Progress with the winter vegetables

I was quite pleased with what I saw when I entered my greenhouse.  It seems, as you shall see, that even though the temps have been average to a little below average, the plants don't seem to mind.  First, the early planter of carrots continues to thrive.  I have been watering them on an every other day schedule which seems to be the sweet spot for them.  I started them and watered them every day.  After about 2 weeks or so, they began to show signs of slowing down and some of their leaves were actually browning out.  That was the point at which I decided to back off the water and try to gauge how often they required it.  Eventually, I figured out that every two days was where I needed to be.  Here is a picture of them at this point.

I trimmed the brown leaves off of them about a week ago and I can see that they are now beginning to show more vibrant leaves.

The later planted carrots seem to be thriving also.  I really didn't do anything different other than plant the seeds in a deeper container.  But, I believe they are growing well.  I used a technique I saw on another site.  I sowed them in a circular motion starting in the middle.  I left about an inch as I circled the pot.  I estimate that I have about 30 plants after I thinned them out. I can't wait to eat some of these as they are so much tastier than store bought.

  

The lettuce plants are a mixed bag of results.  Two of the plants seem to be producing well while the other two pots are not as hardy.  Same seeds but different results which occurs more often than gardeners would like to acknowledge. 

                                                

 As far as the newly seeded pots of lettuce, spinach and swiss chard there is hope.  Of the 19 pots I started in early January, 18 of them are now showing healthy growth.  I'll take that kind of return every day.  I believe, given these results, that I should be able to definitely grow my seedlings of early crops within the greenhouse.  That is a major advantage given they will receive direct sunlight instead of grow lights.
That's all for today.  Please feel free to check back as I will be posting more updates regarding my new garden design and greenhouse activities.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!

Garden renovation update

I was able to get more work completed before the current cold weather struck. That's a good thing too as when I walked out into the backyard yesterday, the ground was hard as a rock. It had no give whatsoever. Guess old man winter has decided to settle in for a while via winter storm Jacob.
After much work, I was able to remove about 240 of the pavers that I had distributed throughout the garden. That number kind of snuck up on me as I did not realize I had that many. It's amazing how that can happen. See, I was able to procure them from two different sources over an extended period of time. Given my propensity to get carried away, it didn't really dawn on me that I had gone so overboard. And, I paid a small price for that as seen from the photo below. To say my back was none the better is an understatement.



At this point, I have unearthed the area near my shed that was covered by the pavers. This was the most time consuming and intense work I believe I will have to undertake during the renovation. Those bricks were in place for about 5 years so they were firmly entrenched in the mother earth. But, after a consistent and prolonged effort, I am glad to report, this phase is now 100% complete. After removing the pavers, I took my tiller and evened out the bed. I did notice that there were a copious amount of worms poking themselves onto the surface. That was a very encouraging sign given nothing had been planted there for many years. I purposely did not till the whole bed as there are bulbs along the white fence that I want to transplant in early Spring. I will have to till the area again once we are out of winter. Here is the finished product.



Additionally, I was able to prep the beds against the fence and in the middle of the garden. I have to say that I am impressed with the one wheel tiller as it hasn't had any trouble breaking up the surface soil. I used to use a mantis unit that would clog and needed to be cleaned repeatedly during use. It was just so frustrating. Given the soil I was prepping had ice clumps, I don't believe the Mantis would have been efficient for this scenario. Sometimes, old school just works better. And, I do think that the Mantis was kind of destructive to my soils health. There were a bunch of worms in the two beds coming to the surface and I can only imagine the Mantis would have killed many of those worms. As you can see from the photos, the beds are thoroughly dug into for the initial cut. I will have to make another pass once we warm up.


After completing these tasks, I decided to clean up one part of my beds that I had neglected to do in the fall. I had several poles, clamps and ties that I left in the beds. I pulled the poles and ties and gathered them up. I guess the grass that was growing there hid the supports as I had way more than I remembered. As shown, that area is now decluttered and ready to be worked. And, I have recovered a fair portion of the ties which I will clean with a bleach solution to kill any bacteria that may be present. 


Well, that's where I am now standing in lieu of the ground freezing up at this time. I will have a report on the status of the my greenhouse growing endeavors in the next day or so. Until then, happy gardening everyone!

Early Spring?

In what one can only describe as an early spring here, we had unseasonably warm and wet weather here over this past weekend.  It was in the mid to upper 40's here on Saturday.  It began to rain mid day Saturday and really didn't stop from there on.  Sunday was even warmer as the temps went up the the low 60's.
Given this rain was predicted, I went out to my rain barrels and composters on Sunday morning in between downpours to set them up.  I took the lids off of three of my composters to allow the rains to soak the leaves and compost to get them active again.  I then hooked up two rain barrels to give me water to clean them out.  I did this so I wouldn't have to drag hoses out given they are put away for the winter.  Every drop counts as they say!
Not much has been going on with the actual garden as it is still very much winter here.  When I went out to my garden on Sunday morning, my shoes were sinking into the muddy ground.  I wont be venturing out there over the next couple of days to allow the ground to dry out some.  But one certainly can't tell it is winter by the weather we are having.  The long term forecast is for our temps to be about 10-15 degrees warmer than normal for the next 15 days.  This is the same pattern we had last year, and just like last year, I am chomping at the bits to plant some early season crops.  I am on the fence this year as I remember my remorse for not planting aggressively last year.  I still have a little time to ponder that - but not much.
And, speaking of time, I will be starting the construction of my new greenhouse soon enough.  It won't be this weekend as the weather forecast is for rain to start on Friday and probably not end until the following Monday.  Looks like it will be another indoors weekend.
I will most likely begin planting root crops in my hydroponic system sometime this week.  It is located inside a poly greenhouse that I have in my backyard.  It's next to my shed so it is not affected by winds and actually keeps the low temps about 6-10 degrees higher than the actual lows.  The nightime projected temps here are supposed to be in the mid to upper 30's according to the National Weather Service so I should be fine. 
I hope you are beginning to get excited about gardening for another season.  It certainly is time here in the mid-atlantic for it.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!         

Regenerative organic certifications?

Just read about this method for farmers to take organic to a new level.  While 90% of this involves farms, there is a section on soil (aka Dirt!!) health which is of interest to me.  And it should be to you too.  Seems the fine folks at The Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA have taken sustainable and organic certification to a new level.  I know that this certainly doesn't apply to my backyard gardens, but I always try to keep a finger on the pulse of what this group is researching.  R. I. Rodale was a pioneer back in the 40's for organic practices.  Talk about cutting edge and being way before your time. Check out their site - it is chock full of information that even a small gardener like myself can use.  I intend on watching what happens with this new certification and how their soil section can benefit my growing practices. 
Until next time, happy organic gardening everyone!

Where the garden's are today (Part 2)

As I have commented before, I have two gardens other than my own where I am assisting the homeowners with their endeavors.  The one I am going to speak about today is a garden that a coworker and his wife have.  There have been a few attempts to garden by them but, like most of us, they lead very busy lives.
So, my coworker built fences to keep his five dogs out of the beds.  Once that was done, we tilled the area where they had previous gardens and another area where no gardening was ever attempted.  I kept their expectations low on the new area givne the state of the ground.  I told them we would appoach that area as a developmental area this year.  Here is a picture of the area where they had a garden for a couple of years.

And here is the new gardening area.

                                             

In the exsisting area, we planted tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.  I used the fence (which I cannot take any credit for) as supports for the cukes as seen below.  They will find the fence and then begin to climb it.  That should make for a nice green wall for the garden.

.Here are two pictures of the garden bed as it looked on this past Thursday.

I'll take more pictures when I go over this week to put down fish emulsion fertilizer on all the plants. The plants are beginning to react to the hot weather we have been having and seem to be growing at a pretty good pace.  
What we ran into with the new area is a lot of rocks and general debris that was buried.  Seems there was a garage in this area and the owners grandfather would either leave some stuff on the ground or buried it in place.  Rocks abound but that is part of the territory when opening up new plots.  Still not really sure what is under the surface but the overall soil health is poor at best.  I was planting a watermelon plant and ran into a string of red bricks.  So far, we have found about 10 but I know there are many more in this area given it lines up with the area of the garage.  I'll eventuall pull more of them as they are in great shape and very old.  Can't find this quality of brick anymore.
I've planted 4 paste tomatoes and a set of beans all of which are growing.  I also planted watermelon and a squash plant.  But, it seems, a rabbit had them for a quick snack.  Along with these, I planted canteloupes along the fence to again use the fence as supports as seen below.  This is a little older picture than the others.  I'll be updating these in the next week or so.

It's been quite interesting to take a yard that has never been gardened and see the work involved all over again.  After a few years, the garden can kind of fall into a yearly routine.  Part of the issue is that I am also maintaining my garden, this one and another garden along with working a full time job. I can see the potential of doing this type of stuff full time but realize it will have to wait until I retire. In the meantime, I have enough to keep me busy.
What is rewarding to me is to speak to these people and realize that they are interested in growing their own vegetables the organic way like I do.  It's extemely rewarding to pick a quart bag of buttercrunch lettuce, a fresh cucumber and a skad of beans like I did this morning and know exactly what was used to grow them besides the tremendous freshness component.  And they are looking to me and my expertise to guide them to this type of experience.  I just don't understand how one would not have a garden but then again, that's just me. The other gardener I am working with is a long time gardener who had begun to give up on gardening this year given his age.  I have spoken with him and helped him get his garden started this year. Now we are discussing what we we are going to do at the end of the season to make the soil better and the no-till approach that I have recently adopted.  He didn't want to give up the gardening, he just wanted to give up the work involved.  Organic, after all, is actually less work than the old style row gardening practices of the past.
Well, that's all for now.  I need to kick back and relax the rest of this day.  It's a beautiful, hot afternoon to just breathe.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!      

Where the gardens are today(Part1)

I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to assist two other gardeners in my area with setting up new garden areas for them.  I say fortunate because it is a compliment of sorts to have people ask you for advice let alone trust you to plan and implement their gardens.  It has been quite busy time maintaining my garden while working with these folks on their gardens all the while holding down a job too.  But it is very rewarding too.
My gardens' activity has been pretty hectic to date.  I expanded the garden area and made several decisions to make the garden more productive with food we enjoy eating and also to allow for foods that can be put up in the fall.
Last year I planted 4 paste tomatoes thinking I'd get enough from them to put up a few jars worth in the fall.  Just to try it out.  It was, to say the least, a huge disappointment.  I have spoken to several gardeners who all related that their tomatoes were off last year.  So this year, I bought 20 paste plants thinking an area of 81 sq. ft would be enough.  Not quite as it turned out.  Given last years crop issues, I did some research and found out that I have actually been crowding my tomatoes.  Seems the ideal spacing is 2 ft. between plants in a row and 3ft. between each row of caged plants.  So, I spaced mine so that I could get 15 plants in the isolated area where they wouldn't be impacted by any other plants issues.  Here's a picture of the plot so far.

The large boards on either end of the rows are set up so that I can tie them up in what is called the Florida weave method.  I have never used it before but decided it lookd easier (in the long run that is) than staking and/or caging the plants.  I do not like the cages that are sold everywhere as they are much too low height wise to handle plants that can grow to 6-8 ft. tall.  I never really understood why they were always manufactured to such small heights.  May have to do with the thin wire they use to construct them.  

The Florida weave method entails running a string alternately around the plants at 10 - 12 inches from the soil line and then every 10-12 inches upwards to give them the support they need.  Here is a picture of my first attempt at it.

You start at one end and weave the string on opposite sides of the plants as you go down the row and then loop back and weave the string to the other side of each plant.  This kind of cradles the plant as can be seen in the picture. When they get to 2 ft height, I will then do the weave at that height.  This will continue until they reach full height.  I am by no means an expert so this will be an experiment. We have had some windy weather and the plants seem to have had no issues yet.  

On another tomato note, I have 10 plants of various hybrid and heirloom plants in the ground that all seem to be doing very well too.  After researching why I had so few tomatoes last year, I learned thateither the hybrid tomatoes or heirlooms seem to do well each year but one always outperforms the other type.  As I had predominately heirlooms last year, that may have been the source of my issue. So, this year, I have it almost split down the middle.        

The two plants in the bowls are for my father in law for Father's day.  He used to have a garden but has given it up for various reasons.  I will put a cage around them for additional support.  I will use a mix of the cages I have and poles for support once they overgrow the cages.   All he has to do is water them at this point.

Speaking of experiments.  Last fall I grew out lettuce and carrots in a covered mini greenhouse.  The carrots are still growing and I have replanted the lettuce to see if I could continue to grow using the structure.  Here is where it is at as of now. 

I have two rows of leaf lettuce that are growing quite well.  I continue to water the plants and need to pull some of the carrots to see if progress is being made or we are at a standstill.  But, to have leaf lettuce this far into the season is a bonus.  

I planted a row of Buttercrunch lettuce about a month ago and covered it under woven vegetable fabric.  As can be seen below, it also is doing very well given the lateness of the season.

There are 7 heads of the lettuce in the row and they seem to all be growing very strong.  We're going to be having some nice salads soon enough.  

I also have a bed of 16 Bell Pepper plants that are doing ok given our decidely cooler weather we have been experiencing.  They are all healthy as can be seen in the picture below.  I love peppers but I really do think I over grew yet again this year.  I will probably end up giving some (alot actually) if they come in like last year.  We shall see how that turns out.  

I've also planted 6 cucumber plants.  I have them trellised on my DIY structures.  A local garden center closed about 2 years ago and I bought their onion set displays.  Here is how they ended up looking in place after I painted them and added screening.

They are really sturdy, wind resistant and somewhat compact.  When I bought them, my wife was skeptical as was I.  But, the cucumbers are starting to grow to a point where they are climbiming unto the screening.  I will see how they fare as they climb.
In the backround of the same picture are three interconnected wire "ladders" that I have converted to yet more cucumber trellises.  These were repurposed from being protective coverings for plate glass windows that were being delivered to the company where I work.  I wired them together and then attached them to rebar I pounded into the ground. they held up 5 cucumber plants - cucumbers and all through some windy storms.  These were being thrown out so I asked for them and was told if I can get them in my car - they were mine.  And they were.
With the weather turning much warmer in the next week, the various plants should begin to become more robust.  I will have to naturally watch them as the higher temps can cause issues.  You may leave in the morning and come home to plants wilting right before your eyes.  Don't stress!  This is natural as the plants wilt to preserve moisture to survive.  Just give them a good drink of water and watch them rebound.  It doesn't appear to cause any long term damage.  But if this happens repeatedly, that's mother nature telling you that you need to step up your watering game.
So, there you have the latest, greatest from my backyard.  In part 2, I will recap what has been happening in one of the gardens that I am assisting the people into becoming full on gardeners.  I will give all the details in the next week or earlier.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!!!!   

Saturday at the community garden

The Remington Improvement association held their fall cleanup for their area and the community garden.  It was an overcast day so it was actually pretty nice out.  Along with the various neighborhood volunteers and gardeners, there were about 70 volunteer students from a local college. They ably assisted the various leaders with projects around the neighborhood and in the gardens. There certainly was a lot to be accomplished

The gardens needed some weeding along the paths and the application of mulch spread over the areas.  I must say the students I worked with were very determined and worked at a very steady pace. Between the waste from the neighborhood alleys and all the weeds and tree branches that were trimmed at the garden, at the end of three hours we filled a large trailer and a full sized pickup truck with green waste.

The garden looks beautiful and is now ready for fall preparation.  We agreed that we need to come back to the gardens in a few weeks and spread winter rye onto the individual beds so that we can grow it as a green manure for the spring.  
In speaking with the students, there was an overwhelming opinion that endeavors such as the community garden were efforts they felt good about assisting.  We told them that the gardens were organic for the most part as we leave what the various gardeners do to their plots up to them.  There was talk about food deserts in most of the major cities such as Baltimore and that community gardens were seen as a big answer to some of the issues involved.  There also was discussion with regards to freshness, safety and the carbon footprint of most food we consume.  And again, the gardens were seen as a solution to this issue along with the various farmer's markets we have here in Baltimore.  It was really a pleasure to speak to them and hear their concerns and their admiration for what we had started in this section of the city.
I left the gardens that day a bit tired but also very satisfied that the efforts of all the people associated with our gardens were being noticed and appreciated by the young women and men we met.  It gives me a boost to know that I am not alone in my opinion of just how important gardening in these times has become.  I cannot think of a better endeavor for any family to undertake than gardening.      

Fertilizer practices

In my quest to become as organic in my gardens as possible, I have followed several practices to attain the organic balance in my gardens.  I have instituted a system of cover cropping at the end of each season, I collect and mulch my leaves and grass clippings throughout the summer and fall months, I compost most months of the year, I use an adapted system of crop rotations and I collect and use rainwater for watering.  These are considered to be what are called regenerative organic gardening practices.  I modeled them after practices that have been developed by the Rodale Institute over their many years of actual field research at their Kutztown Pa. facility.
I used to be a very strong advocate of the raised bed system called Square Foot gardening.  While it was productive, I noticed that over the years, I had to continually add fertilizer to the soil which I did.  I did not find that the soil maintained it's fertility without an aggressive composting and fertilizer regimen.  And, the fertilizer regimen bothered me for many reasons.  The reason I was gardening was to produce vegetables that didn't have the inputs such as chemical fertilizers.  While SFG had it's certain advantages, I began a quest to become organic.
I stumbled upon the Rodale Institute while watching a segment on Growing a Greener World that is hosted by Joe  Lampl.  It spiked an interest in them so I searched out their website and, through the years, I have adopted as many of their practices for my small garden as practical.  And, the results have been very pronounced.
I have always stayed away from chemical fertilizers in my garden as much as possible.  But, there rarely was a year when I didn't use them at least once or twice a year.  Due to my adherence to the practices listed above, one of the most striking results is that over the last two years, I have not used any fertilizers whatsoever.  And my plants have been healthier and have been producing more vegetables than they ever have.  Through the inputs and practices previously discussed, I have been able to stop applying herbicides and such items too.  I feel better about that.  I know what I am growing intimately and I know I can trust that my crops are as organic as almost any I would buy in a grocery store.  Additionally, my vegetables are fresher and more nutritious than the store bought ones given their very short time from garden to kitchen table.
It is very rewarding and I take pride that I have been doing this far longer than organic has been in fashion.  I've known that my vegetables have always been healthier for me.  I just didn't like the idea I had to use the fertilizers and chemicals that I really didn't trust.  And once you see and taste the difference, you too will understand why you too should grow organic in your backyard.
Well, that's all I have for today.  I now have to go out and dig out from the 29 inches of snow mother nature just delivered to the Baltimore area.  Big fun today.  Happy Gardening everyone!  

One week later

It's been a week since I started the winter rye in my two established beds.  The weather was mainly dry so I had to augment mother nature.  I took a look at the beds on Wednesday and there was no signs of life.  I have to admit that I was a little concerned in that I really hadn't had the time to water the beds heavily.  Life does get busy at times and this week was no exception.  I watered them with a heavier soaking Wednesday and followed with a lighter soaking on Thursday.  There were still no signs of life on Thursday evening so I began to think that I would have to seed the beds again.  That is, until Friday night when I came home from work.
While there wasn't a huge amount of growth, when I was watering the garden I saw the beginnings some growth.  I watered the beds in the face of a severe thunderstorm warning Friday evening.  My wife thought I was a little odd in doing this even though there were very dark clouds rolling in from the west.  I watered enough to get the top of the beds wet.  It poured here Friday evening and I was again questioning my choice to water the beds.  I mean, did I over do it?
I went out to the garden this afternoon and the pictures below show what I discovered.

The picture to the left is the one week old seedlings in one of my established beds.  The one on the right is from the two week old seeding I did in my new bed.   It's hard to see the seeding's with a picture, but it won't be long before they look like the ones in the right picture.  They will get maybe two to three feet tall, all depending on the weather.  It tolerates lower temps so hopefully it will stay a little moderate for the upcoming month or so.  I will let mother nature take over at this time only watching the weather to maybe augment some watering.  This is how you grow your own green manure and limit the amounts weeds you will have in the spring.  Plus you don't have to worry about carbon leeching as the roots of the rye will fix the nitrogen in your soil over the winter.  It also reduces damage to your soil that occurs in winter such as erosion or pest infestations.
Well, that's all I have for today.  If you have a question, please feel free to leave a comment.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!

Monticello and the Heritage Harvest Festival

My wife and I attended the Festival this past weekend.  We drove down Friday afternoon through the insane traffic that is Washington DC.  We were able to get in to beautiful Charlottesville Virginia, check in to our hotel and then go to the pedestrian mall in the downtown area.  We had been here before but this time was quite different.  It was the home opener for the Univ. of Virginia against Notre Dame.  Guess what color shirt I was wearing - that's right!  Bright green like I was from Notre Dame.  I laid low once I figured that out.
It was a mob scene although it did not seem intense.  I love this little mall as it is quite nice with the blend of eateries and it's quirky stores that populate the mall.  You can eat outside or inside the various restaurants.  There was a nice mix of the students youth from Virginia and the older folks - mostly alumni.  It has an ampitheater on the one end and we listened to the Skip Castro Band for awhile.  We left there just before the UVA pep rally was to start in order to avoid the crush of the people there.
We woke up on Saturday and made our way to Monticello.  When we arrived, it was lightly raining and the mountaintop was covered with clouds and fog.  I had signed up for a Soil Renaissance workshop and a class about winter gardening.  We made our way to the various vendors and perused and purchased a few items from them.  We took in a tomato tasting table from Seed Savers Exchange.  I must say, the chocolate cherry tomato's were delicious.  Only issue I had was that they did not have seed packs for many of the varieties being presented.  Come to find out, they were testing them so they may come available in the future.  I will have to keep an eye out for their catalog to see if any made the cut to packets.
Let me begin the description of what I(we) took in at the festival.  I will begin the same way I tell people to start a garden - with the soil.  Soil renaissance is a group of loosely held organizations that have as their primary goal the education of today's farmer about soil and how to sustain it.  It really was quite interesting to hear the various speakers - one from Soil renaissance, a local farmer, an extension representative from Va., the Monticello chief gardener and a professor from Va. Tech.  All had very interesting points of view and experiences.  While I was sitting listening to each speaker, I was ticking off what I do in my garden as each subject came up.  It was quite gratifying to know that my practices were in line with most of the speakers.  One place I did not mesh with one of the speakers was with the use of herbicides on their crops.  I completely understand that they have a livelihood to protect unlike me.  I garden for the joy of it and not for direct income.  There is a vast difference.
Interestingly, one of the organizations that Soil Renaissance does interact with is the Rodale institute in Kutztown Pa., not far from the Baltimore area. They are pioneers of the organic method and they date back to the early 1950's. According to the SR people, they participate regularly within the SR movement.  Rodale does classes and has tours during the year.  I will have to get up there to see the Institute.  I believe they have over 300 acres of test fields.  They are very cutting edge and I have been reading their website and picking up techniques and such for more than a few years.  If you get the chance and are in the area, it may well be worth the time to go there.
Well, that's all for now.  I will be writing more about this visit but there is so much to tell I feel it needs to be broken down over the next week or so.  I also have pictures which I will also share in the very near future.   If you have any question about this or any other topic, please feel free to leave a comment.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!
  

Are you really growing organically?

That is a very hard question to answer with just a simple yes or no. There are many reasons to grow vegetables in your own backyard. Most people speak of the superior freshness and taste of the produce. Some point to the rampant use of GMO seed stock and the use of herbecides and such on the produce you get in most stores. Not to mention the carbon footprint of some of the foods we eat that travel over 1,000 miles or more. But, a fair portion of the gardening world will answer that they garden in order to have "organic" vegetables and fruit. But, if you have a garden, the question remains - are you truly organic? I always thought that I was truly organic. I have my three composters, 4 rain barrels and I don't generally use any herbecides on my plants. I tolerate some destruction in my garden as the natural course of events. If the infestation is intolerable with the risk of total loss being high, I then us a BT based powder to combat the issue at hand. BT is a targeted insecticide that does not kill beneficial insects. It is considered to be organic as it is a naturally occurring bacterium found in the soil. I recently watched a gardening show where I discovered that while I practice generally organic principles, I have been acutely unaware of one area I hadn't given much thought to - seeds! Yes, seeds. I mean, who knew? As pointed out by the guest on the show, if you are using GMO produced seeds or hybrid seeds, then you are truly not growing organic. As a person with a multitude of such seeds, that was quite an eye opener. I guess I need to be careful where I buy my seeds. That's a topic for another post. I hope this was an eye opener for you too. Well, till next time, happy gardening everyone!

Spring's promise.

What a beginning two weeks of March it has been.  In like a Lion, out like a Lamb is very true this year.  We've had over 9 inches of snow on one day and several days in the 50's and 60'S.  And, that volatility is not even over yet. As I write this, we are expecting several days where the lows are going to be below freezing with highs from the 40's to the 60's. Crazy weather - right?
Preparations should be the order of the day for this week.  Speaking of preparations, I now have 3 cabbage, 3 broccoli and 8 pepper plants under my lights.  I also have 6 various types of heirloom tomatoes under the lights.  So, the process is under way for another year of gardening.
There is still a lot of preparation to do before the gardening begins in earnest.  I definitely need to clean and sharpen my tools, perhaps oil them and make sure they are ready for use in the not so distant future.  I began pulling some of the winter stored items out of my shed but I believe doing too much would be a bit hasty at this time.  One thing I did get accomplished was I pulled out my plant boxes for my hydroponic system and cleaned them with a bleach/water mixture to kill off any unwanted problems.  I set up the pole they are held by this morning so it's almost go time for that.  I can't wait to start planting the lettuce and associated crops which I will wait to do until the end of this week.
Cleanup needs to be completed around the beds and probably, thanks to the harsh winter, in the beds themselves.  Last fall I planted winter rye as a cover crop so that really needs to be cut and worked into the beds.  I spotted my weed whacker this morning along with the sting for it.  I just cut the rye and leave it set for a couple days then turn it over once the ground dries a little bit.  I used rye last year and my plants seemed to do better during the dry summer we had. So, I figured I would use it again.  Besides, it keeps the squirrels out of them, adds green manure directly to the soil and it looks nicer than just having empty beds.
Gearing up for Spring can be a daunting task so I try and do a little here and there to take the pressure off once the weather finally turns about mid March.  It almost time but we are just starting to see the beginnings of Springs promise.  

The transitional month of March

As I sit down to write this today, we are having a snow and sleet event here in the Baltimore region. So while I look forward to the upcoming planting season, there is still a bit of winter to deal with. My beds are covered with about 3 inches of snow and any thoughts of working on them must wait for the time being.  But, there are things that need to be done if I am to have a successful growing season. Preparations abound around this time.
Yesterday I started, albeit late, my Cabbage and Broccoli plants.  Sometimes, life gets in the way of your garden and I had one of those life events.  I am trying newer varieties of Cabbage that I have never tried before.  They are Earliana and All Seasons.  The Broccoli are Waltham's which are supposed to be good for Zone 7.  I also started 8 plants of Peppers that are on schedule.  The Peppers are California Wonders which have always been good producers for me.
In the next couple days I will be starting my many varieties of Heirloom tomatoes.  I am going to experiment with Peppers by starting a new set of seedlings in two weeks to attempt to get two harvests before the end of the season.  I cannot start all my plants from seeds as I would need a large greenhouse for that.  So, I have two sources for plants that have proven reliable where I can get the varieties of vegetables that I like at a price that is reasonable.  I'll have more to say on that subject in later posts.
Outside preparations are at a minimum at this time naturally due to the uncertainty of the weather. From what I can see, we will be whipsawing this week as they are predicting just about every type of weather imaginable this week.  That's the nature of March in the Mid-Atlantic.  Given that, I am currently working on a checklist of the various things I need to do when the snow is gone.  I also have been getting my tools in good working order as its a great time to do this type of work.
March is a hard month to read early on.  Some gardeners try to force the beginning of the season with the many techniques that are available.  I too, tried some them over the years.  But, in my opinion, the effort to get an early start is a proposition fraught with peril.  Many times, the plants just didn't seem to produce as well as I would have expected.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't gardened before.  It took me quite a few years to venture out of the normal season.
So, at this point, I am waiting for Mother Nature to calm down.  Until that time, I will keep myself active preparing for when that time comes.  Happy Gardening everyone!              

Meet Craig

My name is Craig and I live in the Baltimore area.  While I am an Accountant by trade, my real passion is growing fresh organic vegetables.  There is no more rewarding pursuit than taking a garden from seeds in the basement to fresh, succulent vegetables on the dinner table.  All that effort, the sweat and labor that permeates your soul, is the payoff every gardener, big and small, looks forward to at the beginning of each season.  We begin with so much promise and so much enthusiasm after a long winter's hibernation.  That is why I do it.  The sheer enjoyment of digging my hand into the soil and feeling the crumbly, soft soil sift through my hands.  I often take a handful of this black gold, raise it close to my nose, and breathe in ever so deeply the rich, fragrant aroma of a new year to come.  That’s what wakes me up early in the morning and keeps me excited throughout the season. 

I was not always a gardener and quite frankly, I wasn’t much interested to tell the truth.  It was not until my mid-teens that this little hobby of mine began.  My parents tore down the old pool in our back yard.  They were perplexed at what to do with the big brown area it uncovered.  Our neighbor Levere convinced me to take a stab at a vegetable garden.  He was a very experienced older Italian gentleman gardener who grew some of the best Italian varieties you could find.  I could swear he took me under his wing more for his own amusement.  Through patient guidance, he helped instill in me the love for gardening.  My first year was pretty good by my standards and each succeeding year got better.  I was hooked from that point and there was no going back.

With that as my foundation, over the years I have explored the many and varied forms of the art of gardening.  As most of us do, I started with the typical row garden.  From there, my gardening has evolved, transformed and begat what I now call my hybrid garden.  I have often tried something new and/or different when it came to the garden.  I have come to believe that experimentation is the best way to keep things fresh for you and the garden.  The results haven’t always been spectacular but I think I learned something new each time I ventured off the beaten path.  And that’s the nature of gardening. 

I have even dragged my wife into this crazy world.  She has fed my obsession with gardening by supporting me with the many well thought out gifts I received over the years and by doing research herself on various things I would only mention casually.  Through her research, I have been exposed to things that I did not even know existed.  I mean, who knew that I needed a Mason Bee Hive in my backyard?  Or even a hydroponic system.   Well, certainly not I.  If not for her, I would not be half the gardener I am today.  

So this is going to be a journey of things known and unknown.  I hope to inspire those who see gardening as a scary proposition to take the leap.  So, come along with me and let's explore the vast world of gardening.  It is a rewarding pursuit.