My Garden, 2010

My Garden, 2010

Oh, it’s on. With The Wife off for spring break, we’re starting to think about all that we will grow this year and where.

I’ve got a number of seedlings coming from a green thumb neighbor who knows how to get things going under grow lights (I had minimal luck last year). I also ordered a goodly quantity of seeds to plant direct-to-soil from Seeds of Change (several types of kale, which I like baked and in soup, several types of bush bean and squash), Park Seed (three varieties of cucumber) and Abundant Life (more squash, wild garden lettuce, silverbeet and sugar pod). I also got some arugula and kale from Chef Efrain Cuevas, so I’m heavy into green leafy veg this year.

For this iteration, I’m removing another swatch of unnecessary lawn to make way for more garden: in the area in the lower-left of frame, you can see a string marking out a new triangular plot I’m going to put in this year.



This afternoon, I’m going to cut out the sod. Tomorrow, we roto-till all last year’s straw into the ground (along with compost, some peat, etc. – no fertilizer, of course). The straw worked as beautiful mulch last year: I just laid down sheets from several bales I bought at The Feed Store; this year, it gets ground up to create new dirt.

I’m experimenting with seed tape: I have a few hundred carrot seeds and some beet seeds, embedded in tape, that I’m going to lay out, probably where the sun is less intense.

A dozen tomato plants will be purchased from the annual vegetable and herb sale at the Cheney Mansion in Oak Park .

Also, this year, a first for me: flowers (daisies, morning glories, other random fleurs). I figure flowers are good for attracting bees and other members of the garden ecosystem, plus The Wife tells me they’re pretty.

If you're adding flowers, I highly recommend nasturtiums. Pretty, and both the flowers and leaves are yummy, in an arugula sort of way.

nr706 wrote:If you're adding flowers, I highly recommend nasturtiums. Pretty, and both the flowers and leaves are yummy, in an arugula sort of way.

Yes, actually, I consider nasturtiums a kind of vegetable and plant them every year. We like them in salads or in a kind of rustic amuse before summer dinners.

We also intermittently insert marigolds in the garden for their alleged anti-varmint capabilities.

Nice sunny spot.Why the triangle?????
I picked up a couple raspberry,grape,and blueberry plants today that are sitting on my window sill.I have a few new hatchlings that popped up im going to move around.
Ill try in the next couple of days to rototil the garden and add some Miracle Go soils that i get for free from work.One of the perks for working in a Scotts production plant.

shooter mcgavin wrote:Nice sunny spot.Why the triangle?????

A triangle is more interesting than a rectangle.

Hi David
It's probably too late, but to make that sod stripping a little easier I use round up to kill the grass first. Works best if done in the fall.

razbry wrote:Hi David
It's probably too late, but to make that sod stripping a little easier I use round up to kill the grass first. Works best if done in the fall.

razbry, I started stripping the sod with a shovel and realized it would be like a four-hour job, so I blasted the triangular patch with the rototiller, pulled up mostly grass, very little dirt, and was done in maybe 30 minutes.

I'm not aiming for certifiable organic, and though I have used Roundup on the front lawn, I wouldn't use that kind of thing in the garden. When I first started gardening, I was using fertilizers and other such inputs, and I'm not saying such chemicals don't have a place, I just avoid them whenever I can.

David - thanks for the info on the vegetable and herb sale at the Cheney Mansion.
I'm marking it my calendar right now.

I have put a lot in: thirty or so tough green leafy plants (chard, arugala, kale), many, many peas, nasturtiums, lettuces, radishes. I have been seduced by the warmth, though I firmly believe that it will be warm throughout April and May...just as I believe the Cubs may beat the Astros (and, yeah, I am going tomorrow, in a rite of spring).

David Hammond wrote:I have put a lot in: thirty or so tough green leafy plants (chard, arugala, kale), many, many peas, nasturtiums, lettuces, radishes. I have been seduced by the warmth, though I firmly believe that it will be warm throughout April and May...just as I believe the Cubs may beat the Astros (and, yeah, I am going tomorrow, in a rite of spring).

So I just planted my 1st Earthbox & want to keep the rest of the seedlings inside (prior to transplant) for at least another week since the lows are supposed to be in the 30's. The box of lettuces I've got outside, how do I keep them warm?

pairs4life wrote:So I just planted my 1st Earthbox & want to keep the rest of the seedlings inside (prior to transplant) for at least another week since the lows are supposed to be in the 30's. The box of lettuces I've got outside, how do I keep them warm?

The Wife claims she has a magic cloth (it's some kind of knitted nylon that holds in the earth's heat), which I will cast over the beds if frost (which is different than freeze) threatens.

Got some planting done yesterday as well. Sugar snap peas, cukes, zucchini, a couple of different bean varieties, leeks, broccoli raab and fennel, all seedlings. Carrots, chives, mixed lettuce, a spicy mesclun mix and arugula from seeds. Tomatoes, tomatillos, chinese broccoli, eggplant and all the peppers still inside through at least the weekend and probably another week or so. Definitely hoping for a warm spring!!!

boudreaulicious wrote:Got some planting done yesterday as well. Sugar snap peas, cukes, zucchini, a couple of different bean varieties, leeks, broccoli raab and fennel, all seedlings. Carrots, chives, mixed lettuce, a spicy mesclun mix and arugula from seeds. Tomatoes, tomatillos, chinese broccoli, eggplant and all the peppers still inside through at least the weekend and probably another week or so. Definitely hoping for a warm spring!!!

If my headache will vanish so that I can see straight I think I will start spinach,sun gold tomatoes, & spinach mustard today,plus get the kale & chard transplanted.

Friends,

Average frost free date in our region is May 15th.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Friends,

Average frost free date in our region is May 15th.

Regards,

I know, I just don't think my seedlings can stay in their original containers that long. Only cold weather stuff, not the warm weather stuff. That's why I'm anxious about putting it out. The seeds, should be fine to keep in original containers for a few weeks before transplant a month from now wouldn't you say?

pairs4life wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Friends,

Average frost free date in our region is May 15th.

Regards,

I know, I just don't think my seedlings can stay in their original containers that long.

That was the situation I faced. I had a number of kale and chard plants that were not going to do well in the basement under grow lights for another 30 days -- so I took the plunge.

This year, I used a scissors to snip degradable containers on all four sides, and thus release the roots. Containers sometimes seem to take a while to dissolve...

Lettuce, spinach, peas and onions from sets seeded directly are fine with temperatures in the high 20s. Transplants that were not hardened very well could be in trouble as the plants tend to be very soft compared to ones seeded directly.

My transplants were all hardened before putting into ground; garden area with transplants covered minutes ago; air relatively warm; not too worried but being careful with frost threat.

I was anxious but the plastic cover on the Earthboxes acts as mulch so they had a blanket. What I took for dying from the cold, I now believe was transplant shock. Any suggestions for avoiding it, regardless of the weather?

Ugh! I think someone needs to play taps for my spinach seedlings. They've all just withered away. The collards are still okay & so are the sungold tomatoes (coming in w/ a militarily tight rapt attention) to the growth light. The spinach seedlings got willowy & now they just appear to be exhausted & withering.

So how much light for spinach? Apparently, less than tomatoes?

Thoughts?

Spinach needs to be direct seeded. The seedlings need a lot more light than tomato seedlings. We will harvest some baby spinach this weekend.

ekreider wrote:Spinach needs to be direct seeded. The seedlings need a lot more light than tomato seedlings. We will harvest some baby spinach this weekend.

They were direct seed, as were the others. Wow! I've been giving them anywhere from 24 to 16 since I potted them. Should I just start over?

Direct seeding means directly into the ground where the plants will grow with no transplanting. Spinach hates transplanting.

Planting spinach after mid-April in the Chicago area risks having the plants bolt (produce flower buds) while still fairly small.

ekreider wrote:Direct seeding means directly into the ground where the plants will grow with no transplanting. Spinach hates transplanting.

Planting spinach after mid-April in the Chicago area risks having the plants bolt (produce flower buds) while still fairly small.

The seeds I put in the Earthbox seem fine. Funny because it's colder out there & they seem to be getting what they need through that little 3 inch x cut out that they have yet to shoot through.

Anyone in Logan Square area want a baby raspberry? I have a small raspberry patch so I have to be pretty militant about keeping the area from overgrowth. I have a couple babies potted up and a few more that could be dug out of the ground.

They will not fruit this year, unfortunately you will need to wait until next spring as they flower on year old growth only.

Also have a black raspberry (these are my favorites!) up for grabs but I don't always have luck with transplanting them.

Let me know if you are interested.

I have some tomatoes that are coloring and, I suspect, they will be edible within the next few days, which is earlier than usual, of course. Today, we've eaten zucchini, cukes, peppers, sage and chard from the garden -- getting to the point where we don't have to shop for vegetables.

CONTAINER UPDATE: Great chile year - I have dozens of jalapenos still on the plants, have harvested at least 50 -and the plants are blossoming again. The habanero and Caribbean Red are also in flower, though given the length of their season, it's probably a futile gesture at this point. My giant Anaheim has about 20 more chile fruits on it, which I am endeavoring to ripen to red on the plant, as that yields a superior flavor.

The broccoli di rabe, sown in September, is chugging along nicely; if only the squirrels would leave it be, it would be even happier, but that's life. The tomatoes donated by Views Askew have given their all, as has the Sweet 100 from the Dane Co. market, but the Mexico Midgets from the Botanic Garden refuse to die. In fact, they have not only ripe fruit, but new blossoms, the silly things.

I'm pleased with this year's genovese basil; for whatever reason, it has remained vigorous, and still hasn't flowered. Likewise for the Purple Ruffles. Go figure. The Siam Queen has, but it was mainly intended for the use of the bees and butterflies in the front garden, so it's all good!