Back Garden Update, 2/1/2012

      Here we are into February!  The winter has been about non existent so far.  That is no complaint by me.  Although it seems I would not have needed the cold frames, only the real hardy kales and collards appear edible if not under cover.  Other things may be alive, but not appealing.  But the cold frames have been productive throughout the winter.  And now the day length is past ten hours, which will increase production.

Feb 1st:    Day length:   10 hrs, 11 min 
                Sunrise:         7:10 AM
                Sunset:          5:21 PM
                High Temp:    67 degrees F      Low Temp:    46 degrees F

Don't be fooled by those temperatures, the high should be in the low forties (41 average at this time).

Wooden Frame, 2/1/2012

      The mizuna mustard that was transplanted a couple of weeks ago is doing quite well.  Some of the transplants from last fall have died.  I had left the transplants on top of the soil for a couple of weeks, probably killing the outer roots.  Then when put in the cool ground, they probably never developed a good root system.  Had I not been lazy and planted them immediately, I probably would have done a lot better.  Or if I had divided the lettuce and potted it up to develop good roots, I suspect I would have had better transplant success.  In any case, the above frame has been yielding good pickings for salads.

Trex frame, 2/1/2012

Trex frame, left side

      The mustard greens in the upper left corner were lifted from a path at the park and have transplanted quite well.  The thick stem chinese mustard to the top right has been doing much better in cold frames than the patch left unprotected at the park.  There are a couple of head lettuce that should be harvested. 

Trex frame, right side

      The pak choi at the top has died, and some of the minutina in the bottom right corner don't look good.  Don't know why in either case.  The tatsoi however, is doing great, and needs to be thinned out.

      These red burgundy onions rescued from the compost pile at the park had begun to sprout on the porch.  Black aphids were multiplying on the green sprouts.  So they have been planted to an outdoor bed.  The cold exposure will put a major hurt on the aphids.  Each onion should sprout multiple plants which can then be separated and replanted.  I don't know whether I will get bulb onions from that effort, but I will certainly get lots of scallions.