The garden is coming along, but I underestimated the work involved in rebuilding all the containers and the volume of dirt needed to fill them. I used almost a full bale of peat moss in the big blue bin, but I didn’t think I could do the beets and beans in a shallower container. I think I may put one hill of squash and/or cucumbers in that one to take the place of the kale once that is done.

Seedling notes for next year:

• The cold frame definitely worked to germinate, but they really slowed down after that. I think I should have maybe transplanted when the first set of true leaves came in, or else made the germination mix an inch deeper.
• More than half the beans rotted in the soil even in the cold frame. Maybe plant later? (I planted a second batch to see if they fared better, but then it rained for 9 days, so that might’ve been a bust too.)
• I think the plexi might work better, since the glass door was tough to vent because it was so heavy and bent all the hardware and had to take it off earlier than I thought I should. (Perhaps reason #2 they grew slowly)
• Even with the coldframe, early eggplant seeds didn’t sprout until it was very hot a couple weeks ago.
• Borage seedlings are terrifically susceptible to overcooking as well as rotting leaves from top watering. Maybe direct seed or plant in cups in the cold frame and remove as soon as they’re sprouted. The direct seeded ones are almost as big as the transplanted seedlings.
• Red Kale looks like it’ll be a weed based on every single seed sprouting. Yay!
• Thyme grows really f-ing slowly.

I think it’s almost time to start a new compost pile. Will move the old pile to the side fence under the utility pole, perhaps where last years carbon pile was.

I wish I had access to some sort of small chipping machine. Last years grape prunings are about 3 feet tall but haven’t decomposed at all. It would make beautiful mulch, because I don’t think the cats would like walking on it. Also, chipping would be a great solution for the big giant Trees of Heaven. The trunks are just too big to decompose on their own without some help. Anybody out there have a chipping implement?

Neighbors have reported an opossum in the back.
It might be what keeps opening the compost bin.

Must bury food in bin better, maybe padlock the lid on.

Ew!

The peas are all up, looking lovely with lots of leaves ready to unfold. Snow yesterday, so the lids stay on the boxes.

Today I can build more in the backyard, since the garbage is all gone. Yay! I don’t have to scramble over a busted toilet to get to the garden anymore.

First, I will make a taller frame so that I can start transplanting seedlings into larger containers next week. The Kale is very tall already, and the beets, I think will want to be moved as well.

I hear tell that the dogwoods over on Union street are in bloom, I will post pictures if it is true.

Kale I think. Too dark and cold for photos. Mixed beans have sprouts coming off of them.
Tomorrow pictures and list.

That’s all the news. Cold, rainy, hail-y and very little else going on in the garden.

No sprouts to take pictures of.

Is there something about watching seeds that prevents them from germinating? It has been very cold here, but it seemed pretty warm inside the frames.

Patience.

The peas and first round of seeds are in. (Peas above.) MB gave me a little plant monitor, which I’m using to check the temperature of the soil and air. I planted them on the right date, but it snowed yesterday and has been a little too chilly so I put a couple pieces of plexi on top of the containers.

The cold frame is definitely keeping the seeds nice and warm. No seeds have sprouted yet, but I’m watching them. I got my new drip system attachments in the mail, and am making gleeful plans to make the system better. I need to make a new tower to hold the barrel, since the amp that held it last year finally dissolved.

Santas Mary Beth and Mark got me an Easy Bloom for christmas. So this year I will have a helper in deciding if plants are sited appropriately. Flatbush Gardener posted a very helpful site to help me figure out when to plant my seeds. This year’s contestants are:

Seeds (mostly from Fedco

• Multicolored Pole Beans
• Scarlet Runner Beans
• de Bourbonne Pickling Cucumbers
• Little Leaf Cucumbers
• Red Russian Kale
• Be my Baby Cherry Tomato
• Genovese Basil*
• Thai Basil*
• Borage*
• Flying Saucers Morning Glory
• Daddy Mix Petunia
• Pink Wave Petunia
• Mission Bells California Poppies
• Beneficials Mix (to draw nice bugs)
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Bouquet Dill*
• Lemon Cucumber*
• Chadwick Cherry**
• Pronto Beet
• Northern Pickling Cucumber**
• Butter & Eggs Marigold**
• Caserta Zucchini**
• Cascadia Bush Snap Pea**
• Scarlett O’Hara Morning Glory** (*=successful plants from last year, repeating this year; **=plants started last year, but squished by cat-love or melted in great seedling death of ‘08)

Perennials

• Concord Grape
• Rosemary Alta
• Mints (some survived, not sure which)
• Lavender (seems to have survived)
• Paul’s Glory Hosta
• Chives

I let the blog fall by the wayside as summer came to a close last year.

All in all, it was a successful garden, and I’m glad I documented the giant biomass with the Jenky Video.

My greatest triumph was the rainwater irrigation. I did not expect to be so pleased by it. The entire summer, I watered from the hose only twice. The rest of it was all drip and supplemental watering can from the rain barrel. Watching the rain barrel fill up in 10 minutes during a cloudburst was so exciting that I almost fell off the roof jumping up and down. The only stumbling block was that the emitters closest to the barrel clogged quickly. I am adding a Y-fitting with a 200 mesh filter this year. I think the cucumbers, chives and petunias needed more water, so I am changing the configuration significantly this year: the more water intensive crops will get flag emitters and I’ll run all the drippers on 1/4″ lines that come off a 1/2″ manifold. I should’ve done it that way last year, but my kit only came with 1/4″ lines, and I wasn’t sure if the whole project was going to work. A clear success, drip irrigation will get a small investment this year.

Though the vine was lovely, we only got two grapes. I believe I f’d up by pruning when it was too warm and all the fruit-force drained out the tips of the pruned canes. I submitted a question to the gardener’s question answerers at Brooklyn Botanical Grarden, and they advised me not to prune this year. I will try to layer some cuttings and make gifts for friends and maybe start over to get a more vigorous fruiting vine.

The compost went very well. I am in the swing of it, and feel good about it. At work, I kept a container in the freezer of all the compostables, and brought that home every once in a while. The best tomato last year was a volunteer that popped up in the aging compost at the end of the season.

All the tomatoes were knocked down by a big storm. The only other casualty was the Paulownia tomentosa, the giant weed growing by the fire escape. I wanted to see if it would grow to the 2nd floor. It was almost 15′ tall when it went down. Good compost fodder at a time of few browns.

The borage bloomed late, but the bees went haywire for it, and as soon as it bloomed, everything in the garden set fruit. This year, I’m starting it early to bring in the pollinators as soon as possible. Also, I think I saw a neighbor sneak in a 3 story beehive last month. Either that, or she bought the ugliest nightstand in the whole world.

Tuesday, I will go up to Build it Green for some windows to make a little greenhouse on top of my new raised beds. Unemployment has its perks.

The pickling was superb this year, and all gift pickles have been so well received that I have 4 people signed up for my Home Canning class already. (Yes, Mikeross, I’m counting you in.)

Tomorrow, I’ll post a list of this year’s intended crops. I’m more ambitious, but I know I enjoy the process, even the failures.