New Frame, Transplanting and Starting Warm Season Plants

Yesterday, I put together another garden frame and planted it with parsley, cilantro, celery, chard and kale that have been growing under lights in the basement. We have two nights of near freezing temperatures on tap, but the plants should be fine under the ag-cloth. The tomatoes in the basement are about a foot tall now. I would like to plant them out, but feel that I should wait another couple of weeks to be sure we are out of danger of frost. The sweet pepper plants which were started at the same time are only three inches tall, but they took a lot longer to germinate. They were transplanted to quart containers this weekend. The marigolds are beginning to put out flower buds.

The first garden frame has been providing plenty of greens for a daily breakfast burrito and salad. I have been picking baby lettuce, kale, tatsoi, radish and spinach. I counted 28 asparagus stalks harvested so far and three more today. I will stop harvesting in a couple of weeks so that a few stalks can grow to maturity and the plants can regenerate.

Now is the time to start squash and cucumbers and any other warm weather plants. I am planning to grow those and the peppers and tomatoes in grow boxes. I am hoping to build one more garden frame at the beginning of June which will hold the next batch of greens for salads for mid-to late summer. I continue to grow sunflower and buckwheat microgreens, and an alfalfa/broccoli/cress mix inside on a regular basis. I will share the results of my harvest tracking with those soon.