The Modern Victory Garden

There are a couple of new items (new to me at least!) in my garden this year.   You may recall that last October one of my blog readers (Cherie) was very generous and sent me some stem cuttings from her tree kale/collards.   They all got off to a great start and then unfortunately started succumbing to a fungal/root rot caused by the damp and cold of the unheated greenhouse where I had them overwintered.   I lost most of the starts but managed to nurse one lone plant back to good health.   I fussed over it from there on and worried about losing it.   Several weeks ago, I planted it out in the main garden beds and almost immediately afterwards we had really cold weather settle in.   The plant looked kind of rough for a few days and I was convinced I had managed to kill it too.   But then the plant perked up and began to grow, and today it has lots of new growth and is taking on a nice purple coloring similar to my favorite Ruby Ball cabbages.

Another item I am growing this year for the first time is artichokes.   I purchased the seed and then promptly forgot about them until I saw a blog post by Thomas talking about starting his artichokes.   With that reminder, I immediately got the seeds started but I was about two weeks behind the timeline I had worked out for them.   Luckily, the seeds germinated fairly quickly and the plants have been vigorous growers – such that they seem to be galloping along and are now good sized considering how late a start I got with them.                             

 I have three artichoke starts that I recently potted up to very large black containers.    These plants have been outside for weeks now and subjected to the cold nighttime temps.   I am hoping that they have been successfully “chilled” so that they will set blooms in this first year as an annual.   From what I have read they must go through a period of cold in order to actually produce in their first year.   

In addition to all these newcomers to The Modern Victory Garden, there are lots of old standbys growing too.   I put some new dwarfed bare root apple trees in a few weeks ago.   Until they get bigger, the planting area can support other crops.    I planted up the open areas of the bed with lots of lettuce starts.   I have romaine, and a variety of my favorite loose-leaf lettuces in there.   There is also some napa cabbages and pac choi as well.   They seem to be settling in and are putting on some good new growth the past few days.         

 I still need to get those trees staked.   Intended to do that last weekend but just never got it done.   Hopefully I will get it attended to this coming weekend, as it is far easier to do before the plants break dormancy and begin leafing out. 

The tomato plant hardening off process has been continuing all week.   They are pretty much ready to go into the ground (with some protective covers) anytime now.   I have given quite a few extra tomato plants away this week.    One went to a group of first time gardeners who are doing a community garden plot together with the help of a local master gardener.   I donated a Sun Gold tomato, one of the big pepper plants, some basil, some celery, and some swiss chard plants to the group.   I also grew some extra tomatoes for a co-worker (at his request) and delivered his plants to him today.   Tomorrow, I will be taking in to work several tomatoes, a couple of peppers, some swiss chard, a few artichokes, and some basil to give to my staff.   It has become a bit of a tradition with me to do a plant give away each spring of the extras starts – particularly tomatoes.   The rest of the tomatoes (the really big ones!) are kept to plant up in my garden.   They have gotten so big that I had to put some stakes in their containers to give them support.   I have been carting them outside every morning to a sunny location where they can soak up some sun and be exposed to the elements.   In the evening after returning home from work, I put them back into the greenhouse and close it up for the night.   I have them tucked into several corners and spots in the greenhouse.   Took pictures of a few of them this evening after I put them back in for the night.       

Notice the Sun Gold plants are flowering profusely?   I have some other varieties with blooms on too but the cherry tomatoes are definitely more sturdy and further along then the rest of them.   I have not grown Sun Gold before.   Generally, I tend not to get too excited about cherry tomatoes but this variety came so highly recommended and by so many individuals, that I really had to give them a try.   I hope they continue to impress me with their vigor and by producing some early and heavy fruit production.   I am planning to do the tomato bed planting up on Saturday as the weather is forecasted to be good and Sunday will be tied up with Easter related activities.   If I don’t hurry up and get those plants into the ground soon, they will start setting fruit in those small container pots!                     

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener