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2014 Season, Page 5

First Outdoor Planting

Today I planted the first seeds of bush beans and corn into the garden.  It was a cloudy day but it still was warm enough to get them into the ground.  I didn’t plant an entire row instead I just planted the first set of corn and with some extra room I planted some bush beans.

I wasn’t planning on growing bush beans because I wasn’t sure I would have extra room.  What I did was plant them at the end of where my pole beans are going to go because there is plenty of room in this area.  Basically where the pole beans end are where the bush beans will begin. (more…)

Tilling Garden, Weeding Blueberries and Spinach, and Mulching Onions

It has been quite a long time since I wrote a post on my blog and since then it has been a busy week for gardening.  With the weather getting much warmer and all my plants are enjoying the outside weather it was time to get started with tilling the garden.

I usually start tilling when the weather gets consistently warmer and usually is in the beginning of May.  It all depends mainly on the weather especially if there has been much rain.  I don’t like to till when the ground is too wet and is better to wait for the soil to dry a little bit.  A moist layered soil is fine conditions for proper tilling.  Take a look at these pictures of my tilled garden. (more…)

Onion and Spinach Update for May 5

From time to time I will take pictures of my plants and post them on this website for you to see what they look like and how they are growing.  Since these are the only two plants that are in the garden so far that is what I will discuss in this post.

Once I plant more in the garden I will be giving updates on most of my plants, but only when they receive fruit or other events happen with them.  It would not be wise to post pictures of these plants every day.  I will however do an update at least once a week and when fruit starts to grow then the frequency will increase.  For now let’s stick to onions and spinach. (more…)

Picking Spinach Leaves, Weeding, and Adding Wood Ash

Yesterday I decided to pick some of the spinach leaves that were getting quite large outside.  I like picking the leaves when they get large enough that they can be used for a sandwich.  You can pick them small and toss them into a salad, but I prefer larger darker leaves rather than small paler ones.

One thing you need to keep in mind is not picking too many leaves because this could cause them to go to seed very quickly and that would end your spinach season.  So to prevent this from happening I always leave a couple of large leaves on the plant.

This way you are not shocking them with removing too much of the leaves.  As long as you keep feeding them they will continue to produce delicious green foliage.  Here are some pictures I took of before and after cutting the leaves. (more…)

Plant Progress and Some More Alyssum Added

I want to share with you some of the progress that I have been having with my plants and some that I have added in order to maximize my time.

So far my plants are doing really good and it will soon be time to leave them out overnight and then into the garden soil they will go soon after.  Right now during warm days I have been placing them outside on a table that can hold much of my early plantings.

I also added some more flowers to addition to the ones that I started growing a month ago.  Alyssum is one of those flowers that I love to grow as much as possible because of the numerous beneficial insects it attracts.  Bees love them lady beetles, flower flies, hover flies, and so much more. (more…)

Some Updates on Plants I have Added to My Indoor Collection

I just wanted to update you on what has been going on indoors.  First of all I have started to plant celery for the first time.  I place them in 3 inch peat pots which I think is a great way to start off with something that I have never grown before.

I also planted some basil which is a delicious herb to have around during the summertime.  It is very delicious and is easy to store if you know exactly what you are doing.  This is all that I wanted to let you know about.  Both of these were placed under the fluorescent lights which will hopefully give them a kick start to sprouting very quickly.

Onions: Better Late Than Never

Today I want to discuss how I plant my onions and what I think the best way that you can easily increase your yield with a simple to use method.  Instead of planting them in the ground I use large totes that hold enough soil for these plants to thrive and grow to a reasonable size.  I have been using this method ever since I started gardening and it has worked every year.

Now normally I wouldn’t wait to mid April to start planting them in the totes.  It is best to grow them the first of April which is what I have been doing for the many years of gardening.  This year I guess I happened to forget about them and didn’t realize it until a couple of days ago. (more…)

Transplanting Spinach Into The Garden

Today we are finally going to discuss transplanting spinach into the garden.  It is a very simple process to complete once you know exactly how to perform this task.  I like to transplant them a certain way which I have been doing for over a decade since I started growing these healthy leaves.

It only takes about an hour to accomplish, but if you are new to this then it might take a little bit longer.  Once you start doing you will inevitably get used to it and you will become a master at moving these plants into your home garden.  It all starts with making some holes using a large shovel which you can see here. (more…)

What I Have Accomplished in The Past Couple of Days

The past couple of days have been pretty busy.  I have planted a few extra vegetables that I thought might be needed just in case others did not sprout or germinate.  I also added some more flowers to the mix and began getting ready to put the spinach into the ground.

This Friday I started getting the garden ready by cleaning up the debris that has collected on the ground including dead weeds, broccoli plants, leaves, etc.  Most of the debris from last season was cleared away the previous year so there should not be that much to clean up.  This also included removing the straw or lack there of from the strawberries. (more…)

Purchased Some More Vegetable and Flower Seeds

Spring is officially here and it’s time to start gearing up for the warmer weather that is about to come in another month or so.  It is also time to start preparing the soil for your cold weather plants such as spinach, onions, rhubarb, garlic, etc.

Just wanted to give an update on what I have done the past week and what you should expect in the future.  Yesterday I decided to purchase some more seeds including many flower seeds and a couple of vegetables that I will need for the season.

You can never have too many flowers and that is exactly what I did on this last purchase.  Burpee was having a free shipping sale and I happened to have a gift card that I wanted to use so I decided on taking advantage of this great offer. (more…)