Bottom Garden Terrace Planted

My husband was able to finish the bottom garden terrace and get it all filled up with dirt.

I had purchased tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers a few days ago, so I would be ready as soon as the space was available.

I was originally going to plant the whole space with corn (since I have the room and all), but then I realized that the corn would grow tall and shade the next terrace up.

Plus, my neighbor just planted an entire packet of corn (100 seeds!) in her garden and said they would be more than happy to share this summer.

She's the best!

So...I may have to return my corn seed to the store.

Or maybe just add it to my birdfeeder and save myself the trip.

 

In front:

3 'Gypsy' sweet bell peppers

Yes, I'm trying peppers again.

Maybe 3rd time will be the charm?

I put them right in front by the wall, in hopes that they will soak up extra warmth from the blocks and be first in line for all the sunshine.

 

Behind them: 2 'New Girl' slicing tomatoes

 

In front: 2 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes

In back: a 3rd 'New Girl' & 1 'Oregon Spring' tomato

These are all 'Oregon Spring' tomatoes as well, so there's 5 in all.

Yes, that's a lot of tomatoes, but this is a salsa year, so I expect to use all I can get!

Plus, I want to try canning diced tomatoes and/or tomato sauce as well.

One hill of 'Bush Pickle' cucumbers and one of 'Diva.'

Not sure which is which at this point.

Since I knew it would probably be another couple of weeks before the middle and top terraces would be finished, I went ahead and planted all my squash and pumpkin seeds in 4-inch pots.

That way I can plant out seedlings rather than start from scratch.

I even labeled them.

I have enough for 2 hills of Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, 1 hill each of zucchini, butternut squash and mini pumpkins, a few plantings of "Pumpkin on a Stick," and one random pot that I think has one of each type of seed planted in it (little boy-planted.)

The 3 on the end already growing are the 'Sugar Baby' watermelon seedlings that I started in the house a few weeks ago. I may have to move them to bigger pot before there's room for them to be planted.

Oh yeah, I also planted a few 'Teddy Bear' sunflowers in the empty space behind the garlic, and nasturtiums all along the front of the wall.

If everything grows it's going to be so pretty!

Winter Weather

Hold on to those hopes of spring. We woke up to a howling blizzard Saturday morning, and are supposed to get another snowstorm this week. There's only about 2-3 inches on the ground right now, but we're supposed to get another 5. It has been deceptively sunny during the day, still very cold.

I have one little patch of crocuses on the slope that are about 1/2 inch high, but I didn't get any pictures before it snowed again. Just as well.

I'm still debating if I should start any flower seeds this year. With baby coming in April, that will definitely put a damper on any seedling care, probably right when they would need it most. So I'm thinking not, although it would sure be nice to have my own flat of petunias or nasturtiums or marigolds to put out. See, that's part of the problem, though. I have a hard time just doing a few.

Oh well. I guess they're not that expensive to buy, and it would be better (no doubt) to be able to plant them directly, rather than kill them off due to neglect once the little one arrives.

Violas, Irises, Daylilies (and daisies)

 This one of the johnny jump-ups I started from seed.

Look at the 2 different colors on the same plant! I'm loving it!

It's planted by the back apple tree.

 These gorgeous violas just keep blooming and blooming.

Love the bright orange.

These are by the back apple tree as well.  I'm having to trim the grass to be able to see them!

 More violas. Worth every penny.

 Irises blooming.

We've got maybe 2 that are this deeper purple color.

 These are what most of the irises look like.

 Reason to hope! The daylilies that I had pretty much given up on (from Costco).

I went looking for them specifically yesterday, and I found some coming up!

This one actually even has 2 buds on it. Hooray!

 Another daylily peeking up through.

Daisy patch, east side of house.

On a happier note...

 These flats are about ready to be planted out, I think!

I covered them up again most of yesterday and last night, since it was supposed to get down to 34, but I plan to leave them uncovered at nights now.

Look at the lovely little marigold bloom!

 These cosmos are so floppy, I don't know what to do with them.

But the one is blooming, there on the left, along with 2 more marigolds.

I'm planning to get my flower pots planted this week, and I may add a few of these.

I don't know about putting cosmos in a flower pot, but I think I may just try it.

 These lovely tulips are finally showing their color--surprise! A little bit of yellow mixed in with the pink/blush color.

 This little patch seems to get prettier each day.

There are sure some gorgeous tulips all around town right now. They obviously do very well here. I'll have to remember that when I purchase bulbs this fall.

In Missouri I could only get one good year out of them, then they were done. Wonder if it's our cooler weather here that they do better in.

Finally, take a look at these dandelions!

I almost hate to admit it, but they are pretty!

 These are all growing on the back slope, so I'm just going to let them grow.

It'll be a good flower for the kids to pick if they feel the urge.

Such sunny color--perks up the plain green back there, anyway.

The Demise of the Beans

I'm sorry to say that most of our beans are not going to make it.

They started out really strong. Even a week ago, they were loaded with blossoms and looking pretty good in that basement window.

But they can only go so long without a drink of water, ya know?

Yes, it is totally and completely my fault!

Makes me wish we had a compost pile. 



I am doing a last-ditch effort to save the ones I can, but it may be a case of "too little, too late."

Note to self: next year, just wait and plant the beans outside.

Or, let Jacob and Becca each plant ONE because they grow so well, then plant the rest outside.

I feel a little bad about it, but honestly a little relieved, too. I'm still not sure how I'm going to harden off any survivors for garden planting.  I will no doubt have to plant more anyway.

Lesson learned.  Sorry beans.

Potting Up & Hardening Off

Or, what to do when you don't have a cold-frame built yet!

 My friend Colette gave me this brilliant idea.

So to harden these seedling off (i.e., get them ready for life outdoors full-time), I have them out on the back slope under these clear bins. In the afternoon, I either prop up the bin a bit, or take it off completely, if it's warm enough. Then cover them back up at night to keep them warm and keep the frost off.

So far so good.

Today the bins didn't come off at all, mostly because we were busy with other stuff--church, mother's day--all day. But tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60's (yes!) so I'm planning to give them some sun in the afternoon.

So here's what's out there:

 2 pumpkin plants, borage, several marigolds and cosmos, and a few basil.

Oh yeah, and some hollyhocks.

I took about 2.5 hours Saturday night and got the rest of the seedlings potted up that were still in the very small starting trays. Violas, petunias, more marigolds and cosmos, a few more basil and hollyhocks, and some delphiniums.

They all needed it pretty desperately, but I had been waiting, because I just didn't have any more window-sill space. Then I talked to Colette about starting to harden some off outside.  So that freed up my window-sill space.  Basically, I put all the bigger stuff outside, and kept the little ones in.

I figure in a couple of weeks, all these will be ready to be planted outside, and I can start hardening off the ones that are in my windowsill now.

p.s. I have no idea what to do with those beans! They are all flowering in the basement windowsill, even though it's about 15 degrees colder than the main level, and I only water them about once a week!

Go beans! I just...am not sure what to do with them. They are so tall that I think this bin method of hardening them off would smash them down too much.  I'll have to talk to Colette again and see if she has any ideas! I give her a hard time about being my personal extension agent! :)

The Ways of Seedlings

I haven't planted very many things from seed. So I have been fascinated to see how these different plants grow. You saw the beans last post. Here's the other half of that seedling tray:

 L-R: violas, Marigold Mars, and Marigold Bonanza mix

The violas, from such a tiny seed, start out with those 2 round seed leaves, then begin adding more leaves from the juncture of the leaves, one at a time, the same round type.

As you can see, the marigold 'Mars' is a dud. I haven't had a single one germinate! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or if I ought to call the seed company and have them send me out another package.

The other marigolds, though, are going strong in all the trays. They start with the long slender seed leaves on a short stem. Then first put out the two larger toothed leaves you see there. It's kind of hard to tell, but after those first two, the leaves grow in groups of 4, with 2 pairs, each coming below the bigger main leaf.

This tray, L-R: hollyhocks, violas, cosmos, basil

So the hollyhocks' seed leaves are big and round in shape, then their new leaves come one at a time, also round, growing from the juncture of the seed leaves.

Cosmos resemble marigolds at first, with the 2 long, slender seed leaves, but their stems are all about 4 inches tall. Then the true leaves, as you can see, are very finely cut, coming out in pairs close to the seed leaves.

The basil has been very interesting to watch, too. The seed leaves are those larger, spade-shaped leaves. They originally were so close together they looked like one leaf, with two little eyes in the middle. Now they are growing apart and the true leaves are appearing, so far in pairs, right from the middle.

By the time the trays are at this point, you don't need to check your paper anymore for what's what. It's very obvious by their growth.  I have really enjoyed this learning process so far!

Transplanting the beans

 As you can see, the beans had outgrown these little trays.

The roots were already coming out the bottom holes.

Luckily, we've been eating a lot of yogurt lately!

I poked holes in the bottoms of the yogurt cups with a nail, then filled them with a mixture of the seed-starting soil plus regular potting soil.

They are fighting for windowsill space now, but all seem to be growing taller.

Beans grow fast enough that I'm sure I could have just waited and planted them outside this summer, but it has been fun for the kiddos to see them growing so big and tall. Fun for me too, especially with this cooler spring than we're used to.

Once we got the beans moved, we filled up the spaces again with more seed-starting mix.
This time we did: 2 'Baby Boo' miniature white pumpkins, 2 'Jack Be Little' miniature orange pumpkins, (one of each type in Jacob's and in mine), 1 delphinium in Jacob's, some delphiniums in mine (don't remember how many). I also put some borage in mine. Didn't write down which was which this time, so I guess we'll get a surprise.  So far the pumpkins in mine are just starting to poke through.

It has been a little harder this time to keep the dirt moist for the seedlings, since I can't cover the whole tray. This might be another reason to do all of one type of seed in the same tray. That way, they would all be ready to pot up at once, and then the whole tray could be used again.

Seedlings up!

We've got some seedlings up already! I wasn't expecting to see any for another week or so.
As far as I can tell from my awesome note-taking skills, they are marigolds, cosmos, and hollyhocks.
Jacob and I were so excited when we saw them!

Some of them were bending sideways under the saran wrap, so we used toothpicks to make a little saran wrap tent for them. Some of them were quite dry, so I gave them a little drink.

Seed Starting

 We had fun starting some seeds today!

Since my only sunny windowsills are in the kitchen, and they are narrow, I actually took one of the trays and cut it down to fit, so 4 rows wide by 8 long. I ended up not using the second tray. I will probably hold onto it for next year, though.  These trays were really hard to pry apart, and some of the cells were damaged in the process. So not all of my trays ended up exactly the same size.

Tray 1: 4x8, above stove

2 rows + 1 cell: Cosmos--Sensation mix

3 cells + 3 rows: Marigold 'Mars'

2 rows: Marigold--Bonanza Mix

Tray 2: 4x7, above stove

3 cells + 2 rows: Petunia EasyWave Beachcomber mix

3 rows: Genovese Basil

1 row: Hollyhock--Summer Carnival mix

Jacob's Tray: 3 cells + 4 cells, above stove

3 cells: Royal Burgundy beans

1 cell: Cosmos--sensation

1 cell: Basil

2 cells: Marigold Bonanza

Tray 3: 4x7, above sink

3 rows: RB beans

2 rows: Marigold bonanza

1 row: Marigold Mars

1 row: Viola--Johnny Jump-ups

Tray 4: 4x6, above sink

2 rows: Hollyhock Summer Carnival

1 row: Viola

2 rows: Cosmos sensations

1 row: Genovese Basil

Since this was my first time doing this, I thought I would just list out what we did:

1. Poured special seed starting dirt into bin, added water, mixed with our hands until all medium was evenly moist, more or less.

2. Filled seed tray with mixture.

3. Put seeds in, covered them with more soil if needed.

4. Recorded what was growing in each one.

4. Covered trays with saran wrap and put on window sill.

I'm not sure if I'll have to water them at some point or not. Almost all of them say they should come up in 7-10 days, so I marked the calendar that we planted them--that way we'll know when to start looking for some green!

These seed trays are super small, so I may need to pot them up to a bigger size at some point before putting them outside. We'll see.

Seeds to plant outside: Royal Chantenay carrots, Super Sugar Snap peas, Wildflower Mix (on the slope), Bellflowers, and Sunflowers (when it gets warmer).

Seed Order: Thoughts

I finally got some seeds ordered today, from Territorial Seed Co.  I started off planning to order vegetables today, from a different source (Seeds of Change) and ended up ordering flowers from TSC. I made the switch after talking with a good friend here, who has started seeds lots of times and also purchased plants. 

The vegetables/fruits I would want to start early would be beans, cantaloupe, and possibly some others. But she pointed out that if I really only want 2-4 cantaloupe plants, for example, I might as well buy the starts. They would cost the same as the seed packet containing 100 seeds, but I wouldn't have all the work/worry of starting them myself only to have them possibly die off at some point, so all that effort wasted. Plus, if I didn't like the variety I wouldn't be stuck with 96 extra seeds.

Many of the seeds I was going to purchase can be direct-seeded here, though the growing season is shorter than Missouri, so things like the corn, cucumbers, etc., I will probably just do that way.

Things like beans, peas, beets, etc., she thought was worth it to buy the seed packets, because you plant multiples of those every year to get a good crop.  What scared me away from ordering those, though, was the flat-rate shipping fee of $8.00 for my measly 6 packet order. Not to mention that fact that I still have some half-packets left from previous years' gardening experiments. Also, a bunch of the ones I wanted most from Seeds of Change were out of stock--probably due to my late ordering.

TSC has about the same shipping fee, but I guess I ordered enough (8-10 packets) to feel okay about it. Plus, since I got all flowers, I can see myself using up the entire packet over several years, because again, you always tend to plant them in multiples.

Several of the catalogs I signed up for only ship live plants, which I decided against buying as well. For one, they are very expensive and shipping is even more. Plus there's always the chance that they get stressed or poorly handled or die en route then you're out all that money with nothing to show for it.  I would rather support my local nursery anyway, as they are likely to have the cultivars that do well in our area, and (lastly) I can wait to buy them until I'm ready to put them in the ground, rather than have a shipment come in the middle of a late snowstorm, or something.

So (phew!) $27 later, I've got a shipment of FLOWER seeds coming and a plan to go with my friend to a local nursery tomorrow to check out their selection of early spring veggies, lilac bushes, and  summer bulbs.