The primary reason is that I did not get a crop planted early enough last year and it was what I would call feeble. There were patches of it but not what I would call vigorous. This affected this years crops and resulted in failures I am not accustomed to. The second reason is that the outlook for fall is, from what I can discern, colder than normal. If I delay the planting into this weather, the Rye will not be as healthy as I need. There are two components to the Rye. The first is the top growth which will help stabilize the surface of the soil. For farmers, this is important to control soil erosion. For me, it's more about weed suppression in the spring. The second aspect is root growth and penetration. With the warmer weather I am currently planting into, the roots will be more voluminous and longer. When the Rye is cut in the spring, the roots die and leave aeration pathways for the plants roots to develop. It also softens the soils composition. I should see the results next year.
As I said earlier, I planted my seeds for lettuce in the greenhouse planters. I began by spacing the plantings according to the instructions I found on line. I made holes where the seeds were going to be planted. After this, I filled each divot with vermiculite and watered it down. Then I placed the seeds into the vermiculite and watered them in to make sure the seeds were moist. I followed this by spreading a thin coat of vermiculite over the seeded area and moistening it again. I have been doing this for many years with good success. I adapted this from a procedure I learned while using the Square Foot Method. Here is a picture after planting the first four varieties of lettuce.
I used the same method on one of my round planters to start a chard plant. I thought that Chard needed a deeper planter but as it turns out, from research I did after starting this plant, they actually do quite well on shallower planters. So, lesson learned. Here is a picture of this plant/planter.
Later in the evening, I seeded Rye into one of my beds. I started by raking the soil to loosen the surface tension. Next, I watered the soil with a fine mist and then spread the seed as evenly as possible. I did use a little more seed than usual as I want a very dense growth this year. I then took a rake and tamped the seed into the soil so it made contact with the ground. After completing the seeding and tamping, I watered the bed down again with a fine mist just to insure the seeds were moistened. After that, I spread a layer of Peat Moss over the bed and watered it down. I followed this with a light coating of more Peat to cover the seeds that emerged when I watered the first layer down. The peat both covers the seeds from birds and keeps the moisture level even.
I will water the bed in the morning, around noon and at dusk in order to assist the germination. You don't want seed to dry out. I won't water as much once the seedlings usually appear in about 5-6 days.
Here is the picture of the finished bed.
My next projects will be to continue with the seeding in of my beds and to plant additional crops in the greenhouse. I think I will start 2 Pepper, 3 Spinach and a row of carrot plants for now. That's all the news at this time. So, until the next post, Happy Gardening everyone!
