Reprise of the Rehab

Almost a month. Of catch -up, of rehab. I have harvested greens and radishes. Almost all of the bok choy and several bags of peas.

The first crop of peas that I planted in March were almost a complete failure. I reseeded with cucumbers about two weeks ago. This week I added four sets of a pickling cuke I bought at the Coop. The seeds I planted were Marketmore, the cucumber my grandfather swore by. The cukes took their sweet time coming up - as did the squash and pumpkins planted several weeks back. The cool wet ( very wet!) weather really delayed their growth, although all the members of the cabbage family look happier than pigs in $%^&* The rain seems to have kept the flea beetles at bay.

The second crop of peas germinated better and have always outshone the earlier crop. Was it the timing, the variety, the seed? I suspect timing is the most important factor. Timing based on soil temperature. This fall I will decide where next year's peas will be planted and set up the pea fence and black plastic to warm the soil before winter sets in. Next March when planting peas I will be more than an impatient gardener going through the motions, I will be planning on peas by the end of May instead of mid-June.

Various friends have complained of aphids and other bugs in their gardens. I have been dismissive. How bad could they be? Really. Then I found what I swear are white flies on my tomatoes. White flies! That is a bug of greenhouses, not the great outdoors. I smashed what I could find and then noted my biggest ally was already on the job... The voracious lady bug nymph.

It goes after aphids and other soft-bodied bugs like a teenager at a burger stand.

I have planted quite a bit over the past few weeks. Tomato and pepper sets have gone in, as well as more Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and savoy cabbage. I planted another crop of beans Provider, and a row of Detroit golden beets on the 25th. On the 24th I planted a crop of lettuce next to the peas, where alas, my parsnoops failed to come up. I also planted Zinnia and sunflowers from seed to extend the season of bloom. I already have plants of both in the ground.

I continue to harvest greens, although my first crop of lettuce is getting close to being finished. The mache I planted this spring is huge and just beginning to flower - all of it is going to have to be harvested in the next day or two. The Really Red Deertongue lettuce has produced the most gorgeous heads I have ever grown. I will be sure to take a picture of it before I harvest the last one.

Mostly, I have tried to catch up with what went undone for six weeks, while I was gimping around on crutches. The almost constant rain of June has made it difficult to get work done and stay ahead of the weeds. The intense mulching I had planned to do this year has yet to happen, but I am getting after it bit by bit.

The potatoes have been hilled and are growing well, although I am going to have to find time between the raindrops to apply copper and Serenade to protect them and my tomatoes against Late Blight, which was reported in Tompkins County this week. Late blight is the disease that caused the potato famine. If it gets into the potatoes they are done. The only organic method of control is copper applied before infection. Serenade is a bacillus -based organic remedy which I have found to be a very effective fungicide and have read is useful against late blight, although it does not make that claim on its label.

Late blight is a scary creature. Its scientific name says it all: Phytopthora infestans. It sends uncounted spores far up into the air and has the ability to sweep over continents, leaving devastation and hunger in its wake. I want my potatoes to live! This continuous rain and humidity is not a good way to stop its spread.

Parsnoops

Some people call them Parsnips. A new crop for me this year, planted next to another - Celeriac. I planted both on Sunday. I also planted two types of winter squash: Kabucha and Butternut "Raritan," as well as a blend of yellow, green and white patty pan squashes, 'Sugar Pie' pumpkins and okra.

The parsnips and celeriac are planted next to "Mokum" carrots, which seem to have germinated erratically, which is probably related to the big footprint in the middle of the patch - I suspect someone retrieving a softball was a bit careless.

More potatoes were found sprouted in the cupboard - I thought I ordered more! So I planted French Fingerlings and La Ratte, another fingerling, alongside the other potatoes. I have set a few potatoes aside, because this week I plan to create my "Potato Box," which will theoretically allow me to grow a huge amount of potatoes in a small space. We shall see!

We also harvested a huge bag of greens- enough for two large salads a day for Tiz and I throughout the week. It consists of spinach, three types of lettuce, radicchio and red orach- along with dill and chives. Tiz has the first of her bouquets on the windowsill.

I enjoyed the Holiday weekend with a bit of gardening, quite a bit actually, if time spent is the point of reference, not amount completed. I remain painfully slowed by my crutches, but I still managed to plant sets of Snow Crown cauliflower, Goliath and Waltham broccoli and Catskills Brussels sprouts.

I also got a nice patch of garden asters in the ground from some sets given to me by Susan. The work she and Mark did a few weeks back made it possible for me to finally get my potatoes in the ground, which included: Rose Finn Apple, Red Thumb and French fingerlings as well as a full row of Romanze, a red storage potato with gold flesh and a couple spuds of Carola. All of the potatoes were less than perfect, very sprouted and a little soft. Some of the Romanze even had mold on them, but I will hope for the best.

Perhaps I will get some more potatoes in, there are some (400 or 500 Lbs. !) at the main office that were donated by Fedco. A very generous gift to the gardeners of the region. Thank you Fedco and to all the big-hearted farmers and seed houses that donate to CDCG, making it possible for us to have access to seeds we otherwise would struggle to afford. These donations are varied enough to expose us to many unusual plants as well- last year I grew round black spanish radishes, an heirloom that isn't found in local stores that really changed my perception of what a radish was supposed to look like. They stored fabulously too, keeping well in the ground far into November and remaining sound in the crisper for nearly a month after that. I will plant more of them this year and see if by piling straw over them I can have them farther into the winter.

I have tried to remain cheerful in the face of my limitations, but I can't wait to get off crutches and really get busy in my garden. I'm a month behind where I would like to be and will have many gaps in my well-planned harvest calendar - I haven't planted lettuce in nearly a month- the cukes and squashes should have been in a while back and don't even get me started on the tomatoes! Of course we did have a frost last week so being late may just have spared me some heartache.

The race does not always go to the swift!

Fractured Fairy Tales

Gardening is difficult on crutches. Leeks made it into the garden on one visit. On the 17th I planted tomatoes my father had given me as well as a few I bought at Community Gardens' spring plant sale - a fundraiser I should have noted! I promise to be better about such things. The fall plant sale happens in mid-September. I will announce that before it happens.

Along those lines and fitting with my inability to feed myself - The Veggie Mobile has garnered some international attention and needs our support. From an email sent to me:

Subject: Community Gardens’ project nominated as worldwide finalist - vote now!

Capital District Community Gardens’ Veggie Mobile has been selected as one of ten finalists in a worldwide competition called “Designing for Better Health” sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Ashoka’s Changemakers.
Internet ballots will decide the three highest vote-getters by May 28th and winners will receive a $5,000 cash award and international recognition for their project. This is a tremendous opportunity for our organization, our mobile market – The Veggie Mobile, and for New York’s Capital Region!
Now we need your help. Please use this link to vote for our program and share this link with your personal networks (email, facebook, myspace, blogs, etc.). If everyone we know gets in touch with everyone they know we will win this award.
Every vote will make a difference - thanks for helping to spread the word! Please vote by May 28th.
http://www.changemakers.net/designingforbetterhealth/
More info on Capital District Community Gardens and The Veggie Mobile www.cdcg.org

The Veggie Mobile rocks! I buy great food at great prices and am charmed by the staff nearly every week. They have kept veggies in my life even when I can't grow them myself. As the corrupt politicos like to say: "Vote early and vote often."

Oh, I harvested Spinach and radishes on the 17th as well. Tizzy served them up as a lovely side salad to go with the grilled fish we had. The fish was topped with mango salsa - mango, peppers and limes off of the Veggie Mobile!

Planting

On 4/11 I planted a row of spinach Winter Bloomsdale, Three types of lettuce: Mint Fresh, Really Red Deer Tongue and Buttercrunch alongside two rows of radish: Champion and White Icicle.

I also lined out 24 sets of baby Bok Choy and planted two rows of Chiogga beets. In hopes of deterring the flea beetles I scattered mesclun mix between the Bok Choy.

Our Spring Cleanup was on the 17th. This is where all the gardeners get together to perform chores for the benefit of the garden as a whole, mulching paths, cleaning up the fence line, straightening up the shed, etc. I showed up late and was of little use, because I fractured my ankle earlier in the week. I plopped myself down though and spread some newspapers on an overgrown path, which Tiz brought wheelbarrows of mulch to cover.

Fortunately on the 18th some friends showed up to help me in the garden. I took up a spot on the ground of a long-abandoned plot and Marcus and Sue turned over the earth, while I cleaned out the roots of Jerusalem Artichoke and Road Lily (of which one is not an artichoke and the other has little in common with the true lilies) Actually both plants are edible, but the variety of artichoke wild in our garden has such small roots that its not worth the trouble. Neither of them make nice companions with other vegetables because they are so invasive. I separated out the daylily roots for Sue to take with her, because they do make a great ground cover and she needed them for a tough spot in her garden. Sue and Mark did great work and I will have them to thank when I plant potatoes there in a few weeks. 

Then I hobbled over to my plot and planted out hundreds of onions. I made a cooperative order with friends at work from an onion grower in Texas and we received bundles of little onion plants wrapped up in rubber bands in the mail. By combining our orders, we brought the cost down to about a nickel a plant. A good rain fell on Monday and Tuesday to settle them in so I assume they are doing well. I haven't made it back to the garden since. This is a bad time for a gardener to have a busted up ankle!

I planted two red onions and three yellow. Candy and Red Candy are two large varieties that are sweet summer onions, not meant for storage. Ailsa Craig is a very large onion also, but it is supposed to store alright. This onion is named for an island. After looking it up to check the spelling I can see why. My main storage onions will be Copra and Red Zeppelin. All together I planted about 180 plants. Sue came over to help me finish up and she planted about a pound of Yellow Moon shallot sets in the same section. This whole row of the garden is devoted to onions. I still have two types, maybe three, of leeks to plant out and red Prisma shallots that I have started from seed.

I am interested to compare my success with these tiny plants compared to the much larger sets I used last year, sets planted out about a week later on the 23rd. To make room for the onions Tess and I harvested the overwintered Mache, which she made a beautiful salad with. She included pears and nuts and a mild vinaigrette. Delicious.

Yesterday and today we are having nearly 90 degree temperatures. Much too hot for April. Yesterday was the hottest since 1915.  

Time and Making Timing

Went to the garden on Saturday with good intentions. But it was cold and the wind was blowing and the soil was wet from rain. 

In the upper right corner you can see my block of garlic. if there was a close up you would see that the late- planted Bavarian White had almost caught up to its peers.

The white blanket is remay. I use it to moderate temperatures and maintain moisture. During the summer I cover carrot plantings with it so they don't dry out before germination. In the fall it provides protection from frost and freezes.

Now, in the spring, it holds the day's warmth a little longer into the night and encourages the spinach to sprout.

I have been using this same piece of remay for two years now. I think it will last for several more.

I wish I had taken a thin strip of it and covered the peas. They are just barely above the ground. Both plantings, although made of different varieties, planted a week apart, are equally far along.

Timing is everything. 

 

First whole day of spring. Recovering from a brutal cold, I went out when the sun was well up and the frost gone from the soil. The ground that I worked last week was black and fine, warmed by a week of sun and a gentle rain.

No sign of the peas planted on Sunday, so I poked about at the beginning of the row. I turned up a pea all swollen and green just splitting open and sending out its root. I tucked it back in the ground.

In the prepared bed I planted two types of spinach, Bordeaux and Viroflay; mache Gala, a white bunching onion for scallions and a Treviso type of radicchio. After planting I covered the entire area with a doubled piece of remay.

I planted another patch of peas, this time in a double row. These are a later and taller variety called Oregon Sugar Pod. I will wait a few weeks to put up the pea trellis so that it doesn't create any more shade than necessary. I planted the double row closer than recommended, closer to one foot than two, in order to leave plenty of room in the rest of the bed. I will thin the peas and use the thinnings as pea shoots in my spring salads. As the peas begin to age I will plant cucumbers among them, so the trellis remains useful.

I weeded last year's mache and am curious to see how the spring sown plants do in comparison. Where the mache et al was planted I left the very center of the bed clear. I hope to put out very early tomatoes in that row, with a bit of plastic over them to see if I can manage a tomato crop by July 15. I need to check my records, but I think that's when I got my first tomato last year. But it was only one, the rest of the crop was two-three weeks later.

Inside I have started leeks (3 types) and shallots, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. I also started an early tomato variety and several types of lettuce. I will plant more lettuce and tomatoes this week