A full day in the garden

I harvested almost all of the remaining tatsoi (~8 plants, 3 quarts) and transplanted a dozen more in soil blocks to garden frames. I have been relying on the tatsoi for greens while the kale is developing and the parsley is recovering from the last cutting. It is good in smoothies. I also harvested about 8 gallons of lettuce including a couple of the romaines that were started in March. After adding sprouts to my garden tally for this year, my total savings from the garden is over $150. I figured an average of 1 jar of sprouts per week, but have had as many as five jars going at one time.

The first planted peas are reaching beyond the top of the protective cages, so a trellis was constructed for them to grow on. I expect to see pea flowers any day now. The carrots that I planted back in March are only a couple of inches tall.

Tomorrow I will set up the irrigation system which will allow more time for constructive activities this summer (much less time watering).

Graduation Day for Tomato Starts

The tomatoes in the basement were almost touching the lights at about 6" in height. I decided to get a few out this morning to enjoy the beautiful spring day. I planted them next to the peas and they will grow up behind the peas on the same trellis. Some of the remaining tomato starts will go to colleagues at work and the rest will be planted in a container.

Mid-day Update: the tomato plants were looking pretty sad. I guess the sun was a bit too intense compared with the flourescent lights they are accustomed to, so I put up a shade cloth. I transplanted the rest of the tall tomato starts into 1 quart yogurt containers and placed them on a tray out in the garden.

I have my work cut out for me this weekend with two more garden frames to build, three containers to fix and an irrigation system to run.

Ramps

I saw some ramps (allium tricoccum or "wild leek") at the Co-op this morning with roots still attached. I remember being introduced to ramps in middle school while running cross-country trails through the woods and haven't had them since, but I thought this would be an interesting addition to our diet, so we now have several planted in frame 2-1. From what I understand, ramps like to stay in the shade during the heat of summer, so maybe I won't cut back the silver maple all of the way. It might be good to have one or two frames in the shade during the hottest part of the day for heat sensitive plants like lettuce and peas.

More cucumber seeds have sprouted and a couple of summer squash. The earliest tomato plants cannot wait longer than this weekend to be transplanted into larger containers. I have concluded that it was not vole damage but an overlooked harvested tatsoi that I found in garden frame 1-2 the other day.

Return of the Vole?

I spied a withered tatsoi in frame 1-2 today at lunchtime. It appears to have been cut off at the base. The question is whether I cut it and left it in the garden the other day or if it was the work of a vole? I will investigate further when I get back home. Update: I think it was me.

The back row of garden frames is getting a significant amount of shade from the silver maple, the tree guy quoted $800 to trim it back. I think that I might have to see what I can do on my own with a rented lift.

Squash and Cucumber Seeds

A few of the cucumber seeds sprouted this weekend. I transplanted four pickling cucumber and one regular. The squash seeds have not yet sprouted. I decided to place all of the baggies on top of the fluorescent light fixture to give them some extra warmth, hopefully not too much, a quick zap from my IR temp reader showed a variation between 80 and 95 degrees F.

Harvest and Garden Savings Tally

I got out yesterday to harvest some parsely (2 quarts), tatsoi (2 quarts) and lettuce (4 gallons). The tatsoi is just starting to bolt, so I went ahead and picked it. This is my first experience with tatsoi, I guess I need to pick it earlier next time. Though the outside temperature did not seem extremely cold, it started snowing hard after I got back inside.

According to the spreadsheet that I am keeping, I have saved about $70 in vegetable purchases this year from having a garden. I spent more than that on seeds (seeds and soil blocking mix from Johnny's) and soil amendments (Bumper Crop), but not a bad start.

Quick update

I transferred all of the squash and cucumber seeds from jars to baggies along with a damp piece of paper towel yesterday.

Today, I watered the frames for the second time and harvested a mature parsley plant for juicing for vitality beverage. I also pulled a couple of lettuce that overwintered and had bolted. With temperatures above 60 degrees F the plants are really growing fast now.

Early May Update

The veggies in the garden are beginning to grow more vigorously. I had to water the garden for the first time in many weeks due to several days of sunny skies and temperatures above 55 degrees F. This morning we had our largest harvest of asparagus. I think that I may stop harvesting the asparagus now and allow it to grow to support the roots.

In the basement we have trays of lettuce, tomato, basil, peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, and poppy. I had a feeling of relief this morning when I thought that the pressure of starting seeds was past, then I realized it is time to start the warm weather plants like cucumbers and squash. I decided to start them using the soak and baggy method, then transferring to soil blocks once they sprout.

Harvest and transplanting

Today, I harvested about 4 gallons of lettuce, the remainder of the choi that overwintered, a few asparagus spears and a couple bunches of parsley. I also transplanted about 20 parsley plants and 4 broccoli into the garden. Including the parsley that overwintered, I have about 36 parsley plants. That should be enough to supply our needs for tabouli and juicing. There are lettuce, cabbage, tomato, pepper and basil plants still under lights in the basement.

Last weekend the cherries, plums, pears and apples were all in bloom.