A few months ago, I put some gardening stuff on my calendar in March, like "Plant Peas," or "Cut back the Liriope." We just got a foot of snow, and I'm having a really hard time believing that it's going to be ok to put anything outside within the next month. But, it's warm today, it's going to be warm for the next week, and maybe the snow will be gone by the weekend.
You're supposed to plant peas on St Patrick's Day (for good luck, apparently), so I think it should be ok? I'm going to plant them in containers, so they can germinate inside, and once they sprout, I can move them outside. Maybe I will actually plant them on St Patrick's Day, March 17th (a Tuesday). I'll actually be here that week, and I could use some luck. If it's nice that weekend, I can move them outside and give my neighbors more reason to think I'm crazy.
I also started some Sweet Peas (just the flowers), in a little tray under the lights. That was kind of a waste- they germinated fast, and promptly grew these 3 inch high stems, with tiny leaves. That's what I would expect if they weren't under lights! So now they're too tall to even have them under the lights, and they're starting to get singed. I don't think they really need to be started early, and they're not really fitting in well with the others. I guess I'll start them in containers as well and see if I actually get some flowers.
When we get to the end of March, I'll actually plant the Kale and Radicchio and Lettuce. I'll need to get a lot of potting mix to refill the bed, and to fill all these containers I'm going to do. Maybe I'll even take a vacation day. Once I've done that, I'll have a lot more space under the lights to start some other things. I wanted to get some Spinach and Arugula going, but I don't really know how I can do that with the space I have. If I go buy some more seed starting mix next weekend, I could get them at least germinated. And if I'm here, I can alternate them under the lights with some of the other plants. The Mesclun and leaf lettuce and stuff like that, I think I can just direct sow. That's what you're supposed to do with a lot of the other things, but the longer maturity times seemed like they should be started early. And I'm glad I did, the Radicchio is looking so good, and the 3 Kale plants from the first round are also doing really well. As soon as I get the other seeds into trays, I could move them to the window, I don't think they'll suffer too much from a week of weak sun before going outside.
And! I am going to need to "harvest" some of my worm castings! I think I need to put the 4th tray on there soon. When I opened it to put in more stuff yesterday, I looked at the top layer with all the shredded newspaper, and the whole thing was moving. The worms have absolutely made their way up to the top. Now, I know they supposedly double their populating in a few months, but that must mean that the bottom tray has very few worms in it. It's also decreased in volume considerably. That's a good sign, because it means it's all composted, but it also means there isn't much stuff there. I haven't been cooking very regularly, so I'm not putting in a ton of stuff. If I increase that a little bit as we get closer to spring, that should help.
I'm really nervous about this process. When I had just two trays on there a while ago, I tried to lift the top one up to see how the bottom tray was doing, and there were worms in the process of climbing up through the grid, and it was so gross and I was afraid I was hurting them. Apparently when I want to collect the stuff from the bottom tray, I have to take it out, and place it on top of the working tray under bright lights. That's supposed to encourage any worms in there to move down through the grid into the working tray. I'm supposed to stir it periodically to help with this. I guess the worms will retreat down, I'll collect stuff from the top, and as I do that, they keep moving down. And I'm sure that's stupid stuff in there that won't break down, like whole potatoes or something dumb, and I should pull that kind of stuff out as well. Oh my god, why did I take this on? I probably need a compost sieve.
There is also actual work to be done, like cutting back the liriope, and dividing the ornamental grasses. This is probably a job for Drake and his machete. I guess I shouldn't try to do that until the Daffodils come up, so we know where they are. Of course, we will also end up trampling them in the process.
Back to the peas- if I start them on March 17th, they supposedly will be mature (ready to pick) around May 15th? That seems like a long time. I'm really hoping they go a little faster than that. I mean, by then it's time to put in summer crops, right? My plan was that the peas would come out, and the green beans would go in. I need to decide if I want them to be on the outside of the wall. I mean, that seems like the best place to me. They get plenty of sun, they've got the support, everything should be good. The other option is to put them in the raised bed and get some stakes or poles or whatever. And I need to decide if I really want to build out another 4 feet in the bed. It seems a little silly, and it makes me feel stupid for not doing it right the first time. But it's stupider to put a bunch of vegetable plants in a bed that's partly shaded when there's a nice sunny spot next to it. I just have to buy the lumber and build it. And then fill it with potting soil. If I do that soon, like next weekend, I would have more space for the spring vegetables. And I could use the patio wall to grow something pretty like Morning Glory. I think the many people who walk past my house everyday would prefer to see a wall of Morning Glory than a bunch of Green Beans.
I'm also planning on growing a lot of Zinnias and Sunflowers. I have the same "Cut and Come Again" Zinnias that I grew last year (new seeds for this year), and the "Giant Flower" mix, which I bought a few days ago. I started a 6 pack of the Giant Flowers yesterday. As I get more space under the lights, I'll keep starting more and more. I mean, I can't have too many Zinnias. I'll give them away. I will probably end up filling the side bed with Zinnias and Sunflowers.
I bought the "Elf" sunflower seeds, which are really cute in containers. I might try to just fill as many containers as I can with those. I also have some that say they will be 4 feet tall, which is kind of bigger than I would want. I might plant them in the bed across the sidewalk, although I won't really be able to water them as easily. I'm also pretty sure they'll face the wrong direction, which is no fun for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment