We have had an incredible spring in the Pacific Northwest. Three days in April above 80 degrees set a new record, and now here we are May 1st and it was 80 degrees with more sunshine in store for tomorrow. Last weekend, it was raining, so I transplanted the cool weather crops: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and nasturtiums. This weekend, I have been trying for two days now to plant everything else. Granted my mornings are taken up with breakfast, a dog walk, and a two-hour run, so I haven't been able to get started until 1:00.
Can you say beans? We made the decision to eat vegan to see if lowers our cholesterol. Eating a plant based diet is supposed to help with all sorts of diseases, so we are jumping in. That means we're going to eat lots of beans. I planted every last bean I had. I am growing many varieties: Cherokee Trail of Tears from my pal Nicole, Sunset Runner Bean, Eye of the Goat, Zuni Gold, Good Mother Stollard Pole Bean, Bolita, and Flambo Bush Bean. With the exception of the last, they all require something really tall to grow up. I think I may have gotten a little carried away....
I think I had 10 flats of bean plants, and I still have two left to find homes for. I managed to plant squash, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage yesterday, but I can't believe I am still planting beans. Tomorrow, I have the day off work, thank goodness, so I will finish the beans and I hope to plant my flower pots and spread rock dust in my garden.
Rock dust is how you replenish the mineral content of your soil. I got a five gallon bucket of sludge from Marenakos, a rock center, for free! It isn't a fertilizer, so it won't make your plants grow better. It will, however, make your fruits and vegetables taste better and be more nutritious. It's hard to know for sure if there is a difference in taste because I can't do a side-by-side comparison, but I have had two people tell me that my cucumbers were really good. One person said they were the most cucumber-y cucumbers she'd ever tasted!
Meanwhile, it would be nice to weed the blueberry patch, set up a chicken pen in some weed controlled garden beds, take some garden photos for this blog, and, oh yeah, relax. Maybe next weekend. But next weekend, I'll be painting some Adirondack chairs.
-NGG
Showing posts with label Rock Dust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rock Dust. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Planting Journal
Whether or not anyone reads my blog, it is most useful to me as a planting journal. Keeping a record of when you plant, temperatures, and how long it takes seedlings to sprout is a helpful strategy in a gardener's toolkit.
I did a good deal of planting in the greenhouse this weekend, trying to get caught up. As I was labeling, I noticed in my collection of past labels a handwritten list from last year of when I should plant lists of seeds. At the top, I had written, "Plant everything two weeks earlier." If only I had included that in my blog, I might have read it before it was too late. Thus, I planted most things later than last year, but I did manage to plant my tomatoes and peppers a week earlier. My purple light glows in the greenhouse once again!
One of the things I love most about this time of year is the potential each day holds. I love seeing all the signs that it's spring: the cherry blossoms, daffodils, and forsythia, not to mention the chirping frogs, bird songs that greet you first thing in the morning, and simply the wonderful smell of spring. (I think that smell may actually come from the cottonwood trees, which drop what looks to me like a flower sprig.) In that same spirit of spring awakening, I love to discover what seeds have sprouted.
And the winner of the first seedling to sprout in my greenhouse is...Brussels sprouts! And then my husband pointed out the tiny lettuce sprouts. By the end of the day yesterday, which was a sunny and warm 60 degrees, several other vegetables came up: broccoli, cabbage, and maybe a pea. I had hoped for more today, but it never got warmer than 60 degrees in the greenhouse, despite the intermittent sunshine.
Next weekend, I must get the garden beds ready, which means a weekend of tilling, laying out soaker hoses, and spreading rock dust. It's been a while since I have replenished the minerals in my garden soil with rock dust. John plans to try Marenakos for granite or basalt dust, since they cut both types of rock there. We already know we can get granite dust there, but I am hoping for basalt because it has a greater number of minerals in it, whereas granite has mostly potassium.
Once the beds are ready, I need to get whatever is finally coming from Territorial Seeds this week into the ground. I can see that something is on its way; I just don't know what. I am hoping for potatoes or onion sets. I also need to plant carrots, but I am afraid the seeds will rot. We are getting a lot of rain so I may wait until April.
Until next weekend....
NGG
I did a good deal of planting in the greenhouse this weekend, trying to get caught up. As I was labeling, I noticed in my collection of past labels a handwritten list from last year of when I should plant lists of seeds. At the top, I had written, "Plant everything two weeks earlier." If only I had included that in my blog, I might have read it before it was too late. Thus, I planted most things later than last year, but I did manage to plant my tomatoes and peppers a week earlier. My purple light glows in the greenhouse once again!
One of the things I love most about this time of year is the potential each day holds. I love seeing all the signs that it's spring: the cherry blossoms, daffodils, and forsythia, not to mention the chirping frogs, bird songs that greet you first thing in the morning, and simply the wonderful smell of spring. (I think that smell may actually come from the cottonwood trees, which drop what looks to me like a flower sprig.) In that same spirit of spring awakening, I love to discover what seeds have sprouted.
And the winner of the first seedling to sprout in my greenhouse is...Brussels sprouts! And then my husband pointed out the tiny lettuce sprouts. By the end of the day yesterday, which was a sunny and warm 60 degrees, several other vegetables came up: broccoli, cabbage, and maybe a pea. I had hoped for more today, but it never got warmer than 60 degrees in the greenhouse, despite the intermittent sunshine.
Next weekend, I must get the garden beds ready, which means a weekend of tilling, laying out soaker hoses, and spreading rock dust. It's been a while since I have replenished the minerals in my garden soil with rock dust. John plans to try Marenakos for granite or basalt dust, since they cut both types of rock there. We already know we can get granite dust there, but I am hoping for basalt because it has a greater number of minerals in it, whereas granite has mostly potassium.
Once the beds are ready, I need to get whatever is finally coming from Territorial Seeds this week into the ground. I can see that something is on its way; I just don't know what. I am hoping for potatoes or onion sets. I also need to plant carrots, but I am afraid the seeds will rot. We are getting a lot of rain so I may wait until April.
Until next weekend....
NGG
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
I have a greenhouse!
Welcome to Nitty Gritty Garden, a down-to-the-details how-to vegetable garden blog about gardening in the Pacific Northwest, zone 8a. (I found a helpful website http://www.plantmaps.com/ where all you have to do is put in your zipcode and it tells you your zone, plus adds others by clicking in a box.) We live in Duvall, WA, so we are a bit colder than Seattle. Everything is a little later here than the surrounding suburbs of Seattle.
I have been gardening for over twenty years, but 2015 marks my initiation into gardening a la greenhouse. Late last spring, I purchased a kit greenhouse with some inheritance money (thanks, Dad!). By the time we were done with the greenhouse (my husband built the foundation, we put the kit together over spring break, and I built my own benches), it was late April. Currently, 2015 is really my first year using the greenhouse.
Specific greenhouse info in case you wanna know: I purchased an 8 x 8-foot greenhouse from the Greenhouse Mega Store (http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/snap-grow-plus/hobby-greenhouse-kits) for around $1200. I also got my potting supplies (not soil) from them. The greenhouse was relatively easy to put together, but you should know my husband and I built our own log home (and I mean that literally) and I did the wiring, so we are no strangers to construction, following obscure directions, and the like. I am quite happy with the greenhouse thus far. The self ventilating window is pretty cool!
Venturing into virgin territory, I am scrambling to figure out what to plant when. Last spring, I realized that even the size of the seed starting pots was an unknown, though my 2 x 2-inch pots seemed to work well for all seed starts. We had a mild winter here in Duvall, WA, and we seem to be having an early spring. Our average last frost date is around March 29, so I am planning accordingly.
February 15, I planted a good deal of my cooler weather plants in the greenhouse using Edna's Best Organic Potting Soil, purchased at my local True Value:
I purchase most of my seeds from Territorial Seeds http://www.territorialseed.com/, some this year but some saved from years past. I also have some seeds from my friend Nicole, who is also an avid gardener and award-winning garden photographer (http://blogs.seattletimes.com/allyoucaneat/2014/07/29/how-does-your-garden-grow-send-us-your-harvest-photos/#mid=&offset=&page=&s=).
I also planted some flowers, as my goal is to grow all my flowers for decorative pots and window boxes from seed:
The temperatures have been amazing: 55-60 during the day, but a chilly 32-34 at night. I have lidded five-gallon buckets filled with water under my planting shelves in the greenhouse, and I also have a small heater set to 50 degrees. On a sunny day (as it has been the past week), the greenhouse reaches 90-100 degrees, but at night it cools off to 40, so I decided to use the heater. I have ordered a 35 degree activated plug that will turn the heat on at 35 degrees and off at 45. I'll let you know how it works when it arrives. I have also ordered a special grow light for my tomatoes, which I plan to plant this coming weekend. I will have it on an 18-hour timer.
Meanwhile, I have spent the last several days getting my garden beds ready. I have 5 x 5-foot and 5 x 10-foot raised beds (made from 2 x 10" treated wood); two 5 x 5' beds, six 5 x 10' beds, plus other randomly sized beds, a blueberry cloche, and a raspberry patch. The soil level is low and needs amending, so we are adding aged manure from Hollandia Farms in Monroe. We inherited a farm truck from my dad (aka Rosie) that my husband used to bring home manure and a compost soil mix from West Coast Nursery on Hwy 203.
Yesterday, we started amending the two small beds and one large one. We used our cement mixer to mix the manure with the existing garden soil and some ROCK DUST, and the rototilled the mix into the beds. They turned out beautifully, but it took a really long time, and my husband is recovering from knee surgery so a lot of the shovelling and wheelbarrowing was left to me. Today, we decided to skip the cement mixer and just till the manure into the beds directly. It didn't work as well, but I think it will be OK. In all, I moved 13 large (two-wheeled) wheelbarrow loads into the garden to the remaining beds. I am pooped (pun intended)! I will be skipping my core workout tomorrow morning and just doing my physical therapy!
I will start planting in the beds as soon as the potatoes and onions get here. Hurry up! Here is my garden plan for 2015:
Also, we have decided to plant edibles amongst decorative plants on our patio-to-be. We are still installing planting beds, but for now, we have 250 plus daffodil and tulip bulbs that we planted on a very wet and rainy day late last fall. They are all sprouting now, even the daffodils I forgot to plant that stayed in a box outside on the deck in a covered area! Can't wait to see them bloom. I will post pictures soon. The bulb sprouts, from the nearby Skagit Valley, are huge!
I ran out of energy today, but tomorrow I will take and post some pictures. I will also be planting leek seeds. I hope you are making the most of the early spring! Yours,
NG Gardener
I have been gardening for over twenty years, but 2015 marks my initiation into gardening a la greenhouse. Late last spring, I purchased a kit greenhouse with some inheritance money (thanks, Dad!). By the time we were done with the greenhouse (my husband built the foundation, we put the kit together over spring break, and I built my own benches), it was late April. Currently, 2015 is really my first year using the greenhouse.
Specific greenhouse info in case you wanna know: I purchased an 8 x 8-foot greenhouse from the Greenhouse Mega Store (http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/snap-grow-plus/hobby-greenhouse-kits) for around $1200. I also got my potting supplies (not soil) from them. The greenhouse was relatively easy to put together, but you should know my husband and I built our own log home (and I mean that literally) and I did the wiring, so we are no strangers to construction, following obscure directions, and the like. I am quite happy with the greenhouse thus far. The self ventilating window is pretty cool!
Venturing into virgin territory, I am scrambling to figure out what to plant when. Last spring, I realized that even the size of the seed starting pots was an unknown, though my 2 x 2-inch pots seemed to work well for all seed starts. We had a mild winter here in Duvall, WA, and we seem to be having an early spring. Our average last frost date is around March 29, so I am planning accordingly.
February 15, I planted a good deal of my cooler weather plants in the greenhouse using Edna's Best Organic Potting Soil, purchased at my local True Value:
- artichokes
- beets
- broccoli
- cabbage
- chard
- cilantro
- kale
- lettuce
- peas
- spinach
I purchase most of my seeds from Territorial Seeds http://www.territorialseed.com/, some this year but some saved from years past. I also have some seeds from my friend Nicole, who is also an avid gardener and award-winning garden photographer (http://blogs.seattletimes.com/allyoucaneat/2014/07/29/how-does-your-garden-grow-send-us-your-harvest-photos/#mid=&offset=&page=&s=).
I also planted some flowers, as my goal is to grow all my flowers for decorative pots and window boxes from seed:
- nasturtiums (saved from my flowers last year)
- sweet peas
The temperatures have been amazing: 55-60 during the day, but a chilly 32-34 at night. I have lidded five-gallon buckets filled with water under my planting shelves in the greenhouse, and I also have a small heater set to 50 degrees. On a sunny day (as it has been the past week), the greenhouse reaches 90-100 degrees, but at night it cools off to 40, so I decided to use the heater. I have ordered a 35 degree activated plug that will turn the heat on at 35 degrees and off at 45. I'll let you know how it works when it arrives. I have also ordered a special grow light for my tomatoes, which I plan to plant this coming weekend. I will have it on an 18-hour timer.
Meanwhile, I have spent the last several days getting my garden beds ready. I have 5 x 5-foot and 5 x 10-foot raised beds (made from 2 x 10" treated wood); two 5 x 5' beds, six 5 x 10' beds, plus other randomly sized beds, a blueberry cloche, and a raspberry patch. The soil level is low and needs amending, so we are adding aged manure from Hollandia Farms in Monroe. We inherited a farm truck from my dad (aka Rosie) that my husband used to bring home manure and a compost soil mix from West Coast Nursery on Hwy 203.
Yesterday, we started amending the two small beds and one large one. We used our cement mixer to mix the manure with the existing garden soil and some ROCK DUST, and the rototilled the mix into the beds. They turned out beautifully, but it took a really long time, and my husband is recovering from knee surgery so a lot of the shovelling and wheelbarrowing was left to me. Today, we decided to skip the cement mixer and just till the manure into the beds directly. It didn't work as well, but I think it will be OK. In all, I moved 13 large (two-wheeled) wheelbarrow loads into the garden to the remaining beds. I am pooped (pun intended)! I will be skipping my core workout tomorrow morning and just doing my physical therapy!
I will start planting in the beds as soon as the potatoes and onions get here. Hurry up! Here is my garden plan for 2015:
Also, we have decided to plant edibles amongst decorative plants on our patio-to-be. We are still installing planting beds, but for now, we have 250 plus daffodil and tulip bulbs that we planted on a very wet and rainy day late last fall. They are all sprouting now, even the daffodils I forgot to plant that stayed in a box outside on the deck in a covered area! Can't wait to see them bloom. I will post pictures soon. The bulb sprouts, from the nearby Skagit Valley, are huge!
I ran out of energy today, but tomorrow I will take and post some pictures. I will also be planting leek seeds. I hope you are making the most of the early spring! Yours,
NG Gardener
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