Some Cool Weather Vegetables Planted

Now that I have soil I can hardly wait to take advantage of all the room I now have for vegetables. I have planted some mescalin mix in the front flower bed as well as some Swiss chard and a few radishes. Some of the salad mix and spinach I planted last fall has come up with the mild spring weather and the rains. I have added more salad mix, radishes and spinach in the old bed.

Yesterday I planted one of the small beds in the front with sugar pumpkins and borage. I had hoped to get some chiogga beets and a few other things but I ran out of time. Today the temperature has dropped about 30 degrees and it has started raining again. It's to be in the 50's for the next few days so if it will dry out, I'll get busy planting a few more cool things. I'll wait for a week or two to plant the vegetables that prefer a warmer temperature.

Planting the Unfamiliar

Photo by thebittenword.com

I am anticipating the harvest time even before everything is in the ground. There are some vegetables I have never grown before and I am intrigued by how they will grow. I have never grown or cooked Kohlrabi before though I remember my grandfather growing it. I'll be searching for some recipes for this interesting veggie.

I am also planting Kale and Swiss Chard mainly due to blog posts from Skippy's Vegetable Garden. Kathy shared many lovely photos of these two vegetables. I decided to plant some for my family as well. I have one variety of Kale and two of Swiss Chard for this season. I am looking forward to experimenting with other varieties as time goes on.

Any thoughts on how to prepare Kohlrabi, Kale or Swiss Chard?

Photo by thebittenword.com

Planting the Second Seed Tray

1st seed tray
Originally uploaded by Carolina Victory Gardener

I planted my second see tray this afternoon. The process went a lot smoother this time. Practice makes perfect. I figured out how to label the rows of seedlings and still get the dome on the tray this time. I made the mistake of shifting the seed packets from the first tray and now I am unsure of the order the seeds were planted in. I suppose I will find out this spring when the plants get bigger.

I figure by the time this batch gets ready to plant, it should be just about the right time to plant everything. I am excited to get the new raised beds put together so that I can plant all the seeds and seedlings I have planned for the garden. Think warm thoughts!

Planting Time Confusion

I have been doing some research to try to figure out when I should actually plant my seeds and seedlings. According to the local Cooperative Extension, the last frost date is March 15. The manager at the local farmer's exchange says the last frost date has moved and is now around April 15. So, do I go with the first date, the second date or split the difference?