The Modern Victory Garden

The Urban Farm Handbook giveaway had a total of 31 people who tossed their name into the drawing.   On Wednesday I prepared slips of paper with everyone’s name on them that entered and put them in a bowl; tossed them energetically to mix them up; and then my husband did the honors and pulled the winning name out of the bowl.    And the winner is….             

Molly Schultz!                                      

Congratulations Molly!   I have sent you an email requesting your mailing info so I can get this on its way to you.                                       

There were so many people interested in this book, that I was wishing I had a stack of them to give away.                                                     

In other news, we had a fairly sizeable snow storm over the past 24 hours and are currently blanketed in a heavy layer of white stuff.      Temperatures were in the low to mid 20's and cold.                                        

I swept the snow off the grow tunnel cover mid day.                

Forecast is for freezing rain and then a warm up to rain in the next 24 hour period.   The long term forecast is for a week or so of moderate to heavy rains.   Between the melt and the rain it is going to be very wet and chill around here for a while.  Wednesday afternoon I dug into the grow tunnel to trim up the kale plants to give my hens a treat (since they were confined all day to their covered yard due to the snow).   While I was in there I noticed that the kale plants are showing a renewed amount of growth in the main central portion of the plant.   The day length has been noticeably increasing in the past week or two and I think the plants are beginning to respond.    Hurrah!                                                 

It (obviously!) will still be awhile before real growth gets going, but I am encouraged to see the first signs of approaching greener days.               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

The 2011 year is not quite concluded and I will have more harvest totals to add in the coming four weeks to the running tally for the year.   Historically however, my harvests only average 5 pounds per month from December through April and therefore it is unlikely my final year-to-date total will improve very much from its current amount of 364.5 pounds.   So it looks like I will be finishing the year with somewhere in the neighborhood of 370 pounds of production from the garden for 2011 (at least the amount that got officially weighed).   This is definitely not a good report card given what I know this garden can produce.   Luckily, our actual demand for production has decreased by about 1/3rd so there has not been a real impact on us from a food source perspective.   Our daughter moved away to Pennsylvania in the summer of 2010 so the number of adults being fed from the garden went from 3 in 2009, to 2.5 in 2010, and has now settled down to 2 effective for all of 2011 and going forward.                              

In an “average” year, I would expect to see the harvest total to be closer to 475 pounds and a “really good” year could yield in the 700 pound range.   Obviously, at approximately 370 pounds of production – 2011 was a “poor” production year.   So the question that then begs to be answered is … why?    Here are the components as best I can determine.           

First and foremost, we had dismal weather conditions in 2011.   We continually set records for “low” daytime “highs” throughout the summer season.   It just never got very warm at all.   Granted, our region rarely gets all that warm during the summer, but for 2011 we did not even get a brief period of heat.   Compounding this, the spring was also very chill so plants were slow to get started and then never got an infusion of sun to give them a growth spurt to catch up.   The only positive thing I can say about the 2011 growing weather is that our summer was actually quite dry, which helped to keep the tomato plants reasonably healthy despite the cooler temps.   Had it been wet as well as cold, I would have been in a losing battle with the various fungal diseases that are endemic to my growing region.   The long term forecasts for my region are to get a similar season in 2012 to what we experienced in 2011. This is because the strong La Nina conditions from 2010/11 are back again for 2011/12 and while weaker than last year will still be moderate in force.  

There is not much I can do about the weather – it is what it is – but there are steps that can be taken to mitigate for less than optimal weather.   Knowing that next season is likely going to have much of the same conditions as this year, I can adjust my strategies to help improve my results.       

Out of laziness, I skipped using plastic mulch for the squash patch in 2011.   I will not be making that mistake again in 2012.   The extra soil warmth created from the brown Infra-Red Transmitting (IRT) mulch can help mitigate for some of the cooler ambient temperatures.   In addition, I will be putting a grow tunnel cover over the squash patch bed for the first portion of the growing season to increase the air warmth surrounding the plants during the cool early season period.   My squash plants eventually grew quite vigorously last year (despite the cold conditions), but because they got such a late start due to the chilly spring conditions they were unable to set and mature fruit before the cold wet rains of fall arrived.   I need to ensure the start of the growing season is more hospitable for them in order to avoid the same problems in 2012.   Putting these plants under a grow tunnel cover during the spring period however, will increase the potential for mildews and fungal problems to develop so I will also have to use preemptive applications of organic fungicides.                   

I am also planning to use covers over the potato patch for the first month or so after planting to ensure a warmer soil condition and thus a faster start for the plants.    Another step I am planning to take to adjust for the expected repeat of cool conditions in 2012 is to start my pole beans indoors and set them out as transplants, because the cool soil conditions of a bad weather year make germination more difficult.   I did that with the corn in 2011 and we got a good harvest from the patch despite the weather.   I will (of course) be also starting the corn as transplants in 2012 as well.        

Weather was not the only issue though that resulted in our less than spectacular production results.   For some reason I seemed to have completely skipped using containers on my deck to grow crops in during 2011.    I am not really sure why that happened actually.   Usually I use quite a few containers to expand my growing options and make full use of the limited area on my property that gets adequate sun.   I will definitely be putting my containers back to work for the 2012 growing season.  

While I am not thrilled with the overall level of production of the garden in 2011, there definitely were some excellent performers.   At the top of my list is the Lady Bell peppers.   These sweet red bell pepper plants grew vigorously, had a beautiful leaf canopy that kept to a low and compact growth habit, and produced a significant amount of good sized peppers that went to fully mature/ripened status with little pest or disease problems.   Definitely a winner for my growing region and conditions and I will be growing these again without hesitation.  

Another super performer this year was the celery patch.   I put it in a bed that is actually my worst bed on the property due to significant shading during much of the day.   The bed was amended with composted chicken manure as well as usual home brew compost.   The celery plants responded very favorably to the combination of cool weather, super amended soil that retained water exceptionally well, and seemed quite happy to be in partial or even full shade for large portions of the day – something most other plants (other than lettuces) would not be very tolerant of.   I will be rotating them to another bed area in 2012 but they are going to go into a nearby location that is similarly situated and I will be repeating the soil amendment combo for that planting area in 2012 as well.

The celery, peppers, rhubarb, Napa cabbages, green and red cabbages, kales, pac choi, corn, turnips, parsnips, peas (both shelling and snap), garlic, and lettuces all performed quite well in 2011.    In the “okay but not great” category, I would include the potatoes, bush beans, spinach, leeks, cucumbers, beets, swiss chard, Legend and Defiant tomatoes, and broccoli.    And the winners of the “poor performers” category would have to be the carrots (carrot fly infestation took out much of the crop), pole beans, onions, other tomato varieties outside of those specifically named previously, pumpkins, winter squash, and zucchini.   Yes, you read that correctly…. zucchini is on my list of low performers for the 2011 year.   Amazing I know, but it is true.   All of the squash family with the exception of the cucumbers (which made it into the “okay but not great” category) were dismal producers in this extremely cool growing year.         

That pretty much wraps up my 2011 production assessment and planned 2012 adjustments.   I think with the adjustments I am planning to make, I can improve the production in 2012, even if it does turn out to be another exceptionally cool growing year.                                            

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

It’s getting harder to do anything in the garden after work these days because each day is getting noticeably shorter.   Adding to the sensation of seasonal change is the hasty departure of our brief late season weather warm up.   It was great while it lasted, but it did not last very long.   The crops that have been pouting from lack of real warmth this entire summer suddenly woke up and got a move on it.   The squash-family plants in particular responded to the warm up.   At long last the normal jungle of vine growth has occurred – almost a full month behind schedule but better late than never I guess.     

Part of that response came in the form of pumpkins that are finally starting to put some size on.   Again, this is very late and they have a long way to go to maturity but for the larger ones formed, it is at least possible now that they may get to the finish line before the plants give it up to disease or killing frosts.   It just all depends on what kind of fall we end up experiencing.         

While the squash family plants have been putting on a last ditch growth spurt, the fall crops also used the brief warm up to do some growing of their own. I have an early-planted spinach patch that is already producing regular harvests, and a younger (later planted) patch that will soon be producing harvests as well.   Next to the spinach is a patch of mache and some lettuces.   The slugs have managed to munch most of the young lettuces as fast as they grew, but a few have survived and should also soon be harvestable.                

The parsnip patch has been growing all summer long and is now at the peak of vegetation growth.                 

I did an investigative poke down into the soil to see how they were coming on and found that they are sizing up well.   I won’t be harvesting any of these for a while yet as I prefer them after the weather has turned really chill.        

The fall broccoli patch is growing right next to the jungle of squash vines and are creating a bit of a jungle all their own.                

The heads are formed and are getting larger with each passing day. We won’t have to wait much longer to have fresh broccoli back on the menu again.                     

The bush beans are winding down but still producing.   The extremely late pole beans are finally starting to produce - just in time to start filling the gap created by the decreasing bush bean production.                     

All in all, the summer garden is still producing well and if we are fortunate enough to have a reasonably dry and warmish fall season they will continue to command center stage, but warming up just behind the curtain are the fall cast of characters, poised to take their turn in the spotlight for a while.        

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

It’s not exactly “hot” with high temperatures of mid to upper 70’s, but it is warm and dry and I’ll take it!   The forecast for the next many days is for more of the same.   The change in the garden that has resulted from this modest warm up is rather impressive.   It’s truly amazing what just a little heat can do for the summer garden.   It’s hard to realize how important it is until you go for long periods of time at record setting cool temperatures and see first hand how plants generally just stop growing.   Luckily, we are catching a break and the zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins are finally putting some growth on.   The melons and the butternut squash are too, but I fear they are just too little and this recent growth is too late to have any hope of producing anything before the cold rains of fall arrive.   The pumpkins are questionable but possible since they are running well and setting fruit.   The zucchini and cucumbers are not a problem as they will start producing and just keep going for weeks to come.   The zucchini plants in particular have really woken up over the past few days.   There are a couple of squash forming on the plants and I should be able to pick the first ones of the season in just a day or so.   Here is one of the zucchini plants.                            

Reaching out to it from the front right is some of the sugar pie pumpkin vines.                       

While the warm and dry spell is appreciated, it does mean I have to work harder at keeping the garden beds and container grown plants all properly hydrated.   Since returning from my trip to Pennsylvania, I have been cycling through the garden zones on a daily basis - watering.   I use a variety of watering methods in my garden.   Some areas are hand watered using a water wand connected to a garden hose or a large watering can that has been filled from our rain barrels.   I use the hand watering method for all the container grown plants, newly planted seed beds, and small bed areas where any other form of irrigation would just be overkill.   I use soaker hoses for the tomato patch and for several of the planting areas that have bush fruits and berries.   The last method I employ is to use overhead sprinklers.   I am careful not to use overhead sprinkling on plants that are best not wetted (like tomatoes).   My personal preference is for spray style sprinklers that provide a more thorough soaking.   I have a very nice copper and brass sprinkler mounted on a tall post that places the spray head well above the plant foliage and covers a rather substantial amount of area.   In addition, I have assembled my own spray style sprinkler for use in my narrow garden beds (2 feet wide).   I found that the rectangular sprinklers available for sale just covered too broad of an area rather than a narrow strip of garden.   I built this from a few purchased parts several years ago and it has given me great utility.                           

The sprinkler itself is just a hand watering sprayer attachment that I affixed to a “push in” base for sprinklers.   If I cannot find something that does the job I need doing, I will create what I need using items that are readily available.   This particular configuration provides a narrow and long spray pattern which is perfect for my long and narrow vertical grow beds.                        

About a month ago, my husband moved two half-whiskey barrels planted up with strawberries from a shady area in our front landscaping area to the garden.   They were not thriving in their old location and these container-grown strawberries have really perked up with the good sun exposure they now enjoy and the warm up in temperatures.    We have been picking a few odds and ends berries from these plants for about a week now.   They never make it into the harvest totals because they get eaten before we ever reach the house.                               

This little warm up in the garden is much-needed this year even though it means more work for me ultimately – both in watering chores, and in increased harvesting demands.   Bring it on!                              

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

While the vast majority of the United States has been sweltering this summer, the Pacific Northwest has remained a dark blue blob amongst the sea of deep red on the weather maps.    Our weather has been much cooler than normal this year, which is saying a lot because we are known for our mild summers and winters.   In fact, it has been at 80 degrees or warmer in the Seattle area this year for only a total of 78 minutes - 12 minutes on July 2, and 66 minutes on July 6.   If you are willing to settle for temperatures that at least climb above 75 degrees, the statistics improve, but not by very much.  We had a total of 18 hours and 48 minutes of temperatures above 75 this summer.   Yes, you read that correctly, less than a day cumulative of temperatures above 75.   You can read more about it HERE.         

Despite all this, I have a Legend tomato plant that is determined to produce a ripe tomato.                                           

This morning as I was doing a garden walk about, I noticed that this plant was seriously breaking color on a single fruit.   I am not so sure it is actually ripening normally or just coloring up from old age!   Regardless, I admire the plant's persistence and hope the rest of the tomatoes will follow suit and defy the weather too.                                

For those of you suffering through the widespread and horrific heat waves, many of us here in the Northwest would be glad to take about 10 degrees off of your hands to help out.   Or at least I would, if I could!                      

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

We finally warmed up to “normal” temps for a few days.   In fact, we finally got above 80 degrees - for two whole days even!   It was short lived though, because today we are back to gloomy, misting rain, and below normal temps.   (sigh)   One can only hope that this is just a slow wind up to some actual summer weather for the remainder of July and August.   The good news is, is that the plants took advantage of this brief arrival of summer to do some serious growing over the course of just a few days.   The squash plants in particular did a wake up from their doldrums and noticeably improved in a relatively brief period of time.   The pumpkins are running and starting to flower.                             

And the zucchini is actually getting big enough now to see the formation of immature flowers developing.                    

This is really behind the normal stage of growth for these plants for this time of year, but at this point I am just glad they are still alive and perking up.   The butternut squash, melons, and cucumbers similarly are much improved for having enjoyed a few days of reasonably warm weather.   The question though is whether they can catch up sufficiently, set fruit, and then mature them to harvest stage before the approach of fall and even cooler weather.   I am not concerned about the cucumbers and the zucchini as they are relatively fast producers and are harvested at “immature” stages for best eating quality.   However, the pumpkins, winter squash, and melons all require a relatively long growing period and need the fruit to ripen on the vine.   Those are the crops I am getting increasingly concerned about being able to get to the finish line in time.                                                    

Also behind schedule due to our record setting cool year (so far) are the peas and the potatoes.   Thankfully, both of those crops are coming along just fine, and while late, are setting up to produce a fine harvest for us.   The potato patch has finally filled out.                      

The pea patch is doing splendidly.   The pea vines are over 4 feet tall now – the tops have blooms and the bottom portions have pea pods growing fat with peas.                                 

I think I am about one and half weeks away from the big shelling pea harvest.   It really depends on the weather though.   In another section of garden the sugar snap peas are blooming heavily and this morning I noticed the first pods are forming.

The cool weather crops continue to rejoice in the damp and chill weather.   The Ruby Ball cabbages in particular are getting very large and at this point are starting to form the beginnings of what will later be a dense head of red cabbage (purple actually).   This is one of my all time favorite cabbage varieties because it is not only tasty but really beautiful too.

The spring planted broccoli is winding down but I am still getting a nice harvest of side shoots from them periodically.   If it ever warms up and stays there, the broccoli plants will be ready to be removed.   In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy the side shoots.   In the house, I have a big flat of cabbages and broccoli seedlings growing under lights.   They are waiting for the pea patch to be harvested so that I can plant them there for a fall/winter harvest.   In preparation for fall, I also recently direct seeded some bunching onions in an area where the early spring greens previously resided.   These will provide some fresh eating onions during the fall and early winter months.   I am also planning to direct seed some storage onions in the garden (probably next weekend) that hopefully will over winter to produce a larger sized storage onion for 2012.   I have tried this before without much success, but my previous efforts were with transplanted starts.   This time around, I am going to try a mid-summer direct seeding and see if that makes a difference.                                     

Keep your fingers crossed for me that the misting rain and cool temps that have returned do not result in a disastrous fungal infection for the tomato patch.   It’s a very real possibility with this kind of weather, particularly when it is sandwiched in between warmer spells.   I have been keeping the plants well pruned for good air circulation and will probably spray with an anti-fungal (such as Serenade) this coming weekend.   I had actually intended to do that last weekend but just did not get to it.   I hope I don’t come to regret that fact in the future.                               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

The weather in our region has been setting records this spring for wetter and colder than normal temps.   Last year was much the same but what made last year worse overall, was that it never really improved and the entire summer was cool and gloomy.   While we have started out cold and damp there is still some reason to be hopeful that summer will actually yet arrive this year and give us six to eight weeks of warmer and drier conditions before the onset of fall conditions.  

Our garden produce is important to us because it is the food we regularly eat.   Whatever the weather year turns out to be, I need to get the most out of the garden I can.   My challenge as a modern victory gardener is to manage weather risk as best I am able and maximize my garden’s productivity in all years.  

 In my garden, many crops are doing just fine despite the not so great weather so far.   Some of it can be attributed to the type of crop being grown.   I know my area is prone to this kind of weather so I plant a fair amount of cool weather loving crops like peas, spinach, cabbages, broccoli, kale, and other greens.   It is tempting to plant less of these and more of the sun and heat lovers like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, and corn.   Given a choice, we love to eat the warm weather crops more than cool weather items but I have found it does not pay to fight the environment I am given, because the odds start to stack against me for success.   So I devote a fair amount of garden space to crops that will grow well in our area, even in the gloomiest of summers.   Recently I blogged about some of these staples for my growing climate – cabbages and kale.   These cool weather crops are (of course!) balanced with a decent amount of planting area reserved for warm weather crops, because not every year is cool and wet and even when it is – some items still produce satisfactorily despite the weather.  Like everyone else, we love those items too and certainly don’t want to do without them, even if they are challenging to grow in some years (for tomatoes it is most years!).         

Some of the warm weather crops are also doing okay this spring.   Much of that can be attributed to being well grown initially under protected conditions; careful hardening off before transplanting; and using additional protection once outside to keep the plants as comfortable as possible in the less than ideal growing conditions.   The pepper, basil, and tomato plants I grew extra early and then planted out with continued protection of either a grow tunnel cover or the unheated greenhouse are good examples of this.   I have five pepper plants in the greenhouse that are absolutely loaded with peppers and have lots more forming.   The tomatoes are growing and have fruit set and flowering.   And the basil is some of the nicest I have grown.   All of them have been grown under protective cover almost exclusively since being set out.   If I had just shoved these out into the elements at my usual planting time without going to the extra effort of giving them cover as needed – the results would not have been the same.   I can guarantee it.   It IS extra work to put covers on; to make sure they are ventilated adequately on warmer days – or to remove them entirely and put them back on periodically – but the effort is not that much for the potential reward provided.  

Not everything works out though despite efforts to manage weather risk.   Every year has its share of plant losses or reduced production from weather related stresses.   This year is no exception.   I lost all my cucumber seedlings transplanted out earlier this spring and had to reseed the lot of them.   They were just too unhappy with the cool and wet conditions.   The replacement seeds are starting to emerge but it is rather spotty and I will be surprised if I get much of a cucumber harvest this year.   Similarly, the first planting of pole beans did not germinate, not a one of them.   I recently reseeded these too and I am now wondering if any of those will come up because so far there is not one sign of them emerging.   I lost almost all of my zucchini transplants (granted I only put a few out) and several of my butternut squash plants.   I direct seeded some replacements of each of those too and am impatiently waiting for those to emerge as well.   The survivors are hanging in there but they are much smaller than they should be and are not exactly thriving.   My point in telling you all of these sad tales is not to garner your sympathy but to emphasize that this is just part of the process.   While disappointing, it is not the end of the world.   The trick is to roll with it and try to recover as best you can from these set backs.   If it is not too late to do another planting – then give it a whirl!   Ultimately you may salvage a decent harvest from the crop or at least salvage something of a crop.   If not, the beauty of gardening is that you have another chance at it next growing season.             

This year’s weather is certainly posing lots of challenges and more of my energy has to go towards managing weather risk, but on balance I think I have more successes than failures in that effort to date.                    

Tonight I snagged a few photos of things going on in the garden that I have not talked a lot about lately.   Here’s a picture of the back portion of the side garden area.   To the right you can see the spring broccoli patch growing and next to the greenhouse is the second generation horizontal pea trellis and the pea patch.   

The peas and broccoli are two of my “safety net” crops that grow wonderfully when we get prolonged wet and gloomy weather.   There is a limit to how much cold and wet they will take and still thrive, but their comfort with cool and damp weather is quite high.   The peas have gotten quite tall and are now up to the second horizontal trellis support and are not only latching on but growing on through.                              

The are just beginning to flower and within the next week this patch should become a mass of blossoms.                        

The broccoli is also doing well and has formed central heads as well as the first of the side shoots.   The heads are starting to size up and it will not be long now before we get to begin enjoying some fresh broccoli.   I am really looking forward to it because this is one of my favorite vegetables in the garden.           

Celery is a plant that does not like really cold conditions, but it is quite content with cool and wet.   It is a good crop for my region for this reason.   For those in drier and hotter areas it can be a real challenge to grow celery well, but it is another plant that is in my arsenal of “if all else fails weather wise, this one will grow just fine” crops.   I have a fairly big patch of celery growing this year and they have formed succulent stalks that are very crisp and good tasting.   The lack of heat stress and lots of wet weather has done them well.                                   

Some of the plants that are doing fine despite the weather are the bush beans and the corn.   Both are more than satisfactorily growing but they definitely would be further along if the weather were warmer and drier.   These are warm loving crops so the fact that they are holding their own is pretty admirable given they really have not gotten much help other than the corn - which was started indoors under lights and was pretty well grown before I planted them out.   Here are the corn plants the day I planted them out (April 30th).        

Now here is the same corn patch five weeks later on June 8th.            

The corn plants are obviously growing, are healthy, and progressing along, but given they went into the ground five weeks ago would typically be much taller by now than they are.   All things considered though, they look great and I am pretty pleased they are holding up so well.                    

The bush beans were direct seeded and are also small for their age, but again they are doing pretty good.   Much of that can be attributed to the variety of bush bean I am growing – Royal Burgundy.   This variety is known not just for the purple-podded beans it produces but for also being a good producer in cooler and wetter conditions.   Choosing varieties that work for your area’s climate is another critical part of managing weather risk.     

I hope the weather eventually warms up and dries out and stays that way for a stretch of time that could be properly called “summer”.   It would certainly make things a little easier.   No matter which way it decides to go ultimately, I have crops in the ground that will provide for us.  All part of the process of managing weather risk.               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

We enjoyed some rather beautiful days this weekend, but while the sun was indeed shining, it was also quite cold.   The ground was frozen on both Saturday and Sunday so it was not possible to do any early bed prep other than spreading some compost in the afternoons once the temps warmed up a bit (which I did).   As a result, the garden activities were mostly confined to the maintenance of the trays of seedlings.   The items planted last weekend are largely all up – including the celery and peppers, which usually take more than a week to make an appearance.   The seeds started in earlier batches are all in various stages of growth with the oldest being the onions and the super early tomatoes.   Some of the greens planted on February 5th were far enough along by Saturday that they were ready for some thinning.                            

While they look lush in this before picture, there are multiple plants in each cell and as they grow on (if not thinned) the competition would just result in multiple weak seedlings.   So I took the time to carefully cut away the excess plants from each cell.   The plants look a little bedraggled immediately after I do a thinning, but they perk up quickly and will be much stronger ultimately than if I had let them remain crowded much longer.                           

The seedling trays were all given a thorough bottom watering and allowed to sit in the feeble sun and chill conditions for about 20 minutes while soaking.           

Then the excess water was drained off and these tender seedlings were whisked back off to the protection, light, and warmth of the light set up in the shop.   I find handling them periodically like this is beneficial … similar to the effect of running low fans on seedlings in that it tends to toughen the stems up and make them more resilient to stresses.                           

Next weekend, I will be starting another batch of lettuces and if the weather warms up a bit, I will do some aeration of a few of the garden beds.   I also will be making arrangements later this week to have that cross fencing installed as well.   It seems rather quiet on the gardening front right now, but I can tell that the greens in the greenhouse are responding to the increased day length and I expect in the next few weeks to see the early greens kick into much faster growth – especially if it would just warm up a little bit!                           

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Imbolc (otherwise known as Groundhog Day) occurred on Wednesday of this week.    It marks a major turning point in the gardening year for northern hemisphere gardeners in that it is the mid-point between winter solstice and the spring equinox.   By the time February 2 arrives, we have completed the most difficult portion of our ascent out of winter’s darkest point (December 21st – winter solstice), and are heading towards the beginning of spring (March 21st – spring equinox).   It’s hard not to feel a sense of excitement since the low point of winter is now behind us and there are hints everywhere that spring is indeed not all that far away.   I know folks who are suffering through the recent heavy snowstorms, ice, and freezing events are not feeling much spring optimism right now, but there is at least one sign of this major turning point that we are all experiencing – that being that it is getting noticeably lighter out in the early evening hours.   

This coming weekend I am scheduled to start the early cabbages, kale, and Asian greens, which is definitely a sign that the spring planting season is not so very far away.    Planting fresh greens seems like a fitting way to conclude a week that marked the turning point towards spring.     Happy Imbolc everyone!                  

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what everyone else is harvesting from gardens in so many different regions.   Check it out and join in!                       

The young plants growing in my shop (under lights) have already produced their first harvest and they have not even made it out to their final planting area yet.   The lettuce and young kale provided me with the foundation of a nice salad to go with some steaks and sautéed parsnips (last week’s harvest item).           

On Sunday I harvested some carrots that I combined with my storage garlic and onions (and many other ingredients!) to make Beef Bourguignon.   I failed to get a picture of the harvest itself, but I did take a picture of the grow tunnel bed I dug them out of and you can see the carrots sitting on the edge of the adjacent bed edge (left side of the picture)                 

The bed of carrots are not very appealing to look at as the tops are largely died back due to the severe freeze we had about two weeks ago, but the carrots are just fine down in the soil and are providing a nice supply of fresh harvests to supplement the stored and preserved garden harvests.                 

I used another of the storage pumpkins Saturday to make another “Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good”.   It was as good the second time I made it as the first time.    I bet it would be great with other small sweet fleshed winter squash that have a similar shape – i.e. a Buttercup squash etc.              

Harvest totals for the week of December 6th through December 12th (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).

• Carrots 0.50 lbs
• Lettuce & Greens 0.25 lbs

Total For Week 0.75 lbs

Total Year To Date 445.25 lbs              

Eggs harvested this week - 38

The hens joined me in the greenhouse on Sunday afternoon for a while, and grazed on the clover and weeds growing at the base of the containers and under the sawhorse table set up in there.                          

I can only do this when I am around to supervise as those clever girls go straight for the greens growing in the containers if you do not keep a constant eye on them.   They know a good thing when they see it!   The hens are such a delight and I enjoy just hanging out with them.   I think they were appreciative of not only the lush greens to nibble on but also a chance to get out of the rain for a short spell.   We had considerable rainfall on Saturday night and most of the day Sunday.   We were lucky however, in that we did not get near the amount of rain as some of our neighbor areas did.   For example, Bremerton got over 6 inches of rain in the 24-hour period.   Some places in our state don’t get that much rainfall in an entire year!   While the weather kept me out of the garden much of the weekend, I did make use of the indoor time to begin the planning process for the 2011 garden.   I will save that as a topic for another day’s blog post though.   Keep dry and warm.              

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener