Park Garden Update, 4/1/2012

      The first of April is here, and already my garden at the park is full to overflowing.  It will be a challenge to be able to find room for the warm weather veggies.  Though in another month, a lot of the cold weather veggies will have had their day, and be ready to be pulled.

Cold frames open, 4/1/2012

Arugula frame

Assorted lettuce and tatsoi

      This cold frame has various lettuce plants that need a good picking.  The cell packs at the bottom have most likely been cut down by slugs.  The pack at the top with the single leaf was a five pack of purchased kohlrabi starts.  I was going to put them in the ground today, but the voles left just this one leaf out of the two packs of five that I had.  The voles are becoming public enemy number one.  The packs along the top are leeks, obviously not a favorite of the voles.  Maybe this garden should be all onions, garlic, and leeks.

Garlic on left, collards, transplanted garlic

Parsnips

Cardoon and garlic starts

Blooming cole volunteer, spinach, Beedy's kale, and Chinese mustard

Harvestable Egyptian walking onions

Fava bean row

Overwintered artichoke

Overwintered arugula and tons of potential garlic

Overwintered red russian kale and leeks

Overwintered Tango lettuce

Still waiting for the podded peas to sprout

Park Garden, 1/1/2012

      Now over to the park for the first of the year update.  Cold hardy greens such as kale and collards are doing well in many gardens.  On to my garden:

My collards, ready for a picking

Open space from harvest of savoy cabbage yesterday

Cardoon, 1/1/2012

      This cold frame, with the regrowing stumps of cardoon, has received a thin layer of mushroom soil to cover the garlic bulblets from an earlier post.  I saw three little shoots of garlic, including the one in the left corner of the following photo:

Garlic shoot, midway between post and cardoon plant

      This bed has seen better days.  The deer and voles have cleaned out all of the beets that were in the middle.  The voles and George have decimated the radishes.  I will sorely miss that crop.  The Beedy's Camden kale over near the right side is doing well, having been harvested heavily yesterday.  Finally, the thick stem chinese mustard on the far right is doing really well, and needs a heavy picking.

Artichokes, 1/1/12

      These two artichoke plants are doing great, having survived a couple of 23 degree mornings so far.  I might cover them somehow tomorrow if i get really motivated.  Or maybe dig them up to over winter on the relatively cozy porch.

      Many of the egyptian walking onions above are yellowing a bit.  I suppose that has to do with the cooler temperatures, though they should do fine if left alone.  They will recover quickly in the spring.

      This arugula plant is still growing nicely in this cold weather, allowing for some limited harvesting.  The garlic plants on both sides are also growing slowly.  Right now you want root growth in garlic rather than stem growth.  I hope to mulch this bed soon with a couple of inches of leaf mold.

Veggies in unprotected bed, 1/1/2012

Ah, arugula - 1/1/2012

Cold frame packed tight, 1/1/2012

Leeks on left, Rainbow Lacinto kale, and blue curly scotch kale

Last Harvest of 2011

      This morning I had my last harvest of the year over at the park garden.  It was the last harvest only because the year gave out on the garden, the garden did not give up for the year.  Should I choose to, I can make tomorrow the first harvest of 2012.  That is pretty much a done deal with the temperature forecast to be in the 50's.  A pleasant start to the year, followed by a predicted low of 18 degrees on Tuesday.  That should pretty much wipe out all but the hardiest non protected veggies, that being collards, kale and leeks.

Last Harvest of 2011

      On the bottom left is blue curled scotch kale, with Beedy's Camden kale on the right.  At the top is a savoy cabbage I picked today simply to grab it before the deer or the voles got it.  It will store very well in the fridge for awhile.  Both kales are already chopped and added to the pot along with olive oil, onions and garlic.  The beginnings of delicious kale and white bean soup.  Simply scrumptious.

Saute first, soup next, 12/31/11

Season Extending Greens

      One of my favorite seed catalog companies is Fedco Seeds, based in Waterville, Maine.  They have a lot of seed appropriate for their cold winters, so I believe some of those plants should bask in delight in the relative warmth of my zone 7A gardens.  While I have been doing a lot of experimenting with cold frames, much of their stuff should overwinter unprotected.  I could not figure out how to copy and paste from their internet delivered pdf catalog,

http://www.fedcoseeds.com,

so I took this picture from page 53 of my hard copy catalog.

From Fedco Seeds 2011 Catalog

      I have tried all of the spinaches, without much success.  They grow, but then get these tiny little pin head sized bugs that probably suck the sap.  Yet I continue to try spinach, and realize I have none planted inside the cold frames.  I should try, as maybe the little bugs won't like winter.

      The lettuce varieties I have from this list are the Tango and the Rouge d'Hiver.  Love them both, and the Tango did overwinter unprotected last year!  Anyone want to go together to buy and share some of the other lettuce varieties on the list?  Fedco has free shipping for orders over $30.00.  Can't beat that.

      I have Rainbow Lacinato kale, curly leaf kale, and Beedy's Camden kale currently in the park garden.

Beedy's Kale at top, Thick Stem Chinese Mustard at bottom, 12/8/11

Rainbow Lacinto kale on left, curly kale on right, 12/8/11

Tatsoi, 12/8/11

      The tatsoi has been a huge success.  This block of tatsoi germinated very well, and I have been thinning it to move to my cold frames, Barb's cold frames, gardeners at the park, and anyone else willing to take some.  It overwintered for me unprotected last year, and I have read numerous reports of people harvesting tatsoi from underneath a snow or ice cover.

Collards, unknown variety, 12/8/11

Savoy cabbage, unknown variety, 12/8/11

      I tried two varieties of parsley this year, but ended up feeding the bugs.  Claytonia has self seeded in one of the cold frames, and has come on to a nice rebirth in the cooler weather.  Only enough though to graze once and awhile when at the park.

Right side of back yard cold frame, 12/8/11

      The minutina is in the bottom right corner of this shot.  It is reputed to be quite cold tolerant, so probably does not to be in the cold frame.  The lettuce directly above the minutina is Winter Marvel Bibb lettuce, the only head lettuce that I am growing.  That one nice looking head may be a self Christmas present.  The tatsoi is on the bottom left, and really has done well from the transplanting and thinning.  Pak choi is in the top right corner, and although a good candidate for a fall garden, it apparently can't take the winter cold.

Left side of back yard cold frame, 12/8/11

      Some of the thick stemmed chinese mustard appears at the top next to the pak choi.  Also on the cold hardy list is arugula, the two plants at the bottom left corner.  Some of these folks from the back yard cold frame may be invited for dinner tonight.

Travelin Gardener

      My daughter Barb and her husband Rob are both so busy with little things like life, jobs, and three children, that they have not had time for important things like planting the cold frame.  Actually cold frames, three nice ones.  I can't let an asset like that go to waste, so yesterday the truck and I took a little trip south of the canal to wrestle weeds up close and personal.

      The frame in front became my target, as it had nothing of value growing in it.  The second frame is full of rambling cherry tomato plants that are still productive.  The third frame is full of cherry tomato plants, though I did not see much fruit.  The first and third frames were closed all summer, yet the plants survived in that heat.  Can't figure that one out.  Though the heat probably prevented the tomatoes in the third frame from setting fruit.

Frame prior to weed removal

Bed weeded and compost added

Pop Pop brought along his starter veggies

 

 

Ah, much improved, 10/26/11

      Well, that is a nice start.  One down, to more to grow.  The top row has Beedy's Kale, and thick stemmed chinese mustard.  The second row has pink stemmed kale, and some more chinese mustard.  The second to bottom row is various lettuce plants, and the bottom row is frisee and Tango lettuce, as both of those will stay short.  Now if only I had a Pop Pop to help with my gardens.