Friday, June 17, 2011

Harvesting Broccoli

The crop of broccoli this year is the best ever. Moving the plants to the newer plot space was a great help; no club root (infected soil results in gnarled root structure that slowly kills off the plant) plagued my brassicas. Thus, many healthy, straight-standing, broccoli plants. The main plot space is nearly entirely infected with the club root virus. I have tried planting in different areas of the plot, but usually lose most of my broccoli crop each year to club root.

As for the rest of things...the corn in the main plot is really beginning to take off. The celery and peas are nearly ready to harvest. Also, the latest bunch of bush beans (take two) have sprouted and are growing. I guess the soil temperature is finally warm enough.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Spring Veggies

Well, temperatures continue to creep slowly towards the 70 degrees, but continue to elude Seattle. This has been great for the broccoli, spinach and peas, but hinders the summer veggies. The first planting of pre-soaked corn seeds has sprouted, and covering them for the first week with clear plastic appears to have provided enough warmth for growth. In the background (first pic) you can see plastic and remay covering the newly planted bush beans, but no growth yet. Future projects include removing the remaining spinach (looking a bit scraggly) and planting the second crop of corn. Also, I am going to construct a plastic tubing (plumber's pipe) mini hothouse for some bell peppers.
The secondary plot has the peas in full bloom, and the broccoli looks fantastic (no clubroot in this patch of soil). Walla walla onions are struggling along, and I learned that the wind that blows unobstructed on this spot sorely affects warm weather crops. I'll have to keep this in mind for future crops as temperature at the garden will make or break a crop's success.