I also planted some more onions and lettuce out in the beds just in time for the rains. The planting templates are coming in handy.
The mid and late season potatoes have started to come up. I haven't seen any sign of the early season potatoes yet. I will give them a few more days and if they don't sprout I will dig up a few of the potato seeds and see if they are still in good shape.
Some random photos...
Photos below: Carrots in bed 3
Looking good. I think this will be my best carrot harvest to date.
The brussels sprouts are starting to show signs of sprouting. The biggest one in the back has little sprouts starting to show. I hope I get a harvest before I have to pull them to plant the tomatoes.
Photo below: Bed 2 is planted with onions, garlic, broccoli, cilantro, lettuce, and parsley. The back row will be planted with cucumbers in late March.
Photos Below: I'm finding a few of these critters in three of my beds.
The Winter garden is slowly starting to wake up to the coming of Spring.
I'll also be using popsicle sticks to mark my plantings this year. They are really cheap! It looks like the carrots are gonna do really well for you this year.....
ReplyDeleteI really like your planting template idea. I use Vermiculite in my garden soil and potted plants a lot. I'm curious why the Vermiculte layer you put over the top doesn't blow away. Obviously, you wet the Vermiculite, but, still, it will dry out and possibly blow away. Is your Vermiculite fine, medium, or coarse?
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening,
Chris
Are you in Northern, Central, or Southern California? I just started following your blog. I live in Southern California and it would be good to know what part of CA you live in, as a point of reference, for when you plant your plants. I am going to try your template planting technique ... I think it really cool.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening,
Chris
One more comment :-) ... on your templates ... what are the dimensions you use for carrots and lettuce? Are you starting with a square foot (i.e. square foot garden approach)? The more I think about this approach the more I like it. You can visually see where the seedlings should be coming up. Also, you can make sure that area is watered the best. It totally makes sense.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening,
Chris
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for following my blog.
* No, I don't have a problem with the vermiculite blowing away. I don't get much wind in my backyard.
* The vermiculite I use is medium. I can't find the coarse vermiculite in small bags.
* I'm in Northern CA, in the Bay Area right between San Francisco and San Jose.
* I‘m following the square foot gardening rules for 4 of my beds. Since I'm so new to vegetable gardening and have a really small space to garden in, it really helps me to plan and maximize my space.
*The templates are 12x12, one with 16 holes and one 9 holes. For carrots and loose leaf lettuce I use the 16 hole template.
For spinach I use the 9 hole and for small head lettuce I use 5 holes (the corners and the center of the 9 hole template).
Hope this help.
Thank you so much for your response. I like to have my kids help me with planting and they seem to enjoy working in the garden as much as I do. I think these templates will help us stay on target :-) ... I was able to get large bags of Vermiculite at OSH Hardware (here in So. Cal.). It is coarse grain, so, that is probably why I am wondering why it doesn't blow away. I'm going to try it. I might mix it with something that will help it stay put or try and find medium grain Vermiculite. Thanks again for your blog.
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening,
Chris
Liisa,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading over your older blog posts and I see that you tried the potatoe "stacker" planter. Where you add layers as the potatoe plant grows. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eHsjiNvV8jI/SxyBbPZuyQI/AAAAAAAACVY/krAB5-2_iIM/s1600-h/Nov_29_potato_bins.jpg
How did that work out? I have always wanted to try that, but, I've read that some folks have not had luck with that approach.
Best regards,
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThis will be my first season with the potato bins. Last season I tried early potatoes in a small raised bed and the outcome was OK. I've been reading that you have better success if you don't crowd the vines. If that is the case I won't have much of a harvest this year since I planted up to nine potato seeds in each bin.
How nice that your kids like to garden with
you :-)
Hi Liisa,
ReplyDeleteI've read several posts on potatoe bins. I think the idea is definitely worth a try. I've read that to get "a lot" of potatoes from the bin approach you need to plant a late variety potatoe. Since a late variety potatoe will produce potatoes for a longer period. Thus the stacking approach can encourage more potatoes as the plant grows taller. People don't seem to get good results from early or mid season varieties since the plants stop producing potatoes after a certain approach. I may be telling you things you already know.
Yes, my son, especially, likes to garden. He is 11 and he is also involved in his school's garden. He also helped me build our propagation system at home (trays and lights for seedlings).
Well, it will be interesting to see how your bins do. I think it is a great idea for small spaces, like my backyard. I just have no idea if it is too late to get started with a bin for this season. I really have a lot on my to do list. We'll see :-)
Happy gardening,
Chris