Simply Photos - Garden Progress

Welcome back, I hope you are finding time to get your garden started.

The weather over the last 4 or 5 days was very summer like, with highs in the 80s.  It's also been dry. Since first starting my garden on April 26th, it didn't rain until yesterday, and we only got one tenth of an inch.  Barely enough to wet the soil.  With the rain also came a cold front, and tonight there's a frost advisory.  I've been taking advantage of the weather to get the early season vegetables started. Since it has been dry, I've been watering more than usual for this early in the season.

Instead of going into details, this week I will just post some photos to show the garden progress.  This will allow me to show most everything I've planted to date.  Of course, if you ever have questions, you can leave then in the comments and I will gladly answer.


Stuttgart Onions/Shallots:

Yellow Stuttgart Onions

Planting Onion Sets - One to Two Inches Deep

Shallots - Mild Flavor - Plant 3 to 4 Inches Deep

Radish Beauty Blend, Fordhook/Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Spicy Salad Lettuce Mixture, Dwarf Blue Scotch Curled Kale: 

Plant Greens One Quarter Inch Deep

Using A Seed Dispenser for Fine Seed 

Radishes, Swiss Chard, Kale, Lettuce Mixtures Progressing Nicely

Italian Kale, Romaine Lettuce (Started Using Winter Sowing Technique)

Italian Kale Grown Using Winter Sowing

Romaine Lettuce Grown Using Winter Sowing

Kale & Romaine Plants Protected Using Wood Shingles

Sweet Spanish Onions:

Sweet Spanish Onions (Started From Seed)

Sweet Spanish Onion Plants (Plant One Inch Deep)

Oregon Sugar Pod II Peas/American Lisbon White Bunching Onions:

Oregon Sugar Pod II Peas/Scallions (Started From Seed)

American Flag Leeks:

American Flag Leeks (Started from Seed)

American Flag Leeks (Plant One Inch Deep)

Thanks again for reading.  Refer to my prior posts for information regarding any of the varieties/techniques involved with the vegetables shown in the photos above.

Transplanting Heirloom Tomatoes/Planting Peas

Once again welcome back to my blog.

Well once again it's time for the garden to come to life.  The snow has melted off the garden and over the last few weeks it has dried out somewhat.  Last Sunday (April 26th) I broke out the rorotiller and started the 2015 growing season.   It's hard to believe that only 3 short weeks before this date the garden and much of the lawn was still covered n snow.

Portions of the garden were still too wet but probably 50% was dry enough to till.  I wanted to get the peas planted since they do better in cooler weather.  The general rule of thumb for planting peas is that as soon as the ground thaws and can be worked, they can be planted.

In late April and early to mid May, it is only advisable to plant cold tolerant vegetables such as peas, onions, radishes, Swiss chard, lettuce, kale, etc.

The first step, of course, is to work the ground.  Last fall I placed a layer of chopped leaves on the garden which can be seen in this photo,  Over the winter, they began to decay and now they can be worked into the soil.  Leaves are one of the best materials that can be used to amend the soil.  They turn into beautiful compost providing nutrients and helping the soil retain moisture.  Composted manure works well also or home made compost from vegetable scraps, etc.  You can also sprinkle a little 5-10-5 fertilizer before tilling.

After tilling the ground, I placed the pea fence in the garden.  The fence I use is about 30 inches high which is perfect for the variety of peas I planted, which reach just that height.  This fence is sold in most seed catalogs, It usually comes in 6 or 8 foot sections and presses into the ground for easy installation.  It also is available in greater heights for taller peas and other vegetables.  In addition these fences can also be used for cucumbers and squash.
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Oregon Sugar Pod II Peas

Planting Peas

I chose a snap (snow) pea, Oregon Sugar Pod II.  This an award winning pea that produces abundant amounts of pods on compact vines.  

Peas are easy to plant, the seeds are spaced about 4 inches part, then pressed into the soil to a depth of about one inch.  An alternate method is to make a trench one inch deep.  I prefer the first method, but it's up to the gardener to decide.

Moving on to tomatoes, I also recently transplanted my heirloom tomato plants into peat pots, bringing them one step closer to the garden.  By doing this, it gives the pants more room to develop root systems and helps them to grow stronger in preparation for outdoor growing.

I generally use a 3 inch peat pot and a good quality potting soil.  Choosing one with plant food included also helps as it eliminates the need to fertilize them over the next month.  Using garden soil is not recommended as it may cause plant diseases as it contains fungus, mold, etc.  The sterile potting soil ensures a healthy start for your plants.

Even though the tomatoes were small a week ago or so when transplanted, they have already grown significantly in the greenhouse.   There is still plenty of time for them to grow, since Memorial Day is considered a safe planting date here in central New York state.  With the summer like weather we are having this week, they have already almost doubled in size as can be seen below.

In my next post I will talk about planting onions and shallots.

Thanks for reading, and happy gardening.

Vegetable Seedling Update/Heirloom Tomatoes and More

Welcome back.  It's been quite a period of time since my last post.  I have Spring to blame for that.  Yes Spring has finally sprung, and along with it the Spring yard chores.  I have been busy cleaning up the yard and gardens and getting ready for another growing season.

However, I still have found a little time to tend to my vegetable starts.

In my two previous posts I wrote about starting vegetables.  So far this season I have started sweet Spanish onions, leeks, scallions, and heirloom tomatoes.  For more details on the planting of the onions, leeks, and scallions, see my post of March 20, 2015 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/03/its-time-to-start-vegetables.html).  For information on starting tomatoes, see my April 3, 2015 post (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/04/starting-heirloom-tomatoesfirst-robins.html).

So far so good as to the progress of these seedlings:

Heirloom Tomato Seedlings

Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions, Leeks, Scallions

This year I purchased a new greenhouse, since the old one was probably 10 years old and in pretty rough condition, especially the plastic cover.  These greenhouses can be found at very reasonable prices. You don't have to spend a fortune to have one.

As usual I set up my greenhouse again this year on the porch, which I have found works very well this time of the year in our area (central New York state).   The plants can be kept in the greenhouse in relatively cool temperatures (40s or even 30s) if the sun is out, since the inside temperature and humidity will be much higher.  This produces an ideal growing environment.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that temperatures at night can go below freezing this time of the year up through the end of May.  As a rule of thumb, I will bring the plants indoors overnight if the temperature is predicted to go below 30 degrees.  The greenhouse does provide some protection from the cold.

It is also important to make sure your greenhouse is secured to your porch or wherever you place it. This is especially critical if you are in an area prone to windy conditions.  I live on top of a hill with frequent winds.  I use ropes, bongee cords, and even cables to secure the greenhouse to the porch railing.

The tomato plants will be ready to be transplanted in about a week.  The general rule of thumb is to transplant them when they get the second set of leaves.  I will write a future post on the transplant process.

On the other hand, the onions, scallions and leeks don't need to be transplanted.  They can be kept in the original planting containers until it's time to plant them directly into the garden.


In my post on February 20, 2015 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/02/its-seed-buying-timewinter-sowing.html), I described how the winter sowing technique is done.  This is the second season I have tried this with good results both years.  However, this year I made one mistake that affected my results somewhat.

This year, I planted two types of kale, scallions, romaine lettuce, and radishes.  Below are my results thus far:

Italian Kale

Romaine Lettuce

Scallions

As I mentioned above, the mistake I made this year was using a seed starting mixture that was too lightweight.  By that I mean it contained mostly peat moss.  It generally works OK for starting seeds, however for winter sowing it doesn't work well, since it doesn't hold moisture well, and it tends to shift around if the container is disturbed.  When the containers are out in the snow and wind, sometimes they will tip, etc as the snow melts.  It is better to use a potting soil mix that will hold more moisture consistently and when frozen it will not shift inside the container,

This is best illustrated by the romaine lettuce container as shown above. The soil shifted as can be seen in the photo. The germination was more uneven in this container.

The only seeds that haven't sprouted thus far are the radishes.

Thanks for reading, much more to come in future posts.

Brown-Headed Cowbirds and House Sparrows

Starting Heirloom Tomatoes/First Robins

Welcome back.

Spring has finally sprung and the snow is melting away.  Although we still have some snow cover in our yard, the grass has reappeared and so have the robins.  The first day I saw them was April 1st. They were in our yard, exploring, and hoping for worms.  I must say it was a welcomed site.

It's time again to start tomatoes.  The general rule of thumb is to plant the seeds 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost in your growing region.  Here in central New York State, the last frost has usually occurred by Memorial Day, which is the traditional planting time in our area.

This year I decided to only start heirloom tomatoes.  Normally I also start grape and Roma varieties, but wanted to keep it simple this season.  I will purchase a few grape and Roma plants at planting time.

I once again planted my favorite heirloom blend from Park Seeds, Rainbow Heirloom Blend.

Rainbow Heirloom Blend - Park Seeds

This blend contains Aunt Ruby's German Green, Dixie Golden Giant, Black From Tula, Brandywine Red, Big Rainbow, and Cherokee Purple.

There are many blends available for you to try, or individual heirloom varieties can be purchased,  It is really a trial and error process as to which heirlooms you prefer.  I especially enjoy this blend.

Once again I used a seed starting tray and peat pellets to start the seeds.  I find that these work well. The first step is to add water to the pellets so they can expand to the size needed for planting.  Warm water works best for this process, which takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the pellets have expanded to about an inch in height, carefully tear back the mesh covering on the top to expose a bigger area of soil for planting.  The seeds can then be place on the surface of the pellet.

Cover the seeds with potting soil to the recommended depth.  For tomato seeds I use about 1/4 inch. Carefully tap down the soil and water using a spray bottle (fine mist) as to not disturb the seeds.

Finally, cover the tray with the plastic dome cover.  Be sure to provide a few vent holes to allow for some air flow.  Place in a warm location, preferably where the temperature is consistently warm. Once the seeds sprout, I suggest a sunny window sill for a few hours during the day.

In future posts, I will have photos of the onions, scallions, and leeks which I planted recently (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/03/its-time-to-start-vegetables.html) and are now growing nicely.  I will also talking about planting herbs and using a greenhouse which is very beneficial especially in the cooler months.

Until next time.

Spring Is Here/It's Time to Start Vegetables!

Welcome back and thanks as always for reading.

Winter is finally starting to lose it's grip although it is being stubborn in doing so. The key word is starting. Last week we had some days with temperatures in the 40s and even the 50s, however this week it's been cold again with a low of zero a few nights ago.  Today was the first day of Spring, however we managed to get about an inch of snow.

About a month ago I wrote a post about winter sowing (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/02/its-seed-buying-timewinter-sowing.html).  This technique works well for some cold hardy vegetables such as lettuce, radishes, kale, etc.  However, for those vegetable which take longer to reach maturity such as tomatoes, long season onions, etc, it is better to start them indoors now to give them a longer growing season.

This past weekend I started Sweet Spanish onions, scallions, and leeks.

The technique is quite simply. All that is needed is a container to plant in and some good potting soil or seed starting soil.  As I have mentioned quite a few times before, never use your garden soil to start seeds indoors.  Chances are it contains microorganisms that can hamper germination and even cause seedlings to die off.

I use containers that originally came with peat pellets mainly because I have quite a few of them around. Any container will work that is covered (even using plastic wrap will work).

Before planting the seeds, moisten the soil evenly and flatten the surface using your hand.  This will provide a planting surface which will allow for a uniform seed depth once you cover the seeds.  Cover the seeds to the planting depth stated on the seed packet, tamp lightly with your hand.

The next step is to moisten the soil once again,  I use a spray bottle with a fine mist as to not disturb the seeds.  This is especially important when planting seeds such as onions and leeks since they are so fine.

Finally, I put on the plastic dome covers,  These covers have vent holes which I drilled out last year to allow for some air circulation.  The covers will retain enough moisture to allow the seeds to germinate properly.  Place the containers in a warm location.  It is not necessary to place them in a window for sunlight.  Actually, the temperature in a window can be quite cool at night which may delay germination, An even temperature is more important for good germination.

Once the seeds sprout, it is a good idea to place them in the sun at least for part of the day.  In future posts I will write about the progress of the onions and leeks and talk about planting heirloom tomatoes.

Until next time.

Bald Eagle and Other Bird Photos - Enjoy

Welcome back.

Yesterday turned out to be a great day weather wise, and even a better day in regards to bird watching.   On Monday the temperature was around 40 degrees with brilliant sunshine, the first 40 degree day we've had in months.  It was also only the second day of daylight savings time which made it seem even better as it now stays light until around 7 PM.

I was already home yesterday afternoon when my wife came through the front door all excited.  However, she was whispering, saying that I had to look out back.  What she said next got me even more excited. "There's a bald eagle out there"!

So I grabbed the camera and luckily the eagle stayed perched in the tree for about 10 minutes.  It wasn't until I went outside to try to get closer that the majestic creature took off.

These birds are simply magnificent.  They are more commonly found in the lower elevations along rivers, where food is more readily available.  We have seen them a few times before near our house on the hill (elevation is 1500 feet), but not directly out back of our house.  I have never had the opportunity to photograph one.  Now I want a better camera.

Well, enough said, here are a few of the photos I was able to capture:

Now for some photos.  In my next post I will write about starting vegetables indoors.  Believe it or not it's getting to be that time of the year.

Downy Woodpecker

Mourning Doves

Northern Cardinal

Blue Jay

House Sparrow

Until next time.

Great Backyard Bird Count Results

Welcome back.

Overall it was another good year for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).  The abundant snow brought the birds out in force.  I counted for 3 of the 4 days, and manged to get a few photos also.  The cold weather continues as February draws to an end.  February of 2015 is turning out to be the coldest month of any month EVER(not just for February) for many cities in this area that have kept records for over 100 years.  Just amazing.

Northern Cardinal, American Tree Sparrow, American Goldfinch

Blue Jay

Next, my results from the GBBC:

2/14/15

2/15/15

2/16/15

To give you an idea of the scope of this worldwide project, below are a few statistics thus far:

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Until next time.  As always thanks for reading my blog.