Fernando Friday!

Here we go again...

Last night the little man was just a streak of shiny black hair as he evaluated the contents of the week's CSA bag.  Fernando and I both came to the same conclusion: the salad marathon will continue!  It's going to be another very green week (literally) in our house.

Growing out back I have kale that must be consumed and a new crop of salad mix.  Last night I received Swiss chard, lettuce, spring mix, a giant head of cabbage, and spinach, among others (like that pretty - but dirty - head of cauliflower pictured above). 

I willingly accept the challenge!  Let's see what I come up with!

Anyone else out there feeling forced to consume salad like there's no tomorrow?

Salad, anyone?

A lot can happen in 2 weeks!

The salad bar, 5/8/13

The salad bar, 5/22/13

Some definitely take longer to grow than others, but everything I have planted is coming along!  I've continued to add more rows every 1-2 weeks, and once I harvest any of these greens I will plant more in their place. 

Here are my notes from the gardening class - I just reviewed these today to remind myself of the details of cutting, since I think the salad will probably get eaten in the next 2 weeks or so:

I think that based on this advice, I can really squeeze a few more rows in between... I've probably been planting them 4-5 inches apart rather than the recommended 2 inches.  The point is that if you eat these as "baby" greens, they don't need a lot of room to grow, and definitely don't need the space indicated on the seed packet. 

Also, despite the fact that many greens aren't very tolerant of heat and can become bitter-tasting, if you don't grow them to full size (as noted above, cutting when they are 4-5 inches tall), you can actually enjoy them all summer. 

Greens can also be grown easily in a container since they have hardly any root system.  I think they would do really well in a window-style box (you know, the oblong ones) and you could probably manage 2-3 rows at a time. Considering a bag of this stuff in the grocery store averages about $1.99, and a packet of seeds could be found for much less, it is worth a try!

Salad bar, 2013 edition

Slowly but surely, the greens are a-growin'.  I'm trying to do some succession planting in this area so we have a never ending supply for salads.  Basically, all succession planting means is that you plant (approximately) every 2 weeks.  This is about 4 weeks' worth, and it's all muddy because I watered it before remembering to take a picture.  But you get the general idea...

This is a combination of mesclun salad mix (rows 2 and 3), spinach (row 1), and kale (row 4).  Above and below the kale I recently planted some swiss chard, but no growing action just yet.

Peas!

Yay!  This past weekend we were finally without snow and blessed with weather in the 50s.  The perfect time to finally plant one of my favorites, peas.  

Given the issues I had last year with these plants ending up much larger than expected, I decided to go with a trellis/lattice (I don't actually know the difference between the two...) system.  It will certainly be better than the tiny little bamboo stakes I used last year:



The gnome did not do a very good job of keeping these peas in line

Anyway, our new system is based on wooden stakes and twine.  I learned about this in the gardening class I took, and am hoping to apply it to tomatoes and cucumbers as well.  It seems like a way to keep things neat and linear.

The stakes are sturdy - they are hammered about 2 feet into the ground.  I placed the lower "rungs" of twine closer together, and then spaced them out more towards the top.  I can easily add in more if needed.

I planted one pea seed (sorry, I did not take any pictures of them... but picture a dry, shriveled-looking pea) a few inches in front of each stake about one inch deep, and one in the middle... for a total of 7.  I put two seeds in each hole, hoping at least one will germinate.

I also planted some spinach and salad mix in one of our raised beds... but it's not really anything to look at just yet.

Changing seasons

This is a great example of why you shouldn't be too lazy to go in the house and grab the camera.  I took this on my phone and while it looked okay on that small little screen, when I enlarged it, it looked like... this.  And it was the only one I took, so here it is.  All the special effects in the world couldn't save this thing...

So, fall has arrived in Ohio!  And I totally love it.  While I will miss the fruits and vegetables of summer, I am so excited for cooler weather.  Summer is not my favorite time of year, but fall absolutely is.  This year is really the first time I've undertaken a fall planting.

Last week it was "out with the zucchini" and I've decided to use this newly available space to plant greens that thrive in the cooler weather we are having.  After removing the plants, I raked the soil and added some 10-10 fertilizer. 

You can't tell in this utterly crap photo, but L to R are rows of "Bright Lights" Swiss Chard, regular old green Swiss Chard (Fordhook, if you want to get specific), Kale #1, "Red Russian" (an earlier planting is already growing at the top there... the colors are very pretty though this photo does nothing justice), Spinach, and Kale #2, "Dwarf Blue."  Elsewhere, I squeezed in a row of Ruby Red Swiss Chard.  My fingers are firmly crossed that cool weather = less insect problems, but that remains to be seen....