Veggie Garden Update, Part 1

I added this photo from a few days ago, since I keep referring to the salads I'm making from thinnings and violets.

Suburban Gardener asked me to do a veggie garden update.  I mostly worked at my garden across the street today, so need to do some work here, hopefully tomorrow.  I took too many photos to include the ones from across the street, so I'll put them in another post.  (The photos enlarge when clicked on.)

I have done a pretty good job with succession planting.  The first photo shows the smaller lettuce plants that were planted after the radishes came up.  In the back is my February planted "gamble garden."

This is a closer photo of the Butterhead Speckles that was planted between the radishes.

I think I'll pick my first radishes tomorrow.

A closer view of the February planted attempted circle:

Closer:

To the west:

Onions, last year's kale, and a taller type of edible pod peas by the fence, which I see are being eaten by a rabbit now that the protective cover is off:

The kale is going to bloom.  I think I'll just let 1 or 2 of them bloom.  I have had kale reseed before.

To the south of the kale and onions, spinach and carrots are coming up, and I'm still adding violet leaves and flowers to my thinnings for salads.  The recently planted cilantro is not up yet.

The dill that plants itself is up!

Back to the south side, to the west of the onions and last year's kale, are Early Wonder Beets, kale, I think, the Italian Lacinato, Nero Toscana kind, and a mesclun mix:

Closer of the mesclun and different kind of kale, and part of another few rows of onions, and an assortment of weeds and volunteer flowers:

Buttercrunch lettuce and onions:

I am at the point where I can have daily salads with the thinnings, and am starting to fall behind.  I need to do this next, so the heads can form.

The hollyhocks, larkspur, and garlic also need to be thinned.  I was thinking about trying to replant some of the garlic, but it may have gotten too big.  I may try and see what happens.  I didn't get individual bulbs put back in last year, like I did the year before.

Across to the north side is another attempt at a circle planting, with kale in the middle.  I don't remember which kind of kale I put there.  I have thinned the spinach some, and so far, just put it in my salads.  

The large plant is chard from last year.  I don't know if I should leave it there.  The leaves have been a bit bitter.  I think the plants near it are the Early White Vienna Kohlrabi I planted.  I tasted a leaf, and it reminded me of the taste of kohlrabi.  I think I'll put those thinnings in my next batch of salad.

Is this kohlrabi?

Rhubarb:

I need to turn my compost piles.  The 3 sections look like 1.

The view from the back, next to the compost pile, facing east:

I have really gotten behind in my blog reading.  I have been busy, and when I find time to work in the garden, I think of you and hope you are able to be out in your gardens.

Radish Seedlings!

Last year, I bought a grass seed cover to put over my early lettuce, greens, and radishes, which were up an inch or so, to protect them from below freezing temps.  It had a picture on the pack showing people using it over a vegetable garden, with the caption, "Increased Crop Yields".  I also used it to protect my peas from being eaten by the rabbits.  I liked it because it let rain come through.  

Today, I decided to see what would happen if I put the fabric over my recently planted seeds that weren't up yet to see if they would come up sooner and start growing.  I noticed something through a tear in the fabric after I put it down.  I turned it up to see there were some radishes coming up!  

I went ahead and put the cover down.  I was planning on trying to make a hoop house or cold frame, but I'm going to see how quickly the rest of the plants come up and grow.

When I first planted, I only had one package of radish seeds, I think, cherry belle.  Yesterday I purchased these.  I've grown Crimson Giant before.  This will be my first time to plant the French Blush.

Since some of the other radishes are up, I decided to plant some more, diagonally as the area was too much of a rectangle to try a circle, and I left room between the rows to plant lettuce in a couple weeks.

I found lots of perennials greening up today.  There is a new spring in my step!

Spring Planting Time, Sort of

I got my "gamble garden" in today.  I like to plant a few things in late February or early March, partly to feel good that I've started gardening for the season, but also in case it snows a lot and the ground stays too wet to plant for awhile. The plants won't come up until the soil is warm enough, and I'll most likely need to cover them with my green cloth once they are up, and the temps are below freezing. (I'm still hoping to get a cold frame or figure out a hoop house type of thing.) There is a chance they could get killed by the weather, but I've rarely had that happen. I lose more late summer planted crops due to the heat, and not enough moisture.  

These seeds are from 2008. I purchased some on sale at the end of the season, and others were already opened and not full. The spinach is Hybrid Olympia. The name of the radish was torn off last year, but it may be a Cherry Bell. (The writing on the packets was legible in iphoto, but not here. After the spinach is mesclun, Gourmet Greens Mixture, Lolla Rosa lettuce, Nero Toscana kale, and the last lettuce is Black Seeded Simpson.) 

Here's the area before I started working. The soil was loose enough that I didn't have to turn it over. I applied compost in the fall, and it's in a sunnier spot than most of the garden, so it was ready to go.

I have tried different types of rows, and broadcasting, but this year, I saw something similar to this "circle" in a magazine, and decided to try it. I have radishes in some of the rows, and they will come out earlier than the other plants, making more room for them, and for me to pick the greens.

I used to measure planting depth and space between rows in order to follow the directions on the seed packets, but now I eyeball it, and figure I'll thin enough to give everything room to grow.  

Since the seeds are from last year, I planted them closer together than what the package says, as the germination rate may be lower. Plus, I like to eat the thinnings.

I am a pretty laid back gardener. I don't aim for perfection. It's OK if some of the seeds don't stay in their rows as I put the dirt over the seeds.

I have used other things, such as boards, but these days, since I am already using my hoe when I plant, I just use it to tamp down the soil to get a connection between the soil and the seeds. If it was later in the season, I would water the seeds in, but I don't this time of year.

I decided to loosen the soil in the next section, in hopes that the neighborhood cats and squirrels will dig there instead of the newly planted area. I have had to replant due to critters. We'll see. They'll probably just have fun in both sections. I am persistent enough to get a crop, though.

Please bear with me if this was way too detailed. I am realizing there are some beginning gardeners who can benefit from seeing how an old gardener does things, even if they are a bit unconventional. I just hope no one follows my way of doing it, with bad results.