Seed and Plant Diary, 2012

 

Here’s What’s Happening in the Garden

JANUARY

  1. -harvested turnips, collards, and carrots

  2. -picked out seed and plant varieties for the gardens

  3. -compared prices

  4. -moved pots, emptied some, garden clean-up

  5. -decided to move roses to back yard, since the chickens don’t eat them

FEBRUARY

  1. -made path in back yard with hexagon sidewalk tiles;

  2. -bought first round of plants and bulbs ; sorted by planting dates; designed planting schedule

  3. -composted  and tilled 1/3 of the Peace garden (paths down the middle so that if a picture was taken from above it would look like a peace sign)

  4. -planted onion sets (Bonnie) around the border of that bed

  5. -planted Romaine lettuce plants (Bonnie) in the wagon

  6. -transplanted some iris to the back yard; covered them in wire to discourage chickens from pulling or scratching them up

  7. -limed, composted, and tilled 1/3 of the veggie bed by the “orchard”

  8. -planted Snow peas(Burpee), Scarlet Nantes carrots (Plantation), and Black seeded Simpson lettuce (Burpee) in veggie bed by the “orchard”

  9. -built strawberry beds out of concrete blocks and transplanted last year’s strawberries into one section.  Planted bare root Ozark Beauty (Lowe’s) in other two.

  10. -planted 2 new raspberry plants - Heritage (Lowe’s)

  11. -started seeds indoors for the following:

    garden huckleberry (Burgess)

    jalapeno (Botanical Interests) Heirloom

    tam jalapeno (Ferry Morse)

    chabaud giant red carnation (FM)

    chabaud giant mixed carnation (FM)

    better boy tomato (FM)

    rio grande tomato (FM)

    matina tomato (Burpee)

    big rainbow tomato (FM)

    roma tomato ’11 (Richter’s)

    quadrato d’asti rosso pepper (FM)

    caribbean red pepper (FM)

    cayenne pepper (FM)

    california wonder 300 pepper (FM)

    monster bell pepper (FM)

    flat leaf parsley (Plantation)

    stevia (Botanical Interests)

    Husk Tomato (Burgess)

    delphinium (Burpee)

    Prairie aster (Botanial Interests)


In late February we had a serious freeze - It got down to 19º.  I crossed my fingers and stayed indoors.  A second

freeze occurred March 1.  I waited until March 12 to start any new planting.


The snow peas, carrots, and lettuce came right through the cold weather without damage!  They are growing nicely.


Indoor seeds are doing well.  Husk tomatoes have still not germinating, and some of the peppers are slow.


MARCH

  1. -planted seeds outside:  mesclun (Burpee), Black seeded Simpson (Plantation). Scarlet Nantes carrots (Plantation) and Snow Peas in the veggie bed by the orchard

  2. -planted gladiolus, anemone, and ranunculus bulbs and Calendula seeds (Botanical Interest) in the Peace Garden

  3. -planted Green Arrow peas (Botanical Interests) and Red Amposta onions in bed by the gingko tree

  4. -Planted seeds in the far left garden:  Melting Sugar Snow peas ( Ferry-Morse), Italian Flat leaf parsley (Plantation), cilantro (Ferry-Morse)

  5. -transplanted leeks (Bonnie)

  6. -planted freesia bulbs in the Peace garden

  7. -Peas and lettuce that were planted in early March have emerged as seedlings

  8. -Onion sets planted in February are showing signs of growth

  9. -The carnations, stevia, husk tomato, delphinium, and quadrato d’asti seeds never came up


APRIL

  1. -red onion seeds never came up


- After April 8th I planted more peas, more lettuce, and more carrots.  I transplanted the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, asters, and huckleberries.  The day AFTER, we had 2 days of frost.  I covered what I could with a frost blanket.  The only thing that had any damage was the bouganvilla, which I had already set outside, and one of the 6 blueberry bushes.  Neither was damaged seriously, and they are both recovering nicely.


- I planted sunflowers, safflowers, carrots, and peas in the gingko garden.  One section of that garden, where the tomatoes are, is a blanket of red right now.  I had planted 3 amaranth plants there last year, and thought that I had saved all of the seeds.  Not so.  Thousands of little baby amaranths have emerged.  I plan to move several of them to an area on the other side of the ginkgo tree.  I never thought about the fact that seeds I plant may become new weeds in the garden.  Some of the small plants will be added to my salad mix!


- I tilled the new area (Redbud Hill) and added peat moss, lime, and compost.   When I planted my seeds I added Seed Starter to each mound.  I planted the three sisters - corn (Truckers Delight) black beans (teparySoC), and squash - zucchini and yellow crook necked in mounds, 4” high, 4 feet in diameter.  Between the mounds I planted cilantro  (FM) and cucumbers.  I edged the area with marigolds (plants from Pike’s).


- I got some Pike and American Express gift cards for my birthday and had a blast picking out some potted herbs, two new very fragrant roses, petunias, and some Princess feathers.  They have all been properly installed and watered well.  It has been two weeks since we had any rain of measure, so I’m watering everything that has seeds planted and early seedlings every day, and everything else every other day.


- I planted some Kentucky Wonder Beans on the ends of the trellises that the Snow Peas are on, with the intention of filling them in once the snow peas are gone.  I also planted new beds of mesclun, Red d’Hiver, and Romaine lettuce.  In the Yet Unnamed garden I have planted more Kentucky Wonder beans, parsley, cilantro, and Mexican bush beans. 


  1. -I planted potatoes (Pike’s) in an old garden cart whose tires were flat, and add compost and dirt every two weeks to encourage more potatoes.


  1. -I planted 20 garlic sets in the GInkgo garden and all of them came up.


- Harvest:  collards, lettuce