Garden Diaries, 2020

[TomK]

@Farrier1987 ..just cuz ya need ta know...

Soil: Prepare the bed as you would for carrots. For even longer parsnips, you can dig or form holes 24” deep by jamming a crowbar or similar tool into the soil and working it back and forth. (I read that somewhere, but it sounds crazy)
Thin to 3” apart once plants are established. Weed carefully ( I snip them off with scissors) and keep watered. Try to provide a constant, moderate supply of moisture for a steady, slow growing period ( in short, try really hard to not let them dry out). A pH range of 6.0 to 8.0 works best for parsnips.

[KimChick]

This morning, before it started raining, DH planted the peas.
And at around noon, I received my Botanus order. Too bad it's raining now; I would have gotten the flower plants and roots in the ground right away. So, because there was room in the cold frame, the little plants got parked in there and are getting some rain watering right now.

[JimW]

Well I will join in the conversation. Everything slow to get started here... rhubarb has barely started to grow and the early seeds I planted radishes, peas, lettuce, beets and carrots, only the radishes and peas have poked there the soil. Hopefully with the warmer weather finally things will take off.

Seeds I started indoors growing too well. lol. I started seeds in jiffy pellets and transplanted a bunch today in 4" peat pots.... tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini...

I still need to fix up 2 of my raised beds and build one new 4 x 8 foot bed for veggies. Strawberry plants went in the ground a couple weeks ago covered with plastic "dome" to protect from the cold. Also finished planting a 15 foot row of red raspberries just need to put down some mulch and planted 3 dwarf sour cherry trees and 5 Haskap berry bushes.

A lot picked up a bunch of free Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) tubers to plant and my usually find of the week was I got some crosne tubers (Chinese artichoke) to plant. I had never heard of them until I say the ad for them. We will see how well they grow.

Hopefully will get some more plants and seeds in the ground soon, before the next good rain.

Some crosne tubers...

[WLLady]

@JimW thats how i start too.jiffy pellets and pot on. i just planted all the lettuce yesterday afternoon between rain showers. its looking great today. need to get the plot for the sweet corn done...and how on earth do thise weedy things get into the microcracks between the bricks in the walkway??!! pea trellis going in today and likely will plant the peas too. these i just direct seed. i got some sunchoke from a friend and they need planting. and the lilacs too.
ah beautiful day and a saturday to boot!!!

[JimW]

Building a mini 4 ft x 2 ft x 6 inch high raised bed with hardware cloth on bottom to keep pests out for my crosne tubers today. Just finished changing oil in lawn tractor so I can cut the grass soon, before it gets too crazy. I have been leaving the lawn alone for bees can feed on the dandelions, but started to grow a bit too much now, time to mow.

Hoping to start planting a few transplants outside next week, I will wait for the big dump of rain they are calling for to pass before planting any vegetable plants so they do not get blasted.

Well back to work.

[Farrier1987]

Sweet corn, 4 rows about 20 ft long in the ground. Variety called Early Sunglow Hybrid. Supposed to be 63 days. So mid July should maybe have some ready?

Fathers day for new potatoes. Some years I make it, some years not. Definitely not this year. The ones I planted mid March, not a thing showing. Was so cool for so long.

[Farrier1987]

Two inches of rain in two days, got warm this aft. Potatoes coming up, about a dozen plants. Things will explode now if we get a stretch of warm weather.

[KimChick]

Feel free to send some of that rain over this way, Farrier! All our new plants in the ground could use it.

[Killerbunny]

Yes, not supposed to get any for a week.

[Killerbunny]

I have to congratulate @Ontario Chick on her amazing chicken resistant hostas. The big one she sent round last year is growing well despite chickens best efforts to dig it out and eat the shoots! SHe could make a fortune!