Slow Growin

The Tomatillo's are taking off. The rest of the seedlings are too. In fact, they have all kept me quite busy lately which is part of the reason I have been MIA. These little guys require a lot of attention. Each seed has different requirements for germination and then specific preferences for early growth. They all like to be moist most of the time so it works well if you mist and water in the morning, then just check in the afternoon. The problem comes in when you have a cold dreary day, day after day and their little cells get soggy. Not Happy! Then you have to get the temperature up to help evaporate off some of the water. Once they have popped up and out, they like the temp a little bit cooler for actual growing. They all crave lots of light, hence the alien glow of purple emanating from our back yard at night. It is funny the things you can learn by watching dirt and waiting for seeds to emerge. A few little cells appeared to be "duds" so I poked through the dirt to see. In several cases I found that they had rotted. A few had begun to grow, but the growth ended when the plant stayed hidden inside the seed itself. It would shoot out a stem of green but then the leaves were unable to break free. You know the feeling right? of being trapped in a situation. Well, experimenting with these poor little seeds I learned that I can sometimes gently push the seed shell off, but if I try to force it when it isn't ready, it just won't work. I find it is similar with my own life. I think I am ready to burst forth and go for it. I know what it takes for growth so let me at it. I have found lately that those "stuck" feelings are really God's way of letting me know I have more to learn before I can get out there and bloom. I need to wait on him to renew my strength and be fertilized by his word before I can become what he has intended. It can be a slow process, but it produces much.

As you can see, the geranium cuttings worked very well. They are ready to bloom.

Look At Em Grow!

I have to say my little experiment is working better than I anticipated. I realize it is pretty sad that my own expectations were low, just letting you know, that while I was hopeful, I did have some doubts. Most of these seeds had an expected germination time of 10 to 14 days. These pictures were taken at exactly 1 week. As you can clearly see, several different plants have sprung forth into life. The main seeds that I saw open this last week were the tomatoes, the tomatillos, the pansies and the poppies. But there are starts in the peppers both orange and yellow, the peppercini's, the oregano, basil, and lobelia. Still to come are the red and green peppers and the garden huckleberry. I am even more hopeful now that I see how well they are taking to their little window box haven.

I planted a few of the melons, pumpkins, and gourds that require a longer growing season to really produce in quantities. They are off and running as well. The only one of these not started are the sugar baby watermelons. We are watching these anxiously. It would be great to get a few sugar babies in the summer.

With the way the temperatures dipped down this week, I am glad I tried the trays inside. And while it is still freezing outside, the bright sun is doing wonders for all these baby plants, just like it is doing wonders for my sun depleted soul. I think I need to go find myself a little garden atrium to soak up these incredible rays.

We'll see what next week brings. I have a feeling by the end of the week, I will be needing to transplant some starts. Tomatoes and maybe tomatillos for sure. Just think "guys" tomatillo sauce coming out our ears this next summer. I got all the fixings on their way. I'll throw some onion in there and we'll be set.

Depending on the success rate of all these little guys, I will probably have plants available to buy like I did last year.

Have a good week! Enjoy the sun, and get growing!

Indoor Plantings Begin.

God seems to have planted deep within me this passion for gardening and growing things. I really love every aspect of it. The first tilling up of the ground means my girls and I are going barefoot through the soft dirt. The weeding, while tedious brings a great satisfaction when it is done. But there is nothing like the harvest or being able to divide a plant to share. I just thrive on it.

I am doing some home therapy for the slow moving winter months. I am experimenting with some early seeds indoors. They still are in the 512 grow trays. We'll see how they do. I have planted things like peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, melons, and several flowers that I want ready early for baskets.

I will be starting my usual things out in the greenhouse in the next few weeks. I have to do some trimming and get a few pots ready to be set outside to create room for the seedling trays. I will let you know what works, what comes up first, and any tips we uncover along the way. Get growing!!!

Trim Them Greens!

I have received a lot of questions about trimming the tomato leaves with no blossoms and just exactly how that is done. Here is my unedited attempt at photo instructions.

The branch to pinch is on the top left side of photo A.

A.

You can use your fingernails or clippers and just snip it close to the main vine.


B.


In this photo and the next you can see where the branch was trimmed off.


C.







D.












To recap, with visuals, we are trimming the leafy branch in photo E, and NOT the blossom and fruit filled vine shown in photograph F. It isn't necessary to trim them all. Just make sure you have the lower branches trimmed and some of the larger upper ones as well.



E.








F.











This is a tip I gathered from one of the head gardener's at Joe's in South Bellingham. He said that this was how to do it over here on the West side to get yourself some nice red maters.


HAPPY PINCHING!


PS. Another tomato tip from me: Crush up your egg shells and sprinkle them around your tomatoes to put calcium back in the soil and keep the tomato blossom rot away.

Here it Comes!

APRIL

Current

Ah, the bounties of the garden come to fruition in summers golden, hot days. The beginnings seem so small and sparse. You spend the spring time preparing your soil, adding amendments to get the proper acidic levels and pulling out any leftover unwanteds. You til in the compost that you have been cookin up for just such an occasion. You labor lovingly over the precious albeit tiny seeds willing them to mature into the makings of a divine Chef salad. You water. You wait. You feed. You wait. The harvest can seem so far off. A little trimming, a little training, some weeding and some more waiting and then you begin to reap a beautiful reward.

This week I am seeing tell tale signs of just that. The red and green Romaines have been amazing this year. If you pick the leaves of the outside of the plants, the insides will keep giving you more.


The snap peas hardly have a chance to get fat without an eager hand snatching them off for a little sweet snack.

The tomatillas are going crazy and will be keeping me busy canning for sure. These plants are happiest in full sun and require little extra attention except for staking them securely as they get huge.

The wax beans too show signs of great yield, that is if I don't stop eating them right off the vines.

The Scarlet Runner Beans and Kentucky Pole beans are

climbing quite nicely up and over the garden trellis. Train them well and they will run and run and run which translates into more beans for you.

And the Sugar Baby Watermelons even show signs of producing a late harvest. I am experimenting with several of my plants as far as location this year. The watermelons are one of my experimental specimens. I have two plants in the garden and two in the greenhouse. The plants in the greenhouse are considerably larger. Moral of that story, they need lots of heat.

The sage and dill are ready for harvest and drying. Boy will the dill come in handy when it is time to start pickling.

I think the produce item I am most excited about is the tomatoes. For the first time since living in this area, I have red tomatoes before August. I am tempted to do the happy garden dance. (This date, time and location will not be posted.) Payton and I ate the red one this afternoon. It was so good, way more flavorful than any store bought tomatoes.

To keep your tomatoes producing nice red fruit, keep the leaves that have no blossoms pinched off. The tend to suck the plants growing energy from the actual fruit.

As the weeks move on, the production will increase and so will the work. The next season of the garden is harvesting and preserving. I am hopefully anticipating doing a lot of canning from the garden this year.

No truly great meal is complete without the aromatic flavor of garlic. Whether you prefer it minced up in chicken, roasted in mashed potatoes, stuffed into pickles and dilled beans, or just straight off the grill with a little olive oil, there is no replacement for this garden must. Extremely easy to grow, very resistant, and dries out in a few hot hours of sunshine, this little gem is an essential garden addition.

Enjoy your gardens if you have them and other peoples if you don't. What a great blessing it is to be able to sow and reap your own provisions and then share from your bounty what God gives you in abundance.

If you have any gardening questions, post them to the comment section and I will try to help.