Planted Carrots Today

For the first time ever, I'm trying carrots. Specifically, I'm trying stubby carrots ("Tonda Di Parigi", Baker #CR104). Everyone will laugh when they see them, because they'll be about 2" long if I'm lucky. They should taste good, and I don't have to gently sieve soil into a comfy carrot bed about 24" deep to get long, county-fair worthy, orange spears.

In other news, one of the 12 or so pepper plants I seeded about four weeks ago popped up three days back. The Endive (Baker EE104) sprouted after about a week or so.


- Bruce

The 2011 Seeds

Here's the seed order for 2011. I don't know how I'll plant all these,
but I have a vague concept of "fewer plants, more variety." My one
resolution for the new year is I'll take a machete to the tomatoes. They
took over everything last year and generated award-winning foliage. This
year, I'll cage them better and keep them pruned. Maybe I'll get more
tomatoes. It would be hard to get fewer on a tomato-per-square-foot
basis. The chickens will be disappointed - there won't be as many hiding
places, at least under tomato plants. I'll have to keep everything
fenced off, anyway, otherwise it becomes a giant chicken gnosh-pit.

The status of the seeds I planted over the past two weeks is:

Peppers: No action
Cauliflower: Sprouted today.
Lettuce (both types): Sprouted three days ago.

- Bruce

Purple Cauliflower Seeded

I seeded Purple Cauliflower (Baker Seed Co's "Purple of Sicily"). It's in paper cups on the window sill. Last year, I think I ended up with one head of cauliflower. The chicken's ate most of the plants (broccoli too), so I didn't get much to harvest. I've gotten a lot better at keeping the chickens out of the garden. Given that they spend about eight hours a day looking for ways in, it's a challenge.

Seeded two types of lettuce indoors

I seeded "Lolla Rossa" and "Mascara" lettuce (Baker seeds #LT127 and LT131 respectively). I seeded them in paper cups and put them on the windowsill where they'll get some sun (three cups each). I'm trying to reach a new level of gardening and remember what seeds are what, so I put paper clips on the three Lolla Rossa cups and a similar clip on the seed envelope. If this technology works, I may push it to the next level and use colored paper clips.

Last year I tried writing on the cups (useless) and also on a wooden stick (I don't remember how that worked, but wooden sticks aren't easy to come by unless I start eating a lot of popsicles). There's an entire school devoted to using Sharpie on plastic knives - that may work but the concept of sacrificing plastic dinner utensils to the garden leaves me cold (well, luke warm).

All of this seedling ID is a precursor to planting a lot of  tomato seeds of myriad varieties. Last year I had no idea what was what until the actual tomatoes ripened. Even so, I wasn't sure about a few plants. This year, I'm leaning towards knowing what I'm planting and, better yet, what I'm giving away.

- Bruce

Seeded Albino Bullnose Peppers today

I seeded Albino  Bullnose peppers today (Baker Seed catalog #PP105).They are sitting in potting soil on a window sill now. I'll see how they do.

Chickens Reign! Compost Pile Devasted!

Here's a photo of what used to be a tall compost pile with a narrow
base. The chickens flattened it in less than a week looking for worms,
bugs, and generally tasty items.

I went out this morning thinking the
compost is ready to move into the new raised beds, but it's not. It's
more tied together than it should be; I can't put a shovel into it
easily. I piled it back up with the handy compost tool and I'll check
again next week.

- Bruce

The Compost Tool

What a pain turning the compost pile can be. Ours sits between two wood fences - it's an out-of-the way spot that's perfect for the pile but not so perfect for the pile-tender. I can get to the front of the pile, but can only get to the other side by clambering over or around the pile. Compost piles should be turned regularly so the bacteria in them can breath and heat the pile up. Without air, anaerobic processes take over and the pile can take on a rather unattractive odor.

For a while, I used a garden fork to lift and fling the pile around, bit-by-bit. Flinging a soaking-wet pile is almost impossible. Then I discovered that a garden rake was a vast improvement, but the tines aren't that long and the rake is rather wide for the job. Then I ran across a long-handled cultivator at an Ace Hardware store and picked one up at a great price. This tool is perfect for the pile. It digs in pretty deeply, doesn't often get jammed with material, and pulls up and through the pile easily.

I've been working the pile the past few days to get reasonably-finished soil, which is at the bottom of the pile, so I can begin loading the raised beds. I'm doing it bit-by-bit so the chickens can work the detritus all day long and I can do other things besides lug rotted organic material around. The pile, by the way, steams when I turn it, which is a good sign. The innards are probably about 100 degrees F or so. There are a lot of worms in it, and they wriggle happily so things can't be that hot.