Also notice the empty space between the left hand side and the edge of the bed? Also notice how close they are together? Well I got the bright idea to move the far left ones to the empty space. It's worked with all my other seedlings when I had to transplant them. Who knew that the root systems were so well developed on plants this size? I was moving them and RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPP!!! I left a good amount of the root system where they were. When I packed them down they kept falling over. GRRRRRR They may very well have been just fine if I'd left them. Ah the first year gardening, live and learn, or kill and learn is a better term.
So I'm going to start more spinach germinating. This time I'll try Toasty's suggestion of the damp coffee filters in a plastic bag. That way I when they germinate I can just drop them into the ground and let them grow.
The weather's supposed to be good this weekend. Not great, but good. Good for gardening and projects. So here's my to-do/wish list for the weekend. I know I should have done it yesterday but what the hey:
- Buy stuff for and build my hoop covers.
- Build my trellis, yes trellis. I plan on building a single trellis to span my three beds along my garage wall for my pole beans, tomatoes, peas and cukes. Gonna be fun. I'll use 2x4s and either twine or netting if I can find it cheap.
- Succession plant. I've got a whole section of my middle (#2) bed that's bare right now. The plan was for more broccoli and green onions there, but I think I'll be fine with 3 SF of onions and want more lettuce space, so I'll plant more lettuce and maybe spinach. I'll have enough broccoli if I plant some next to my cauliflower in bed #1.
- Consider building a compost bin. I think for the first year the three sides I'll try to find some pallets, but I don't know what I'll do for the bottom. This is a wish list item since I'm not far enough along in the design or research process.
- I actually have to build a SWC. Unfortunately, the one I stole from Toasty (Thank you again!) is 30 inches and I've only got 24 to work with. The 18 gallon bins that we've got to hold garbage, err knick-knacks, is 24 inches. So that means I've got to build one for my tomatoes. They're more than ready to be planted and I'm holding up the show. Boy do I wish that Judy's blog didn't crash. Her instructions were PERFECT. I doubt I can remember them all. And she's been doing stuff for me and Ft2Garden.com and not rebuilding her blog pages. This needs to happen this weekend.
- Prune my blueberry bushes. Here they are today...
I know I've got to prune off the buds to help develop strong root systems and thick canes to hold up all those blueberry clusters next year. But I don't want to hurt the leaves but don't know what to pinch. Is it the little rose-like hard buds? I think so but don't want to start over with THESE seedlings... hehe. I probably should have done this already, but I didn't want to do the wrong thing.
- Finally, Saturday evening my father and I are going to the Mariner's game against the Oakland A's. He's got tickets right behind home plate, so this is also a must do... (I'm not a big baseball fan, but I'm not going to miss this time with my dad).
I'll leave you with a pic of my corn. I expect you're also reading Judy's blog for a lesson on what to do (Judy) and not to do (me). Seriously, she's got several years experience on me, and a climate that tops ours here, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this work. Sure I'll make mistakes, but I'll fix them, so maybe you won't have to.
If I were you I would consider the "hoop houses" to be a permanent and regular installation for the months of March and April. Basically, you want your garden inside a greenhouse during these months.
ReplyDeleteWait a bit on pulling the blueberry blossoms. It's too easy now to destroy the leaves as you work. Wait until the blossoms are larger and distinct. Blueberries are tough to keep going. They're always good for a couple of years but then decline in vigor and production for most people. They really require acidic soil. They don't just favor it, the absolutely require it. I've had good enough production on mine but I noticed I'm not getting any new vigorous growth from the lower regions of the plants. This is an indication of loss of health. I've spread a layer of cottonseed meal to help with the acidity level. Keeping my fingers crossed.
BTW, mild frost this morning outside Portland.