How brave are you? Moving up the planting season.

Undercover-pepper, cucumber, basil

Monday, April 16, 2012 

This unseasonably warm weather gets the summer gardening need going at a fever pitch.  

There can definitely be freezing temperatures that blow in this time of year.  So, warm season crops like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, squash, peppers, basil can melt overnight with one good frost.

I couldn’t stand it and planted all these warm weather crops!  

What can you do to protect them?  You can throw a sheet or plastic over them when the cold snap comes in.  You can buy “cloches” which are little plastic or glass bell shaped covers and place over each plant.  Or you can put a portable greenhouse over them.

I tried the plastic cloches this year.  They definitely protect the plants.  The watchout for them is that you can fry your little babies if you leave the cloche on during sunny, warmer days.  The ones I bought come with vents that I did leave open, but I had one casualty.  

Since I leave for work right before the coldest part of the day (sunrise), I have to wait until I get home from work to remove the cloche.  This time of year we get some real wide swings in temps.

Surprisingly, I had some peppers under cover and others that were not, and the uncovered peppers did just fine, even when the temperature dropped to 28 degrees.

Separating baby lettuce to plant

Left-baby lettuces planted, spring flowers blooming, chard, dill, kale, French sorrel up.
Right-Earthbox uncovered with greens and celery winter survivors.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

I scattered lettuce seed in my Earthboxes last month.  Sprouting had been slow up until the record breaking warm weather we have had recently.  Now they are growing like crazy.  There were way too many in my Earthboxes and they were clumped together.  They would not have grown well like that.

I separated them out and replanted them in the Earthboxes and in the garden.  It is easy to do.  I took my trowel and just cut about 3 inches of soil under the tiny plants.  For the romaine that survived the winter and were already 5 inches high, I went about 4 inches deep.

Then, you gently “tease” the roots apart of the individual plants.  I replanted the lettuce and spinach about 4-6” apart in the Earthbox.  We will use these greens by taking individual leaves off the outside of the plant.  We’ll be able to cut leaves from them up until they bolt this way.  It is a gentler version of “cut and some again.”  You can cut them close to the ground and they will resprout, but the taste changes and you can only do this 2-3 times.

I also took several and planted them in the garden.  I don’t usually grow full heads of lettuce, but decided to try this year.  I planted these about a foot apart in the garden.

In each hole I dug, I added a handful of worm castings and dusted the roots with mycorrhizal life support.  It contains mycorrhizal, vitamins and minerals.  This blend improves soil fertility and the plants ability to take in the nutrition it needs.  It is not all about just the big 3-nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.  They are important but vitamins, minerals, and particularly living soil makes a huge difference in how healthy and lush the plants become.

I plant my veggies amongst our flowers.  The flowers attract pollinators which help yields of fruiting plants (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, squash, etc.), attracts beneficial insects, and being in mulch takes weeding down significantly and keeps moisture in the soil.

Onions, chives, sorrel, celery ready for March harvest

Left to right-Kale, Mint in background, French sorrel, chives

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Wow.  What a crazy, warm late winter!  In the 80’s in mid/late March in the Midwest.  Everything is blooming and growing weeks ahead of normal.  The daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, and tulips are all in bloom at the same time. 

Right now, the french sorrel is lush and ready to harvest, chives and garlic chives are up, celery is going strong, onions are already bigger than green onion size, cress is a good size, chard, arugula and lettuce have leaves large enough to cut.

Other herbs that are greening out-thyme, sage, oregano, dill, mint, tarragon.

I separated out the small lettuce sprouts from the earthbox and replanted them in the pot and garden.  Had some kale that had survived the winter in a pot and planted in the garden.  

I purchased cilantro and basil plants.  I put these in the ground.  It is a high chance that it can still get cold enough to melt the basil.  They are very cold sensitive.  I ordered some plastic covers for them to protect them just in case.

Short day? Long day onion?

Onion blossom

Thursday, February 23, 2012

There are 3 types of onions-short day, intermediate day, and long day onions.  Intermediate and long day varieties have been around for a long time.  Short day onions are relatively newcomers.  It is daylight hours in summer that determine which type is for you.

Onions are sensitive to daylight hours.  They start forming bulbs when daylight hours hit a minimum.  For long day onions, it is 15 hours.  For intermediate, it is 12-13 hours.  Short day onions are 9-10 hours.  

I would have thought long day onions would be for further south, but this is wrong.  The north get the really long summer days (think of Alaska in June with no darkness).  Long day onions should be planted in states north of the Oklahoma/Kansas border (approximately 36 degrees latitude).

Long day onions are planted in states in the northern part of the US.  Intermediate in the middle and short in the South.  

Short day onions are planted in the fall and form bulbs in the spring.  Intermediate and long day onions are typically planted in the spring as sets, not seeds.  Seeds require sprouting indoors and transplanting.  

In the Midwest, you should have already started your seeds.  Transplanting is next month.  Transplanting should be done 4-6 weeks before the last spring freeze.

 You should enrich the soil with plenty of organic matter before planting.   As common sense would tell us, they also like loose soil.  Organic matter helps this along.

Onions are ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow and fall over.  They should be pulled and allowed to harden in the shade for a couple of days before storing.

What’s growing in the garden in February?

Chard, giant red mustard, and French sorrel

Monday, February 20, 2012

Winter greens are still going strong in February in our Midwest garden.

Chard (red and heirloom white), Giant Red Mustard and French Sorrel are still going in the garden.  There are many new leaves growing.  New leaves are sweet with frost.  Larger leaves are great for steaming, too.

Parsley and celery are also still green and sprouting.  Both are great adds to fresh salads.

Perennial onions and other alliums

Overwintering onions

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

There are many perennial alliums.  Alliums include garlic, chives, leeks, and onions.  

Garlic, leeks, and onions will continue coming back year after year unless you pull them.  If they are not big enough the first year, leave them and they will come back bigger the following year (scallions in the left photo and onions in the right in our garden right now from last year).

There are also “multiplier” onions like Egyptian walking onions and potato onions.  They continue spreading out from the single bulb you plant.  As long as you leave a few bulbs behind, they will come back the following year.  Egyptian walking onions are not “keepers.”  They are pulled and used fresh.  Egyptian walking onions  Potato onions can be pulled and kept for months until ready to use.

If you grow garlic, you will likely find that the following year you have garlic sprouting again.  Many garlic bulbs will have little “bulbils” that become detached from the bigger bulb when you pull them.  These babies come back up the next spring.

Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Common chives in bloom in spring

Chives and garlic chives are perennials and can be grown in pots.  They are also invasive so make sure you don’t let their flowers go to seed.  The flowers are edible.  They are a pretty addition to spring salads.

For more on growing onions,  

Onions-everything you need to know to grow 'em

Alliums are very nutritious, easy to grow, and tasty.  Try some in your garden this year!

When should I start my indoor seeds?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The seed catalogues are in full swing.  All the temptation!  I definitely have spring fever.

In our zone 6, February is the month to start our indoor seeds.  There is a long list we can start right now for the “cold crops.”  These are the ones that prefer the cooler temperatures.  Many get their sweetness from a light frost.

Cool season crops:  asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, celery, kale, leek, lettuce, mache, onions, radicchio, scallion, shallot, spinach, chives, and fennel.  You can actually sow mache seeds outdoors now.  Mache, also known as corn salad, is extremely cold hardy.  It is packed with nutrients, too.

You can also start the following herbs: marjoram, parsley, sage, savory and thyme.

For seed starting, the Aerogarden works terrific.  I have had a 90% success rate with this system.  You can buy a seed starter tray that you insert in the tub that allows you to start about 70 seedlings.  It automatically turns the light on and off at the time needed for getting your seedlings a strong start.