Garden Update

The temperature can get very cold at night. I went to bed last night and had to pull my blanket up to my chin. All night I was thinking how cold it will be for my babies in the garden. I hope they are doing fine.
I think the collard greens are happy with the cold weather. They are young transplants I bought from the local farmers. I have 16 plants of collard greens. I forgot to ask the type of collards I've bought.

The peas geminated nicely. They received a nightly soaking prior to planting.

The radishes also had a nice overnight soaking and they are all sprouting.

I did the same method for the swiss card and beets. They are all sprouting faster than those without soaking.

I have about half of the garden plot remain empty. I did not get the time to start my tiller yet. I plan to till the plot before I put in more vegetables. In the meantime, I have been to at least 2 series of the master gardener seminar. There are so many techniques to learn about gardening.

This season, I am using some compost to germinate the seeds. I have the turnips, squashes, onion, cucumber, beans, and flowers like the sun flowers, the marigold, the nasturtiums, coleus and viola seeds in the ground.

I will try to grow anything in the garden but I do not grow potato or cabbage due to insect damage. New addition to my plant list for this year is the broad beans and the asparagus peas.

Another new technique I am using in my garden this year is to cover the new seedlings with a plastic jug. The plastic container will create a moisture environment to the plant. It will protect them from cold night as well as protecting them from strong wind and direct sun. I will remove the cover once the soil temperature rise and the young plants are stronger. I ran out of the empty milk jug, so I use old newspaper to shade the plants.

Another technique I am using for the garden is for the pest control. I am using a mixture of a cup of mouth wash and 1 teaspoon of mild soap to 2 gallons of water. This remedy will kill all the bad bugs which try to kill my radishes, spinach, lettuces and collard greens. So far, the plants are taking them.

Two weeks ago...

I soaked the seeds in some water. My trial was for radishes, beets, swiss chard and peas. I soaked them overnight. They plumped up nicely the next morning.

The next day I planted the seeds in this bed. I covered the seeds with compost.

Above are the 3 rows of sugar snap peas (Cascadia), super sugar snap and wando peas.

Above are the young plants of collard greens. I am using newspaper to mulch the bed.

Two weeks later, all of the seeds geminated, including the spinach and lettuces although I did not soak them prior to planting.

The peas came up too...

I've added rows for cucumbers, chives and asparagus peas.

Happy gardening!

Kitchen Gardening...for now

Early spring is the time to start sowing seeds. Since I do not have the ground workable yet, I have to start my plants indoors. I am spending some dollars on seeds I bought from the store or online.

Above are some seeds I received from my online shopping. I have a giant kohlrabi, turnip, rutabaga, malaysian eggplant, winged bean, ground cherry tomato, sunflower, and radish.

When sprouting the seeds, I am using any container I can find around my house. The yogurt cups are perfect to use for starting the seeds. I am using a good quality seed starter soil.

Egg carton is also useful and can be used to germinate the bunching onions.

The egg carton can also be used to start the tomato seeds.

I am sprouting the radishes in an empty container. I cover the top with a plastic wrap and remove the cover once the seeds have sprouted.

The best container to use is the empty jar for the mixed nuts. The container creates a nice warm environment like terrarium for the new seedlings.

Once a while I will open the jar to let the air out and fresh air in. Above is the Asian purple radish. This is my first time growing this vegetables. I find this method is faster. In just less than a week, the seeds have sprouted and have grown this big.

The bak choy is growing nicely too.

The kafir lime is growing in a nice terrarium made from an empty soda bottle. This plant perk up as soon as I cover it with the empty soda bottle.

Above is the bloomsdale spinach. I have just harvested some of the outer leaves and they are so sweet. I am going to keep this plants in my kitchen and keep harvesting the leaves.

I have transplanted some of the young head lettuces into individual pots. They are young and thriving.

I also bought some chives from the store when they are on sale. I keep snipping the tops and sprinkle them in my cooking.

More tomato seedlings growing in a commercial mini greenhouse. I have sprouted some watermelon, okra, luffa, basil and chives which are not shown here.
I am hoping the ground will get warm soon and I can grow these plants outside.

Sprouting seeds indoors.

Seeing snow on the ground at the end of march is normal in my neighborhood. But it never stop me from sprouting the vegetable seeds indoors. This time I am using any containers I can find in the house. I am using some empty 2 litres soda bottles, yogurt cups and plastic jars or containers for peanuts or cashews. So far I have sprouted the sugar baby watermelon, okra, tomato all varieties,  spinach, zucchini, bunching onion, chives, head lettuces, asparagus peas and eggplants. I am excited to see them growing.

Besides sprouting the vegetables that are eventually going into the garden, I am also sprouting the mung bean sprout(taugeh) and the fenugreek (halba) in a glass jar. 

I will update later of the progress, so stay tuned....