A view of our garden

This was taken two weeks ago. There wasn't a whole lot peeking through. We'll post more soon to show what it looks like now.

Spring Veggie Garden Update

Tomatoes:

All of the tomatoes have been repotted in 3'' plastic pots and are enjoying the sun. They're not too thick yet, but their root systems are well developed, which should do them well this summer.

Cucumbers:

Cukes were planted on the date suggested below. Germination rate was 9/9 0r 100% in about 4 days. Next year, I will not plant so far ahead as they got very leggy, very quickly. A May 14 planting date would probably suffice for cucumbers. Or, alternatively, plant in compostable pots so as to plant directly in soil. I worry about their being able to handle the transplant from the styrofoam. Also, don't leave greenhouse lid on too long, as I think this is the cause of the legginess.

Zucchinis:

Planted on date suggested below. Slightly slower germination than cukes, but still within 5-6 days, and at a rate of 8/9 or 88%. Looking strong, and no real concerns. Same as cukes with regard to greenhouse lid.

Hot peppers:

Still very very small and weak. Not sure what the issue is, but I'm guessing not enough heat. Will transplant once it gets warmer into larger pots. Very slow growers.

April Expenditures:

279 kg of compost from the city: $20.00
Total Expenditures for April: 20.00
Total Gains: $0.00, much joy.

Planting Schedule Update

Planted today:

Thai hot peppers - April 5
Black Cherry Tomato - April 5
Manitoba Tomato - April 5
Orange Strawberry Tomato - April 5

In the zone

Apparently, we're in Zone 5a. Good to know. See here for more.

Les Oignons

(click for big)

These are my Red Globe Onions from Greta. If you look closely you'll see that there are about 50 little onion plants there out of a approximately 70 seeds planted. There are more popping up every day, so I'd say the germination rate is very good. I planted them on March 2, and they have been up for about 4 days. I simply stuck them in some potting soil that I had crumbled finely and moistened and placed in a danish package from the grocery store. Not a bad little greenhouse when stuck on the fridge. The key now is to strengthen them up. I'm not sure how to do this, but this blog (seems to be a Canadian from Brantford!) says that you can trim them back to 4-5'' to prevent them from getting too leggy. As you'll note from the pic, that's a concern. I'll wait a few days before taking the snips to them. G&E take note, we sent some of these your way! Get them started ASAP.

Red Globe Onions

Planted March 2, 2009

Germination rate: approx. 67%

Time to germinate: approx. 4-7 days

Concerns: leggy plants

Update (March 15, 2009): There are 48 viable seedlings. They are very thin and fragile after two weeks. Research suggests that I should keep them trimmed to 3'' to thicken the stems.

Update (April 5, 2009): Nicole accidentally killed all my onions by placing the germination tray on the top of the stove while the oven was on. Needless to say, the tender little shoots wilted beyond recognition. I replanted and now they are back at the same stage as the picture above. We might not get good bulbs this year what with being a month behind schedule. But, we'll see. Germination for second round of seeds was over 80% though.

2009 Indoor Planting Schedule

March

Red Globe Onion - March 2

April

Thai hot peppers - April 1
Black Cherry Tomato - April 1
Manitoba Tomato - April 1
Orange Strawberry Tomato - April 1
Mid-east Prolific Cucumbers - April 28
Black Zucchini - April 28

Garden Budget - 2009

Following J.D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly, Nicole and I are keeping track of our expenses/gains for our garden this year. We're not too concerned about spending a bit more money than we would otherwise for fruit and veg, as we do it mainly for the taste and enjoyment, but it's a good practice in any case. Budgeting: always good, never bad.

So, thus far, we've bought all of our seeds for this year's garden, courtesy of Greta's organic seeds. (There really is a Greta, by the way, and she's just as you imagine her: long grey pony tail, plaid shirt and with a hint of an accent. I think she's Danish) Last year we used old seeds and the germination was terrible. We think they got a bit moist in the move. Thus, we decided to spend a bit more up front and invest in some heirlooms, from which we can save the seeds and use them again and again. We could even barter them, I suppose, if we get good at it.

So, we bought all of the seeds listed in the previous post and a few others for our friends who wanted some. We're splitting the cost three ways, so that saves a bit of money. We also bought a bag of potting soil for starting the seeds.

February
Seeds: -$25.00
Starting soil: -$3.19
Total Expenditures for February: -$28.19
Total Gains: $0.00

I'll be starting my onions today. I've never planted onions from seed before, so we'll see how that goes. We've been saving plastic containers with lids as mini-greenhouse starters; I just need to do a bit of research on how to do it properly.