Friday, July 24, 2009

July 23 CSA Night!



It is SO fun to head out to the garden these days--all kinds of goodies out there! Today I found the FIRST true ripe full-size tomatoes. I called Sue (CSA member and local newspaperwoman for the big Cannon Falls Beacon), so she brought out her camera tonight and snapped a few shots of it. Maybe I'll make the paper this week! Could it be that I have the first ripe tomato in Cannon Falls??? Last year I would've believed it, but this year they are much later. Last year I had a dozen ripe tomatoes on July 4!

Emily was excited to show off her garden tonight, too. Her sunflower has a very full bright blossom. I will get a picture of it on here soon.

Here is what the baskets held this week:
broccoli (and LOTS of it!)
jalapenos
Cabbage
green bell peppers
yellow cherry tomatoes (the orange ones will be ready next week!)
sugarsnap/snow peas
zucchini (green and yellow)
baby eggplant
leaf lettuce--speckled amish and green salad bowl

Enjoy!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

DING! Round Two!

So this is the time each year that I think, "I really need to get some fall crops started." Then I usually let the chance slip by. Not so this year! Last week, with the help of my family, I planted beans, collards, kale, basil, cilantro, dill, and set out some more scallions that were started in soil blocks. Today I continued the push towards a fruitful fall--I made 200 soil block and planted seeded cabbage, red cabbage, more scallions, broccoli, and cauliflower. If it's dry enough tomorrow, I'll direct-seed a lot more in the garden--rutabaga, beans, carrots, radishes, and more lettuce for starters. I'd like to find some more chard, beet, kohlrabi, and pea seeds. I'll be checking Farmer Seed and Nursery in Faribault first chance I get. Many of the other stores are either sold out or the seed companies have already picked up the overstock. More sugarsnap peas would be sooooo nice.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Kids in the Garden!


Sometimes I wonder if our kids will enjoy gardening someday. They put a lot of hours into it beside us, weeding and harvesting. It starts out as all fun and stuff--planting beans and peas, corn and tomatoes--but it isn't long before that loses it's glamour. The weeds come up, the sun is hot, Mom is cranky, etc., etc. I like to believe that the kids appreciate our family time in the garden; or even if they don't appreciate that, they appreciate the good eats! Alycia is known to run up to the garden to grab cherry tomatoes for breakfast before going to school. (She has asked me if I can send her cucumbers at college! LOL!) Katrina and I spent quite a bit of time oohing and ahhhing over the soon-to-harvest peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and onions last week. Emily has "her" garden. Mikey is my A-#1 tilling man. Gregory would rather just eat the veggies, but will do manual labor if forced. Elias is always about if I'm in the garden, constantly on the lookout for worms--and if that's not exciting enough, the sandbox is right by the gate to the garden.

I like to think that the experience of helping in the garden will be a good memory someday, and that maybe, just maybe, someday they will want a garden of their own.

Elias, that cabbage is as big as your head!

Emily next to her garden--notice the sunflower ready to bloom!

Elias posing next to Emily's zinnias.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

CSA Night #4




Tonight was our 4th CSA night! Tonight's basket included:
a bag of peas (snow and sugarsnap--all edible podded)
a cabbage
2 green bell peppers
some baby pac choi
2 heads of broccoli
a bag of leaf lettuce
some jalapeno peppers
the first yellow cherry tomatoes (many more to come!)

I better jot down what was in the baskets from a week and 2 weeks ago, since I didn't do that yet!
July 9 basket contained:
bag of shell peas
odd cauliflower :-)
a green Carmen pepper
leaf lettuce
green onions
Easter Egg radishes

July 2 basket contained:
beet greens
green onions
Easter Egg radishes
sugarsnap peas
leaf lettuce
sage


Each week the variety in the baskets is growing! You can see why in these pictures--the garden is growing beautifully! It's amazing to look back on pictures from just a few weeks ago and compare them with the plants now. In the first picture you can see the broccoli, with the cabbage and then leeks to the right. The tomatoes and peppers are behind. The second picture shows the pepper and tomato patches better. Be sure to click on the photos--they look much better in full size, plus they are much clearer.



Some things have not cooperated like they should--the cauliflower went a bit crazy and then immediately flowered (there will be a fall planting; hopefully that will work better), the chinese cabbage also flowered before reaching any usable size, and the okra is just not doing well. This week will be when many of the second crops and fall crops are planted--more green onions (some are already started), cauliflower, more beans (the first are flowering now--there should be green beans next week), cabbage, lettuce, rutabaga, kohlrabi... and the list goes on!

But for the few things that have not gone well, we have much more that is going GREAT! The cherry tomatoes are just starting, and with some warmer weather we can expect many many tomatoes of all sizes! The pepper plants are LOADED--I counted 9 bell peppers on one plant! The will start to turn red or yellow or orange with a little warmer weather. In the meantime we can start to enjoy the green ones! The eggplants are also proving to be abundant. Next week I believe we should have eggplant in the basket as well. The onions, leeks, celery, and melons are all well on their way to harvest! I've added a few pictures to make your tastebuds water--some nice bell peppers and a baby Ping Tung eggplant.



And finally, I need to share a couple photos of my fertilization program:

Meet Mr. T and Sir (as in T-Bone and Sirloin). These happy little fellows are currently residing in the first section of the garden, which is not planted. Each year 1/3 of the garden is seeded to a cover crop, which is then turned into the soil in the fall to build up the fertility. Section 1 was seeded to rye grass and clover, but as you can see, there is a lot of ragweed that has sprung up. (This may have something to do with the fact that my son didn't know I had seeded this area when he was disking up some space for me and used this area for turning the tractor around... not that I'm complaining or anything... I'm just saying.) The calves have clipped down all the grass and are now slowly working on the ragweed. As they clear (and fertilize) part of section 1, they will be moved into a fresh area of section 1 to continue their clearing and fertilizing. It is all very scientific. :-) Happy cows=better soil! They will be moved off section 1 later this summer, leaving us plenty of time for the manure to break down before tilling it into the soil.

In this last picture Elias is MOOOing. He seems rather at home in the pen with the calves, doesn't he?!

Friday, June 26, 2009

First CSA night!

Today marked the first CSA distribution for 2009. Everyone received 2 bunches of green onions, a bunch of Easter Egg radishes, a huge bag of leaf lettuce, and about a half gallon of sugar snap peas. This is just the beginning!

Enjoy!

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Blooming Gardener! :-)

Our youngest daughter celebrated her sixth birthday in May. She had been helping with various gardening things--from planting seeds in flats to putting out transplants. All this time she had commented that she wanted her own garden. So, for her birthday Daddy suggested that we give Emily her own garden--complete with Emily-sized tools, garden gloves, watering can, seeds, and garden fence. I think she wasn't so sure that she liked this non-princess gift from her well-meaning parents, but the excitement has grown with each step of getting her own little garden underway. First came setting out the fence in a newly-tilled portion of the garden, then marking rows and planting seeds. Mommy has had to help with weeding, but Emily is doing pretty well with that now that the plants have a headstart. The interest grew more with the addition of petunias (leftover from Mommy's windowboxes). So, here are some pictures of Emily's Own Garden. Emily took all the pictures except the first one.










Thursday, June 18, 2009

Beautiful Blossoms and Early Crops


I was just up in the garden and am sharing some of the sights that are to be seen. These are some cheery cherry tomato blossoms, and LOOK! A baby Golden Nugget yellow cherry tomato!
The peppers will not be left out of the act! They are producing blossoms right and left!


The tomatillos are going to be abundant. The plants have literally hundreds of blossoms!




Ahhhhhh! This is a sight to make any Minnesota taste buds jump for joy! Sugar Snaps! Ready to eat!

Then when you peek in the greenhouse, here are all the little melon plants ready to set out.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

This is the BEST time of year!

We have had a bunch of really beautiful sunny days lately, and even a beautiful rainy day with a soft rain that watered and soaked the earth well. Alycia and I were able to spend part of the day out in the garden--finished transplanting the cauliflower and then seeded kohlrabi, rutabagas, chinese cabbage, pac choi, and swiss chard. It was so nice out that I hated to come in, but at some point it just gets too dark to see those little seeds. :-)

After seeing how quickly all those evil little weeds are sprouting up after our rain, I received a timely email tonight from a favorite blogger and farmer tonight--Herrick Kimball, creator of the Whizbang Chicken Plucker. Ok, so the email was a group mailing, but I swore it was meant just for me. I don't know how he did it, but Herrick knew about my dreaming of a wheelhoe... yes, a wheelhoe. If you haven't seen on of these contraptions, check out Herrick's version; it's a beauty!:

Herrick has designed his own model and included the directions on his webpage. One has the option of ordering all the metal parts from him ($99 intro price) and proceed to put the rest together by one's own means, or he even shows how (if a person is familiar with metalworking and has the appropriate tools) to make the entire thing. I have an old high-wheel hoe/cultivator that I have used on occasion, and it definitely could be improved upon. The old metal wheel is bent and rubs on the frame, catching occasionally. But even with those issues, I can imagine the possibilities of using a low-wheel Glaser-style wheelhoe. I've been dreaming about having one of my own for a couple years, but they are gosh darn expensive!!! Now, with Herrick's assistance, I just may be able to have one. Wait til I tell the hubby what I have planned for his spare time! He already succeeded in making one of Herrick's Whizbang Chicken Pluckers, so this should be easy-cheesy! If you want to see it for yourself, check out Herrick's "Anyone Can Build A Planet Whizbang Wheelhoe."

Well, the weather this weekend is forecast to be perfect for more time spent out in the garden! Yay!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Enjoying the sun!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. I spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening in the garden. I even had helpers--DH Mike finished up the tomato cages, Alycia watered and then planted broccoli, Greg watered and spread compost, and Mikey played with the skidsteer (well, he did accomplish something while doing that--he moved a bunch of old bales of hay so that they are nearer where I need them for mulching). All is all it was VERY productive.

Now I can say that all the tomatoes and peppers are planted. The majority of the broccoli is planted also, with the cauliflower quietly waiting its turn. The greenhouse is almost empty--it's a great feeling. :-) I'm hoping that tomorrow or Tuesday I can get all the melons planted in soil blocks, then they will go out in about 2-3 weeks.

It has been very dry here. We got a sprinkle of rain yesterday morning, but not even enough to make any puddles. Tomorrow is supposed to be 80 and windy, then rain is predicted for Tuesday. Maybe I can get some more seeds in before the rain...

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Getting going... ever so slowly

Like I said, April is the month that everything seems like it needs to be done at once. Well, April is done and gone, and here we are in mid-May. I still don't have all that I want planted in the garden yet. I have plenty of plants to set out, but have been taking a conservative approach because I fear the occasional late frost. The outlook for the next 10 days has our lows in the upper 40's, though, so I should be safe now. I was also set back a few days with a horrible sinus infection (from which I'm still recovering) that had me laid out flat. That was pure torture!

Today Kris and Penny came over for our weekly "garden day"--we planted the onions, leeks, and strawberries. Now that we have the deer fence up, I have grand hopes of a beautiful strawberry patch full of wonderful strawberriness next spring! I also bought some fall-bearing raspberry plants and was given a lot of summer raspberries from a friend. They will be going in either tomorrow or Thursday, depending on the weather. Of course, they will need to be watered regularly... "hey Honey, so how much do you think it will cost to put that line in..."

The next two weeks I have grand plans for planting, but also need to take into account that our oldest is graduating from high school next Friday. Next week is a flurry of senior brunches, banquets, ceremonies, etc. etc. So I better get out there this week!

Have a great May and enjoy those early harvests!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

April... on "April"

Happy April from April! Teehee. You would not believe how many times I've been called "April May June" or asked (since it's my month!) "Were you born in April?" Short answer... NO. :-) But I digress...

It's April! An EXTREMELY busy time in the gardening year. It seems like everything is screaming to get done ALL AT ONCE! The greens, potatoes, carrots, onions, and peas all need to be planted. The peppers and tomatoes are needing bigger pots since it will still be a week or two before they can go in the garden. Tilling needs to be finished, mulch to be ..ummm.. mulched. And on and on and on. And then there's those pesky front flowerbeds that need to be groomed in time for the upcoming graduation party (I was smart, though, and planted a bunch of perennials last year, so a bunch of my planting is DONE. Just need to fill in a few annuals, plant the windowboxes, and put down some more woodchips.) It really is enough to keep one hopping!

Well, here's how things are looking right now at Chicken Scratch Farm: I put together two compost bins and the son enthusiastically played, I mean drove, the skidsteer to move my old messy spread-out pile into the bins. They are just 6-8 foot diameter circles made out of welded wire. The first section of the garden is tilled and a few rows of peas and spinach are planted. I got them in on April 18, just before a nice steady rain. Nothing like perfect timing! I still need to plant a few beds of lettuce and carrots. The onions are content for the moment in their pots--they will be introduced to garden soil after the early seeds are all in. Today I planted a few flats of broccoli, caulifower, and cabbage. They are out in the greenhouse (it's still getting down in the low 40's and colder at night) until they sprout. The peppers and tomatoes are completely out of control. It cannot warm up fast enough for them! They are huge. A few of the tomatillos are even starting to flower! Time to do some pollinating.

Well, it's been a very busy month, and will even get busier! But I'm having a blast!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

OH boy, do I have my work cut out for me!!

I wandered up to the garden to take a look around last Thursday. It's a mess. Last fall, I ran out of time and energy to keep up with weeds and also to clean up after frost killed off everything. I did get a chance to get the last of the leeks out in November, and was rewarded with having our last batch of potato leek soup in January. But this is what it looks like now.



The relatively clean rows closest to you are the strawberry beds, except for the closest bed which is asparagus and some rhubarb. The deer have done a pretty good job of tromping in the mulch that was on the beds and eating a lot of the mulch pile in the bottom right corner. Beyond the strawberry beds is the area formerly home to beans, broccoli, lettuce, etc. etc.

These fences held up my cucumber plants last year. This area isn't too scary and most of the mulch is still in place.

My dad was cleaning out the barn and brought up a lot of old hay for me to use as mulch. Unfortunately, he brought it up last fall, so guess what... we've been feeding the deer all winter.

This picture of scat and prints supplies evidence of the local deer's favorite hangout. Most of the garden is covered with it. I guess in return for feeding them, I have to admit the deer have been providing fertilizer. :-P

Last year we got half of the deer fence in place. This spring we are finishing it! (NO MATTER WHAT!) Around the perimeter of the garden (which includes three 30 strips, each 250 feet long--one strip "rests" each year) we are putting 5 foot high welded wire fence. I know this alone will do little to deter these jumpers, but will do a lot to keep the coon out come corn season. About 4-5 foot outside the welded wire fence will be 2 strands of electric at 6 inches and 3 feet. In my experiences (note the mulch left relatively untouched in between the cucumber fences) and research, I have discovered that deer can jump amazing vertical heights, BUT they don't like to jump into narrow spaces, or into an area that they are uncertain of. My hopes are that the electric wire will make them think twice about clearing a 5 foot fence that is placed 4 feet in front of them. If that doesn't take care of it, then we will attach posts to the top of our wooden posts and string electric above the welded wire. We will also attach shiny things to blow around in the wind. Seem extreme??? Well, this is war, folks. This is all-out war! I have lost too many strawberry plants to count; the evil creatures have been known to stomp on ripe watermelons to eat out the insides, cleaned off the outer cuke fences of vines, and bit the centers out of cabbages and lettuces. They dearly LOVE sugar snap peas and will nose through the vines finding every last one. So, the deer MUST be stopped.

So, as soon as it dries out a bit more, I know where I'll be spending most of my time. I better head to the store to get a few more pairs of work gloves!


Monday, March 23, 2009

Garden Journal Notes No. 2

March 10--Pot on to 2" blocks: Lipstick and Dulce peppers.
Pot on to small pots: Amish Paste Tomatoes

March 11--Pot on to small pots: Tomatillo, Amish Paste Tomato, Rutgers Tomato, Brandywine Tomato.
Pot to 2" blocks: Kin of the North and New Ace Peppers
Cherry tomatoes and Okra up that was planted on March 3!

March 12: Planted Petunias and Strawflowers in Jiffy Peat Pellets (1 tray of each, Sue gave me "Jiffy Greenhouse" kit). Started on heat mats.

March 20: most of Petunias and Strawflowers up. Such tiny plants!!!

March 21: Potted on Sunray to 3" pots

March 22: Potted on New Girl, Sweet Olive, and Jellybean tomatoes. Moved onions and leeks to coldframe. (Had previously put them out for an overnight, but had brought back in with threat of temps in the 20's.) Today's temps were around 55 for a high. Supposed to have lows in the 40's tonight and tomorrow night. Upper 20's predicted for mid-week for lows with snow showers. Probably will have to get insulation to cover the coldframe.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Catching Up!

Well! It seems I'm being heckled into updating my blog! LOL! It's nice to know it's being read... thanks, Dennis, for the kick in the pants. (And you better be glad I have a great sense of humor! LOL)

A lot HAS been happening garden-wise around here. But it's all happening IN my house! Specifically, in the sunroom, which is normally the kids art area. OOPS! Well, thankfully the weather has been pretty nice, so the kids have been outside quite a bit and haven't missed using their area TOO much. Plus, they get to play in water and dirt with Mom. What could be better?!



The seed-starting operation has expanded to a potting-on operation, which means that everything takes a lot more room. Currently, we have the original shelving unit which holds 8 flats, and have added a 8 foot table with light setup. The PVC tubes are situated so that we have lower or heighten the lights as the plants grow and are potted on. It may not look like much but it is very useful. My best friend's husband built it to be placed on top of a pool table. Well, my table is not that strong, so we put it on the floor so that it straddles the table. I had thought that I might commandeer the ping pong table for plants, but that was met with MUCH opposition from the family. :-)You can see that the tomatoes are really taking off. The peppers are quickly catching up, too! I was gone all day Friday. When I was checking that night to see if they needed water, I swear the peppers had all grown at least 2 LARGE leaves since that AM. Wow! Almost all of the tomatoes have been potted on now. I put as many as I could in 3 in pots, then went to 4 in after I ran out of the smaller ones. They really take up a lot of room, and every bit of space under the lights is being used right now. The temps have been in the 50's/60's the last few days, with nighttime temps in the upper 30's to 40's, so I moved the onions and leeks out to the coldframe. I'm hoping the weather will hold and continue to get warmer so I can consider moving the peppers out there when they are ready for larger living quarters.

Speaking of peppers... here's how the potting-on went for them. They were started in the microblocks and since that was mainly for utilizing my heat mats efficiently, they grow out of the tiny blocks quickly. Time to step up to the 2 inch blocks. I put the microblock inserts in the blocker--simply popped out the seeds indents and screwed these in with the screw and washer they come with. Pretty easy.

Then on to making the blocks. Got the soil moist and away we go! I can fit 50 2 inch blocks in a flat. Ready for plants!I started getting the peppers potted-on on March 10. They have since all grown at least 2 true leaves, some as many as 4 large leaves. In a few more weeks, they will be ready for lots more space--probably 4 inch round pots.

I mentioned that the onions and leeks have moved outside. So, here are a few pictures of the coldframe setup:

This coldframe, and it's sister, were made from old wood hubbie Mike salvaged from an old deck and old storm windows from my parents' house. We prop open the windows for ventilation with just odd pieces of scrap wood. Very low-tech. :-) What matters is that it warms up nicely inside and protects the plants. I put a thermometer inside and it has been getting up to 70 in the sun, at which point I prop it open so I don't bake my plants. (I know from experience that it can heat up quickly to over 100 degrees in the coldframe even on a 50 degree sunny day!) The coldframe takes a lot of monitoring, and I hope to get a wireless thermometer for it (and to be used in the greenhouse once it is up). Then I can easily monitor the temps while I'm... baking bread or teaching Emily or even updating my blog!

I figure the leeks and onions will be good down to 30 degrees. If it threatens to get much colder than that at night, I will put a small ceramic heater in there and have it kick in at 40. Once the peppers are in the coldframe, I will keep it closer to 70 at all times. During sunny days that won't be a problem. It's the nights and cold rainy spring days that present problems. In the past I have succesfully placed a sheet of foam insulation over the frame at night to hold in the heat. It works amazingly well!

Next up will be pictures of the work cut out for me this spring OUTSIDE. Right now I'm really regretting not getting out to the garden to clean things up before the snow hit. Ah well! Live and learn!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Garden Journal Notes

Garden journal notes (before I forget to write them down!):

Feb. 25: seeded Brandywine, Jellybean, New Girl, Sweet Olive, Amish Paste Tomatoes; Dulce Jalapeno, King of the North, Lipstick Peppers (all peppers and tomatoes in micro-blocks, except 1/2 the Brandywine and all Jellybean and New Girl planted in cells. All tomatoes and peppers on heat mats);
King Richard Leeks; Yellow of Parma and Expression Onion (planted in rectangles);
Evergreen Scallions (planted in bunches of 10 in 2-in blocks.

March 2: all tomatoes up. Almost 100% germination. Roots visible on many peppers.

March 3: seeded Golden Nugget and Sun Gold tomatoes; Pintung Long Eggplant (all in cells); Sunray, New Ace, and Valencia Peppers, Basil, Parsley, and Tomatillos in microblocks on heat mat; Lincoln Leeks in rectangles.
Tiny spears of Yellow of Parma onion and Evergreen scallions starting to make an appearance.

March 4: many peppers up, King Richard Leeks poking up a few spears.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Soil blocks

A few years ago I was reading Eliot Coleman's book The New Organic Grower and was intrigued by his discussion of soil blockers. I always seemed to have the worst time keeping enough cell packs on hand for starting my seeds and was never thoroughly happy with them. Soil blocks seemed like the sustainable solution to this problem. Not only would I not have tons of those stupid little broken plastic 6-packs after their use, but the soil blocks provided another benefit--healthier roots. The roots will fill the block, but when reaching the edge (air) will stop and wait to be potted on, unlike in the plugs or pots where the roots will wind themselves around and become a matted rootbound mess. Also, the roots are not disturbed hardly at all when potting on since you just pick up the block and set it in the next sized block or in your pot. So, I ordered my two soil blockers from Fedco/Organic Growers Supply. The all-metal one creates 4 2-inch blocks, while the micro-blocker makes 20 little blocks in a 3"x4" area. The metal blocker has inserts that will make micro-block-sized indents for potting on the micro-blocks.



The nifty blue cushion did not come with the micro-blocker. It is the invention of my friend who got sick of getting scraped-up knuckles when she used it. It works wonderfully!


So you start with potting soil or starting mix that is wet enough to clump together. I prefer Vermont Compost's Fort Vee potting soil. I have also used Eliot Coleman's potting soil recipe, with great results, but it can be a hassle to get all the ingredients and mix them well enough. I did consider borrowing my dad's cement mixer for mixing... that would've worked!

You press the blocker into the wet soil firmly to fill the blocks. I have found that I need to press the soil into the micro-blocker's holes with my fingers to evenly fill it or the outside ones aren't packed well enough.

Then you pop the blocks out into a tray. You pull up on the handle and the spring-action ejects the blocks. This part can be a little tricky, but after a couple tries you get the hang of it! Each block has a little indent in it to hold the seeds. Obviously since the blocks are verrrry little, they work best with small seeds. I use them for my tomatoes and peppers, since I put them on a warming mat and the mini-blocks are easy to keep warm and speed germination. I also use them for a lot of small-seeded herbs and lettuce.

Here is a full tray of micro-blocks all seeded. The larger seeds are peppers and the small ones are tomatoes. As you can see, a tray holds a LOT of micro-blocks. Soon after the seeds germinate, they run out of space in their micro-block and need to be potted on to the 2-in blocks. The advantage here, though, is that I can get a lot of seeds started with only using 3 warming mats. After they have germinated, most plants are content at room temperature or slightly warmer, so don't really need the warming mat.

After seeding, I mist the top of the blocks and use a clear dome to keep in the moisture. I check daily and mist if the blocks seem to be drying out.

In the picture above, you can see the seedlings starting to put out roots, just 2 days after planting! And interestingly enough, I learned from
The New Organic Grower that not all seeds need to be covered to germinate. Onion family seeds do prefer the dark for germination. So they should be covered with dirt or, if not coverering them, started in a dark room.


Ta-DA!! Little tomato plants just 5 days after planting. (I love time-stamps on pictures!!) These will need to be moved to 2-in blocks soon. The peppers you can see are starting... they are a bit slower germinators.


This is what the 2-inch blocks look like. I can fit 50 in a tray. These have the regular seed indent in them (not the square for potting on micro-blocks). I use them for onions, scallions (in bunches--just put 12 seeds in each block and they are pre-bunched!), and any larger seeds--cukes, watermelon, broccoli, cabbage, nasturtiums, okra, etc. These blocks are quite a bit easier to make than the micro-blocks. There is a 20-count blocker for these size blocks that I think would be a blast to have, but the price-tag is a bit too much for this frugal gardener. There is also a single 4 inch blocker available, but again, the price tag is a bit much and I have lots of 4-6 in pots, so I use those.


I don't use the soil blocks for all my plants. This year I am starting my leeks in 2X3 inch rectanglar trays. A friend who grows perennials for market had gotten a bunch of the trays and decided they didn't work for what she wanted, so she passed them on to me. I had not considered growing leeks in bunches until I saw them sold that way at a local nursery. They grow together, then you simply separate them when planting in the garden. I am planting some onions in the same manner, but most of my onions I grow in groups of 4 in the soil blocks. This was another idea from Coleman's book, and it has worked very well for me. I also use cell-packs (I reuse everything I can--so I have quite a few from nursery flowers) for some things, mostly marigolds and other flower starts.

Here is my current setup for my early starts. I can fit 8 trays on here (and after a planting spree today, it is full). When I start potting on the tomatoes, I will have to expand to another table with a light system set up over that. I'm hoping that the snow will go away and by mid-April I can start using the cold-frame (though that will have to be with a backup heater and insulated cover for cold nights). By that time, the plants are starting to take over the house, and every spare table area is covered in greenery!

I really enjoy this early chance to play in the dirt. I even get to make mud!!! Wheee!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Starting seeds!

The seeds came, and now we can get started! I like to have my leeks and onions planted early February, but late Feb. had to suffice. On Feb. 25 my two youngest kids helped to get some seeds planted. We planted most of our onions, and about half the tomato and peppers. The rest will (hopefully) get planted tomorrow, along with a second planting of scallions.

It's lots of fun to play in the dirt! Here Emi is filling a cell tray for tomatoes and Elias is filling small containers for onions. Emily loves helping with the seeds. Elias loves playing in the dirt!