Mild Weather Returns

Temperatures moderated again today and I took the covers off the garden frames at lunch time. It looks like the plants can enjoy direct access to Mother Nature until Saturday evening when the covers will need to go on again. At that point the temperatures will begin to drop below freezing and stay there at least through mid-week.

The peas that were placed in soak water a couple of days ago are sprouting their radicles (I didn't even drain them until today). Time to make some more soil blocks tonight.

The Tempest

We woke this morning to a windy maelstrom. My first thoughts went to the peas that had just been transplanted during a sunny idyll yesterday. Would they be able to withstand the violent force of the wind? When I made it outside, I saw that they were bravely resisting, but who knows how long...and a frost was forecast tonight. So, I made haste to cover all of the garden frames with plastic and rolled the one container full of peas into the garage. There is something very satisfying about being out in the weather when Mother Nature roars. I was happy that I was able to quickly protect all of the hardy winter survivors and freshly planted peas and go on with my day.

Snap Pea Graduation Day

Today was graduation day for the peas. I enjoyed getting my hands dirty preparing several garden beds and one grow box. I decided to plant half of the peas in a grow box and half in a garden frame (20/20). I also uncovered all of the gardens so that they could enjoy the mild weather. However, the lettuce looked like it was starting to get a bit too hot under the covers and looked even worse after being subjected to direct sunlight. I pulled out some burlap to use as shade cloth and within a couple of hours the lettuce was looking much better. I will be harvesting it very soon. I started 40 more pea seeds soaking in a jar in the evening.

Transplanting

Last night I transplanted the micro-soil blocks (3/4") to larger soil blocks (see how they stick out a little). The tally of successful seeds in the micro-blocks is 12/20 Nash's Kale, 16/20 Toscano Kale, 8/20 Tatsoi, and 16/20 Coastal Star Lettuce.

Sprouts (7th day)

A couple of photos of the seedlings sprouting. These were all planted March 14, though the peas were soaked and rinsed for two days prior. Almost all of the pea plants have broken through the soil now.

Sprouts

Many of the smaller blocks that were planted with lettuce began breaking through last night. I quickly placed them under the lights. I also see one pea that has broken through.

Lights and more seeds

Here is a photo of my setup (except the larger soil block trays are now supported by yogurt containers to get them closer to the lights and the smaller soil blocks are covered by another tray to maintain moisture while they are sprouting). I added a warming mat under them this morning and planted more peas that have begun sprouting. Last night, I started 20 parsley seeds.

More seed starting

Last night I planted the seeds that I ordered from Johnny's, twenty soil blocks for each variety: Nash's Green Kale, Toscano Kale (aka "Dinosaur Kale"), Coastal Star Romaine, Tatsoi, and Tango Celery.

Today I planted about 32 of the pea seeds that were soaked in water two days ago. The root spur tip (radicle) was just beginning to poke out away from the seed. Tonight I will need to get the lights setup and I think that I will start more parsley for making tabouli. :)

The plan this weekend will be to get several bags of "Bumper Crop" soil amendment and empty one into each garden frame. If I have time, I will put together some planters for tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. When the ground dries out a little, I can begin digging trenches for an irrigation system.

Seed starting has begun

OK, I finally started something this year. Hopefully, this will inspire me to do more. Yesterday, I placed some pea seeds in a jar and covered them with water. Today I emptied the water and when the seeds sprout, I will place them in soil blocks or containers. I have decided that I am going to always start plants inside because I have had so many experiences of young seedlings being devoured by slugs and other critters when they are started directly in the garden. It seems that once the plants have a couple of sets of leaves, they are much less vulnerable. Also, this allows me to make maximum use of available space when I do plant.

Look at the lettuce and parsley that overwintered! Granted it was a mild winter, but we still had temperatures into the single digits that devastated the lettuce that remained in another garden frame with only one layer of plastic. The second photo shows a frame with lettuce, onion, choi and parsley that overwintered. It won't be long before we are picking for salads again.

I gained a new appreciation for the compost towers as I was picking small weeds and leftover roots and debris from the garden beds. It was great to have a practical place to put the weeds because of the precious soil that was clinging to their roots. Now that soil will be reintroduced to the garden by earthworms after the weeds have been thoroughly composted. The compost tower solves another problem that I have been pondering, how to efficiently process the mats that are leftover from growing sprouts in soil trays? I had been contemplating trying vermiculture (composting with worms) in the kitchen, but I didn't like the idea of having another living environment/organism to carefully manage because I am already spread so thin. While I was throwing weeds in the compost tower, I realized that I already have vermiculture and that it is self managing!

On a sidenote, I am trying to start some sourdough starter because we have been baking every week and my wife wants us to eat as naturally as possible. There does seem to be a good argument for using sourdough starter instead of yeast (related to breakdown of phytic acid). I have found many methods described online that seem like too much work and waste of flour. Based on my research, I am trying what may be a novel method. I am cultivating yeast in a jar in the refrigerator filled with 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of freshly ground whole-wheat flour (we have a grain mill), 1 teaspoon of zante currants (small raisins), and 1 teaspoon of live culture yogurt. I have been stirring it twice a day. Once I start seeing some bubbles, I will cut the mixture (in the process excluding the raisins) and add more flour and water. Once the yeast is established, I plan to take it out the day before baking to warm it up to room temperature and feed it. Hopefully, I will be able to get by with only feeding it once a week the day before baking time. I plan to try using 1 cup of starter for 4-5 cups of flour. The bread that we make (multi-grain boule) already has a 12 hour first rise, it will be interesting to see how much longer it will take, if any, with sourdough.

Crocuses have been blooming for about a week and leaf buds are becoming visible on the forsythia, lilacs and other trees. Robins have returned.

A warm day, especially under the covers

I checked under the covers today and found that the soil temperature was 75 degrees F under the double layer of plastic and 85 degrees F under a single layer. This is on a sunny day at 2pm with a high day temperature of 63 degrees F. It looks like it will be overcast for the rest of the week and we still have below freezing temperatures in store, so I won't remove the plastic just yet.

In the kitchen, there is a box of seeds from Johnny's that arrived a few days ago. I can almost feel the vitality of those seeds waiting to expand under the right conditions. I definitely need to get some seeds started, but I expect that we will be picking the lettuce and parsley that wintered over in a couple of weeks.