Garden Happenings

(Written yesterday....)

Last year's first pea, doesn't it look good!?!

Today I sowed the early Polbig tomatoes under the proper fruit time according to the Biodynamic calendar.  These will go out extra early under greenhouse-like conditions.  We also sowed some tomato seeds following Wintersown.org instructions, the milk jugs are set out in the garden along with the spinach and kale that went into the coldframe today.   I wonder, how quickly will the seeds germinate in those milk cartons?

A last minute trip to Home Depot last night for Dormant Oil Spray and a tractor cart resulted in a Yellow Delicious Apple tree, 2 yellow raspberries, 2 bags of strawberries, and some extra Victoria rhubarb coming home with us as well.  YIKES!  The tree is labeled as "dwarf", but without knowing which rootstock it is on this could end up being one big tree.  I am thinking of calling the nursary to pin down answere on that one......dang impulse buying!  My other two apples are not due until Fall, and what I really needed was a Crabapple to act as a long season pollinator.  I just hope it is labeled correctly, and is indeed a dwarf Yellow Delicious.

On that note, the new apple tree got quite a pruning and they all were treated with Dormant Oil spray.  I had wooly aphids in the Fall, so this was a necessary spray to help the trees get off to a good start when those buds set.  I also ordered some limb spreaders to increase the crotch angle of the limbs and encourage horizontal branching.  This apple tree stuff is complicated, I hope I do well by them!

My upcoming Biodynamic sowings for the month of March are as follows:

• 15th-16th- indoor sowing for lettuce & basil
• 18th & 19th- indoor sowing of tomatoes and peppers
• 20th- Florence onions
• 26th (after 10am)- 1:00 pm 27th- indoor sowing of tomatoes and peppers

I have my peas soaking, and then it occured to me that their designated bed (future home of peas &  tomatoes) has not yet been built.  Hmm...I was going to germintae them indoors, but where will they go after that?  This could be interesting.  Looks like I better find a large container, and fast!

1st Seed Sowing of the Year/ Seed Sowing 101

The Biodynamic Sowing Calendar shows Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday as root days, meaning that is the part of the plant enhanced by the Moon or planets.  So today (a fruit day) I decided to begin my 2010 gardening season.  Early?  yes.  A few couple of my onions like 10-12 weeks of growing before being set out in late April.  The spinach and kale will go under cover (either under reemay and plastic, or in the cold-frame).   I love my new set-up, I was able to complete this task in my kitchen with little to no mess.  Below is basic tutorial on indoor seed sowing.  I know all you regulars could do this stuff with one arm tied behind your back, but for any newbies out there searching the net for hours on end (as I was not so long ago), this is for you!

1. Gather materials.  Here I have some organic seed starting mix, a water bottle (and a cup off to the side) and my potting tray.  Today I will be using a 72 cell Pro-Tray (good for small seeded herbs & flowers, lettuce, leeks, onions, beets, endive, and kohlrabi (YUCK!)).

2.  Spray surface of soil with fine mist, or in my case continue to moisten by dumping a cup of water over moistened surface soil.  You want the mix to be moist, not real wet.  I go for a consistency that will lossely clump in my hand when squeezed.  This wetting of the mix can be done in a bucket or wash bin.

3. Scoop/pour/dump mix onto flat and brush across into cells.  Fill to the top and then compact.  If you have 2 trays of the same size use one on top to gently apply pressure into the cells below.  The seeds I was sowing today required a 1/4-1/2 inch of depth.  Below I have my Chipollini rows labeled, the seed in the dish, and the mix lightly pressed to the desired depth- ready to begin sowing!

4.  Drop desired amont of seeds into individual cells, be sure to mark the variety sown and date if you are sowing more than one variety in a flat.  The seeds can be difficult to see and remembering what just went where can be easily forgotten or confused, especially when small children are interupting the task.
Two seeds were sown per cell on the onions and kale, I did 3 for the spinach since spinach seed deteriorates quickly with age, and these are 2009 seeds.  There are many methods of getting the seeds placed where you want them....I either drop a couple in by hand or use a small dish and a plant marker to slide 'em in as I go.

5.  I used the dish pictured above to dust the top of the tray with mix after all cells were sown.  Take caution to not dislodge any seeds when smoothing out the mix over the cells.  One could also just spoon mix into each cell and avoid this risk.  Once the cells are topped off, spray with a gentle mist to moisten.  My seeds were covered with a dome to help retain moisture.  Some seeds will now require being placed on a heat mat, but the varieties I sowed prefer a cooler soil temperature (50-75 degrees) so they just went onto the heated floor in my bathroom.

6.  Keep soil most during the germination period.  As soon as you see green get the seedlings under lights.  My light et-up will be assembled this weekend, stay tuned!

Bye-Bye Beets and a Biodynamics Intro

What is Biodynamic Agriculture? Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
Posted using ShareThis. A very interesting topic for sure. I like the idea of trying to make our food as nourishing as possible. To learn a little about this fascinating form of agriculture click on the title in purple text above.

I treated myself to a couple of new books this weekend:

Farmer John's Cookbook, The Real Dirt On Vegetables- tales and recipes from a CSA
http://www.angelicorganics.com/ao/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=130&Itemid=180 I am IN LOVE with this book though I have only sneaked a peak here and there and am really looking forward to reading it from cover to cover. This book also touches on Biodynamic practices a bit.


Jerry baker's Terrific Tomatoes, Sensational Spuds, and Mouthwatering Melons- this book is full of growing tips written by a man who learned about gardening from his Grandmother during the war, and is full of "Grandma Putt's old-fashioned grow-how".
http://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Terrific-Tomatoes-Sensational-Mouth-Watering/dp/0922433925
I yanked my pathetic chioggia beets this weekend, they are just not growing as they should. I think I need to modify the soil before trying them again for fall. They had lots of organic matter, maybe too much. That darn horse farm compost again, very heavy and we loaded that bed full of it. From Jerry: "Even small beets send their roots a long, long way into the ground. If they have to struggle through heavy soil or bump up against underground obstacles, they won't develop the way you want them to." These suckers were put out in the coldframe way back in March. I have wasted enough time on them and will be devoting their plot to a more successful crop of bush beans.