Getting a Start on Vertical Gardening

When a garden has only limited space, one way to make the most of every inch is to support vining plants to grow up rather than to sprawl across the ground. I've learned so much from the the wonderful Square Foot Gardening books by Mel Bartholomew.  He has some great suggestions for making the most of small garden areas, and the close placement of plants in a series of small beds.

Winter Sowing Update

Parsley seedlings grown outdoors in a milk jug

Earlier this year, I posted about trying winter sowing, starting seeds in mini-greenhouses made from gallon milk jugs.  I had read about this last year, and was simply itching to try it for myself.  I've started seeds indoors for several years, and had dealt with watering, watching out to see if seed trays are too wet or dry, damping off, fungus gnats, and all the many trays perched on every conceivable surface in the house. Then there's the taking the trays in and outside to harden off the seedlings before they can be planted. Winter sowing as described would simplify all of that.

Snow in May

Snow on the daffodils

This morning the weather here in southcentral Kansas couldn't decide whether to rain, sleet or snow, so it went for a light mixture of all three.  The cold front came in yesterday about the time I got off work, and all night we heard blustery winds.  Even though the ground is warm enough that the snow doesn't accumulate, it's still extraordinary to have snow in May! 

March in the Garden

Leaf lettuce

This is a photo of the leaf lettuce I planted in my little plastic green-house back in December.  It's taken it a lot longer than a late spring planting outside normally would to get rolling, but now I've got plenty of fresh mixed greens for myself and my bunnies.

Winter Sowing

Getting ready for winter sowing.

Today I started planting my garden for the summer--way earlier for outdoor planting than I would have ever thought possible before!  Over the last several months, I'd run into mention of "winter sowing" using plastic milk jugs like tiny greenhouses, and found fascinating descriptions of this method of starting plants.  It is supposed to avoid the all-too-prevalent problem of damping off, and gives the gardener seedlings with healthy root systems that do not need to be hardened off before planting.  I decided to try it for myself.

April Showers

We may get the first April shower of the year tonight. Rain has been forecast for yesterday and today, but nothing has come down so far. We don't really need it after the big rains last week, but I planted things over the weekend that would probably do better with some moisture as they get established. I did a lot of weeding over the weekend, but I did plant out a few more flowers and veggies.

Spring Break

Last week was spring break. I'd looked forward to that for weeks, anticipating spending a great deal of time every day in the garden. We've had enough warm weather for a while that things were really growing. The reality? It rained every day until Friday. I was stuck in the house -- okay, so I love to read and had a lot of book time, which I enjoyed too. But by the weekend, the weeds were way ahead of me. I've pulled up four big garbage bags full of weeds, and am nowhere near done.

I did put out some of the hardier flowers already; snapdragons can handle cool weather, and of course the pansies are still going that I put out last fall. I planted a few perennials that had been hardening off for a while, and a couple of bushes to fill in some gaps where things didn't make it through last summer. I bought a few more annuals, but am either leaving them in their original pots or have put them in containers that can be moved into cover for a little longer. It's still a bit too early to put the more tender little guys out yet.

Trying Something New!

Last weekend a friend and I went to Dutch's Greenhouse to get a little fix of spring. We enjoyed wandering through looking at all the tiny seedlings, and just soaking in the incredible aroma of fresh growing things.

While there, I noticed some little plants getting a start, but not in the usual potting soil. I checked it closer, and it seemed to be brown styrofoam.

First Planting of the Year

We’ve had a lot of warm weather recently, which is encouraging the trees and bushes to start budding out. I hate to see that, as it’s far too early, and inevitably we’ll be having cold weather yet. Sunday I planted one of my raised veggie beds with peas and a row of lettuce. It’s early, yes, but I do this about every year, and I have never yet lost these early crops. They’re pretty hardy plants, plus if a really nasty cold spell comes in, I cover the bed. Since my raised beds are edged with concrete blocks, I fit low hoops of flexible PVC pipes over the bed, then cover it with a sheet of heavy clear plastic held down with bricks around the edges.

This coming weekend I plan to plant another bed with sugar snap peas, lettuce and a few radishes. I don’t care for radishes myself, but my neighbor does, and my bunnies sure do like the leaves.