Busy planting week

Finally! The long range forecast was looking good and it is far later in May than I've ever planted so this week I planted everything.

Monday night I transplanted the majority of my seed trays and setup the garden soaker hoses. Good thing I gave them a good soaking that night cause we had a record breaking hot day on Tuesday.

Wednesday night I finished transplanting the basil which was the only thing left of the seed trays and I put in the following seeds:
- Zucchini
- burp-less cucumbers
- more spinach
- lots of tall trailing nasturtions
- and a few seeds of marigolds

Everything is looking wonderful although I need to pull weeds soon.

Now that it's decided to stop being winter we've switched straight to summer and have needed the air conditioning every day.

My asparagus have gone to fern in all this nonsense. Unfortunately when I was gone for the week in CA the asparagus grew too tall to cut so it doesn't look as though I'll get any this year. Hindsight being 20/20 as usual, I don't think the spot I planted the asparagus in was the best. At the time I did not have the tiller and now that I do, I think I'm disturbing the roots too much. It didn't come back as much this year so it may be just as well to leave it alone.

Seed Trays, and more snow...

Well my seed trays have been doing well in the dining room window light. I was able to get them outside for a few hours daily for about a week. On this past Monday it was 88F and a couple plants got a bit sunburnt (wasn't supposed to get that hot). Then with our crazy weather it snowed Wednesday night and we got about 3-4 inches of wet sloppy stuff. It's been mostly cold and raining since then.

I've reached a tricky point in time. I'm gone all next week for work so I'm going to take a gamble on the weather forecast. It's supposed to be back to the normal weather for this time of year so I'm going to plant the hardier plants from the seed trays and put in the watering system tomorrow. The garden is my hobby and I can't expect my dear hubby to do all that I do so I'm going to get it down to half the seed trays that need to be tended.

This picture was from two weeks ago.

And this picture from last weekend.

Finally signs of life... and spring

This past week the weather finally started getting a bit milder and without snow. It took almost 3 weeks but the seeds I planted outside are starting to pop up. First signs was the lettuce in the container. Then the peas and spinach. Now I see kale, beets and romaine. I'm not surprised that I don't see the carrots yet, they are always the slowest to show signs.

I'm almost ready to setup the automatic watering system again. The long range forecast appears to be mild enough that I won't have to worry about freezing water lines at night and I'm also getting tired of lugging water every evening to water the seedlings. As soon as I can tell where the sprouts are coming up for everything then I'll weave the water lines around the plants.

Also for weeks now I keep checking the asparagus with disappointment because there have been no signs of life. I was starting to worry that I'd lost the plants because everyone else I know has their asparagus coming up but finally last night I spotted the first spear. Yay!!! This is the year I finally get to cut some and I would've been severely disappointed if I lost them.

The never ending winter

Winter just won't quit. We get a few nicer days and then wham, snow and cold again. They're forecasting snow again for Tuesday next week. I'm hoping that's it. I'd really like to put away the winter coats.

As for the garden there's no sign of those seeds I planted. I sure how they still come up, arghhh! Darn weather. I keep checking my asparagus, and no signs either. Other people at work have told me their's has just popped up in the last week so I'm still hoping. This is the year I get to cut the asparagus for the first time and I'd be mighty disappointed if it didn't survive the winter.

My seed trays in the house are doing fairly well. They could really use some strong sunshine though, if it ever gets warm enough I'll put them outside during the day but for now they're still stuck in the window.

Tilling and cold season crops

Finally the snow is staying away (better be) and I was able to get out this weekend and till the garden. Yesterday I tilled all the beds except the herb bed and today I put the seeds in for the cold season crops.

In the carrot bed I planted:
- Burpeeana Early Pea (Burpee)
- Paris Island Romaine Lettuce (Lake Valley Seed) - last year's leftover seeds
- Little Finger Carrot (Lake Valley Seed) - last year's leftover seeds
- French Baby Carrot (Renee's Garden)
- Early Purple Vienna Kohlrabi (Lake Valley Seed) - last year's leftover seeds

In the pepper bed I planted:
- the rest of last years Frosty Peas (Earl May)
- Italian Heirloom Kale (Renee's Garden)
- Rainbow Swiss Chard (Renee's Garden)

And some random plantings:
- In the tomato bed I put some Olympia Hybrid Spinach (Lake Valley Seed) - last year's leftover seeds
- In a planter I put a red and green salad lettuce mix (Lake Valley Seed) - last year's leftover seeds
- In the broccoli bed I put Early Wonder Beets (Earl May) - last year's leftover seeds

It's supposed to rain the next few days and be milder so it should be perfect seed starting weather.

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.

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.