planting peas and spreading compost

Another snow storm is heading for us. We're supposed to get 8 inches of heavy snow tonight. Who knows how long this will prevent me from gardening. So, my solution, get as much gardening done before the storm.

Yesterday I planted peas in my back yard garden. Two rows: Oregon Giant snow peas and Sugar Snap snap peas. This morning I covered up my winter bed with row cover and plastic. Then I drove up to Mom's house and spread a beautiful 2 inch layer of compost (2 c. yards) on her garden. I was a little short of time to plant Mom's peas since the snow was getting heavy. Maybe I can clear snow from her garden tomorrow and plant those peas!

sunning seedlings

The first of my seedlings are out sunning now. Onions, shallots, leeks mostly. Also spinach, beets, cabbage, and endive.

We have a beautiful sunny day today. It's 43F now and going up to 50. Tomorrow, the last day of March, we are bracing for a winter storm. It doesn't seem right. But it's not the first time we've had crazy weather. I'll be out with my seedlings, pruning, raking, and maybe even planting my peas.

I've been doing a lot of planting recently. It's all listed on my 2017 planting list.

I planted my tomatoes today: tomato planting record

crazy pepper seedlings

Two days ago, I decided my peppers seeds weren't sprouting because the temperature was too low. It had been ten days with no sign of seedlings. So I rushed out right to buy a heat mat. So - only two days later - guess what's in the tray. Lot's of pepper sprouts!! I can't believe it. I wonder if they would have come up without the mat or if the mat was a miracle worker?

In addition to getting the new heat mat,  also replanted by adding an extra seed to each planting cell. I thought the original seeds had probably rotted. I bet I'll get two peppers in every pot now.

lost chicken

I was very sad to loose one of my laying hens yesterday. I suspect it was a hawk the got her. We have a giant pair of red-tails often nearby. The chicken was my best layer, Roxy, a barred rock - the black and white one up front in the picture above. Her carcass was at the edge of the woods, half eaten. I buried it. Now I have three hens. The others are very somber. I imagine it was terrifying for them to see.



Roxy laid big brown eggs. The one up front. I'm thinking about getting another hen or two later in the spring. We were getting 3 eggs a day, 20 a week. I think we'll only have 2 a day now - about 2 dozen a week. Normally enough for a family of three, but my son is a serious baker. Seven eggs go into his pound cake recipe that's a regular treat for us, his friends and co-workers.

Poor Roxy.

ready for planting seeds tomorrow

These pots and seeds are waiting on my kitchen counter for me to plant tomorrow. Five or six types of broccoli, raab, broccolini, etc - we love broccoli. Also flowers: cosmos, cleome, tithonia (Mexican sunflower), nigella, and bells of Ireland.

I replanted my pepper seeds today. None sprouted after 10 days. I checked their temperature and it was only 74F in a spot that was 80F last year. We have lower heat in the house this year. I bought a seed heat mat this afternoon and I hope that will help the replanted seeds to sprout.

another amazing greenhouse

I walked through the heated greenhouse at Mass Hort, Elm Bank, in Wellesley MA. They're getting ready for spring. Trays and trays of plugs are growing. Onions, broccoli, and lots of flowers.



They have two greenhouses. The small heated one and a large unheated one. Later they will transplant the plugs into larger pots, raise them to transplant size in the large greenhouse, then plant out to their garden.



They also have some full size tomato, watermelon, and marigold seedlings ready. I don't know what they will do with those. They'll need a larger heated or protected spot soon.

update of planting calendar apps

I'm so excited about our new updates of our planting calendar apps! I think they are great. We put a lot of work into both our Vegetable and our Flower & Herb app.

 - We added many, many more plants. Now more than 100 vegetables and 100 flowers & herbs.
 - We added an "info page" for all of the plants that describes how to plant and grow it.
 - We added many photos of plants we have grown.
 - And ... we added several photos of Skippy, helping out in the garden.

The updated Flower & Herb Planting App is now for sale at the Apple Store for $3.99

We haven't released the new Vegetable app yet, but we'll do that very soon. The old Vegetable Planting App is still for sale at the Apple Store for $1.99. The new version will have a price increase, but all users with the old version will automatically get the update at no extra cost. (Hint: Buy the old one now and save a couple bucks!)

We love it when people leave comments about the apps. Here are a couple we've gotten:

- Simple, clean, easy. All the vegetables, all the dates co-related and synced automatically to my region. Weekly task list and reminders for indoor start dates, transplant dates, direct sow, and consecutive plantings for spring, fall, winter. Also contacted Kathy about some ideas and amendments... Heard back immediately. Cottage industry app. Love it!   - by AreYouReady?

- Simplicity of this app is perfect. Less time with my phone, more time in the garden. It includes marigolds, sunflowers, nasturtiums. I'd like to see borage and sweet peas added. Thank you!  - by Garden12312

 And, yes, we now have borage and sweet peas added  - in the Flower & Herb app.

overwintered vegetables

Charley and I peeked inside my winter tunnel today. I keep thinking I can take of the covers, but night temps will be down in the teens again this week. Maybe next week.

spring is here!

It's spring! Astronomically - if not our temperatures, which will go down to the teens and low 20's, much of this week. But my garden soil is WORKABLE! Yeah. Charley and I checked it out this afternoon. Nothing is frozen and it's not muddy. Just nice planting soil. We even saw a nice little earthworm in the soil. Time to get out my pea seeds.

a beautiful day

The sun was warm and I was working with my dogs right next to my garden today. Pretty good. I'm not quite working inside the garden yet - but seems like that may be soon.

I cleared overgrown briars just behind my garden fence. Huge prickly multiflora rose and wild raspberry canes. The area is about a 15 foot piece of land between my fence and a little brook. Long ago, I can see a gardener planted ornamental plants there, but the yard has had 10 years or so of neglect. Last year I cut down many thick bittersweet vines. Today with the briars gone too, I uncovered some pretty azaleas. Lots of forsythia. I look forward to see what grows up in the spring.

sowing onions at drumlin farm

Last week I volunteered to help at Drumlin Farm, Lincoln MA. They were sowing onion seed. Everything's done by hand at the farm, with lots of help from volunteers.

I was really impressed with the way they did things.

- The greenhouse was filled with trays of beautiful arugula and peas tendrils in all stages of growth for selling to local restaurants.
- They simply lay newspaper in a doubled up 10-20 tray, fill it with dirt, and use that for planting. No pots.
- Before planting, they water the soil throughout the tray by filling it 1/3 with soil, watering, then another third, and watering again. It's a good way to get the roots to grow down into the soil.
- They plant by setting the seed on dry soil (the final 1/3, packed down tight), and then covering it with a layer of soil and watering.



Most amazing to me were the sowing templates they use. I've never seen anything like this. The templates guide the seeds into evenly spaced patterns. They've found that their seedlings grow much better if they are evenly spread out rather than broadcast. It takes a lot of time to use the templates, so I suppose something like this at their scale could only be done with lots of volunteers.

For the onions, we laid the Lucite template on top of dry soil in the tray. Holes a bit bigger than an onion seed had been drilled in a regular pattern about a centimeter apart. With a handful of seed, we placed one seed in each hole. 630 holes, 630 seeds. We then carefully removed the template and very carefully searched the grid for any spots with doubles or no seed and corrected this. We then stood back and admired our work before tucking the seeds in with soil and giving them a pat to get them growing.



They were planning a dozen trays of the onion variety we were planting - Purplette. That's 6000 of one variety and they were planting several. Phew! I'll volunteer to help plant just to see what that's like.



They had a different template to plant arugula. Pegs about 1/2 inch long had been set into a pegboard about an inch apart. This was pressed into the soil making a grid of 1/2 inch deep holes. One arugula seed was then set into each hole. I didn't try this one out. I only had time to plant 1260 onions in the 3 hours I was there.

seed viability

I've been looking through my seed viability records. I've only kept records 2 years and we're not very far into this year yet, but this is what I have for how long my seeds last.

Arugula  5+ years   (3 years)
Beets     3-4 years   (4 years)
Cabbage  6 years    (4 years)
Endive   3-4 years  (5 years)
Leeks     3+ years    (1 year)
Onions    2 years     (1 year)

I put the viability that High Mowing Seeds gets in (). I guess my numbers are pretty similar. They keep their seed under ideal, very consistent conditions and they have lots of data. I suspect they define less than 50% germination as not viable. I don't have much data, like only one 6-year-old cabbage package that sprouted fine (but I don't know the %) and 7- and 8-year-old packages that failed.

I'm looking forward to see what I get for my tomatoes. It always seems like they last a very long time. High Mowing Seed's chart says 5 years.

more sowing

I planted several more trays of seeds today. Here's the list.

My lights have some trouble. They were shorting when we plugged them all in. We switched bulbs and sockets, with and without timer. It seems the problem is the wall socket. I can plug in 3 shelves, but not 4 on the circuit. Right now I only need 3 shelves. I'm sure we'll get a solution soon.

testing old seed

I like to use old seed as long as I can. My last two plantings, I've seeded single pots of my old seed to see if it's still viable. I'm labeling and keeping track of it. I have Seed from 2009 to 2017. The 2009 seed is 8 years old! No doubt dead. I think this will give me a sense over time of how long I am able to save different types of seed. It's also a plain old test of the old seed. If it doesn't germinate, I toss it.

The seeds I sow early are particularly important to be viable. For seed like celeriac that takes a week or so to germinate, and also onions that germinate faster but still take time to grow, I don't want to find out in April that my seed was too old.

If I have lots of viable old seed then I'll get a bumper crop if seedlings and more to share. And I'll save the seed and give it a try again next year.

seeds in pots

These are my spinach and escarole seeds. I decided to neatly space them instead of broadcasting.

2017 seed sowing

Here's my 2017 planting list that I'll add to as I continue to plant. I'm noting in () the season the seeds were sold for. I'll mark if they germinated for me. I plant a lot of different varieties but the amounts of each are small and I risk no germination for many by planting old seeds until they don't germinate. Everything is at 70 degrees F for germination and growing this year, except the peppers that will go at 78 degrees F for germination.

February 23, sow indoors under lights
Onions, Stuttgarter (2017) ✓
Onions, Ailsa Craig (2017) ✓
Onions, Pontiac (2017) ✓
Onions, Red Wethersfield (2017) ✓
Onions, Walla Walla (2013) --failed
Onions, White Wing (2012) --failed
Onions, Purplette (2009) --failed
Bunching Onions, Nabechan (2015) ✓
Bunching Onions, Guardsman (2011) --failed
Leeks, Giant Musselberg (2017) ✓
Leeks, Bandit (2014) ✓
Celeriac, Brilliant (2017) ✓

March 5, sow indoors under lights
Arugula, Rucola (2012) ✓
Arugula, Rucola (2008) --failed
Arugula, Selvatica (2013) ✓
Arugula, Myway (2013) ✓
Cabbage, Napa, Mini Kisaku 50 (2011) ✓
Cabbage, Savoy, Alcosa (2009) --poor
Cabbage, Red Express (2017) ✓ (died)
Cabbage, Green, Murdoc (2016) ✓ (died)
Endive, Dubuisson (2013) ✓
Escarole, Natacha (2012) --poor
Escarole, Natacha (2017) --poor
Escarole, Galia (2013) --failed
Herbs,Parsley, Dark Green Italian Plain (2014) ✓
Herbs, Thyme, Creeping (2016) ✓
Flowers, Hollyhock, Single Mix (2016) ✓
Flowers, Ageratum, Tall Blue Planet (2017) ✓
Flowers, Liatrus (1016) ✓
Mustard Greens, Scarlet Frill (2016) ✓
Radicchio, Perseo (2016) --failed
Radicchio, Chioggia Red Preco #1 (2011) --poor
Shallot, Zebrune (2017) ✓
Spinach, Emperor (2017) ✓

March 13, sow indoors under lights
Basil, Superbo (2017) ✓
Basil, Eleonora (2015) ✓
Beets, Red Ace (2016) ✓
Beets, Chioggia Guardsman (2015) ✓
Beets, Merlin (2014) ✓
Endive, Broad-Leaf Batavian (2017) --failed
Eggplant, Hansel (2017) ✓
Eggplant Mitoyo (2017) ✓
Eggplant Barbarella (2017) ✓
Flowers, Marigold, Queen Sophia (2015) ✓
Flowers, Marigold, Cottage Red (2016) --poor
Flowers, Marigold, Judy's Giant (hand collected for 2017) --poor
Flowers, Marigold, Gem Mix (2017) ✓
Herbs, Parsley, Italian Large Flat Leaf (2017) ✓
Herbs, Summer Savory (2017) ✓
Herbs, Creeping Thyme (2015) ✓
Kale, mixed in one pot: Vates (2015), Toscano (2016), Nash's Green (2016) ✓
   (I'm starting lettuce a couple weeks early for my winter tunnel.)
Lettuce, Bibb Green, Winter Density (2011) ✓
Lettuce, Bibb Red, Rhazes (2017) ✓
Lettuce, Butterhead Green, Buttercrunch (2016) ✓
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Skyphos (2013) --failed
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Avicenna (2015) --failed
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Speckles (2016) ✓
Lettuce, Iceberg, Ice Queen (2016) --failed
Lettuce, Looseleaf Red, Red Sails (2016) ✓
Lettuce, Oakleaf Red, Danyelle (2016) ✓
Lettuce, Romaine Green, Ridgeline (2017) ✓
Lettuce, Romaine Green, Monte Carlo (2017) ✓
Lettuce, Romaine Red, Rouge d'Hiver (2009) --failed
Lettuce, Romaine Red, Truchas (2015) ✓
Greens, Elegance mix (2010) ✓
Onions, Early Yellow Sweet Spanish (2017) ✓
Peppers, Joe's Long Cayenne (2017) ✓
Peppers, Thai Hot (hand collected for 2015) ✓
Peppers, King of the North (2016) ✓
Peppers, Canary Bell (2017) ✓
Peppers, Leutschauer Paprika (2017) ✓
Peppers, Ace (2015) ✓
Peppers, Anaheim (2017) ✓
Peppers, Numex Joe E Parker (2015) ✓
Peppers, Poblano (2017) ✓
Peppers, Ancho 211 (2015) ✓
Peppers, Thai Hot (2009) ✓
Peppers, Jalapeno (2017) --failed
Peppers, Emerald Fire (2016) --failed
   (3-24-2017: My peppers should be up. I dug down in many cells and couldn't find germinating seeds. I checked temperature - 74 F. I can't find anywhere in the house above 78 F. I'm on my way out now to get heat mat. I hope seeds haven't rotted. I'll replant everything as I think there's a good chance they have rotted.) 3-26-2017: Peppers popped up in 2 days with heat mat! 

March 24, sow indoors under lights
Bok Choi, Win-Win (2013) ✓
Broccoli, Red Fire (2017) ✓
Broccoli, Bay Meadows (2016) ✓
Broccoli, Diplomat (2015) ✓
Broccoli, Happy Rich (2015) ✓
Broccoli Raab (2013) ✓
Flowers, Nigella (2016) ✓
Flowers, Bells of Ireland (2016) --failed
Flowers, Tithonia Torch (2015) --failed
Flowers, Cleome Queen Mix (2017) ✓
Flowers, Cleome Pink (hand collected 2015) --failed
Flowers, Cleome, Magenta (hand collected 2015) --failed
Flowers, Cosmos, Sensation Picote (2016) ✓
Flowers, Cosmos, Celebration in Pink (2011) --failed
Flowers, Cosmos, Sulfureous (2009) --failed
Flowers, Cosmos, Sunshine Mix (2016) ✓

March 27, sow indoors under lights
 - I decided to plant a few seeds (4) of all varieties I have. Some are pretty old.
Tomato, 1884 (2010) -- 0 sprouts
Tomato, Beefsteak (2011) -- 2 sprouts
Tomato, Blue Beech (2017) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Box Car Willie (2009) -- 2 sprouts
Tomato, Brandywine, Suddoth's strain (2009) -- 0 sprouts
Tomato, Carbon (2017) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Cherokee Purple (2008) -- 2 sprouts
Tomato, Cherokee Purple (2009) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Giant Belgium (2008) -- 1 sprout
Tomato, Heinz 2653 (2015) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Jersey Devil (2016) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Mortgage Lifter (2009) -- 0 sprouts
Tomato, Opalka (2017) -- 2 sprouts
Tomato, Orange Blossom (2015) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Oxheart Red (2008) -- 0 sprouts
Tomato, Pink Beauty (2015) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Polish Linguisa (2017) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Purple Calabash (2008) -- 1 sprout
Tomato, Raspberry Large Red (2010) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Red Siberian (2011) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, San Marzano (2015) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, San Marzano Gigante (2010) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Shoshone (2016) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, Starling (2016) -- 3 sprouts
Tomato, Sun Gold (2012) -- 4 sprouts
Tomato, True Black Brandywine (2017) -- 4 sprouts

March 31, sow in garden
Peas, Oregon Giant (2017) -- eaten by chipmunks
Peas, Super Snap (2017) -- eaten by chipmunks

April 3, sow indoors under lights
Swiss chard, Bright Lights (2017) ✓
Swiss chard, Peppermint (2016) ✓
Cabbage, Savoy Alcosa (2009, replant) --failed
Cabbage, Red Express (2016, replant) ✓
Cabbage, Murdoc (2015, replant) ✓
Bulb Fennel, Orion (2017) ✓
Kale, Toscano (2016) ✓
Flowers, Bachelor Buttons, Blue Boy (2009) --failed
Flowers, Purple Hyacinth Bean (2013) ✓
Flowers, Snapdragons, Tall Deluxe Mix (2017) ✓

April 4, sow indoors under lights
(Should have planted sweet peas outside, but after soaking o/n, weather was terrible outside.)
Flowers, Sweet pea, High Scent (2014) and Perfume Delight (2017) ✓
Flowers, Snapdragon, Tall Deluxe Mix (2017) ✓
Lettuce, Little Gem (2017) ✓

April 5, sow indoors under lights
Flowers, Morning Glory, Split Second (2017) ✓

April 11, sow indoors under lights
Flowers, Zinnia, Dwarf Profusion Single Mix (2016) ✓
Flowers, Zinnia, Benary's Giant Purple (2016) ✓
Flowers, Bells of Ireland (2016) --failed
Flowers, Cosmos, Sensation Picote (2016)✓
Flowers, Cosmos, Celebration in Pink (2011) --failed
Flowers, Cardinal Climber (2017) ✓
Flowers, Calendula Triangle Flashback (2016) ✓

April 14, sow indoors under lights
Cucumber, Straight Nine (2017) ✓
Cucumber, Miniature White (2013) ✓
Cucumber, Parisian Gherkin (2015) ✓
Cucumber, Little Leaf (2016) ✓
Cucumber, Diva (2017) ✓
Cucumber, Suyo Long (2017) ✓
Summer squash, Early White Bush Scallop (2015) ✓
Summer squash, Zucchini Costata Romanesco (2014) -- eaten by chipmunks
Summer squash, Yellow Multipik (2014) ✓
Winter squash, Acorn Honey Bear (2012) -- eaten by chipmunks
Winter squash, Blue Ballet (2013) --failed
Winter squash, Jarrahdale (2013) --failed
Winter squash, Yokohama (2016) ✓
Winter squash, Kabocha Orange Sunshine (2013) ✓
Winter squash, Buttercup Burgess Strain (2012) ✓
Winter squash, Long Island Cheese (2010) --failed
Winter squash, Ute Indian (2016) ✓
Winter squash, Galeux D'Eysines (2010) ✓
Winter squash, Rouge Vif d'Etampes (2011) ✓
Winter squash, Waltham Butternut (2012) ✓
Gourd, Speckled Swan (2017, hand collected) ✓

April 15, transplant to bigger pots
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant

May 1, sow in garden
Carrot, Bolero (2014)
Carrot, Scarlet Nantes (2017)
Carrot, Oxheart
Parsnip, Turga (2017) ✓
Radish, French Breakfast ✓
Dill, Mammoth (2010)

May 10, sow in garden
Dent Corn, Roy's Calais (2017) ✓
Beans, Maxibel Bush (2015) ✓

May 25, sow in pots outside on tables
Lettuce, Cherokee (2016) ✓
Lettuce, Muir (2014)
Belgian Endive, Wiltloof di Bruxelles (2017) ✓
Broccoli Raab (2013) ✓ (too late in season - bolted immediately)
Brussels Sprout, Nautic (2013) ✓
Bok Choy, Mei Qin Choi (2013) 
Soy beans, Edamame from R. Swain (hand-collected 2016) ✓
Soy beans, Tohya (2016) ✓

May 28, sow in garden
Popcorn, Calico (2015)
Beans, Shung Yuang Pole (hand-collected 2015)
Beans, Neckargold Pole (2014)

May 28, sow in pots outside on tables
(I'm sowing beans, squash, sunflowers in pots kept on my patio  - chipmunks eat these seeds in the garden.)
Beans, Lima, Burpee Improved (2017)
Beans, Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans (2017)
Beans, Jacob's Cattle Bean (2015)
Sunflower, Mammoth (2010) (failed to sprout)
Sunflower, Autumn Beauty (2009) (failed to sprout)
Summer Squash, Zucchini Costata Romanesco (2014)

June 12, sow in garden
Beets, Red Ace
Carrot, Mokum (failed to sprout - inconsistent watering)
Carrot, Bolero (failed to sprout - inconsistent watering)
Radish, Rudolf
Radish, Watermelon (failed to bulb)

June 12, sow in pots outside on tables
Lettuce, Cherokee
Lettuce, Muir

June 15, sow in pots outside on tables
Beans, Black Turtle Soup

June 20, sow in garden 
Carrot, Bolero
Carrot, Negovia
Carrot, Purple 68
Carrot, Mokum
Carrot, Napoli

July 10, transplant to garden
Brussels sprouts
Cabbages
Broccoli
Belgian endive

July 12, sow in pots outside on tables
Lettuce, Little Gem
Lettuce, Edox
Lettuce, Italienischer
Lettuce, Monte Carlo

July 22, sow in garden
Radish, KN-Bravo (a sweet purple daikon)
Radish, Nero Tondo (a black round Spanish radish)

July 24, sow in pots outside on tables
(Fall greens! I planted small amounts of many of my seed packages to see if they are still viable. It is really hot still, but these plants will mature in cool September or October weather.)
Arugula, My Way (2013)
Arugula, Franchi (2011)
Arugula, Franchi (2009)
Arugula, Selvatica (2013)
Arugula, mix of all the above
Broccoli, Summer Purple (2017)
Broccoli, Kailaan (Chinese kale) (2017)
Escarole, Dubuisson  (2012)
Escarole, Dubuisson  (2017)
Escarole,  Tres Fine (2012)
Escarole, Natacha (2016)
Escarole, Frisee (2017)
Lettuce, Ice Queen (2016)
Lettuce, Winter Density (2011)
Lettuce, Lettuce, Truchas (2015)
Lettuce, Salanova (2017)
Napa, Michihili
Napa, Minuet
Napa, Mini Kisaku
Radicchio, Perseo (2015)


Sept 9, sow in garden (for winter harvest)
Arugula, Myway
Spinach, Emporer
Lettuce

Sept 14, sow in garden (for winter harvest)
Dill, Mammoth
Cilantro, Calypso

Sept 16, sow in pots outside on tables (for winter harvest)
Basil, Eleonora


(last updated: 9-16-17)