What Are You Planting Today, This Week, This Month?

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Started beet seeds inside. I planted lettuce, spinach and mustard in the ground and transplanted 16 Extra Dwarf Pak Choy and covered them. I have had them outside in the sawhorse greenhouse and they are growing. I started these seeds last year and I forgot that I started them too early and that they are dwarf. I waited too long last year and they bolted in the heat. I really do not know how to plant bok-choy yet. Start them inside or outside?

 

[digitS']

I do both, and all of the above, @Gardening with Rabbits .

Easily transplanted if you want, bok choy is quick and quite hardy; it's a little tricky, however. Whatever it thinks is too severe, triggers bolting. If you think Chinese cabbage might be a better choice, realize that they are sisters and Chinese cabbage takes longer to grow so there are more things to go wrong. One type of choy sum is also a sister.

Of course, you can grab any of these greens for the kitchen at anytime but some of the super small bok choys are so tiny that harvesting may not amount to much.

My way is to have lots of seed on hand and just sow it somewhere on a nearly continuous basis. If it's too cold and it starts to bolt, git it. If it's too hot and starts to bolt, git it.

Quick in everything it does, bok choy is also quick in and out of the stir-fry pan.

Steve

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I forgot how small they were and never realized they were ready to harvest and I barely had them in the ground and it got really hot and they bolted. I think I will try some direct sow. Thank you for the information, it helped me understand the plants.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Transplanted cherry tomatoes, peppers and more tomatoes. About half the first peppers I transplanted are dying and the only thing I can think of is I am disturbing the roots. Also, the marker I used on the cups washed off some of them, so it is going to be another crazy pepper year for me. I watched some videos on transplanting peppers and I am going to do things a lot different next year. I am almost wanting to start a few seeds, but I am not sure.

 

[flowerweaver]

I just recently found out there is such a thing as industrial strength sharpie markers, available only online. I'm going to order some and see if my markers can last the whole season.

 

[digitS']

Johnny's Seed and others make markers for plant labels.

I believe, all of them use alcohol-based ink. They work on plastic and hold up to sunlight.

Hundreds and hundreds of stickers can be marked with one of these pens.

Steve

 

[flowerweaver]

@digitS' so far I have tried them all and nothing purported to hold up to sunlight holds up to the brutal sun of the Southwest!!!

 

[thistlebloom]

@digitS' so far I have tried them all and nothing purported to hold up to sunlight holds up to the brutal sun of the Southwest!!!

If you have the white plastic reusable tags/sticks a regular pencil works fine. Holds up to sunlight and can be erased with a pencil eraser for the next round of plants. It's not quite as easily read as a dark felt type marker, but still very legible.
I find the strays in the spring and they are as readable as they were the year before, even after being under snow.

 

[TReeves]

@digitS' so far I have tried them all and nothing purported to hold up to sunlight holds up to the brutal sun of the Southwest!!!

I use craft sticks (the really big ones) and an industrial sharpie. I can really get them in the dirt so when we have crazy wind they stay. It also stands up to the heat.

 

[Smart Red]

I use an indelible pen, put the label in the garden facing north, and slant it a bit so my writing is in constant shade. The rain and heat are not so much of a problem as the sun was, even in south-est, central-est Wisconsin.