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!
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................................
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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 :-)
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.
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................................
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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 :-)
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