My parsley, lettuce, broccoli and Brussels sprout seedlings just grew their first “true” leaves, so I replanted them into their own pots in the greenhouse.
Heated bed
I just placed a new addition in my greenhouse. This 3′ x 4′ bed of sand is warmed to 74 degrees by a buried 250 watt heating cable. My first little tomato seedlings look a little weak and leggy – let’s see what a few days in the new environment do for them.
Strawberry Patch
A one-day hiatus in the rainfall allowed me to get 75 Seascape strawberry plants set into the garden. I kept this bed covered with plastic for several weeks, which kept the soil dry enough to be worked.
Finally a sunny day
Today the greenhouse is pleasantly warm. Onions, parsley, lettuce, brussel sprouts and broccoli seedlings all look very happy.
[office src=”https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=6F410600A06B3D79&resid=6F410600A06B3D79%2140068&authkey=ALlCbp1EeLfXJj8″ width=”320″ height=”180″]
Punxsutawney Phil
Don’t mean no disrespect for Phil; no doubt his forecasts are great for the East, but he doesn’t know beans about Pacific Northwest weather. Groundhogs are not native to our area. Probably we need to find a mountain beaver to do the forecast. 6 more weeks of constant rain? Or SUNSHINE?
Inauguration day
January 21 is probably an odd day to start a gardening website. Beginning this task today no doubt reflects my longing for the arrival of spring. At the moment, the weather is better suited for growing hoar frost than vegetables.
Even so, 4 days ago I planted a few 4″ pots with a scattering of seeds for parsley, yellow onions, red onions, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. The Brussels sprouts and broccoli were both sprouted today so I placed them in my greenhouse. As the night-time temperatures are presently about 30 F and the greenhouse is unheated, it will take a bit of luck for the seedlings to survive.
Brrrr
We are approaching the end of an exceptionally cold and rainy June. Even with the shelter of a hoop-
house covered with row-cover fabric my tomatoes are having a hard time setting fruit. The varieties that have managed to set fruit thus far include –
house covered with row-cover fabric my tomatoes are having a hard time setting fruit. The varieties that have managed to set fruit thus far include –
 |
| Slava |
Bonnie Best
Brad’s Black Heart
Box Car Willie
Flamme
Marmande
Loading the Ark
We have had rain 28 of the last 30 days, and no end in sight. Seeds are rotting in the ground for many of my plantings, This could be the worst year ever for tomatoes, but so far, they are doing OK, pampered as they are with black poly at their base and row cover overhead.
Planting Tomatoes
I spent this Memorial day 3-day week-end finishing putting tomato plants out in the garden. The plants are planted through 3-mil black polyethylene, and covered with Agribon+ AG-19 Row Cover, layed over 10′ hoops of 1/2″ steel conduit. Here is what I planted – (63 heirloom varieties in all).
Ananais Noir
Ananais Noir
Anna Russian
Argentina
Aunt Ginnies Purple
Baselbieter Roeti
Besser
Black Cherry
Black Krim
Black Pear
Bloody Butcher
Bonnie Best
Box Car Willie
Brad’s Black Heart
Burrakers Favorite
Bush Beefsteak
Camp Joy
Carmello
Coyote
Cuostralee
De Barao
Delicious
Earl of Edgecomb
Early Wonder
Flamme
Forme de Couer
Fred Limbaugh
Gill’s All purpose
Green Zebra
Holland
Ilses Yellow Latvian
Impulse
Italian Tree
Kimberly
Koralik
Manitoba
Marglobe
Marmande
Mexico
Money Maker
Mule Team
Napoli
Neves Azorean
Nyagous
Old German
Panatero Romanesco
Pink Ponderosa
Porter
Purple Russian
Red Pear
Riviera
Russian Roma
Rutgers
Saint Lucie
Salisaw Café’
San Marzano Redorta
Sasha’s Altaio
Sausage
Sebastopol
Slava
St. Pierre
Stupice
Tigerella
Wisconsin 55
Late late Spring
Last Spring was the coldest wettest Spring on record. This Spring is worst. April 19 is the average date of last frost in this area. This year we had a hard frost on May 10. This on top of record-breaking rainfall. Now, however, real Spring has started like someone threw a switch. Day-time temperatures are hovering around 80 and sunshine is forecast every day for the next week. Now that the soil is dry enough it is a real race to get the garden planted. Anticipating that planting date would be late, I started a lot of plants in pots in my greenhouse. This includes cucumbers, summer and winter squash varieties and even corn. Here is one of my darling baby cucumber seedlings.