Planting the Garden

Hooray! I had a really fun time planting the garden this afternoon.  We are supposed to have thunder showers tonight and tomorrow, so I decided to strike while the sun was hot and get it done today.  Saturday I went to our local garden shop and bought the veggies and herbs that I needed to fulfill my garden plan.

I planted everything in my garden plan except for the zucchini, which I will get around to sometime in the next week.

Since this blog is doubling as my garden journal, indulge me in some notes about the things I've planted (or just stop reading here and do something productive with your time!):

Shallots - I bought one bag of yellow shallots back when I bought the seeds for my indoor planting. They came in a bag of 10 sets. When I unpeeled them, I found that most had one "clove" and some had two cloves, at the most. Several of them were rotten.  I planted 9 in the square and 3 on the very edge of the jalapeno pepper square adjacent to it (just so it would not go to waste).  Next year I think I'll plant these when I plant the other onions.

Basil: I started four basil plants from seed April 10th. I planted these in a square and also bought four basil plants (mainly because I forgot I had the seeds!) and planted those in another square.  It will be interesting to see how the two areas compare. They are both Genovese Basil.

Cilantro: The cilantro is from seed. It is not looking good, and sadly is the best of the seedlings I had started. I will be curious to see if anything comes from them!

Rosemary: I purchased this Rosemary Foresteri plant from the garden shop. It looks wonderful! I plan to put in a pot in the fall and try to winter it in the house. Rosemary is my favorite herb - second to basil.

Peppers: I have three squares dedicated to peppers - all from the garden shop. I've got a green "Better Belle," a yellow bell and jalapeño pepper plant. The thing I've heard about peppers is that they love hot weather. Hopefully it is warm enough for them to thrive now!

Onions: I planted three squares of Candy Onions on April 6th and they are doing very well. I've heard lots of good things about these kind of onions for our zone and am hopeful they grow well.

Carrots: I sowed my carrot seeds directly into the garden today. I have some Burpee Garden King Hybrids that I am trying out. I have no idea what I am doing with planting these! I know they are supposed to be 16 per square, but I just sowed them in 4 evenly spaced rows and plan to thin them out once they are sprouted up to about an inch. I have two squares of carrots in my garden this year.

Broccoli: I purchased a 4-cell pack of broccoli plants from the garden shop and planted one plant/square. I had originally planned to do two broccoli and two cauliflower, but since they came in a four pack, decided to go with all broccoli. My family prefers broccoli to cauliflower anyway so I guess it worked out for the best. I am pretty sure it is Packman broccoli.

Lettuce: My lettuce seedlings are all but dead. I will be shocked if I get anything out of them! They are but a few sickly, completely limp little sprouts. Nothing like the full-leaf young plants I had hoped to plant (and have seen at the garden shop!) I believe that I started them too early indoors. If I had a cold frame to move them to, they might have done better. Next year I will start them much later.  I think that I will give them a week in the soil to see if any revive, and then will sow from seed directly to the soil so I get something this year.  I have a square of Burpee Bibb, one of Great Lakes Crisphead and one of Romaine.

Tomato:  Of the three tomato plants I started inside, I have one that looks like it may actually make it! It is a Burpee Big Boy Hybrid.  I have a tomato cage that I'll pop over it once/if it begins to take off.