sun window

Amid sprinkles and sunbreaks, Stephanie and I got the first starts in the ground this afternoon. Earlier in the day I dropped off a 1/2 yard of compost on the plot (now measuring 9'x9'). The roto-tiller was put to use to mix the existing soil with the compost, after which an amendment cocktail of gypsum, limestone, phosphate and greensand was broadcast and then tilled in. Steph rakes the mixed soil to level it out before planting.

A couple of salvaged herb plants (thyme and red sage) fill the north corner, while an assortment of greens (mizuna, oak leaf lettuce, Amish deer tongue lettuce, Bibb lettuce), red cabbage,

lacinato kale and borage line the southern side of the garden. Excavated rocks provide a stepping stone, and more bricks and other stones will flesh out the rest. Tomorrows' weather being amicable as forecasted will allow us to plant more greens and begin planning for raspberry canes (to line the fence) and what to do with so many strawberries.

seedling steps

The first set of seedlings are moving up in the world. Time to transplant into a more coherent and spacious intermediary arrangement, the last before they brave the cool spring weather. Seeded flats are scooped out by hand and separated carefully (as little root disturbance as possible behooves the hungry gardener). Spacing is approximate; about 2 inches for each plant will provide ample room until they're planted in the garden. In a 10"x 20" flat that is 50 seedlings. More than your typical urban garden can accommodate, but there's always the opportunity to spread the love to neighbors or else rouge plants not showing vigor. The planting media for the transplants is mostly compost, with some peat and perlite and some added granulated organic fertilizer to induce rapid growth. These coles and greens are hardening off in the greenhouse as they prepare for their next step on the journey. As soon as it stops raining long enough to do a little digging...

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)

Transplanting

Well the leek and herb souffle was fantastic. There really is nothing like eating fresh food out of the garden, even if what you're eating has just weathered a cold and damp winter! The last few days I've been laboring over the transplanting of tomatoes from the small germinating trays we've had under lights and into larger containers. Transplanting to larger containers (as opposed to directly into the garden) mostly applies to heat-loving species (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers), which will usually outgrow the container you sprouted them in, but are still too fragile to be planted outside. In the Pacific Northwest this means they should not be planted outside until May or possibly later in the case of eggplants or peppers.

You'll want to transplant after the seedling has developed at least 2 sets of 'true' leaves. These are the leaves that are produced after the first leaves, known as cotyledon leaves.

Now here's an opportunity to put 'sustainability' and 'green' ideas into use. Instead of going to the store and buying pots (which are more than likely made in China anyway), start to collect empty plastic containers that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away. Recycling is better than sending waste to the landfill, but it still requires energy (mostly fossil fuels) in order to reprocess it into a new product. Reusing bottles reduces even further the amount of wasted energy.

I use empty Gatorade bottles (32 oz size, about the equivalent of a 4" pot), Vitamin Water bottles (20 oz size), 2 liter soda bottles, and whatever else I can get my hands on (yogurt containers, other various juice bottles, etc.) Special thanks go to my roommates for their particular beverage addictions. The lids of some yogurt containers can also be used as trays to place under the salvaged containers to collect drained water.

Raw materials

First rinse the bottles out. Then cut the top of the bottle off using a sharp knife. Be careful, as this is the most dangerous step of the process. Poke the knife through, taking care the blade doesn't slip, and cut in a straight line. Or you can use scissors if you're not comfortable using a knife.


If you have one handy, use an electric drill with an 1/8" drill bit to drill a series of holes in the bottom of the container. This will allow excess water to drain, which will prevent the soil from remaining too damp and possibly causing the roots to rot. If you don't have a drill, you can carefully use the sharp tip of a knife to bore out the holes, or else try pounding holes using a nail and hammer.

Once the holes are drilled/cut the 'pot' is ready to fill with soil (I use a mix of compost and perlite, of a ratio of about half and half). Now you're ready to transplant!

The finished product

When transplanting it is of utmost importance to disturb the roots as little as possible. Try loosening the soil in the container by gently squeezing the outside. Turn the container upside down, with a finger on either side of the plant's stem, and squeeze the container to persuade the plant to slide out. Have patience with this step, it could be the difference between the plant not even realizing it's been moved and shocking it and causing it to halt growth for several days until it can recover.


Have the larger container you'll be transplanting the seedling into filled with your soil mix and make a depression in the soil where you will insert the plant. Gently place the roots into the depression, taking care to keep the root tips pointed down to the bottom of the depression. The root tips are the most delicate part of the root system, as they are the actively growing portion that is readily seeking out space and nutrients. Pat down the soil around the stem, then water the plant with luke-warm water. Place the plant back under lights or in a sunny windowsill.

The windowsill in my room. This window works well because it is a southern exposure (gets most light during the day) and is on the second floor (is not shadowed by the condos next door). If you're growing more than one variety of tomato, as we are, be sure to label the containers to help keep track of what's what.

Rain + Rain Barrel = Success

It rained all day long yesterday, soaking the newly composted half of the garden and overflowing the rain barrel. I may have to make an overflow valve at some point to divert water once the barrel is full so that the overflow doesn't degrade the soil directly beneath the barrel. I bought another 8 bags of compost to finish off the remainder of the garden, but that will have to wait for a sunny day, or at least a dry one.

Kept busy this afternoon transplanting some heirloom and cherry tomatoes into bigger pots. Looks like we'll be needing more windowsills and grow lights to accommodate all the plants we've sprouted. Also I moved the tray of oak leaf lettuce that Nathan sowed several weeks ago into the cold frame to begin adjusting to the cooler outside temps. As soon as the garden is fully composted I will be planting the broccoli seedlings, the lettuce, as well as direct sowing beans, peas and spinach. I re-planted the artichokes that I grew last year (but dug up before we roto-tilled) to the northwest corner of the garden. Here's hoping tomorrow's good for laying down some compost.