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.

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.

Arboretum Foundation Plant Sale

I discovered the Arboretum Foundation's annual Spring Plant Sale last weekend. It's housed over at Magnuson Park in the same spot as the semi-regular Friends of the Library book sales. The plant sale was assuredly the largest one in the area, and (as the pics show) featured dozens of independent dealers and thousands of plants. I showed up on the first day (Saturday) with about five minutes to spare and was positioned behind the first couple of hundred folks. I only had one plant on my list: Dicentra 'Burning Hearts'. Fortunately, I found the only dealer on the site with the plant and managed to grab the last one. Mission accomplished!

Coming Along...

Spring began about a week ago, but it's still quite cold outside, in the mid 40's. I planted some Walla Walla onions and more peas, but I figure they will take off when temperatures raise. Also, as can be seen in the pic, the "Ivory Prince" hellebore is in full bloom, and more tulips are showing color. Unfortunately, I didn't plan out any of the misc. tulips I buried last fall so they will probably all bloom at different intervals. I invested in another hellebore (positioned besides the first one): Helleborus orientalis 'Mardi Gras Double'

Spring Into Action!

Well, it appears Spring has finally arrived (actually, it began last Sunday). Things are starting to look up out at the p-patch. I'm particularly proud of my 'Ivory Prince' hellebore (top pic, foreground) that has truly made improvements over the last year. I had to trim back a lot of green leaves as a fungus had infested many of them. But, fortunately, the flower have enveloped most of the plant. In addition, the first of the Spring tulips have announced their arrival. And, I planted spinach, broccoli, and peas a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago the UW Center for Urban Horticulture held their 4th Annual Ephemeral Sale. The bucketing rain didn't dissuade many folks as hundreds showed up when the doors opened early morning on Saturday. The great thing about this particular sale is the large number of independent and alpine nurseries from outside Seattle are represented. I only picked up one plant (Cyclamen pseudibericum) mainly because I have never seen this species of cyclamen for sale growing in a 4-inch pot anywhere in-state. And, it's in far better shape than the one in a pot on my deck. Picture below...

Spring is Around the Corner

As you can see in the pic, spring bulbs are starting to show around the area. We haven't had any freezing temperatures in weeks and I can only hope that will be the last of the cold weather

Also, here is a pic of one of my C. Cypriums. It's coming along nicely.

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2011 Here We Come...

Well, it has been a cold, wet winter so far. November brought a couple of very chilly days (low 20's) that killed everything outside that wasn't hardy or protected. My broccoli didn't survive and I won't try again next fall for a late crop. The temperatures are just too unpredictable.

I checked out the p-patch and everything is slushy and dead. None of the early spring bulbs have shown, but the hellebore has developed several flower clusters that are just waiting for February before they fully bloom. I do have a bunch of bulbs I planted last fall in one of the deck planters that are poking up though. I'm planning on rebuilding the two hanging baskets with some flowering plants soon. I hope we've seen the last of the freezing temperatures, but I'll keep careful tabs on the forecast. Planters will get pulled inside if the temperatures threaten them. The hardy cyclamen, in pots, on the other hand, have no problem with the freezing temperatures. They all weathered the November freeze quite well.