The Modern Victory Garden

Thankfully I spent a lot of time in the garden on Sunday getting a lot accomplished and soaking up the beautiful sunshine.   It was fortunate because the weather subsequently has been decidedly wetter, and because I have managed to catch a doozy of a cold this week, which has left me coughing, sneezing, with a sore throat, and generally best described as a walking virus factory!   In fact, I worked from home today in order to spare my coworkers and employees exposure to this stuff.   Large doses of Dayquil during the day and Nyquil at night, Kleenex, and medicated lip balm are keeping me going.   I so rarely get sick that when I eventually do, it seems like I really go down for the count.  This time is no exception.    However, at least for the moment, I am armed with a cup of sweetened hot tea; fresh Kleenex; and a recent dose of cold meds - so let me give you an update on what I did on Sunday before the meds and Kleenex run out on me again.                                    

The main thing I was working to accomplish on Sunday was to finish up the spring/summer direct seeding of crops.   I had planted some of the beans (Pinto beans, Blue Lake pole beans, and a small section of Royal Burgundy bush beans) over the prior two weekends.   On Sunday, I wrapped up planting the Dark Red Kidney beans, more Royal Burgundy bush beans, and some Sunset runner beans.   I planted a large 4’x16’ section of bed in kidney beans.   Some of the seed I used was my own saved seed from 2007 and the rest was purchased seed.   To prep the bed, I broadcasted a little balanced organic fertilizer and then cultivated it in with a sharp hoe.                              

The bed was then raked smooth and I used my 4” planting jig to plant up the beans.                          

I finished it up by using up some used potting soil to cover the seedbed.   I had set aside this potting soil for this very purpose when I recently freshened up the soil in some of the greenhouse containers.   I like to recycle old potting soil into the garden beds this way.                           

In addition to the kidney beans, I also planted up a 4’x8’ section of Royal Burgundy bush beans, and an 8’ row of Sunset runner beans under a grow support structure.   The other items I planted were a 2’x4’ section of Vulgare dill, and a 2’x4’ section of Mokum carrots.   The last items I planted was a 2’x8’ section of garden bed in lettuces (Super Gourmet Blend and Mesclun).   The lettuces went in under the cucumber trellis structure.   They will get plenty of sun for the coming weeks, but will be afforded some shade by the cucumbers later in the summer when the weather starts warming up too much for lettuce.   The trellis structure I am using for the cucumbers is new this year.   I actually purchased it back in 2007 and it has been sitting (unused) in the shop because it is not a super efficient use of a garden bed compared to my other vertical grow structures and (up until last year’s garden expansion was done) I did not have any extra bed space to spare.   However, with the garden expansion completed I could give consideration to pulling this item out of mothballs and giving it a try.   So for this year’s cucumber crop, I am using something new and it gives me a place to grow some later summer lettuces (hopefully) with the shade it will provide.           

The green pepper ladders you see laying on the ground in front of the support are there to protect the small cucumber seedlings.   Up until last  weekend, I had a sheet of plastic draped over the whole thing to add some heat for these tender plants.   Next to this cucumber bed is the spring spinach patch.   I gave it some fish emulsion tea fertilizer on Saturday.      

I can tell you that with the heavy rain we have gotten today combined with the shot of fertilizer I gave it last weekend, this patch tonight is about twice as thick with harvestable leaves from that shown in  this photo taken on Sunday!   I can see some signs that it would like to bolt though, so I need to do a hard harvest this weekend and freeze some.   In the meantime, I cut a nice bunch of it tonight to make a fresh spinach salad for dinner.   In the last photo the front section of bed that would appear empty is actually a planting of carrots I did two weeks ago (May 2nd).   The bed has all germinated and emerged and is really looking good – they are just too small yet to show up in photos.                                

The Pinto beans I also planted on May 2nd (with the corn and pumpkins) have almost all emerged now too and I noticed this evening that the bush beans and pole beans planted on May 9th are also just beginning to break ground.          

The big spinach patch, green onions, and container planting of Merlot lettuces have been feeding us really well for the past week or so.   I have also been harvesting a lot of kale and Tronchuda cabbage but not recording it in my harvest weight tally because I have been harvesting regular but small amounts to feed my young chickens!   It adds up, but each day’s picking is so small I have not been bothering with weighing it.   I quit harvesting asparagus about two weeks ago and am now letting it go to frond for the season.                                        

The real star of the garden at the moment is the pea patch. Check it out!     

The peas have latched on to the top most horizontal support  and are now reaching for the sky.   It’s looking like we will have another good pea harvest this year.                                                             

Also coming along is the broccoli patch.                                     

I have yet to see center heads begin to form, but I don’t think I will have to wait very long based on the overall size and health of the plants.   I side dressed the kale, cabbages, lettuces, and broccoli with some alfalfa pellets last weekend.             

Time to wrap this update up.   My meds are running out and I am starting to sneeze violently again and my nose is raw from blowing it.   I hope I am better soon because I got a call today letting me know that our chicken coop kit is going to be delivered tomorrow!   My husband and I are both anxious to get to this project and it would be a lot more fun if I were not sick.   I sincerely hope for all of your sakes that you avoid this crud altogether.

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener