The peas are growing!

I had given up hope, but the peas have finally sprouted! They took the whole 21 days of the 7-21 listed on the packet, but at least they are growing!

The snap peas sprouted at a rate of about 70% and the snow peas only managed about 50%. I can't decide if I should pop a few more seeds in there of if it's getting too late in the season.

The first batch of sprout pics didn't turn out too well, so hopefully I'll get some new ones soon.

In another week or two I'll plant some carrot seeds and start some tomatoes indoors.

RIP Sprouts

Well, apparently one or more of the chickens broke past my cloche's defenses at some point yesterday, because when I went to check on the sprouts this morning it was clear that there had been a sprout massacre!

Only two sad little radishes were left standing!!! So sad!

I have hopes that some of the salad greens may still rally, and there is still a chance that some of the spinach seeds that I put in last weekend will sprout.

After a mourning period, I recovered the cloche much more securely and went and started some new seeds.

I'd been saving up some old egg cartons so I filled the bottom portions with soil and started more radishes in one and more salad greens in the other.

They are hanging out in the sun on our kitchen table right now. I've been thinking of getting a little IKEA shelf for going across our kitchen window which would be an ideal spot for starting seeds - that will just have to wait until I have the energy for an IKEA trip.

In the meantime, I'm still waiting to see if the peas will sprout. Right after I planted them we had a bit of rain, and last night there was a light frost.

If I don't see any action by next weekend, I'll plant more seeds.

Peas Please!

Despite having a cold, I was able to get a bit of gardening done this weekend. President's Day is traditionally when I trim our rose bushes, and do a bit of other garden clean up. This year, in addition to those tasks we put in two small raised beds in our parking strip.

We have a long history of trying to get anything other than grass to grow in this area, with poor success, so I'm hoping that this time we've come up with a system that will work.

The beds are 2"x2"and there is enough room around them that they shouldn't cause trouble for anyone using the sidewalk or the street.

I'm hoping we won't have any problems with dogs using them as a restroom - we saw a cute sign in town on someone's parking strip raised beds which read; "Please don't let your dogs pee on our food." So maybe we'll put up something like that if it becomes a problem.

In one bed I planted snow peas, and in the other bed I planted sugar snap peas. Each bed has a little support we put together from bamboo - although I read mixed information about whether or not these kinds of peas require support.

I planted two seeds at the base of each support and three in the middle. I also used an innoculant on the seeds.

It rained a bit shortly after I was done planting, so hopefully that didn't make the seeds too soggy.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some sprouts peaking up from these beds!

Sprout Update

The Sprouts still seem to be doing well. The radishes are growing at a good rate - they are a couple inches tall now and looking strong. In just a couple more weeks I might even have a harvest!

The salad greens are still growing too - but much slower. It's a mix, so it's interesting to see the different kinds of greens coming up - different sizes and colors.

I remember reading about doubling rate in the gardening book, but now I think I'm getting a first hand lesson.

Basically even thought I got a head start planting the greens, they are growing so slowly due to the cold that greens started several weeks later would probably be ready for harvest at about the same time, because they will grow so much faster in the warmer weather.

At least they are alive - I'll count that as a victory, and eventually - I'll get a salad out of it!

Yesterday I dropped a few spinach seeds in the bed with the greens and radishes, so we'll see how those do.

The radishes have sprouted!

I am thrilled to report that the radishes have sprouted! I was beginning to lose hope, but every single germinated radish has now sprouted. I planted them 2-3 inches apart and I really don't want to thin them, so hopefully this is enough room.

Still no sign of the salad greens, but according to the package it can take up to 15 days for germination, so hopefully they will sprout soon.

This weekend I plan to get a couple more beds ready, and then valentines/president's day weekend will be super planting weekend!

I always take a three day weekend for president's day - that is when I always prune the rosebushes, but this year I'm taking a four day weekend and I plan to plant the pea seeds then.

I will start some spinach this weekend or next also.

I think there will be a trip to the local nursery sometime for a few more seed packets. The last couple of days have been sunny, and that's making me hopeful for an early spring - I guess it depends on which groundhog you're counting on for your forecast.

Seed germination test.

While thinking about what to grow this year, I remembered that several years ago I grabbed a number of seed packets out of a 'free' pile at a chicken keeping workshop.

I went and found the packets - quite a few of them - and saw that they were all stamped with "03". So that means I've got at least a dozen 7-year-old seed packets on my hands.

Rather than just throwing them all out, I thought I may as well do a quick test to see if they were still viable. I started with the radishes, thinking that if the seeds were in fact still good, I could try an early planting.

I assembled the necessary components; seeds, paper towels, plastic bag, and plant mister.

I sprinkled about a dozen seeds on the moistened paper towel, folded it up, placed it into the plastic bag, and waited.

Less than 48 hours later I took a peak and much to my surprise found that every single seed had sprouted!

A little bit of research has since told me that radishes are known for their high germination rates - but 100% germination of 7-year-old seeds is still really impressive!

Finding all the seeds so happy, I went and popped the sprouted seeds into the prepared raised bed next to the lettuce seeds that had been planted a few days before.

No signs of green yet - hopefully I'm not pushing my luck too much planting them this early!

The first seeds are in!

Yesterday I planted a pinch of the salad greens seeds under the cloche. Hopefully I'm not starting too early, but they claim to be able to germinate at temperatures as low as 40 degrees and my soil is already at 50 degrees.

I woke up this morning to find that the plastic cover of the cloche had blown off - but today is sunny and lovely so far, so I don't think any harm was done.

The seeds are supposed to germinate in just a couple of days, so I should know soon if the conditions were favorable enough for them.

Spinach, Salad, and Peas, oh my.

Today was sunny almost all day, the perfect day for playing in the garden.

We started the day by heading to Portland Nursery and picking up a few things. I got a four packets of seed; spinach, salad green, snap peas, and snow peas. I'm especially eager to try the snow peas - every garden book and blog about the Pacific NW talks about Oregon Sugar Pod II, so I'm looking forward to see if they do well for me.

I also picked up some pea inoculant, a soil thermometer, organic fertilizer, garden soil and compost. Sadly our new composter won't be producing usable compost for at least a few weeks, but the way it's going, it might even take a few months.

When I got home I used the thermometer right away and it told me that the soil in our yard was 50 degrees! Much warmer than I expected, and also just about what all the seeds I purchased require.

I filled the raised bed in the back yard with one bag of the garden soil and mixed in some fertilizer. As I was working on this, I began to think that that bed might be better used for the spinach and salad greens, and the gardening book I've been using - growing vegetables west of the cascades - recommends starting spinach and salad greens under cover in February.

We had some plastic left over from winterizing the chickens, so I ran over to Home Depot for a few lengths of pvc, and soon after we had a cloche! Hopefully I can plant some seeds tomorrow.

My husband made me two 2x2 beds for our parking strip, and I think that's where I'll plant the peas. I may make cloches for them as well. The peas should be done producing by the time I can plant summer squash, so that rotation should work out perfectly.

Locating the garden beds.

I wish I had paid more attention to which parts of our yard were in full sun last summer - it's hard to tell in the dead of winter what the best locations for the raised beds will be.

I had been considering the front yard, on either side of our walkway, for two 4X4 beds each, but now I wonder if those spots will be shaded by the house for too much of the day.

The area alongside our house might be promising as well, but again, I'm not sure how much of the day it will be in full sun. I also wonder if being so close to the neighbor's fence is a good idea.
She's a gardener too, but from what I've read on some local gardening sites, some neighborhoods don't seem too keen on front yard vegetable gardens.

I'd also like to put a couple of 2x2 beds in the front parking strip. I've tried several times to do something interesting with that space, but so far nothing has lasted.

There has also been some local drama to do with raised beds in the parking strip, but as best as I can tell, it's allowed as long as you aren't creating an obstruction.

Someone down the street from us has a couple of small beds in their parking strip that they use for summer squash every year, and I think it always looks lovely.

The backyard is a more neighbor friendly option - but any beds in the back yard will need something around them to keep the chickens out.

This weekend I plan to finish getting this spot set up - I've decided this is where I'll put my first planting of peas. I'll probably start with Oregon Sugar Pod II. I plan on going to a couple of garden stores this weekend to see what seeds are in stock. We're having such a mild winter so far, the peas can probably go in sometime in the next few weeks - easily by President's day.

The last spot in the backyard is where the chicken coop used to be.
I'm sure the soil in this area is very fertile, but I'm not sure how much shade there will be from the fence and the Wisteria. However, since the grass is already dead there, I think I'll put in a bed and give it a try.

Chickens!

In October of 2004 my husband and I picked up three baby chicks from a local hatchery and raised them in our house. Thanks to the timing of bringing them home, it was months before it was warm enough for them to move outside.

Just as well too, because it took us forever to arrive at a homemade chicken coop that we were happy with.

Today we still have three chickens, but only one is from the original three chicks, the other two we got at 8 weeks old from a local chicken guru in the summer of 2006.

In September of 2009 we embarked on yet another chicken coop project - this time using a gazebo that came with our house (and used to house a hot tub). The gazebo provided the perfect framework, along with a sturdy roof, which made our building job much easier. Still, the coop took us almost two month, working evenings and weekends.

Now, we finally have a set up that we, and the chickens are all very happy with.

Portland hosts a chicken coop tour every July, and every year that they've done it, we've attended. This year I'm considering applying to be on the tour. We finally have a coop that I think would be worth showing off, and I think it would be fun to experience the other side of the event.

One of the fun parts of going on the tours is not just meeting the chickens, but seeing everyone's gardens. Portlanders have some amazing gardens, and this year I am hoping that by July, my garden will be at least a little bit impressive too!

The chickens have been a lot of fun - they have huge personalities and really make wonderful pets. They are a joy to have in the garden.

On the more practical side, the shells from their eggs make a wonderful addition to the garden, either by adding them to the compost, or by crushing them and adding them directly to the soil. Their manure also makes a wonderful addition to the compost. The chickens also eat a lot of bugs which would become garden pests.

The chickens stay in the backyard, and I am planning most of my raised beds for the front yard. That way, I won't have to build fences to keep them from scratching up the beds or eating the young plants.

Yet another project.

Once again I am starting an ambitious project that will likely be difficult to follow through on. As my previous languishing blogs will attest to, new ideas don't tend to hold my interest for very long.

However I have high hopes for my new gardening project, and I will make every effort to see it through at least one growing season.

I have several gardening books out from the library, a trusty local seed catalog, a wishlist of vegetables I'd like to grow, and a spreadsheet started to help me figure out timing and spacing.

Two weekends ago we went down to Metro and picked up an Earth-Machine composter for the back yard, and last weekend we picked up some supplies at Home Depot.

Noah has already assembled two raised beds for me, with at least four more on the way. I think raised beds are the way to go for us, because I'm sure our soil needs all the help it can get. I plan on using a Fred Meyer gift card that I received as my year-end bonus at work to help fund soil costs.

The hardest part right now is deciding where the best spots are for placing the raised beds. In the dead of winter, it's hard to remember which bits of our yard get the most sun.

I hope to position most of the raised beds in the front yard, both because it has the most uninterrupted space and because the backyard is the domain of the chickens and the dogs - who all like to dig. The chickens especially would make a mess of any garden bed, and putting up fencing around the beds would be an added inconvenience.

The chickens are contributing to the garden project though, as their manure and the shells from their eggs are both very valuable additions to the compost. I'm sure they will enjoy sharing in the garden's bounty as repayment. They currently get to eat just about the entire crop of raspberries that grow in the backyard.

I'll post more on the chickens soon, along with pictures of the coop. Another ambition of mine is to be on the chicken coop tour this year - after attending the tour every year since it's creation, it might be nice to try the other side of the experience.

Pictures of the garden plans, as well as of the raised beds going in will be coming soon. Hopefully with the internet watching, I'll follow through.