taking shape

Flying in the face of the weather reports' call for MORE rain, some seeds and seedlings were planted, invasive ivies removed, and backs bent to soreness. The day required sunglasses more than rain jackets. Our new garden space has been partially planted to herbs and cool weather greens, and seeds sown of pea, beets, turnips, radish and rutabaga.Salvaged bricks, concrete steps, stones found while roto-tilling, and a single round leftover from cutting firewood form the steps to navigate the bed without actually stepping on the ground. Additionally they imbue the plot with some much desired design elements and make use of otherwise idle resources. Plenty of room for food; room enough to impart visual (and functional) interest. We'll roll the dice on the weather tomorrow and hope to plant more greens.

Collecting Seed

The end of the season brings about not just the harvesting of fruits but also seeds from which will grow some of next year's crops. To collect viable seed, we must wait until the seeds are completely ripe. In the case of tomatoes, this means waiting until the fruit is practically rotting off the vine, or perhaps has already fallen to the ground. Beans prove somewhat easier.

I allowed some of the rattlesnake pole beans to mature (providentially, it would seem, because I simply couldn't get around to eating them before they ripened into full seeds) until the pods shriveled and dried on the vine. You will be able to tell that the seeds are ready by touch; gently squeeze the pod and determine that the beans inside are not flaccid or soft. The ripe seed should be firm and relatively hard. The pods can then be picked and brought inside. I place the pods somewhere dry and warm so that any residual moisture evaporates; dampness is the mortal enemy of well-preserved seed.

Once the pods have completely dried out, the seeds can be shucked. Other plants I intend to gather seed from include basil (summer and thai), tomatoes, snap dragons, marigolds, quinoa (mostly to eat, but some for sowing next spring), and texas hummingbird sage.

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)