Tiny Radishes!

I made a tiny radish!  Not quite my first produce from the garden, as I've taken a few spinach leaves, but it certainly feels a little more concrete than leaves.  Today, I had two people ask me how to tell when a radish is ready to be pulled; this is my first time growing them, but I think they are similar to carrots--the shoulder peeks up above the ground, and when you can see they are about the size you want, pull them up.

Here's an update:

-Peas are looking good.  I added a little twine jungle-gym around a few supports to give them something to grab onto.  They've discovered the twine and supports and are happily grasping.  My peas are all bush-style, rather than vining, so I didn't originally plan on giving them something to climb.  It would seem bush beans needs support too.  (I always want to give something to their little grasping tendrils.  Sometimes I talk to them and encourage them to find the support.  I am a crazy gardening lady.)  I am considering whether or not to sow more.

-I understand "Jack and the Beanstalk" a little more.  Beans start out big and just get bigger!  The green beans are moving a little slowly, but the black beans are monstrous.  I have never eaten fresh black beans, and I was hoping to dry these beans.  I am not yet sure how to go about it--you can leave the whole plant in the ground and let it dry out to get dried beans, but picking the beans encourages more bean growth.  Can I pick fresh beans and dry at home?  Should I let the whole plant dry and forgo the rest of production? 

-Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are coming along very slowly.  The weather has been bouncing between hot and cold--90s and 50s.  The leaves are very dark green with some white spots.  Might be some sunburn or cold issues.

-Zucchini and cucumbers are plugging along.  

-Carrots and parsnips are finally popping up.  They don't seem to be strongly germinating, but it takes those suckers 90 days to mature.  I've got time.

-Radishes are going strong.  Strangely, they are most mature in the southwest corner of the plot, and reduce in maturity along the lines to the northeast side.  Hopefully that means I can pull a few at a time, instead of a big bumper crop.  I should start another few lines of radishes in the parnsip or carrot bed, so that they mature in another month.

-I put some more herbs in the plot.  It's hard to resist the display at the garden center!  I picked up some sage, oregano, lemon balm, lavender, chocolate mint, chives, and parsley.  (As a reminder:  mint will take over EVERYTHING.  Don't ever plant it as-is in your garden, or your whole yard will be mint.  Put it in its own little pot, or if you want to put it in the ground, put the whole pot in the ground to keep it from spreading.)  I planted these as companion plants, hoping to discourage bugs and encourage the other plants.  But I am also really excited about all the fresh herbs.  The chives, sage, parsley and oregano will be dried for culinary use.  The lemon balm, lavender, and mint can be used to infuse oils for soapmaking or tincture.  I plan on drying the chocolate mint for tea.  The borage is looking strong, while the calendula, thyme, and basil aren't making a lot of progress.

-My greens are gorgeous!  Such a difference growing them in the new salad bowl.  As a reminder, I've got kale in the center, chard around that, then a ring of spinach, and finally lots of lettuce and some purslane at the outside.  The first photo is from May 17; the last from May 28.  A ton of growth in less than two weeks.

Garden plot progress photos:

I'm looking forward to more produce!

Black Beans

This is what a germinating black bean looks like. It reminds me of that scene in the movie Willow with the trolls and dragon-things--you know what I am talking about. Those trolls were creepy as shit. 

Black beans and zucchini are up. We are fully germinated. 

Oh the Weather Outside Is Frightful

Apparently, we have reverted back to winter today. It's 38 and raining. The suburbs are getting snow. It 's a little silly for May!

The weather channel indicated no frost and only a low chance of freezing, so I debated about weather or not to cover my hot plants. By debated, I mean, of course, I took a facebook poll. It was unanimously on the side of cover, so I did. I put milk carton cloches on two tomatoes, and creatively used the cages, decorative stakes, and nearby rocks to hold down the plastic bags over the rest of the tomatoes, peppers, basil, and eggplants. I am leaving the bags and cloches on today, since it will get down to 40 again tonight. Better safe than sorry. 

As for an update, here goes:

Salad bowl is looking great. This is a big +1 to gardening for me. You csn see how the plants are growing tall and green and all kind of look the same. That's what they look like when I started them indoors last year. In too much sun, the leaves look like miniature versions of the mature plant, but the plant never grows tall or produces more than three leaves. I am pretty excited this new location is going to give me lots of greens. 

Radishes! I am also just starting to see carrots and parsnips pop up--including carrots in last year's carrot square, which is currently peppers. I will leave them, unless it becomes a problem. 

Peas are looking good. 

Green beans are up. Nothing from black beans yet. 

Here's a (poor) full shot of the garden. Thyme, basil, and borage seem to be recovering nicely. 

And, of all shocking things, the broccoli seems to be doing okay too. I am bemused. I will leave it in and see what happens. 

Cucumbers are sprouting. If the cold gets them, there's plenty of time to direct sow new ones. Zucchini isn't up yet. 

I would like to sow more radishes in the next few weeks. Maybe more peas as well. And I would still like to get to the garden store to pick up chives, oregano, and sage for companion plants. Otherwise, we are all in. Time to wait and see. And cloche. 

Garden Update

-Pea shoots are up!  I have never planted peas before, so it's exciting to watch their growth.  In another few weeks, I'll start the second round of peas.
-Tomatoes are up-potted.  I am hardening them off and plan on transplanting on Monday.  I will be putting 2 roma plants, 1 silvery fir (I didn't get many strong plants from the seeds this year), 1 random heirloom, and 2 golden nuggets (good lord these things produce!) in the garden.  I want to put 2 or 3 cherry tomato in the back windowbox.  Eggplants are up-potted and looking great.  I am hoping to have 2 plants in the garden.
-Beans are planted, but haven't germinated.
-Radishes are looking great.
-Carrots are just starting to grow.  Nothing from the parnsips yet.
-Peppers are looking strong.  I want up to 4 of each kind of pepper in each square (healthy and sweet italian).  I will put both the mini peppers (mini red and mini mixed) in the back windowbox.
-I put the borage, thyme, basil, and calendula out in the garden.  The borage is looking a little traumatized.  I think two of the four plants will make it.  The thyme looks a little bothered, but I am hoping it will make it.  The basil looks a little sunburned, but is otherwise standing strong.  The calendula is unfazed by the transplant.  I tried to harden these off before putting them out, but I think my lower (shady) deck isn't the best for this; I am trying to harden things off on the sunnier landing after seeing these results.
-Broccoli is not going to make it.  The last transplants died, and I think these will too.  I believe they needed more sun to make the stems stronger and less leggy.  Perhaps up-potting next year will help?  I am considering putting some delicata squash plants in the broccoli's place.
-It's a little early, but I put zucchini and cucumbers seeds in.  Excited to see them come up.  I'll be putting the bush cucumber and 8-ball squash in the back windowbox as well.

Up-potting Tomatoes

My tomato plants were beginning to look a little spindly and tall, so it was time to up-pot them. Potting up is a way to make stronger tomato plants. Planting them deeper allows the stems to produce more roots, giving them a stronger system to pull in nutrients. 

I moved my plants from the jiffy pellets into jiffy cups. I had originally planted 3 seeds in each pellet, and split them up and up-potted the strongest plants. Although, you really shouldn't do this--it's better to snip off the extra plants at the stem and keep the rootball intact. I split because I like to keep an extra plant or two around, just in case (last year, I knocked one off of the windowsill and killed it, the day I was transplanting). Ideally, the seedlings should be transplanted after developing a few sets of true leaves.  They should be replanted so that the soil line is up to the seed leaves. This promotes the root growth along the stem. 

Once I am ready to place them in the garden, I will follow a similar plan. First, I will harden them off. This involves putting them outside in the wind and sunshine for a few hours a day, gradually increasing the time over a few days. The plant gets used to the sun and heat so it won't sunburn or wither when planted outside. After hardening off, they are ready for transplanting. Again, they should be planted to promote root growth. In this case, instead of planting the whole plant deeper, place the root ball and then lay the stem on its side. Cover several more inches of stem with dirt. The rest of the stem will grow upwards, and the buried part will grow more roots. 

Happy tomatoes!