Hard Frost/Times

Finally got our first frosts since I last posted. The ground has actually been frozen in our back yard for the last little bit. Clear and beautiful days though. An unusually dry December so far. Had a chance to visit with Christian last week and took some pics of his garden to pass along.

Beginning to re-think the location we selected for his garden. It doesn't seem to receive much direct sunlight during the day. This wouldn't normally be a problem in the Pacific Northwest because the typically overcast days diffuse light that would normally not be available to the plants. The past week has been unusually clear though, and downright cold. And it's when the ground stays frozen that the plants are in the most danger. Hopefully the daytime temps will warm a little or at the least the clouds will return for a while (never thought I'd be inviting gray skies...).

Broccoli sure looks good though.

Winter Garden Installation

Two days ago I lent a hand to my good friend Christian in building his first vegetable garden. Because of the lateness of the season, his initiatory gardening adventure will be of the over-wintering variety.

Christian just moved into a quaint, old (1920's) rented home that sits atop a bluff alongside the Puget Sound. His proximity to the water could offer the added benefit of slightly warmer temperatures in winter. To begin construction, we first designated a spot, southwestern facing, that receives the most sunlight for the longest part of the day. Lacking a tape measure (which I forgot to bring) we used a flattened cardboard box to measure out the basic shape of the garden, which we estimated at about 4' X 10'.

Christian gloves up

Next we dug a line to form the perimeter of the garden, and then began to dig up the grass. This is the most labor intensive aspect of the installation, though it was ameliorated by the fact that the grass was dry and dirt separated from the roots quite easily. The removed grass will be used to start a new compost pile and, after it is decomposed, returned to the same soil to fertilize the ground. Cycle of life.

Christian's friend Steve(at left) stopped by to lend a hand as well.

As this is garden installation on a budget, we made due with the soil that we found beneath the layer of grass, which, all things considered, was not all that difficult to work with. With the exception of one large, head-sized rock, only moderate sized stones were found and subsequently pulled from the new bed.

Christian pulls the last of the sod from the bed

Once the bed was cleared of grass and rocks, compost was added to amend the soil and prepare it for the next phase.

Christian looks over the dark, rich humus of the added compost

With the addition of a thin layer of compost, we were ready to plant seedlings and seeds in the final step of installation. We first planted a chocolate mint and dill plant at the southern end of the garden, which will be reserved for herbs. Three broccoli seedlings (which I started indoors a couple of months ago) followed the placement of the herbs. The remaining space was sowed with seeds of various overwintering vegetable and greens varieties: collards, kale, arugula, endive, spinach, beets, carrots and leeks. Each row is marked with a small stick at either end and a diagram was drawn up so that we can be sure of where each variety is planted.

Christian and I pose behind the planted garden

The seeds will have a good month-plus to get established before seasonal temperatures begin to drop, which should be an adequate amount of time for them to get set. As long as there are no continuous below-freezing days this winter, the plants will continue to grow, albeit very slowly, until temperatures begin to increase in the spring.

Urban Grown roots

While I'm still on the "featuring urban gardens" kick I thought I'd include a couple of pictures of the garden where this all got started. From the time I was a young child, I helped my parents with their modest vegetable garden, planting seeds, weeding, and (especially) eating tomatoes from the vine. Eventually I earned my own plot next to the compost pile. I believe it measured about 5 feet square. The rest is, as they say, well, whatever. Anyway here are some shots of my parents' garden from about a week ago. I'm sure it's grown substantially since then. In the foreground are peas, followed directly by broccoli, bush beans, zucchini, lettuce and carrots (hidden by the zucchini), and way in the back, an artichoke plant.

Against the south-facing garage wall is a row of tomato plants. The plants receive direct watering from a simple drip irrigation system my dad rigged up to deliver water straight to the base of the plant. Using a five gallon bucket and a length of pvc pipe with small holes drilled at equidistant intervals, he can give each plant an equal amount of water by simply filling the bucket. The system does the rest. He usually fills the bucket and leaves the hose trickling (so that the bucket remains full but does not overflow) for about 15-20 minutes so that the plants receive a thorough soaking.

Urban garden update

Just wanted to take a minute to update the growth of my friend Nick's garden. Here's Nick tending the radishes:

As of now Nick is growing peas, carrots, radishes, onions, broccoli, lettuce and cucumbers. Everything seems to be responding well to the relentless heat wave we've been experiencing in past weeks. We've set two rather impressive(sobering) records so far this summer in Seattle: hottest summer since SeaTac started recording weather in the 40's, and lowest amount of precipitation, at less than half the rainfall of the former lowest recorded amount.

Nick has run into a small insect problem with his broccoli plants. It appears as if the leaves have been chewed by cabbage moth caterpillars. I struggled with the same infestation, of which there are two solutions known to me. One involves picking the caterpillars off the plant as they are seen, which has its obvious limitations. The other is to cover the plants with a floating row cover. These can be found at any nursery and perhaps even big box stores that have a large enough garden center. Essentially it's a tightly woven synthetic fabric that is draped over the plants to prevent the moths from landing and laying their eggs nearby. As the fabric is merely sitting, or floating, on the plants, it does not restrict their growth.

Nick's radishes growing splendidly

Peas no more

Ripped out the two rows of ailing pea plants this morning to make way for some winter crops. In all actuality I should have planted seeds for the purpose of growing them through the fall and winter several weeks ago. No excuses.

I planted a row of carrots and next to it leeks and spinach. There are still a good six weeks or so of legitimate summer left, barring early fall rains, so they might have a chance of establishing themselves before the weather gets too wet and cold. I'm going to have to pay close attention to keeping the soil moist so that the seeds actually germinate, a task that may be near impossible if this hot, dry spell we've had lately continues. Inside I've already started several broccoli seedlings which are about 3 inches tall that will go outside as soon as I have more room in the garden.

The trellis pieces will be stored somewhere dry for next year's garden.

An updated shot of the tomatoes planted at the front of the house. I've had to tie several additional pieces of support twine to hold up the abundant fruits on these Better Boy hybrids, and still they hover just above the ground. I'll be keeping my eye out for slugs.

Fresh greens

The weather these last weeks has been unbelievably good. Too good to be true, almost. Only the garden seems to appreciate it more than me. Had a fresh picked salad today with the first broccoli head, spinach, chives, cilantro and the spicy greens that grew of their own volition (probably from the compost Aaron and I spread).

Nothing but good eating from here on out. Before long it will mostly be a matter of keeping up with it all. A pic of the garden from today.

Also planted a row of peppers, as well as several inside the cloche. A special thanks to my friend Erik for all the different pepper seedlings: ancho, jalapeno, golden bell, purple bell and poppers.

Me and the bean(stalk)

In the week since my last post, me and the plants have been soaking up some serious sun. I completed the final trellis, which will be providing support for the two different varieties of beans, the rattlesnake pole beans and the scarlet runners. Construction is the same as the trellis for the peas, the exception being that it is much less crowded with twine. Beans appreciate more space to fill out. Here's a pic of a scarlet runner crawling up the crosspiece of the trellis only a few hours after I completed it. They climb fast!


The quinoa and some of the carrots have sprouted, though I may have to resow some carrots as they are sporadic and the germination rate left something to be desired. A quinoa seedling:


Everything in the cloche is faring rather well, though I have yet to establish a satisfactory method for securing the plastic along the base of the pvc that is in contact with the ground. Perhaps it's time to bring out the zip ties.

A couple of my broccoli plants are suffering from some ailment I am unable to diagnose at this point. Here's what they look like:

The leaves are wilting and beginning to turn yellow. I first thought they might not be too keen on the warm weather we've had as of late (75 + degrees for the past week). They've been adequately watered, though not over-watered. They seem to perk up at night once it cools off, but set to wilting once the sun's up the next day. The remaining plants seem fine, and it may be that I just have to cut my losses and remove the plants if they don't recover soon. I can always plant something else in its place. Here's a more uplifting shot of one of the plants that is doing much better and even starting to bud!


I did a little work out in the front garden today, planting several herbs (parsley and basil), nasturtiums, marigolds, snapdragons and various tomatoes. To update on the front garden, the initial tomatoes I planted weeks ago are growing vigorously and seem to be enjoying their location near the concrete. I plan on planting some additional herbs and flowers at a later date. A quick shot of what the garden looks like now:

Tomorrow I'm waking up early to set up shop in the front of the house to see if I can't find a good home for the remaining seedlings I have no more room to plant.

Spring Rains...Sprouts!

This past week has seen the sprouting of the various seeds I sowed recently. Have a look:


Top: Beans Bottom: Spinach

Top: Broccoli Bottom:Peas


All seem to be doing well, with the exception of a few beans who had their tops munched off by some of the local fauna. Today I hope to plant a few tomatoes outside, as well as sow some rows of carrots, onions, basil and cilantro. Though it may be a bit early for the tomatoes, a few of the plants have grown leggy, and so I will have to take a bit of a chance setting them out early. I don't think upping the pot size at this point will benefit it much. Here's hoping they adjust adequately. Before the peas and beans get too large I will be constructing trellises for them to climb.

Sowing Seed

Some mild, partly cloudy weather today, perfect to begin sowing seeds in the garden. Though I likely should have done it earlier (as peas love cooler spring temps), I sowed two rows of peas (pole variety) at the western end of the garden. Next to them I planted a half row(6 feet) of pole beans and a half row of runner beans. At the other end of the garden I sowed a row of spinach seed as well as the broccoli seedlings that have been chilling in the cold frame.

Broccoli in its new home.

For each of the seeds, I followed the sowing directions explicitly, something I neglected to do last year which to crowding and most likely smaller yields. Between the rows of peas and beans, I left at least 2 feet. As these are pole varieties (they are indeterminate and will require some sort of trellising), I tried to plant them to the far end of the garden to hopefully prevent them from shading smaller vegetables nearby. The fact that the rows are oriented north-south should prevent shadows for the most part anyway...

Plant far more seeds than you intend to ultimately grow, as you will be able to thin once the seedlings have grown a couple of inches and a couple of pairs of true leaves. The broccoli plants are spaced 18" apart. The soil can be filled all the way up to the cotyledon leaves. With transplants and seed sowing, be sure to pat the earth down around the plant or the top of the row with your palm. This restores capillarity to the soil, which will help the area around the seedling stay moist and encourage germination. After planting all the seeds and broccoli, the rows are watered are labeled so the different varieties won't get mixed up (and so my roommates don't step on them). Also this was my first opportunity to use water collected from the rain barrel, which was pretty neat.

A (short) planting list of the garden so far:

-Peas (Snow peas and Super Sugar Snap peas, both pole varieties)
-Beans (Scarlet Runner and Rattlesnake pole)
-Spinach (Bordeaux Hybrid)
-Broccoli (Early Green)