Trouble brewing

Looks like my bean plants are running into trouble, to review here is the shot after they were just planted;

And here is how at least a few of them are looking as of yesterday;

I am not sure what conclusions I should draw from this.  I don't think they are dying of thirst, as the rain we have been getting has been generous.  Could it be just transplant shock that took a few days to show up?  

I admittedly did not harden the seedlings off as much as I should have.  I will try an infusion of organic fertilizer to see if that restores some green.  Fingers crossed.

Finished planting the last of the seedlings.

I cleaned up the existing in-ground beds to plant the remaining vine crops, so the pumpkins and watermelons.      Posting this entry a bit late, as the work was actually accomplished over Memorial day weekend.

For the pumpkins, I dug deeply on either side of the bed and replaced the old soil with new stuff.  The idea being to train the vines to grow towards each other, and perhaps along the side of the house if they really get going and need more room.  

I added a border of marigolds just because.  I also snuck in sunflower seeds in the middle just for fun.

The watermelon vines will grow over and around the remains of the tulips, if they need more space I may throw down some gravel in between the new raised beds and allow the vines to grow along the edges of the wooden structures.  I hope I have more pollinators visit my yard than I did at the old place.

I also had one corn seedling that I couldn't fit in the raised bed so I tossed it here next to the watermelons.  Felt bad about just throwing it away after it managed to germinate.

As always more pictures of the whole project are available on the G+/Picasa album.  If you don't have access to that one and would like it let me know.

Raised Beds - GO!

My father came by and with much sweat and toil we put together the two raised bed kits

Then began the enjoyable and not at all back-breaking process of filling them with soil.  Once that was done however, planting commenced.

Both beds are now full, truthfully they are over populated as more seedlings germinated than I anticipated.  The seeds from SeedsofChange continue to impress.  So we will see what manages to survive the transplant, and the cramped conditions.

Next up I will be clearing out a neglected in-ground bed that is next  to the tulips and planting the pumpkin vines there.  I will also be clearing out a section of the tulip bed and planting the watermelon vines, letting them grow over and around the tulips now that they have finished blooming.

Oh, and Dad generously gifted me a cool apple tree super-hybrid, that has a different variety on each branch.  My plan at the moment is to dig this tree in on one side of the tulip bed and install a more robust trellis to allow it to grow to the length of the bed.

Fingers crossed.

A week to go before planting.

I have taken the final week of May off work to get the planting beds setup, and the seedlings transplanted.  At this point the corn and at least one very eager bean plant are already tall enough to be growing past the light fixtures a bit;

The pumpkin seedlings are getting their first big leaves;

The beans are really taking off, the burgundy species has purple stems making them easy to tell apart from the normal green bean seedlings;

The broccoli may need to stay indoors longer than some of the faster growing veggies, though I may still plant everything all at once and hope for the best.  Mistakes must be made to learn and all that.

And last but certainly not least, there has finally been germination for the bell peppers (which I don't recall having a problem with the last time), the celery, and at least one of the cayenne peppers.  And yes, I know I spelled the plant markers incorrectly.

Will post again as things get underway next weekend.

No sign of the peppers

The cayenne peppers and the celery are supposed to germinate in 10-14 days, so there is still time as it will be 2 weeks since they were planted this Sunday.  Fingers crossed at least some manage to break through.  

Until then will concentrate on cleaning out the garage and getting ready to install the beds.

Don't forget the tulip bed, looking better each day.

Some assembly required.

Raised beds have arrived. 

Off to the races

Well we now have many a corn sprout, and the beans are pushing up too.  No signs of activity yet on the peppers, but it has only just been a week since I put seeds to soil.

Emergence Day!

The first tiny seedling of the year has emerged from the soil.

Well, here goes...

Finally got my hands dirty and started this year's seedlings.

As ever as soon as I finished I thought of a dozen things I wanted to do differently, but such is the way of things.  Hopefully next spring I can get a greenhouse built instead of starting these in my bedroom (to keep them away from little paws).

Harvesting the rain

Order placed for a new rain barrel.  Technically it is illegal in Lyndhurst, as they for whatever reason only allow up to a 55 gallon barrel.  So figure that one out.  I almost want to get sued for attempting to conserve water.

It links to the gutter thusly;

Taking Delivery

Supplies to start the seeds have arrived!

Will get things going this weekend, a bit late in the season to be sure, but oh well.

~Shipping Confirmation~

Alright, finally going to start growing things again after the two year break that came with moving and then being audited.

Orders have been placed for the seeds, a pair of raised planting beds, and seed starting supplies.












As in the past my two main vendors are Gardeners and Seedsofchange

The next task is to work out how many seedlings of each species to start, then after that I need to work out an actual layout for the yard.  I figure I will grab some garden stakes and twine, then construct replicas of what I want to have so I can actually visualize and walk around things.  As I am finding it oddly difficult to plan this stuff virtually, the irony of which is not lost on me.

Aside from the overall layout, I am trying to work out how to grow the vine crops, so pumpkins, squash and so forth.  I could cut beds directly in the ground, but my soil quality is poor, and the yard gets very swampy, both reasons I went for raised beds for the main crop growing project.  What I may do, is dedicate one of the raised beds to corn and vine crops, attempting to grow the vines around the base of the stalks.

Until things start arriving I will spend my time weeding the existing tulip bed as that has started to show signs of life again, but over the winter some undesirable plants have sprouted up amid the bulbs;

Hopefully my cigar smoking neighbor doesn't try to engage me in conversation too often when I am clearly busy gardening...

As ever all pictures taken will be posted up on Google Drive in the Gardening --> 2013 directory.  If you do not have access to this archive and would like it let me know.