (planted 10 days ago on March 20) – I’m unsure if this is a Toy Choy sprout… or just a weed. It also appears something has been digging in the soil to pull out a larger piece of eggshell and exposed an ungerminated seed.

 

Buckwheat (planted 10 days ago on March 20) – No sign of life yet to cover and protect my soil!

 

 

Peas (planted 5 days ago on March 25) – No sprouts yet for both Little Marvel and Oregon Sugar Pod. The package says 7-10 days for germination.

 

Crocosmia & Calla Lily (perennial) – Crocosmia continues to do well. Still no sign of Calla Lily.

 

 

Columbine, Lavender & Herb container (perennial) – All are doing well. The rosemary always flowers early in the Spring.

Mystery plant – This is a plant that I won as a door prize one year. I’m not sure what it is, but it always survives the winter. However, when I transplanted it a couple of years ago its roots looked pretty sad. Given the sparse yellow leaves I’m not sure that it’s doing much better, though it is flowering. I know it is a cool weather, shade liking plant. However, I’m not sure how to help it thrive.

Categories
General Update Spring Vegetables

General update – Seed germination progress

It has been one week since planting the Toy Choy and Buckwheat seeds. The weather has been relatively cold, below seasonal and we also had some near zero degree Celsius days, so it doesn’t look like either have germinated.

Definitely no Buckwheat yet. I’m not sure about the Toy Choy because I topped up both planters on Friday when I got a new bag of Sea Soil. Perhaps I shouldn’t have topped up the planter with the Toy Choy because those seeds are very small and you generally cover up the seeds relative to their size. I may have delayed the germination, but I thought it might help protect the seeds a bit better if we have another cold snap and to add some nutrients to the soil. We’ll see how it goes!

No action on the peas yet, since I just planted them yesterday.

The crocosmia, snap dragons and columbine continue to grow well. Still no sign of the calla lily and butterfly bush.

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Spring

First day of Spring 2012

To be grown in my garden
To be grown in my garden

With the little bit of sunshine we had this past weekend my gardening bug has already bitten me. I was out on the patio prepping some of my containers.

I cleared out my long, shallow plastic container (approximately 24″ x 5″ x 8″) that held my Parisian Ball carrots, similar to this little round variety. They grew pretty well last year, but took a long time to mature, so I thought I would try something else early in the year. I still have the opportunity to start carrots later in the season so that they grow into the winter time. I have been collecting eggshells all winter as a soil amendment, so I added a few scoops of crushed shells to the existing soil. I think this will help lighten the soil up a bit as well. In this I’ve planted Toy Choy (baby bok choy) seeds, as they only need a shallow container and cool temperatures. These miniature Asian veggies should mature in 4-6 weeks (barring any unseasonable snowfalls).

I’ve also got a large, round plastic pot (approximately 24″ in diameter, 24″ tall) which held my miniature watermelon last year. I had a bit of a mis-hap and snipped the main stem when I was trying to cut back the leaves, so I can’t report how well it could have fared in a pot. Generally I know that watermelons are not ideal for pots, but I thought it may work if I had just one plant with really good compost. This year I am going to try growing one Butternut squash plant and train it up a trellis or obelisk. It’s a bit of a risk for several reasons (less than ideal sunlight, chance of powdery mildew, squash plants spread like crazy), but I’ll keep the vine trimmed and leaves tidy, and hope for the best. It is still about 6 weeks before I need to plant my squash seeds, so I have amended the soil again with eggshells and planted some Buckwheat seeds as a quick growing cover crop. These should hopefully start sprouting in a week. I’ll turn them under in about 4-5 weeks to create some ‘green manure’ in the container.

Aside from that, I am also thinking of trying to grow some dwarf bush peas in a small container, so I have moved the snapdragons that have been calling my 12″ round container home for the last several years. No soil amendment yet though. As well, my Crocosmia have been popping up out of the soil for a couple of weeks now, but I’m not sure if my pink Calla lily or my Butterfly bush survived the winter, as I’ve seen no signs of life yet. On the other hand, my Columbine has been growing like mad since early February! Generally I keep these flowers around for attracting bees and beneficial insects that may have no other reason to visit my neck of the woods.

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