In February I began planting potato chits in 3″ pots. A potato chit is a sprout that has developed on the skin of the potato. I cut off the chits as we used the potatoes for other purposes and laid them in a 4″ saucer to form a callus. The photo below is a potato chit ready for planting. Continue reading Planting Potatoes
The first of the radishes in the greenhouse are ready to join the nearby lettuce for an early salad. I usually begin planting radishes in bedding packs under the grow lights in mid-March and transplant them into the greenhouse about 2 weeks later. If you don’t have a greenhouse, plant the first ones about mid-April in the garden. Continue reading The Quick and Easy Radish
I recently constructed a worm farm to put kitchen waste in and have the worms reduce it to compost and worm tea. The worm compost can be used as a potting soil ingredient and soil amendment for the garden. Worm tea is a brown liquid that drains out of the tubs and is collected and used to water seedlings or plants in the garden. I used 3 plastic tubs to make the worm farm. Continue reading Building a Worm Farm
Until Monday, October 30, I had been covering the tomatoes and green beans with row cover and protecting them from the first light frosts. The nighttime lows during early and mid-November had ranged from 34 – 39 degrees, enough to cause a light frost on the lawn, but not so cold that the row cover would allow the tomatoes to freeze. Continue reading Frost on the Way – Pick the Tomatoes
The Harvest Continues
The other day I was in conversation with a lady when I remarked, “It is so dry, I have to continue watering the garden.”
She replied, “Surely the garden is winding down now.” Continue reading The Harvest Continues
It’s early October and pumpkins seem to be everywhere. You can find them at grocery stores, farmers markets, fall festivals and farm stores. Continue reading Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere
4/20/2023 – First Perennial in Bloom – Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)The spring bulbs have mostly faded away and the first … Continue reading 4/20/2023 – First Perennial in Bloom – Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)
4/13/2023 First Harvest – Mescaline MixBy mid-April the first of what will be many vegetables from the garden was ready … Continue reading 4/13/2023 First Harvest – Mescaline Mix
Planting Crops in the GreenhouseThe completion of the greenhouse meant it was time to plant the first crops. I had … Continue reading 04-02 Planting Crops in the Greenhouse
03-31 Greenhouse Complete
The winter’s project of building a greenhouse to grow early and late vegetable crops is finally complete with the covering of the structure with plastic. I used construction grade plastic, so I hope it lasts two or three seasons. The man at the hardware store told me they had covered a greenhouse for his father four or five years ago and it was still in use, so I used it. Covering the structure is quite a project, especially as I did it myself. An extra set of hands would have been nice, but it is what it is. At the bottom I installed some removable panels which I can take off for watering, maintenance and ventilation.
I don’t plan on heating this structure, I just want to use it to grow early and late crops like lettuce, cabbage, kale and other members of the cabbage family. After cultivating the soil with a Ryobi cultivator I covered the bed with a mulch of shredded leaves, grass clippings and shredded paper which I composted last summer. The bed is ready to plant. Continue reading 03-31 Greenhouse Complete
This would be the largest crop planting of the year with tomatoes and most of the annual flowers planted in the seed flats. Beet, carrots, peas and radish are planted in bedding packs and placed in the hot bed to germinate. All of the seedlings planted earlier are now in bedding packs and in the hot bed. Continue reading 03-21 – Planting Tomatoes, Marigolds
I have several varieties of daffodils, also called narcissus, in the garden. Most of these varieties bloom at slightly different times, thus the daffodil bloom season in Abe’s Beer Garden extends over several weeks in the spring. The varieties range from pure yellow, pale yellow, yellow with orange centers, white as well as several others. Continue reading What’s Blooming This Week?
Two weeks after planting the seeds in seed flats, the first batch of seedlings were ready for transplant. Not all of them were, as some seeds germinate slower that others and some grow slowly. The lettuce, mescaline, brassica (cabbage, kohlrabi, etc.), spinach and snow peas were. Many of the perennials were ready, as well. The strawberries, peppers and chamomile had germinated, but were still too small. Continue reading Transplanting the First Seedlings
Garden Season BeginsThe garden season began on Sunday, February 19, 2023, when I planted perennial flower and some vegetable seeds … Continue reading Garden Season Begins
Pick Your Dinner
We have reached the stage in the garden season where I can go out in the garden and pick our dinner. The spring lettuce has been harvested two or three weeks ago. The winter squash and pumpkins have taken their place in the garden. The peas have already found their way to the compost heap, after yielding a good crop of both shelling and snap peas. Continue reading Pick Your Dinner
Mossy Feet Books 