Recent content by Branching Out

Yesterday I mulched a large bean and pepper bed with straw, filled some extremely large containers to plant three Mountain Magic tomatoes, spent time crushing dry brassica pods and winnowing seed. The brassica seed is from about ten different cultivars and is likely all crossed up, so it will...

Hello Rod, :frow -- And welcome to the forum from British Columbia! That's a LOT of snow in the January photo. You certainly garden with extremes in Nevada. I look forward to watching your gardening journey through the page of The Easy Garden.

Thanks for asking digitS'! I have run into a little snag, in that I am not able to discern any noticeable difference that would lead me to believe I have a successful cross of red and green Romaine. All of the lettuce plants look very similar so far, suggesting that either all of them are...

Sounds like you're working hard and having fun at the same time Heirloomgal-- fantastic. 😍

Many seed companies advertise heat tolerant lettuce varieties. Renees Garden offers quite a few; perhaps there is a UK company with similar offerings? From my past experience Jester is very good for summer growing, and a tiny butterhead called Tom Thumb has been exceptionally heat-tolerant in...

I have tried part shade, and full shade, with poor results. It may be just too hot and dry for them. I'm going to try to water them daily if I can to see if that helps. Every year I try something new though, and maybe one of these days we'll figure out the secret for growing lettuce in...

That's a LOT of cilantro! Lol. One of my garden paths is solid cilantro from dropped seed as well. It's flowering right now, and it's very pretty. I donated a bunch of cilantro seed to the local seed library last fall. Recently the librarian advised me that when she went to package up the...

The first nasturtiums are in bloom now, which is always a welcome sight. Recently I decided to try my hand at propagating them by cuttings, as I need an easy heat-tolerant plant to fill a large garden bed once I remove a bunch of ranunculas that are finishing. My nasturtiums self-sowed from...

I'm growing Artist Gherkins again this year, since they were so very productive for us last summer. This morning I ate a couple of small ones, and then I found this big one on the ground. It kind of became my breakfast. Later we went out to a brew pub for lunch, and a guy at the next table...

This lettuce planting is intended for summer salads hopefully. This year I'm trying my best to start heat-tolerant lettuce every two weeks, so we never run out. And like you I'm noticing volunteers pop up here and there, which is wonderful. Around here lettuce that's intended for seed goes...

The weather will be cool for a couple of days so we're planting out lots of lettuce seedlings. It tends to be hot and dry here in summer, which can make it challenging for growing lettuce.

A couple of days ago I lifted a large patch of ranunculas. I trimmed the stalks down to about 6", rinsed off the roots with a strong jet of water, and left them on the lawn to dry for a day. Yesterday I trimmed the stalks down some more, leaving just an inch or so; the roots got a hair cut...

A couple of weeks ago I found celery going to seed in the midst of a large patch of Orlaya, and I was really happy about that. Fresh celery seed is so fragrant-- I just love it.

Delinel green beans for supper, and an artichoke for lunch!

While gardening yesterday I was able to snack on the first runner bean of the season-- fresh and tasty.