The Wet Seedlings Recovered

Just an update to the previous post, when it looked like my entire broccoli planting had drowned. I got the flats dried out, and the plants all came back. I currently have them indoors near a window. Of the 20 seeds that I planted, I now have 14 decent looking broccoli seedlings. The snap peas didn't fare as well; only 5 of the 20 sprouted. I read somewhere that you should nick pea seeds with a file to let water penetrate. I didn't do that, so I don't know if that's a trick I needed to apply. I have never grown peas before.

I have had some broccoli outside since August, and it is just now really taking off. I have to remember that next year; broccoli can survive some pretty cold temperatures. Next year I will start the plants indoors in late summer, and then transplant them outside just as soon as the weather cools off a bit. If I plant in rich soil, I should be able to get a crop in before the weather turns cold. But even if I don't, as soon as it warms back up it should take off and produce a crop then.

I planted some tomato, jalapeno, marigolds, and (as an experiment) one okra seed in containers about a week ago. Today, the okra and some of the tomatoes have broken ground. I probably should have started the tomatoes earlier, as Home Depot already has decent sized plants for transplanting outdoors. I planted the okra in a big pot and I have it in the garage where it can get some light from a window. It is much too early for okra; it really excels in the heat. But I thought I would get the plant up to a foot or so in height and then try to transplant it.

I have had the flu, so I haven't been able to work the mulch into the soil. I am hoping that I will feel like it this weekend. At the latest, I need to transplant all of the broccoli and peas outside, and plant my carrots, by next weekend. I fly to Europe for 3 weeks the following Monday, so I need to get the cold tolerate plants in the ground.

What I Plan to Grow This Year

Eventually I want to start using heirloom seeds, but this year I went with what they had in the seed rack at Home Depot. My garden is laid out in a 5 foot by 25 foot plot. I may have to add some on to that. But here is what I have planned:

20 Green Goliath Broccoli
20 Sugar Daddy Snap Peas
16 Early Prolific Straightneck Summer Squash
10 Big Boy Tomatoes
6 Clemson Spineless Okra
6 Burpee's Hybrid Zucchini
5 Pimiento Jalapenos
Big Top Carrots
Genovese Basil
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
Marigolds
4 Flame Seedless Grapes
2 Celeste Figs

As I have mentioned already, I have been experimenting since August with some of these. Cilantro and the broccoli thrived through the winter, surviving a low temperature of 16°F (Jan 16th, per the Weather Channel's website). I had some jalapenos outside in containers, and they survived until a hard freeze in December. So I am optimistic that I can get in a really good harvest of those until late fall. I have one basil and some oregano in the house. The oregano has thrived and the basil has survived, and I will plant both outdoors in late March.

The temperatures start to regularly get into the 80's in early May, so I hope to have a crop of broccoli, snow peas, and carrots finished by then. I will replant some of the warm weather items like jalapenos and okra in their place.

Spring Planning and the Double Dig

January 22, 2009 – Freshly arrived back from Europe. None of the 40 seeds I planted before I left have sprouted, but the soil is still damp. I now have two broccoli plants that are ready to harvest. I will do that this weekend.

I harvested the compost from one of my composters and spread it around on the ground where I am going to do a double-dig of about 125 square feet. I realize I don't have enough, so I will need to either pick up more compost or some peat moss. One of the things I am learning is that decaying organic matter in the soil is very important for good growth. Not having that is why it took my broccoli all winter to produce.

I started the double-dig, and it was slow going. Lots of white rocks as big as my head have to be removed. I had put up a temporary fence to keep the dogs out, but I can see they have been in and gotten mud everywhere. My back started to get sore about halfway through the double-dig.

January 23, 2009 – I awoke this morning to find that 10 of the broccoli seeds and 3 of the snow peas have sprouted. I guess they were just waiting for me to get back home. I plan to let them grow for at least a couple of weeks – and maybe a month – before transplanting them outside. The only problem is that the flats are not very deep, and even now I have roots trying to come out the bottom.

Back in the fall when it froze and killed my nice-looking jalapeno (which in December was just about to bloom), I also had one in a container. I brought that one into the garage, and left it to die. Funny thing is that it didn't die. It doesn't look good, but I have some hope that I might be able to keep it alive until time to transplant it outside.

Right now, I am scheduled to go back to Europe on February 16th. I plan to transplant the broccoli and snow peas outside just before I go, as well as plant a row of carrots. Today I also planted 6 zucchini, 6 tomatoes, 16 crookneck squash, and 12 marigolds in a couple more flats. I plan to transplant them outdoors some time after I return from Europe the first week of March. Hopefully they won't be too packed in the flats by then. I am also going to plant some jalapenos in some small pots, which should be ready to go outdoors in March.

I went to Home Depot today and bought two grapevines (Flame Seedless) and a fig tree. I plan to set them out tomorrow.