lessons from bed #4 ..

i'm having such a good time in the garden these chilly, wet spring days .. a big part of that experience is that karen and i have taken on the creation, planting and caring of bed #4 .. the salad bed .. in february we met over tea and cookies, courtesy of karen, to talk about our ideas for the salad bed and how to make those ideas happen .. the first thing we decided was to start some early salad plants in the greenhouse .. consequently, karen planted two flats of 'mesclun mix' in early march and one flat of arugula a week later .. since we'd also decided, back in february, that we wanted to have the salad plants come successively over the spring and summer months we're planting in intervals .. so two more flats of 'mesclun mix' were planted two weeks later .. and in another week we'll plant two more flats .. then we'll see how long these six flats will provide us with fresh mesclun for salads ..

jim gave us some 'tom thumb' lettuces that he had left over from his own plantings, which karen then transplanted into containers where they will grow on before being planted for head lettuce in the salad bed .. jim also had two kinds of parsley which were transplanted, and this morning joyce transplanted 'esmeralda' lettuce seedlings that karen planted two or three weeks ago .. two more kinds of head and leaf lettuce seeds were planted this past week .. speckled butterhead and red sails, a looseleaf lettuce .. and two other kinds will be planted in another week or two .. bulb fennel seeds that were planted back in early march began showing themselves this week .. finally .. that took a while ..

lesson number one:  not all seeds come at the same time .. be patient ..

also in the greenhouse we've started cosmos, zinnia, alyssum, and marigolds from seed .. and lavender and wall flowers from cuttings .. and, there are also flats of transplanted leeks and giant onions sharing the greenhouse space .. these are transplants that originally were grown in jim's greenhouse for the other community beds .. jim's heated greenhouse will also be the starting place for tomato seeds which joyce and barb planted today .. in the interest of learning and to see how they'll germinate in our solar greenhouse, jane g. planted a flat with five varieties of tomato seeds .. joyce also planted some scallopini seeds and some scallion in bunches .. there's lots going on in the greenhouse and it's great watching everything growing so well .. it won't be long before the mesclun will be of cutting height ..

outside in bed #4 successive planting presents another story which goes something like this .. karen and i decided we wanted to grow peas in the salad bed .. 'oregon giant' snow peas and 'sugar ann' snap peas .. both are edible pod .. to get the bed ready we dug in the compost and then let the bed sit for about three weeks, at which time the trellises were put in place .. the trellises are each approximately ten feet long .. last week one half of one trellis was planted with with one full package of 'oregon giant' snow peas .. this week linda planted one half of the other trellis with one full package of 'sugar ann' snap peas .. the pea seeds were treated with innoculant before being planted .. the purpose of innoculant is to "make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants for their growth" .. after planting we put down a strip of remay .. the remay is to keep the birds from pecking out the seeds just as the little worm-looking tendril of new growth appears above the surface of the earth .. which birds love to do and which can be disappointing .. so, we're out to keep that from happening .. if we can ..

in front of the half trellises of peas linda and i each planted two different kinds of radishes .. 'french breakfast' and 'celesta' .. next week a row of cut and come again 'lettuce blend' will be planted in front of each trellis .. also next week, the second half of the 'oregon giant' snow peas will be planted .. we're hoping that planting over four week's time will keep us picking peas over a longer period of time as there will be a continual new bloom of peas each week once they get going .. as with sweet peas, the more you pick them, the more they bloom and produce more peas .. then in august we'll plant two new kinds of peas .. those will be shelling peas ..

karen and i also decided we would like to keep the salad bed going throughout the year .. if we can .. no doubt there will be many lessons we'll learn along the way .. from time to time i hope to bring some of those lessons here to the blog as a record of this year's salad bed .. and perhaps as a bit of entertainment for others as we stumble our way along to year round salad ..

Photos from the Ides of March

Dear Garden Lovers,
Here are twenty photos of "What's Up in the Garden" for the Ides of March.
To enlarge slideshow, click on it, and choose "full screen slideshow":



Also see posts below this one for ideas of what and when to plant this month.
Next week we hope to see some purple sprouting broccoli ready to cut and eat, and grow on.
Also, next week we plant peas.

Four Beds - More Veg

Companion planting for soil nutrients and more Veg in less space!



Click on above jpeg to enlarge. If you want a pdf, email Jen.

Thanks to Fred for this article by Randy Shore in Arts and Life magazine.

Pointers:
- Interplanting provides shade, variety through the season, and amends soil nutrients for some combinations.
- Always grow your tomatoes in pots or separate beds; not with other plants.
- Hill your potatoes, and don't bother to interplant until after harvesting early potatoes.
- You can substitute green beans for broccoli in Bed 1, or for the napa cabbage in Bed 4. Cut green bean vines off at the ground, after harvest, leaving roots in soil.

Here are the instructions for each bed:

Bed 1:
Radish, Carrot, Broccoli* or Cauliflower, Lettuce.

Sow radishes and carrots in early spring, alternating 1 inch spaced seeds in rows 6 inches apart. Interplant with leeks which help repel carrot rust fly.
Radishes ready in five weeks, when carrots bulk up.
Plant brocc or cauliflower when you harvest baby carrots in June-July.
Four week old broccoli or cauliflower seedlings and romaine lettuce are all planted 12 inches apart. Tall plants shade the lettuce and roots don't compete.

* can substitute green beans for Broccoli/Cauliflower.

Bed 2:
Peas, Spinach, Zucchini, Arugula.

Alternate peas and spinach seeds 2 inches apart. Peas provide shade and nitrogen to spinach. When pea pods form, plant zucchini seeds in pots, and grow on. End of June, harvest spinach and cut pea vines off at soil level, leaving roots in place.
Plant zucchini seedlings in hills about 3 feet apart. Sprinkle cool-weather loving arugula seeds in between mounds which will shade them from summer sun.
Sept through December you can plant more arugula or spinach when zucchini vines come out, to have winter greens.

Bed 3:
Potatoes, Kale, Beets.

Plant potatoes in mid-spring. Heap up the soil around plants to produce more potatoes from stems.
Harvest early potatoes from the middle of rows, alternating plants to create shady locations for kale seedlings. Harvest kale by cutting lower leaves and leaving centers.
When the last of the potatoes are harvested, plant fall and winter beets, which can remain in the ground until first frost or throughout a mild winter.

Bed 4:
Mesluns, Chard, Nappa Cabbage*, Collards.

Sow mesclun greens such as mizuna, corn salad and raddicio in early spring. Just sprinkle the seeds around the bed.
As you harvest the mesclun in May, plant chard seeds directly in the spaces you create.
By June, greens will be over and you can plant Nappa Cabbage (or green beans) into the remaining spaces.

The chard will mature in mid-July allowing you to plant collard greens in spaces.

Nappa Cabbage will be mature by end of September, leaving space for expanding collards.
Harvest collards from the bottom of the outer leaves throguhout the winter.

*can substitute green beans, to be harvested in August, for the Nappa Cabbage.

------------end article

I'm thinking of giving the above method a try for two small beds at home.
Will let you all know how it works out.

What to plant right now:

From Westcoast Seeds: March 17th/2012
It's time to start your Brassicas indoors (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower...), and it's a good time to start fennel, leeks, and pepper plants indoors, too. Peas, arugula, kale, pac choi, radishes, and broad beans can all be sown directly outdoors in the Lower Mainland. If you have some heavy row cover or a cold frame, it's a good time to start lettuce and spinach, and even turnips outdoors.

When starting seeds indoors, make sure to use sterilized seed starting mix, and choose the right seedling tray for the job. Provide your seedlings with as much light as possible to keep them compact and bushy. If germination seems slow or uneven, consider using a seedling warmer mat to give your seedlings the best possible start.
_____________________
Also, a very exciting visually stimulating book from the library that was at the DIGS garden today: worth a beautiful look:

The Art of the Kitchen Garden by Jan and Michael Gertley.

Check it out at the local public library: 635 GER

Square Dance! March 17

Hey Islanders and Gardeners,

Dusted off our dancing shoes,and "dosie-do'd" at the lighthouse.
Super fun was had by all; tons of little diggers led the way.

Thanks to musicians extraordinaire:
Rick, David, Geoff and Trish
Thanks for excellent goodies!

And huge thanks to all who are helping create the new community library in the basement!

Can't WAIT to see the new library, and have coffee from the library coffee pot!
How wonderful!
Thanks to all!

2012 DIGS Memberships

Planning for your garden this year? Remember - a DIGS 2012 membership card can net you from 10% to 15% off at local nurseries like: Long Lake, Green Thumb, Art Knapps, Buckerfields. Show them your card before the cashier rings in your purchases. Memberships cost $10 for singles and $15 for families and can be purchased at the Harris' or any Saturday at 10 am during the regular weekly DIGS meetings.