Spring Veggie Recap

Ok, so what did I try to grow this spring, what worked, what didn't, what will I do differently next year?

Come to think of it, it is May, and I have not yet eaten anything I've grown.

In the raised bed I have Romaine lettuce, Bok Choy, Kale and Radicchio.  The Radicchio will probably just stay there until the fall, I think that's the kind of time they need to get to the size I was hoping for.  The Kale haven't really grown at all, which I don't really understand.

The Romaine and the Bok Choy are getting bigger.  It would be totally acceptable to pick them now, but I feel like they can still do a little more.  I wanted the bok choys to look more like the ones I'd buy in a store, with a nice base on them, but they're pretty flat to the ground.  No idea what I could do to help that. Maybe it needs calcium, to make more of that crunchy part, like cucumbers do?  I was thinking of putting down some worm castings to feed them, but I got lazy and just gave them Miracle Grow.  It was 10-10-10, so it would only be good for non-flowering plants, like those.  And now I've used it up and I'll never buy it again, ok?

Oh my god, the Radishes were such a failure.  They sprouted, I took them outside, and now they've got one set of leaves, they're weak and spindly and there is nothing resembling a radish at the roots, not even a beginning.  Going back to my notes, it's 45 days from when I planted the seeds.  That's 50% longer than the days to maturity advertised, and they are obviously not going to do anything.  I'm not sure this is worth ever trying again.  I mean, I could try in the fall.  They might be the kind of thing that likes to get going in August and then get picked in October or November.  But this was terrible!  I thought I'd at least get radish greens to eat.  I will certainly never buy radish seeds again, because I have tons.

The Peas are the biggest disappointment. (you hear that, peas?)  It's been 45 days since direct seeding for them, as well.  And they do say 60 days to maturity, so maybe I should be fair to them and leave them for another 2-3 weeks.  I'm just anxious to get the Morning Glories going strong so I can have that nice flower cover by mid summer.

I wish I had planted more lettuces.  I think even the supposedly easy things to direct sow like Mesclun and Arugula should be started under lights, for best results.  I could have transplanted them at the beginning of April, and I would have tons of greens now.  All things I can do better next time.

I guess I did start the Morning Glories too early.  I saw on Burpee that they should be started inside as early as March 1st, and that was already beginning of April, so I hurried to get them all into some soil, and now I just don't have room for them.  I should have waited to start them based on when they could be transplanted.

I started some of the Zinnias a little early, too.  I did kill half of them, so that solves that problem.  But the next round don't seem to be going as strong.  I think part of it is the seed starting mix, I've run out and I might have made my own out of something?  I think I even used some worm castings?

I cannot for the life of me get a Creeping Thyme plant to grow from seed!  I kind of get there, and then it dies.  And it has the lowest germination rate, it's crazy.  Cilantro seems to be ok- it takes a while to germinate, but they seem happy.  I think they're happier outside, of course.