The garden has been mainly running on auto pilot for the last week or so. In addition to finishing the fence I have been ripping and tearing in the kitchen. Tasks done and to be done in the kitchen are:
- repair the previous owners botched drywall job
- repair the previous owners botched trim job
- paint the ceiling, walls, wainscoting & trim
- change lighting fixtures, switches & outlets
I am about half way through and am hoping to get lots of painting done after this post. It will be nice to go from an almost school bus yellow kitchen to a beige/taupe kitchen!
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This photo is a good representation of the weather the last few days, It has been rainy and cool. Of course being a gardener I never complain about the rain except when................................
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it rots my bean seeds. I have not had the best of luck with my beans this year. I planted kentucky blue poles, purple podded poles, vermont cranberry & dragon tongue beans and the only ones that germinated were the dragon tongue's. So I am pre-sprouting the kentucy blues & purple podded in paper towel on the fridge, it looks like most are ready for planting now. The vermont cranberry beans I received in a trade with
The Conservative Gardener so I am out of luck with them unless I order some. I did however have two of the vermont cranberry germinate so maybe I can grow them on for seed for next year.
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After having all my oriental greens bolt on me I have direct sown a few more in hopes of a harvest before the heat sets in. That is if it even warms up. The top photo is 'Bonsai' Bok Choi and the bottom photo is Tatsoi from
Daphne's Dandelions.
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The broccoli is well on its way with most about half way developed. I am guessing in about a week I will be harvesting the 15 heads. Some will be eaten fresh and what ever can not be consumed will be blanched & froze.
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The one thing in the garden the can not be put on auto pilot is the potato condo. It seems every other day I have been adding boards or soil. Now that it is three stories high I have run out of the potting soil I have been recycling from last year. Now I am going to fill it with 4 large bags of compost that I am going to mix 50-50 with the top soil from the garden I removed by the fence. I think this should be enough to fill the condo 5-6 boards high. Once I run out that will be the end of my condo development this year.
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Here are the late started sungolds just starting to develop true leaves. I planted 3 seeds and had no germination so I plant 3 more and now it seems every last one has germinated. I'm not impatient at all...
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Here is a photo of the nasturtiums I planted in the top of the topsy turvy's a couple weeks ago. They have just started to bloom. I am hoping they grow down and cover the ugly things :-)
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To end things off here is just under 2 pounds of kohlrabi I harvested a few days ago. I have eaten one fresh in salads and they have a very nice taste. They are as crisp as radish and have a mild & sweet cabbage flavor. These particular ones are destined for kohlrabi slaw which I will get done once the kitchen is usable again.
yes, I've had really bad bean germination this year too. Other bloggers have reported the same. From now on I am going to germnate all beans in modules in the greenhouse until they get big enough to go out. I think they fail for a variety of reasons including rotting and mice!
ReplyDeleteI love home renovations, almost as much as I love gardening. Mine needs it badly, too bad I'm not here during the non-busy winter months. I wish I had the stamina I had ten years ago!
ReplyDeleteI hope this batch of tatsoi works for you. Your broccoli looks great. Mine died horribly. I got one tiny little head.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried the kohlrabi, but I've wanted to. I might have to try if you say it's good.
ReplyDeleteThat broccoli has me drooling.
Presprouting peas worked for me, but presprouting beans was a receipe for disaster.
Dan, you don't care for school bus yellow? You must never have had a crush on your elem school school bus driver. Then again, not many of us did. That might be a good thing. Change that color!!! Now. Fast!
I cannot wait to see how many potatoes you get from your condo. The broccoli looks SO good!
ReplyDeleteYour broccoli is looking superior. I am wondering what variety it is? I am growing "Umpqua" which has always been consistently good and produces lots of side shoots - but the main head is just not that tight or large and I am thinking I may try a different variety next year.
ReplyDeletematron - I have noticed many people have had bean problems as well this year. I hope the second batch grow better, really warm weather is coming next week so that should help.
ReplyDeletegranny - I was planning on finishing off all kinds of things this past winter and did nothing. Now that the weather is nice I am stuck inside. I like renovating as well, it can be quite painful but the end result is worth it.
daphne - Sorry to hear about your broccoli, I wonder what the culprit is? The weather has been very favorable for them this year.
ribbit - You should try the kohlrabi it is surprisingly a nice veggie. I am glade to say I just finished banishing the yellow!
tina - I can't wait either, I am not holding out a lot of hope though. It would be nice to have an increased yield after all the work.
kitsapfg - These are 'Green Goliath' and have a days to harvest of 55 days. I have heard the longer days to harvest are good for a spring crop, supposed to reduce buttoning. For the late planting of broccoli I am trying Early Dividend with days to harvest of 43 days. Both are new varieties to me, previously I have just grown nursery stock.
I love kohl rabi. A really tasty veg.
ReplyDelete