The Modern Victory Garden

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Saving Spinach Seed

Posted on April 29, 2009 at 11:50 PM

With each passing day, the evenings are getting warmer and are staying lighter for longer periods of time. I could not be happier! There is so much to do in the gardens this time of year and only so many weekends can be reserved 100% from other commitments and obligations. So getting some garden time in during the weekday evenings makes a huge difference. It is also obvious that the plants are responding positively to the increased solar strength and length of day. The growth rate on the spring crops has really sped up and I noticed this evening as I was harvesting from the patch of overwintered spinach - that it is showing signs that it would like to bolt to seed soon. I have decided to let it do just that and save the seed.  It is "Bloomsdale Savoy" which is an open pollinated variety and I have a few weeks before the brussel sprouts need to go into that bed. Even if the spinach seed saving is not completed by the time the brussel sprouts need to be planted, I can always just plant them with the spinach still in place (surrounding the transplants). I will keep you posted on how that progresses.

 

I have mentioned previously that several of the tomatoes have already begun to blossom. I took a picture of one of the "Stupice" tomatoes showing the nice blooms developing.

 

 

 I am encouraged by the vibrant new growth on the plants since I put them out in the garden bed. Keep your fingers crossed for me that we get a MUCH better tomato year in 2009 than 2008.

 

You may recall that I recently transplanted out the 2009 swiss chard seedlings ("Bright Lights"). These are the same seedlings that I actually thought I had done in at one point! Thankfully I was quite wrong about that and they have gone on to be quite healthy little plants. They are doing well in their permanent planting spot.

While these young starts are growing to a harvestable size, we still have the overwintered crop in containers in the greenhouse. And they are still producing wonderfully despite being almost a year old and having had countless hard harvests made from them!

These are such beautiful, delicious, and productive plants. If you have not grown swiss chard, I heartily encourage you to try them this year. I am particularly fond of the mild flavor and festive colors of "Bright Lights".

 

The celery starts are right next to the swiss chard transplants and they are also getting a good run on the growing season.

 

 

We had a tremendous celery crop last year and I am hoping this year's is good as well. I enjoyed having such a large amount of sliced celery in the freezer this past winter for daily cooking use.

 

The various succession crops of lettuce in the greenhouse are all pouring on the growth with the improved weather conditions and sun strength. We can hardly harvest it fast enough - even with a large salad just about every day for dinner.  Here's one of the containers of "Super Gourmet Blend".

 

 

This container needs harvesting (again).  Planning to have a huge green salad with our dinner tomorrow night - harvested from this planting.  I will probably stop harvesting from the overwintered spinach patch very soon (to let it go to seed) and focus on keeping up with the lettuce for a while until the weather warms up too much and they start getting bitter.

 

That's what is "growing on" in my modern victory garden this week. Hope you are enjoying some evening time in the garden too.

Categories: Seed Saving, Vegetables, Plants

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12 Comments

Reply Dan
12:26 AM on April 30, 2009 
I am growing chard for the first time this year, first time eating it too. How do you prepare it? Your lettuce looks awesome.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
12:47 AM on April 30, 2009 
Dan - there are so many ways to enjoy swiss chard. First and foremost, cut the tender young leaves and use them in salads - exactly as you would spinach. In fact, young swiss chard leaves taste like a combination of spinach and beet.greens. I also like to harvest more mature stems and leaves and just slice up the stems and cut the leaves into wide ribbons - and then toss them into various stir fries. The mature leaves can be used in any recipe that calls for spinach leaves - quiche, spinach pie, spinach souffle, chicken florentine, etc. They are almost indistinguishable from each other when cooked. I like to cut the stems up in chunks and toss them in soups and casserole type dishes where a veggie is called for. Very versatile plant AND it keeps producing long after spinach has bolted to seed and can overwinter if given protection depending on the severity of your winter.
Reply jim g
09:21 PM on May 01, 2009 
My tomato seedlings are about an inch tall now... and I can't wait to get them planted into their bed in another week or two - over on the south side of the house. Bless you Laura for these recent vegetable photos...your plants really look great.

I'm also looking around for a broadfork to begin double digging the beds out back. I had no clue about this until I read your blog ( with photos) so kudos for that as well. Yes, I'm still looking for Jersey greensand at a decent price

I have so much sod back there right now...it's surreal to think of what the '60's meant in terms of yard aesthetics. I think it meant a small golf course for each house ? My house was built in 1961 and I moved in in 2004. So the yard...has...um... potential. Between Sinfonian and you, I have yet to take my first baby steps over here. : )

Started corn and zucchini seedlings today...wondering if I can still clear out enough sod to let the garden bed 'get ready' for what I'm thinking. If I was really clever I would have done all of this bed prepping in Sept/ October 2008. Oi vey. There is always next year.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
08:50 AM on May 02, 2009 
That turf lawn is like a canvas to a painter! So much potential Jim! It definitely can be overwhelming though to deal with when you are just getting started. I would carve out a small section and do a bite at the apple approach (one small bite at a time until the whole thing eventually get's eaten!). To make it easier you might want to find someone with a rototiller that you can hire to come in and just work the area up for you for the first time. Then you can just remove the chunks of sod and set to work on the creation of your garden area.

Sounds like you have young plants that are coming along nicely. Good work!
Reply Annette
11:25 AM on May 02, 2009 
How do you like those tomato ladders? Did you get them from Gardeners' Supply? I'm trying to decide what kind of cages to use this year - I have a few of the typical expanding cone shaped cages from last year, but I'll need more. My plants got so huge last year that they overwhelmed the cages. I've considered using concrete reinforcing wire, but those ladders look pretty nice. Would you recommend them? By the way, your garden is fantastic - thanks for the inspiration. I'm thinking I'll try plastic mulch on my tomato bed this year too after seeing yours.

Thanks!
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
09:31 PM on May 02, 2009 
Annette - I did get the ladders (and cages) from gardeners supply - some of the cages are very old but they are so well made that they continue to work beautifully. The ladders are useful but I would not purchase them as your only support system. The reason is that to work properly by themselves you have to prune the tomato plants aggressively. Personally, I don't like to prune my plants that much. But by combining them with the cages it provides a great support system. If I had to choose though, I would definitely do the cages. One is great for determinates... two stacked works for indeterminates but make sure the bottom one is staked well or the weight of the plants can pull the whole thing down. Concrete reinforcing wire makes a great tomato cage too and will last virtually forever. It's a very good option.

Last year was the first time I used the red plastic and I was enough impressed that I have decided to keep up the practice. It truly adds a great deal of soil warmth, seems to discourage slugs, and helps retain moisture in the soil.
Reply Shannon
06:01 PM on May 04, 2009 
When you freeze celery, do you blanch it first? How do you freeze it? I'm not a fan of frozen veggies in stir fry type dishes -- too mushy. But Celery? Do you use in mostly for soups or some sort of chicken salad? Thanks!
Reply Sinfonian
09:54 PM on May 05, 2009 
Hehe, sorry, thought I'd commented here already.

I've been shaking blooming tomatoes for weeks. Sure hope they pollinate.

Great looking lettuce. My brother's going to plant his lettuce in a window box like pot. That way he can move it to shade or sun when necessary. Besides, he's found that one row of VERY tightly spaced lettuce feeds his family all season.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
11:17 PM on May 06, 2009 
Shannon - the celery was just sliced and then placed on a cookie sheet and frozen until solid. Once frozen they are then emptied into a gallon zip lock freezer bag. I just scoop them out as needed for cooking. I would not use frozen veggies in chicken salad because anytime you freeze an item it breaks down the cellulose in the walls and they never have the same texture as fresh produce. I do use it in cooking though - stir fries, stews, soups, etc

Sinfonian - I have found that a good planting of lettuce will provide most of what we need for quite a while. I plant successions though because the plants finally get stressed from several "cut and come again" harvests and start getting bitter and bolting to seed. At which point I yank them out and turn to the next crop coming along right behind it.
Reply Annette
02:20 PM on May 09, 2009 
My Stupice tomatoes are blooming! They're still inside because of my short short short growing season, but they're blooming!

How early do you think I can plant them out if I use plastic mulch and a plastic hoop cover? My frost "free" (we laugh about that here) day isn't until around June 10th. Do you think I'd be okay planting them out a couple of weeks early with that set up? I'm so anxious, but I don't want to lose my plants.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
10:34 AM on May 10, 2009 
You could probably plant them out about 3 to 4 weeks prior to your frost free date with the hoop cover and plastic if your night time temps are averaging around 40 degrees or better with only the potential for colder (as opposed to you are regularly at freezing currently). Make sure the plants are WELL hardened off before you plant them out - as a drastic and sudden move - especially with cold night time temps - will just kill them.
Reply Annette
12:44 AM on May 12, 2009 
Sounds like I better wait a bit. Good nights are about 40 degrees, but right now we're still having some nights around freezing. Oh, the challenges of gardening at 7200ft! I was thinking of shooting for planting them out in a couple of weeks - that will be about two weeks before our frost free date. I think I'll probably stick with that (depending on how the forecast looks then).

Thanks for all your help. Here's hoping for warm weather!