Monday, June 13, 2011

Second Planting

June 13, 2011

The weather has finally at least cooperated enough to start planting summer crops. So last Thursday and Saturday I double dug the rest of bed#2 and the rest of bed#3.  Figure 100 sq feet total.  It wore me out I can tell you!

Michelle and I also visited Naomi's  in Sellwood and bought about $70 worth of starts. The bill was actuall $90 but that included another 3 cubic feet of compost,  a 5 lb bag of sweet lime and a 50 lb bad of alfalfa meal.

Planted the following on Saturday:


  • spread 1 gram of Sweet Nantes Carrot seed
    • 10-21 days to grmination
    • 81%yield
  • 6 pack of Organic Lucious Sweet Corn (6")
    • 75 days
    • Bicolor
    • Hybrid se+ type
    • 7-8" ears
  • 6 pack of Red Selection Celery (4")
    • 100 days
    • stronger, more distinct flavor than regular celery
  • 6 pack of Maxibel French Filet Beans (6")
    • 35 days
    • slender 7" long stringless pods
    • high yields - pick frequently
  • 2 Black Beauty Zucchini (3")
    • The standard summer squash, introduced to U.S. markets in the 1920s. Compact everbearing bush plants are loaded with glossy green-black fruits with firm white flesh. Best eaten when under 8" long. Excellent variety for freezing. 1957 All America Selections. 45-65 days.
  • 1 Butternut Squash (4")
  • 1 Table Quenn Acorn Squash (4")
  • 2 San Morano Tomato plants (6")
  • 2 Roma Tomato plants (6")
  • 1 Sun Gold Cherry Tomato plant (6")
  • 1 Yellow Pear Heirloom Tomato (6")
  • 1 Coriandum Sativum Cilantro 
    • planted in pot
  • 2 Genovese Sweet Basil
    • planted in pot
  • 1 Amethyst Impaired Basil
    • 16"
    • planted in pot
  • 1 Fernleaf Dill 
    • planted in pot

10 foot run of Raspberries in the back. My compost pile to the left.
Front left is the corn. Middle are Maxibel Beans. You can't even see
the zucchini between the beans and corn! Bean seeds to the right
of the Maxibel beans (not germinated yet). Celery to the right.
Tomatoes. I dug a trench, threw in a handful of Lime and  planted them sideways.
The idea is that they will develop stronger root systems this way.


4 Boysenberries.  Those are Valencia Onions in the bed.
Front left, that leafy stuff, is Purple Peacock Broccoli
Valencia Onions. Red Cippolinni Onions. Purple Peacock Broccoli.
Green leafy stuff is Snowball Cauliflower. Back left are Schwiezer
Riesen Heirloom Snow Peas.


Caribe potatoes (front). Yukon Gold potatoes (back)

Lucious Corn.  Looks kinda pitiful but I think will be OK.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Potatoes are up

June 5, 2011

First signs of potato germination today. There were about 10 plants up.

  • Onions - healthy but not large
  • Raspberries -  booming
  • Boysenberries - healthy strong canes with blooms
  • peas - a little pale but healthy. 7"
  • Carrots - no sign of them. Didn't germinate. WTF?
  • Cauliflower - healthy but small. 4"
  • Broccoli - healthy but small. 4"
  • Apples - new columnar apples trees are doing great. Dark green leaves. Signs of fruit. Wahoo!
  • Broccoli in pots - HUGE. 20"
  • Peppers - weak. they are small (2-3"). Moved them outside. They need real sunshine and heat. It was 80 today. Maybe that will do it.
  • Lettuce and Spinach - healthy. average size. 4-5"

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Soil Temps slowly rising

June 1, 2011

From http://landslides.usgs.gov/monitoring/portland/rtd/temperature.php...


The average soil temperature is about 8 Celcius, or 46.4 Fahrenheit.  That means carrots should finally start germinating (I thought mine did but I think cold weather killed them).


From Wunderground.com



 ActualAverageRecord
Temperature
Mean Temperature53 °F61 °F 
Max Temperature57 °F72 °F94 °F (2001)
Min Temperature51 °F50 °F39 °F (1966)





Sigh.