Rainy Afternoon Spent Potting Up

Today it is finally raining. Our area has had below normal precipitation since our February thaw so it is nice to see a whole day of rain. They are forecasting 20mm (3/4") of rain today and scattered showers for Tues & Weds as well. I am one happy gardener.

Being that cold rain is not the best to garden in I spent the late afternoon potting up my tomatoes. Most of them have grown rather large and need more root room as well as foliage space.

Above we have the patients, they are as follows:

The Big:

• Hillbilly Potato Loaf, Suddath's Strain Brandywine, Giant Belgium, Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, Beauty King, Variegated, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple

The Small but healthy:

• Black Zebra, Purple Calabash, Chocolate Strips

The Weak:

• 3 Jersey Devil's
  

I potted up everything but the three small plants. The small plants I will let grow in their current pots until they are larger. I frankly wish all my plant were the size of the smaller ones, they take up much less room.

I always pot up the tomatoes once before planting out. I making sure it is done about 30 days before they will be transplanted outdoors so they can root into their new pot. I seed them in 2x2x3 square pots and they grow in those pots until the become top heavy or start drying out to fast. Then I pot them into the 4" deep square pots. I also remove the bottom leaves and pot them as deep as possible.

Here they are potted up and looking a little floppy after their ordeal.

I will end with the Varigated Tomato from Veggie Patch Re-imagined.
It is the best formed tomato and is rather cool looking. I can't wait
to taste its stripped fruit.

Completed Potato Bin

I started and actually finished the Build-As-You-Go Potato Bin today. It took a bit of time to build because I built it to fit a multi-angled spot. It's made to fit against an angled retaining wall and a raised bed that is also on an angle. Only one corner is actually square. I picked this spot to maximize space, I can't waste a centimeter in my little veggie patch. It will also not shade anything in this spot because it is at the very top of the veggie patch.

dead bush... over there

I built it out of a 1x6x8 spruce boards and the blocking is a combination of 2x3 & 2X2 spruce. The 2x2's were used for the square corner & the slightly angled corner and the 2x3's were used for the severe angled corners. I used a 'Sliding Bevel' to transfer all the angles. The boards were then cut on a miter saw and the corner blocks were ripped down with a circular saw with the fence set to the appropriate angle.

The idea is you plant late season potatoes in the bottom, then add more boards & soil as the potatoes grow until you reach the top. The late season potatoes are suppose to grow multiple clutches of potatoes along their buried stem so yield should be greatly increased. The word is they can produce 100lbs per bin, that would be pretty cool! Normally you would just start with a single row of boards and then built it up as the potatoes grow. I did a full set of boards on the two sides because I can't add more boards against the house and the other side does not receive any direct sunlight.

I have a few things to do before I can plant any potatoes. First my potatoes have to arrive, they were suppose to be shipped April 10th. I have to dig out the raised bed that it will reside in and refill it with good soil. I also have to have the water meter reader moved as it is in the side yard and the bin blocks the guys access. It can't be moved fast enough, the guy keeps stepping on my veggies! You may also be wondering about the upside down pot. That is my rhubarb that I am forcing to make it more tender & sweet. It is almost ready to harvest, once that is done it will be moved elsewhere.

I will end with today's sunset over the Grand River.

Pea Brush Post

This year I am trellising or supporting my peas with pea brush, like I did last year. It is a very effective way of supporting peas with minimal effort and at no cost. Simply pick up or cut thin branches that are 3-6 feet depending on your varieties height and stick them in the ground a few inches apart. I am limited on space so I put a double row in that is about 8 inches apart. If you have lots of room you can do a single row and space them as wide as you want. Then just plant your peas against the sticks and they will ramble up them. This method of supporting peas is my favorite and I think it looks pretty good too.

I will be planting Green Arrow Shell Peas on this set. The broad beans will be planted
behind them and then greens/lettuces behind that. Around July the heat will finish
off the pea & broads beans so they will then make way for the poly tunnel that will be
planted with fall crops. Once the greens/lettuce have been harvested around late May
they will be replaced with pole beans.

This pot of pea brush will be planted with Sugar Snap Peas. They have
a fleshy pod that you eat pod and all. I am not sure where I will be placing
them yet, good thing it's mobile.

I will end with some close up photos of the peas that I have growing in the cold frame. I planted them March 27th, they were germinated indoors and then placed in the cold frame after germination. I started them in pots to get a head start on their growth and so the squirrels can't eat all the seed before they sprout. I think this method worked very well so I will continue germinating them this way.

Green Arrow Shell Peas, most are about 2" tall now

Sugar Snap Peas. They are germinating slowly, I am glade I
didn't direct sow these ones.

Outdoor Planting & Seedlings

As forcasted the warm weather has arrived and will stick around for a few days. This is great as I have been putting off my veggie garden building projects as its been to chilly. This afternoon I was able to cross a few things off my list:

• finished building the addition three raised beds, now they just need filling
• planted a row of 'French Breakfast' Radish
• planted the following cold frame crops outside, Mesculin Mix Lettuce, 'Tauro' Radicchio in a terracotta container & 'Kolibri' Kohlrabi
• planted the second seeding of lettuce in the oak barrel

Here are some photo's I took during the afternoon:

The last raised bed half way through finishing it.

Mesclun Mix Lettuce. After planting & watering I
covered them with row cover to reduce transperation.

'Tauro' Radicciho planted with some onion sets.

Little kohlrabi's being planted out. I spaced them in a
stagered block about 6" apart. One 'Romanesco' Broccoli
will be planted on either side around May 15th.

The oak barrel greenhouse, running at 35c (95f). Solar power!

Mister Early Tomato catching some rays.

One of the two rows of spinach that germinated last week.

'Easter Egg' Radish. Also germinated last week, right through the snow.

Well doing what I do best, taking a break, this butterfly kept landing on me.
After the third time it landed on me I went and got the camera to photograph
the fourth visit.

Over the next couple days I will finish the BAYG Potato Bin & dig out the new raised beds to be refilled with good soil. I also need to get the rest of the perennial borders cleaned out. I am sure there is more but that is all I can think of. Of course I will have to fit in lots of patio breaks too.

Seedling Show & Tell

Mister Early Tomato, Siletz is the variety and it was started in early
February around Valentines Day. Starting tomorrow, warm weather
is forcasted so he will be vacationing outside during the day.

Mister Early Tomato now has three sets of flower clutches.
With some luck maybe they will set at least a couple fruit.

The Peppers lineup, From big to small: Big Chili II, Jimmy Nardello, Ancho
& the new comer Purple Beauty from Annie's Kitchen Garden . I now have
four Purple Beauty seedlings, they are just starting to get true leaves so
they should be catching up within a couple weeks. I have also just ordered
'Sport Pepper' seeds, like the pickled peppers that are put on Chicago hot dog's.

Eggplants, Rosa Bianca. Last years eggplants didn't grow at all,
these ones are looking much more promising.

The tomatoes that I started on March 20th. They will be
potted up very soon as they a growing like weeds. My only
problem is I am not sure if I have space for them in larger pots.

Here is an over view of the basement jungle.
Things are getting tight, is it frost free outside yet?

Below are photos of almost all the cole crops that are in the cold frame. They will all be planted out between April 20th to May 1st. I can't wait!

From left to right we have Shelling Peas 'Green Arrow', Crimson Flowered
Broad Beans from Down on the Allotment & Snap Peas 'Sugar Snap'
in the plastic cell packs.

Broccoli, Green Goliath. I potted them up about a week ago and
placed them in the cold frame. They have stocked up very nicely.

From left to right we have Tuscano Kale, Brussels Spouts 'Jade Cross Hybrid'
& Kohlrabi 'Kolibri' which is looking rather leggy even though it has been
grown in the cold frame.

From left to right we have Shallots 'Armador' & Yellow Onions 'Prince'.
About a week ago I gave them a trim, watered them with some strong
fertilizer as onions are heavy feeders and placed them in the cold frame.