Transferring leek and scallion sprouts

I put 6 scallion sprouts into each 1.5" cell, and 4 leek sprouts in a cell. Growing multiple plants in a cell helps with the limited space I have under the fluorescent lights.They don't look like much right now, but in a couple weeks they should be doing well.

 

2011 growing season begins!

There might be snow covering the garden outside, but inside it's time to start germinating some seeds. Leeks and scallions are the first I get going. I'll plant them into a cold frame and under plastic covered tunnels sometime in March.

I've tried various methods to germinate seeds, the most reliable is to put the seeds on a 1/4 inch layer of moist vermiculite. Cover with plastic wrap and place on a heating pad.

After a few days, I'll transfer the sprouts to individual cells.

Garden status - end of October

Cool season plants are waiting to be harvested. After I started to spray the broccoli with Bt for cabbage worms, the broccoli has been doing amazingly well. Next year I need to grow four times as much.

I placed a wire tunnel over the Swiss chard. If a frost is predicted, I can quickly throw on a cover. I know the plants can survive a frost, but they seem to do better with a little help.

Looks like I'll have lettuce and arugula into November!

The cold frames have lettuce, arugula and scallions. The leaves on the arugula are somewhat large, but I pull the leaves off the stems and toss them into my salads.

It's getting cold

I covered the tomatoes and peppers with plastic and Agribon covers. Nothing seemed to help the squash and cucumbers. They stopped growing in the middle of September.

The broccoli, cabbage, leeks, and lettuce are enjoying the weather. I need to grow more broccoli next year.

A lettuce experiment

I had some lettuce transplants that were starting to bolt. What would happen if I let them continue to grow under the lights in a cool basement instead of planting them outside?

After a month, I get baby leaf lettuce for my lunch salads! But I'm not sure this is a cost effective growing method. Those lights are expensive to run.

Tomatoes hanging in there

I have lots of green tomatoes that would be better off with a little red color before I pick them. I clipped a plastic tent over the trellises hoping to get a couple more weeks.

This is what they looked like at the beginning of the month.

And now after a week. So far so good, but I expect a frost any day.

Garden status - end of September

For the last few days my garden was trying to survive some very strong winds and rain. I held my breath, hoping the remaining fruit wouldn't be knocked off. There was an open bucket in the garden that collected 3 inches of water. Plants survived okay, but slugs are having a party.

Can I stretch the season a couple more weeks? I still have peppers, tomatoes, and squash growing. Much of the fruit is almost ready, and would have been in the hotter summer air. But September days are cooler and warm loving plants are growing slower.

I could pick the green tomatoes and let them ripen inside, but the texture and flavor is not quite the same as vine ripening.

Lettuce is back! There is a wire tunnel over the lettuce bed, just in case I have to quickly throw on row covers for a cold night.

 

The cold frames are doing better this year. Arugula, chard, mache, claytonia, carrots, and scallions could use another month of growing before November when I can expect some snow.