Ready for the Spring Garden
This is my weekend. Transplanting tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and onions from the greenhouse out into the vegetable garden. My goal this year, first fresh tomatoes on the block!
6
03, 2020
19
02, 2020
A Brassica Bouquet for My Bride
Yesterday was my 31st wedding anniversary. I told my wife the traditional gift was "A Brassica" and gave her this beautiful brassica bouquet fresh from the keyhole garden. Then, she ate it.
5
01, 2020
Chinese Cabbage – “Minuet”
I picked up a packet of "Minuet" Chinese cabbage seed from @johnnyseeds last winter because they described as the "best mini variety." I didn't get a chance to plant it until this past fall and picked the first head yesterday for a stir fry dinner. My plants are closer to 15 inches tall rather than the 9 inches mentioned in the catalog, but they're very upright and grow quite comfortably just a foot apart. Nothing -- cold, rain, slugs, etc. [keep reading...]
24
12, 2019
Keyhole Garden Progress – December 24, 2019
A Pacific storm rolled in giving us about 2 inches of rain and considerably colder temperatures. Our mountains got snow, we got frost, but the keyhole garden doesn't seem to notice. The lettuces and Chinese cabbage are really leafing out and the broccoli and red cabbage are getting tall. Even the cilantro, which is kind of picky about too hot or too cold, is growing well.
16
12, 2019
Keyhole Garden – December 15, 2019
No rain but close to freezing temperatures has the broccoli confused about what to do. Fortunately, the lettuce (front left) has no such problem.
1
12, 2019
Keyhole Garden – November 30, 2019
Second week of the keyhole garden's winter plantings. We had 3 inches of occasionally heavy rains which could have easily pounded the young herbs and vegetables into the mud. Instead, the garden absorbed the water and drained it away beautifully. Even though it's cool and cloudy, the plants are doing beautifully.
25
11, 2019
Keyhole Garden – November 24 2019
Second week of the winter plantings in the keyhole garden. Needed to water once, but otherwise everything is doing well.
2
10, 2019
Fall Finally! Let’s Get to Work!
I’ve been reading “what to plant for fall” stories since August. In some ways I’m jealous of people who can start their fall garden in late summer, but it’s not an option here in the San Diego county foothills. By August the sun is directly overhead and it hasn’t rained in four months or more. The ground is hot and dry, the air is hotter and drier. All the natives drop their leaves and other plants, even mature, well-watered ones, [keep reading...]
3
04, 2017
The vegetable garden is off to a great start
Basil, Peas, loose leaf lettuces, cucumbers and some ball cabbage transplanted April rolled in and we've got plants in the beds. Of the stuff we planted back in March, here's what went in the ground this weekend: Oregon Sugar Pod Peas Genovese Basil (pesto) Danish Ball Head Cabbage Loose Leaf Lettuce Mix National Pickling Cucumber The tomatoes broccoli and cauliflower aren't ready to go quite yet, but hopefully they will be in a week or so. It's warm [keep reading...]
1
03, 2017
Time to Get This Garden Started
I used to take that "start indoors 4 to 6 weeks before last frost" stuff on the back of seed packets pretty seriously. It took me about 5 years and umpteen dead seedlings before I figured out, regardless of what the weather tables say about my climate zone, that "last frost" could be anywhere from mid-February to late April. So now, rather than trying to figure out when the last frost might be and working backwards, I always plant my [keep reading...]