new seedlings

I think I have some clues as to why some of my radishes are not fully developing. If you look closely at the picture you'll notice that the outer parts are dry and they slope inward towards the center which is nice and moist. I need to make sure the soil is level all the way across and I remember I didn't rake my box before planting. I just patted the soil down with my hands. Another live and learn example.

So using the above mini greenhouse I've started more seedlings(three days ago):

3 black krim tomatos

3 chives

6 butterhead lettuces

6 nasturtiums

6 swiss chard

6 cosmos

6 peaches and cream hollyhocks

6 cleomes

6 leaf lettuces

6 morning glories

I really like this jiffy pellet system because of the ease of use and how neat they are. I tend to be quite messy when I use the multi-cell containers and dirt system and plus I start my seedlings in a room in the house that is not meant to handle dirt and water. I quickly vacuum and wipe any dirt/water that may fall on the hardwood floor.

I think my butterhead lettuce are coming along beautifully. There always seems to be a runt lagging behind, but I've learned not to give up on them because eventually they grow to full size and go on to contributing to an enjoyable meal. What I'm learning is that gardening teaches good lessons about life.

I've planted some cascading petunias, alysiums and climbing black-eyed susans. The latter are in a bit of a shock since I didn't harden them and the fluctuating temperatures. I do cover them at night for frost protection. I think they will do just fine.

Eighteen more days till my last frost day of May 15th arrives. My garden window is bursting at its seams with two feet tall tomato plants and more. I may even have some tomatoes growing on them even before I plant them outside. The flowers are opening up and I'm just waiting till they are completely open so I can begin pollinating them.

Coldframe in progress

I was having some doubts as to the size of this coldframe...it's so large, but as you will see further down, I filled every inch of it.

Since we didn't dabble in carpentry till we started gardening, our tool collection had been very minimal. So as I mentioned before we borrowed a circular saw and we did manage to get the wood cut without getting injured, but we couldn't figure out why the saw would kick back or not finish cutting the wood completely. We had a friend do the diagonal cut on his table saw and he mentioned that it helps to have a sharp blade. That's when we realized we had been using a dull one. Live and learn.

Coldframe with unfinished lid. It still needs the hinges, chicken wire, plastic and lid propper.

I was happy this morning when I realized I could shelter my plants from the wind in my unfinished coldframe.

I'm considering painting the box with sealant to extend the life since it wasn't built using redwood or cedar....I think it was pine. When I'm done with the box for the season, I can easily take it apart and store flat.

Cost of box $60.

Hubby making the lid.

More

So because of my radish failure I'm convinced that my soil needs a lot of humus. Not only because of that incident but because these raised beds are brand new. So I decided to give my beds a super jump start since it's going to take a while for the compost in the bins to breakdown and I'm not going to spend anymore money on this garden(at least for this season.)

I took what I had in my kitchen bin, eggshells(calcium), rotten bananas(lots of potassium), plantain peels, oatmeal and veggie pieces and I put them in the blender with some water and viola! ...and with the help of the soil microbes this vitamin concoction should be readily available for my plants.

The "shake" ready to be mixed into the radish bed( I know it looks gross.) I also removed some little pebbles and sprinkled a small amount of Epsom salt and planted my radish seeds. I hope it works, and if not I'll keep trying till I finally get it, b/c I love radishes.

This is my lumpy compost. I believe I can avoid the lumps next time by constantly maintaining a 1to3 nitrogen to carbon ratio(that is my educated guess.) I had to many greens at the beginning and not enough carbons. Does anybody have any input about the lumpy dilemma?

Tiny Radishes

As you can see, my first harvest of radishes are just tiny. I'm not too disappointed since you can grow them so quickly. I did a little research on the internet and found on gardenweb that stunted radishes can be due to ...too much nitrogen, low magnesium, and/or erratic watering(they need constant moisture.) I also checked some of my reference books, including my Jerry Baker gardening books, and he recommends epsom salt use in the garden.
So before I plant new seeds I will add more compost and mix in a small amount of epsom salt and add more mulch. We'll see if this works.
I also read about dropping a small handful of epsom salt where you are going to plant your tomatoes. Apparently tomatoes are heavy magnesium feeders and this prevents yellowing of your tomato leaves.

Eggplants.

The one on the far right is doing much better than the ones on the left. The ones on the left were planted in a smaller container and were root bound. I did transplant them and provided them with seedling food to reduce the shock. I placed them indoors to let them recoup.

Gorgeous Day

Today has been a gorgeous day and I was so excited about building the coldframe but unfortunately I didn't get very far. My brother-in-law let me borrow his circular saw but I have to say I'm a little intimidated by it and I'm usually quite comfortable around tools. I don't have the right table for it so I placed the wood on two chairs and I was going to proceed and make the cut in the middle, but it is unstable and I have no one to stabilize the wood for me at the moment. I will have to wait till Mr. H gets home. I also tried using my jigsaw but the wood is so thick I don't want to overwork it.
I also wanted to staple my trellis up on the box frame but I ran out of staples. That will have to wait too.

Some pictures I took today:


Some of my peas









These are just three of my tomato plants out for some sunshine.
One month to go before I plant outside.











Shallots











Rapa centroventina. I received the seeds from wintersown.org
I've never had these greens before, but I've read that they are very nutritious and bitter, so you'll want to cook, steam, or saute them.





















I found two of these mushrooms in my garden this morning. I think my boxes are getting too much water from the sprinkler system. I will have to cut down on the time. Do you guys agree that this is a mushroom?
One thing I do want to share regarding mulching with straw is that you will end up with straw weeds. Luckily it doesn't take much to weed with this squarefoot system because you can just tell the weed doesn't belong there when it pops up in places you didn't plant anything in. So think twice beore deciding to use straw or hay to mulch with. I do like how it looks though and right now it give me something to do in the garden.

Spring Snow and more

My garden received about 1inch of snow in less than one hour. My heart sank when I saw the snow; it's like I'm afraid of loosing what I've put so much love into. I know I have to get over this feeling, because I know there will be many times when I won't be successful. I'm hoping this will be our last storm of the spring.
The thin polyester fabric amazingly enough did manage to keep my crops from freezing. I am convinced that it does work. It felt much warmer under the cloth when I stuck my hand underneath,
but for the 50mph winds that we're expecting tonight with 20 degree temp , I felt I had to go one step further to protect what I have. I purchased a roll of 3.5 mil plastic from the hardware store and placed it over the garden with the pvc pipes in place.

My new covers. Much nicer than those old sheets. As you can see the snow didn't last very long, it quickly melted.

My wheatgrass is ready for juicing.







I am convinced that a cold frame would make my life much easier as far as sheltering my seedlings from the weather and for hardening off my plants. While I was at Home depot today, I decided to price out the cost of all the materials for a cold frame. I thought I was going to have to walk around a lot, which I knew I wouldn't be able to do in one visit. This nice man came to my rescue. I gave him the list of the materials and we went to the contractor services desk. He searched for all the materials on the computer and printed out a merchandise list and summary which includes the price...then he told me that he could have it all ready for me tomorrow morning. All I have to do is pay over the phone and drive up and pickup my merchandise. Sweet:), That will save so much time. The man told me that this contractor service is always available. I thought I'd share the knowledge.

I am looking forward to sharing some pictures of the building of my cold frame. I'm using the plans from Bob Thomson.

Flowers, wheatgrass and herbs

The last frost date for my region isn't till May 15, but I just couldn't wait till then. I planted some flowers in a pot right outside my front door. I figured that if the temperature drops to freezing I can easily cover it with plastic or some old bed sheets.

I started these plants from seed. I have here three allyuims, two pearl petunias and three avalanche petunias(cascading types) from Park seed. I have more pots that I can start, but this seems to have quenched my desire for planting for now.

2 purple basil seedlings

1 larger green basil seedling

4 oregano seedlings

I'm waiting till May 15 before I plant these in my garden. Out of all my plants and seedlings, these are the only ones I took out for some direct sunlight, I have too many to be carrying in and out of the house. I wish I can just drive them in and out of my garage in a pick-up, like Annie does(clever idea.) Hopefully soon I'll be able to build a coldframe so that I can harden my plants in.

I just want to share a picture of my wheat grass growing. I started this about four days ago. I simply placed some wheat berries on this tray and I spray it with water a couple of times a day. It will get pretty dense and look like lawn. Then I'll cut it and stick it in a blender or wheat grass juicer. Apparently, it is such a nutritious drink that only 1 or 2 oz is all that is needed to drink in one shot.