Monday, March 25, 2013

More seedlings....

Ran by the nursery after work and stocked up on the rest of the seeds I needed, plus some. I always go to the local nursery and get the best advice because they know me and my quirks (aka shortcomings).

Amongst the seeds already set I have also put in:
- Anaheim peppers
- Jalapeno
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks (lots and lots)
- More marigolds
- and decided to try Fennel

I also stocked up on the other seeds I needed:
- peas
- kale
- swiss chard
- blue lake pole beans
- and nasturtiums of course for pest control (along with the marigolds)

I will also buy some already started plants from the nursery a little later in the season because I've given up on trying broccoli and brussel sprouts from seed.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

First batch of seed trays

We just got back from vacation so it's the earliest I can start the trays (and not far off from when I started them last year). Today I put on the first batch of seed trays and will put more on after I make a trip to the local nursery for the rest of the seeds I need.

For now I have:
- Banana Peppers
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Eggplant
- Parsley
- Summer Savory
- Marigold (although I ran out of seeds and need more)
- Catsup Roma tomatoes

And as usual I put in about twice as much seedlings as I'll need.

Yup, done it again...

This past year I was worse than usual and did not get around to blogging about my garden. My new spring resolution is to be better at keeping notes about the garden. For now though this is from memory....

Let's see... the potatoes did not make it. There was a crazy heat wave and termites got into my potato growing bags and ruined them all. I had waited until after vacation to harvest, in hindsight I should have dumped the bags before vacation because I saw rotten remnants of what might have been lovely potatoes that the termites ruined.

The zucchini went bonkers in the heat, as usual and lasted into August before the squash bugs ruined the plant. Normally I would've been sick of zucchini by that point anyway but I discovered zucchini fritters and couldn't get enough of them.

The eggplant produced nicely and I thoroughly enjoyed making eggplant hummus out of them.

The big surprise was the banana peppers. I got tonnes of them and decided to try making salsa with those instead of bell peppers.... WONDERFUL! I will be growing lots more again for making salsa.

The tomatoes didn't do so great. I am struggling with the seedlings in the seed starter. They get leggy and when they are planted outside don't produce a lot of fruit.

For the things that did typically well, the carrots, beets, leek, celery, cucumbers all grew like every other year.

I actually got a nice bowl worth of peas this year. Making progress. I used the legume inoculant and it really made a difference. I think if it hadn't been a crazy hot year I would've had lots of peas.

I tried the already started plants from the nursery for broccoli, brussel sprouts and kohlrabi and they all did well. The broccoli didn't put on too much because of the heat though. The brussel sprouts grew tall. Since I didn't know when to prune the leaves I started too early. This year I need to leave it alone till the fall I think.

The beans put on nicely after I finely got them to grow. Something kept eating the plants off so I over seeded and ended up getting enough to have lots to freeze.

In around all the tomatoes and peppers I planted spinach which worked out really well. I was able to harvest lots before the heat stopped them from growing.

I put a lot of basil plants in and harvested early to make pesto which worked out the best. With the heat they went bitter again and I couldn't use them later in the summer.

I also grew lettuce in a planter box and these grew really well until it got hot. I will definitely do this again too.

The nice surprise was the cajun peppers and jalapeƱo that I got starter plants for. These were yummy and I will start a bunch from seed this year. I also tried poblano but they didn't grow very well. They were all small and not big enough to stuff. Also, in the fall I pulled the entire plants out just before a heavy frost and hung them in the basement. Surprisingly enough they do ripen that way.

Now it's time to start planning this year's garden :D