Cold frames doing well

The cold frames are the first garden area to get transplants. On the right is mache and arugula that I transplanted last week.

 

On the left side, is tatsoi, scallions, more arugula, lettuce, and spinach.

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.

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.

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.