Peppers started

Edited to add: 

I figured I need to write down what I started so I don't have to squint so hard at the picture!

6 each (actually 12 seeds of each) of: 

Turkish Orange eggplant (Baker Creek)

Whitney pepper (long bell pepper)

Boris Banana pepper

Mama Mia pepper

Fooled You Jalapeno (taste of jalapeno without the heat)

Purple Tomatillo

Poblano

Chinese Giant bell (grew these last year and liked them!)

Jalapeno (for when we actually do want heat)

As of the morning of February 13, only the tomatillos had sprouted...

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Seed starting: Brussels sprouts

Today,  I started 24 Brussels sprouts seeds. They are hanging out on the seed heating mat.

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Seedlings

This weekend I fertilized the peppers with diluted fish emulsion fertilizer. I moved the grow lights higher on all the plants. I'll probably fertilize the tomato plants next weekend. Everything is looking good so far!

Our last frost date is mid April, that is if spring decides to ever arrive. The weather keeps going back and forth between sunny and 75, and frosty. Which makes it difficult to plant a garden and breathe. The cow poo was spread on the garden several weeks ago, and then it rained several times. The rain is a good thing because it softens up the garden area but also a bad thing because the garden area doesn't have enough organic matter to dry out quickly. I've had onion and potato sets ready to go in the ground for almost a month now, but we haven't been able to rototill the garden so that I can plant.

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Seedling Update

Almost all the pepper seeds have sprouted. Except for the poblanos. Brand new seed - the garden center even had to order them because they were out - and only 4 of the 12 seeds that I planted have sprouted. I was telling the Hubs this, and he said I say this every year - that the poblano seeds are always slower. So I guess next year I will start the poblano seeds a week before everything else.
Yesterday I transplanted the cauliflower and broccoli into larger containers. I left two per container, but I planted them deeper so they aren't so leggy. I've never had much luck with brassica transplants, so we'll see how it works this year. They may be one of those vegetables, like tomatillos, that I have to buy plants for.
Next weekend the garden calendar says to start tomatoes! I'm really excited because I got a package of heirloom blend seeds that has all different colors and sizes of tomatoes. I don't typically like "grab bag" style seeds, but I've never met a tomato I didn't like, and I figured this would give me a chance to sample several varieties to see if there are some I want to specifically grow in the future.
Yesterday I raked some of the straw in the garden to the edge, so that when we get manure from the farm we don't have as much prep to do here. The straw came from when the Hubs poured the concrete floor for his shop. It was getting cold at that time, so we insulated the curing concrete with tarps and straw. After the concrete cured, we had 6 or so bales of loose straw and I suggested we put it in the garden area to use as mulch this year. Genius idea! It wasn't even hard to move because the straw was on top of the tarps, so we pulled the tarps down the driveway and dumped the straw in the garden. Surprisingly the straw hasn't blown away, even though we've had a couple crazy winter storms that blew shingles off the roof.
Looking forward, I'm a little anxious about our baby kangaroo's arrival. I know, we have about another 6 months until the baby arrives. But I'm thinking about his/her arrival in the middle of garden harvest season; I'm going to need extra help weeding the garden, harvesting and processing the vegetables. I'm also making a list of meals I can put in the freezer ahead of time and meals I can have ready to put in the crockpot for the first several weeks. My ideas so far:
Lasagnas - both a bechamel sauce and a red sauce variety
Stuffed shells or manicotti or canelloni
Meatballs
Turkey burgers - mixed up, preformed and frozen
Enchilada casserole
For the crockpot - fixings for roasts, pulled pork, stroganoff, and chicken noodle soup

Also looking forward to fresh veggies from the garden!

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Garden report 4.17.10

Today I spent nearly four hours in the garden, weeding, planting seeds and transplanting seedlings. I'm trying to remember to wear sunscreen everytime I go outside for a long period of time now. I recommend Bullfrog Sunblock Quik Gel Sport Spray as it goes on clear without needing to be rubbed in. Now I'm relaxing inside with a bowl of pistachios and a BIG glass of water.

Here's what I planted today:

First, I planted seeds of borage, sweet william and cardinal climber vine in hanging plant baskets, similar to these: 18" Hanging Basket. The Hubs and his mom bought me two of these last year from the dollar store and I had no idea what to plant in them, so they were empty all last summer. I put the baskets on the front porch. Hopefully no critters get in them!

I also planted my squash and melons in the garden today. Four seeds each of Charentais Melon, Butternut Rogosa Violina Gioia, Marketmore 76 Cucumber and Fordhook Acorn Squash. I planted them in a row right in front of the trellis, and between each type I planted marigolds and sunflowers. The same bed will also have okra in it, but I won't plant those seeds until May. The Cippolini onions are in that bed, looking good. I  have spinach and a lettuce mix planted in between the onions, but it is SLOW to germinate. I started out attacking bugs right off the bat by sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the seeds. Hopefully that will help keep squash bugs and squash vine borers out of the garden. *cross fingers*

I replanted beets, kohlrabi and carrots because half of the seeds never germinated. I'm not very impressed with the germination rate of the seeds I bought this year. Next year I'm probably going to branch out and not buy everything from Baker Creek, which is sad because they are a local seed company. However, when the germination rate is less than 50 percent I'm not inclined to purchase from them again. Mostly it's the root vegetables I'm having issues with. The tomatoes, peppers and some of the eggplant came up really well inside. Hopefully the squash and melons have good germination. I planted 2 seeds in each hole just in case, though! There was an extra spot in the root vegetable bed that I didn't know what to do with, so I planted about a dozen green beans in there today, Bush Blue Lake.

Whew, and then I planted herbs in with the asparagus. Last year, at the end of summer, Wickman's Nursery had all their herb seeds for 25 or 50 cents a packet (I can't remember which), so I bought: Triple Curled Parsley, Italian Parsley, Dill, Cilantro, Sweet Basil, Blue Spice Basil, Compact Basil and Cinnamon Basil. I had Thai Basil left over from the last house, so I also planted some of that.

It's been so nice lately, and I've put the tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings out for several hours everyday. I keep their soil moist, and they all seem to be doing ok. I'm a little leary about putting all of the seedlings out, since the Missouri Extension office doesn't recommend planting nightshade plants outside until mid May. So I convinced myself to only plant one of each type outside, so if they freeze at least I'm not out all of the seedlings. That means I have one of each: Thessaloniki, Black Cherry, Amish Paste, Cour di Bue, and a Yellow Pear that I bought. I planted all the artichokes outside. And then one of each of the peppers: Banana, Poblano, Golden Marconi, Red Cheese, Quadrato D'asti Rosso and Anaheim. Once I get all the peppers planted, I'm going to fill in between them with onions. I still have about a third left of each bunch that I bought from Dixondale Farms.

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Garden report 4.2.10

Yesterday I discovered a mole terrorized two of the raised beds. He rummaged around in the lettuce and carrots area, and also in the bed that has onions-that will have tomatoes in the next couple months. Good thing I purchased castor beans from Baker Creek, as they will definitely get planted in the raised beds this year.

It looks as though everything I planted has germinated. All the shallots and elephant garlic poked through the dirt. The rhubarb has come back. Woot woot! The sage, which I was convinced had died, is coming back. The peppermint, spearmint and lemon balm (from Grandma Ettling) have come back.
In the root vegetable bed, the peas, kohlrabi, radishes, lettuce, and spinach have germinated and have their cotyledon leaves. The parsnips and carrots have not germinated. I should clarify on the peas: the little marvel and the sugar snap have come up, but not the snow peas. The seed was old, and I wasn't expecting it to come up. I'll probably plant a few more peas to get rid of the seed.
Last year I planted asparagus, and of the 10 crowns, only 5 have come back so far. The gentleman at Schaffitzel's told me to "Be patient" because they may not be ready yet. I went ahead and planted 10 more crowns, and marked them with bamboo stakes so I know I can't eat them until next year at the earliest.
Inside, I replanted the artichokes, most of the tomatoes, eggplant and peppers into larger containers. I started the seeds in clay pots that I made in ceramics class, with at least four seeds per container. Then I transplanted them into 8 ounce clear plastic cups after they had at least two sets of true leaves. Then I'm transplanting into 16 oz red plastic cups, which will be the last transplant until they go into the ground. I was only watering them once a week, but as they are getting larger, they need water at least twice a week.
The tomatillos are working on their first true leaves, as are the cilantro, dill and basil. The parsley is slower, which is expected since parsley, parsnips and carrots are all the same family and parsnips are known to germinate VERY SLOWLY.

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