Tag: peas

Dear Past Alison

Time and (limited) experience in the garden has taught me that the only way to learn anything out here is to do it wrong at least once. I’ve run this theory by several experienced gardeners, and they always nod then tell me stories.

So, here are some things I’d like to tell past Alison.

– Plant perennials that need time to mature the second that you decide you’re interested in gardening. Do not wait several years so that you can wait another couple of years to eat your raspberries and asparagus

-DO NOT PLANT OREGANO IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, you idiot. It is monstrous!

-Do not leave the greenhouse closed on a 86Degree spring day. Everything will die. It will roast and die, and you will cry.

-Don’t skip soil amendment just because it’s far away and heavy.

-Don’t plant strawberries or raspberries without some heavy defenses. They will conquer the garden.

-Don’t take free plants with holes chewed in them. You. Are. Dumb.

****

Okay! Enough berating. One thing I did so right was to use the leaves as mulch on some of the beds and between our neighbors very weedy yard and our moderately weedy lawn.

The patch of green in the middle is a transplanted perennial sunflower. g.

I spent the morning weeding (if there isn’t an old saying about the difficulty of pulling grass from the onion bed there should be.) and placing a second bed for peas (west e). The poor peas that I planted in the lower bed have not been able to win the war against whatever is eating them (I have all kinds of theories, but no luck… Something is digging there. /: ) so if they come up in the west bed, I’ll have to reorganize a bit more. (Squash, peppers, and okra need homes.)

Things that weren’t roasted in the greenhouse LOVED the warm sunny weather. I think some greens are starting (kale, chard, romaine), radishes are getting bigger, grapes… many things.

Well, the weeds are happy.

We’ve only had a few days of sun. Enough that the grass has grown taller than the raised beds, but not enough for p to mow it.

The peas are still getting chewed and pulled up by something. I replanted them today- maybe they will be so excited by the weather that they will overcome all obstacles.

I also planted more chard and kale (this time in upper c) Willy nilly I tossed the seeds in the soil. I really want some greens.

I cleared a portion of the back rocks and spread allysum seeds. I just can’t seem to have luck with this plant that is supposed to reseed itself and be happy here!

The tomato, pepper, and okra starts seem to be tolerating the greenhouse, only doing a little worse than the ones inside. The one tomato plant I already have in a container is still alive.

Parsley basket might be getting started, and the strawberry basket is happy. Once it gets a little warmer I’ll hang them on the porch.

Fingers crossed on all of it.

Back from the suncation

We had a nice trip- but it’s back to reality.

I guess there was a little sun here while we were gone. The garlic is looking happy, the onions are hanging in there, the radishes are getting bigger and the beets are starting to show sprouts.

The peas continue to be eaten by a mystery predator. I might just go out at night to see if I can catch them in the act. I’ve always hesitated to put out slug traps- but this might be my turning point.

The inside basil experiment is going well. I’ve had it under the hydroponic light. It’s happy. The others are basically dead outside. The greenhouse one might make it.

While I was gone the sprouts (tomato, okra, pepper) got a little drowned I think, and weren’t looking good. I transplanted then all to larger pots, and put the extra ones in a tray in the greenhouse.

When I was transplanting I noticed that they all seemed to want some deeper roots- especially the okra and peppers that maneuvered out of the bottom of their paper pots. Next year I need to remember that, and plant them in something taller.

Eh.

We have had the joy of living without half of our appliances for a week, because of a lack of 240 voltage and dependable electrician. It’s also been gross outside- including some snow, and lots of rain.

I am not happy.

So let’s start with what’s good in the garden…

The two blue hydrangeas are coming in quick. I fertilized them with the hydrangeas food today.

The two rhody transplants are settling in well.

The hops are coming up- p has been pulling extra shoots.

The rhubarbs all seem very happy.

Some root veggies are sprouting in west E.

NOW for the bad news.

Something has been eating my pea sprouts. I have a feeling it’s the pnw monster slug. I do not feel any warm feelings. I sprinkled Sluggo across the soil with ruthless abandon.

The garlic is not happy about the weather. There’s a lot of yellow showing. I don’t think there is anything I can do- but I put the tomato fertilizer on it while chanting. /:

Onions are also barely hanging in there, and got the same treatment.

The lawn looks like hell- although some of the clover and fleur de lawn seed seems to be catching. All the effort we made trying to smooth it may or may not have helped.

Here are the fertilizers I used.

The blue one went on the hydrangeas, camelia, and blueberries

The red one went on the onions, garlic, and the places I’m putting tomatoes.

In the process of writing this (and waiting for water to boil for my bath), the asparagus and raspberrys have arrived.

I begged P to plant them- since he has access to a shower at work.

Raspberries are going in west A, asparagus in west B.

Seeds inside

It’s quite chilly outside, and we’re without hot water and electric heat, so I decided to work on some inside planting.

P got this really nice plant light for my birthday, and in using it with a heating pad to start some seeds inside (and try some microgreens). I’ve already got tomatoes and peppers going, and some cilantro, so today I started some okra (which is nearly impossible to buy as starts around here) and some peas to try as pea shoots.*

(*Here are a couple of how-tos for harvesting pea shoots – 1, 2 )

To make my little newspaper pots, I folded and wrapped a sheet of seed catalog around a juice glass, and secured the end with a water+flour paste.

Then I folded down the bottom part and glued it as well

Easy peasy.

Here’s what the flat o’seeds looks like now.

I’m watering from the bottom, which is what you’re supposed to do I guess.

BRRRRRRR BEETS AND GREENS

We are without electricity today, and I decided not to go downtown because of the SNOW and instead opted for working in the yard a bit… I’m almost able to feel my toes now. /:

Planted chard, kale, and romaine in upper b. (romaine is furthest west)

Put leeks, beets, and carrots in south a.

I really fluffed up the soil there (and found a patch of mycelium), with the hope of better root crops. Let’s hope bunnies don’t like carrots IRL.

Peas are JUST starting to break the surface, and some ejected themselves from the soil (:. Saw a tiny bit of green in West E- beets and radishes.

The onions are looking a tad bit better (the old greenery died off, but new stuff is pushing out). I just need to remember that this is how they roll.

First real garden weekend

The weather was gorgeous this weekend, and we did a LOT of work. Two new raised beds (South D, West E). Put pavers down and dug out at the base of the rocks (Lower). We got a couple of orphan plants- 6 rhubarb starts (planted by huckleberry, upper bed C, and south Lower). New white rhododendron in the back north of the spruce, and a bonus sprout uphill from that. A couple of flowers- not sure their names /: One has pink carnation type flowers (planted in the pinks) and one has little blue-purple flowers like a viola (jumping some thing…) P filled beds and added soil amendment.

snap peas went in the ground at lower F. Territorial 2017 Sugar Magnolia on west, super snap on south.

Here’s the new rhody. The other one is a little tiny branch…