Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[Branching Out]

The peas, sweet peas, and raspberries are sure enjoying our cool rainy weather. Lettuce too. This green one is new to me this year-- it's called Nansen, and I believe it may be the same as Nansen's Noordpool. Its form is striking, with a lime green hue that almost glows in the dark. At the opposite end of the spectrum is a glossy burgundy lettuce called Lunix, which is incredibly dark coloured. It's like eye candy, drawing you in for a closer look. Germination was poor on this one, but the four seedlings that made it are strong and vigorous.

It's been so wet that both the lawn and the garlic patch are sprouting mushrooms!

 

[Branching Out]

Happy World Ocean Day 2024! Sometime I forget that there are gardens under the ocean too. Yesterday we spent some time exploring rarely seen areas of the beach that were exposed by the lowest tide of the year in the Pacific Northwest. We were able to find so many interesting creatures, including this small cherry red starfish that appears to be lounging on a rock. Not sure which species it is but this website lists a whole bunch of sea stars-- and do they ever have funny names: https://seastarsofthepacificnorthwest.info/species.html

 

[digitS']

Ha ha.

They gotta be kidding about those cookie stars!

They look tasty

 

[flowerbug]

Ha ha.

They gotta be kidding about those cookie stars!

They look tasty

i had one that looked like it had chocolate chips on it and yes they did look tasty.

 

[Branching Out]

Ha ha.

They gotta be kidding about those cookie stars!

They look tasty

I think it was the Armpit Blood Star that really got me. Who in the world came up with these names??

 

[digitS']

"Dive Buddies" ?

Who in the world came up with these names??

There is an ocean fish with the common name, "hoodwinker" .

 

[Branching Out]

Do you know what happens to lettuce when it rains 9" in three weeks, beginning in mid-May? It becomes Lettucezilla!! Some of the heads must weigh several pounds. This is just nuts. Most of what I have is intended for seed, and I suspect that I will get a big crop this year. I have a couple of beds planted with both red and green varieties, in the hopes of getting some crosses. Last year the green one bolted two weeks before the red one, so it was a bust. I planted the green romaine variety two weeks ahead of the red one this time, and so far things are looking promising. The attractive spiky green lettuce is a new one that I'm trying this year, grown from seeds sent to me by an enthusiastic gardener in Alberta. It is a slow-to-bolt summer crisp called Italianischer. I should have followed Fedco's advice to give them 'lots of space'. They are overtaking a couple of tomato plants! Might have to put this lettuce on the menu for supper tonight.

 

[Branching Out]

A brutal cold stretch in January froze our small bay laurel shrub, and it had to be cut down right to the ground. It looks like the roots survived though, because lots of fresh green shoots are surfacing now. This isn't the first time that all of the top growth has been damaged by winter weather, so I think I should move it to a new location in the fall. Maybe somewhere closer to the house, where it will be warmer and drier.

 

[Branching Out]

This week it feels like every corner of the garden is in need of attention all at the same time. We picked up a load of compost at our regional composting facility so I've been weeding the beds and top dressing. The compost looks really nice this time. They had their huge sifting machine going when we were there, and does it ever produce a fine textured product. (And what a bargain-- we paid $8, and got 2300lbs!)

I'm growing Golden King of Siberia tomato for the first time, and it has unique flowers. The blossoms are huge! After I had admired them sufficiently a bunch of tall stakes got pounded in to support the tomato plants, and then I pinched out the suckers at the same time. Along the way I found a heavy black aphid infestation on the nearby Rattlesnake beans, so a few minutes were spent squishing the bugs and rinsing the plants; hopefully that will do the trick.

We trimmed a couple of our hedges recently so all of that material is being turned into mulch for the squash, melons, and pathways. Oats, winter rye, comfrey, and timothy each got haircuts too, so there are piles of that for me to buck up to use as mulch for the beans and tomatoes.

Yesterday I began removing the garlic scapes, and a few made it in to our rice pilaf for dinner. One garlic patch hadn't been checked for several weeks, and it was almost buried in hairy vetch; a few minutes spent weeding, and now it's good as new. The Poached Egg Plant that I direct sowed along the front of the garlic looks really nice, and seems to help keep the weeds down.

 

[flowerbug]

This week it feels like every corner of the garden is in need of attention all at the same time. We picked up a load of compost at our regional composting facility so I've been weeding the beds and top dressing. The compost looks really nice this time. They had their huge sifting machine going when we were there, and does it ever produce a fine textured product. (And what a bargain-- we paid $8, and got 2300lbs!)

I'm growing Golden King of Siberia tomato for the first time, and does it ever have unique flowers. The blossoms are huge! After I had admired them sufficiently a bunch of tall stakes got pounded in to support the tomatoes, and then I pinched out the suckers at the same time. Along the way I found a heavy black aphid infestation on the Rattlesnake beans, so a few minutes were spent squishing the bugs and rinsing the plants; hopefully that will do the trick.

We trimmed a couple of our hedges recently so all of that material is being turned into either mulch for the squash, melons, and pathways. Oats, winter rye, and timothy each got haircuts too, so there are piles of that for me to buck up to use as mulch for the beans and tomatoes.

Yesterday I began removing the garlic scapes, and a few made it in to our rice pilaf for dinner. One garlic patch hadn't been checked for several weeks, and it was almost buried in hairy vetch; a few minutes spent weeding, and now it's good as new. The Poached Egg Plant that I direct sowed along the front of the garlic looks really nice, and seems to help keep the weeds down.

that's a great bargain if you have a way to get it moved around easily. ground covers are useful ways indeed to help keep weeds down, that they can flower and smell good while you're out there weeding are bonuses!