Planning Ahead
Posted: 3/30/2009 12:54 AM
The garden continues to flourish. The peas have now climbed to the second section of the trellis, although some of them needed help getting there. They grow long tendrils that are blindly flailing in the breeze, searching for something to cling to. When I noticed that a few pea plants were wrapped around the bean plants, I carefully took their tendrils and leaned them against the trellis. In just a few hours, the tendrils of the pea plants were tightly wrapped around the wire grid of the trellis. The way they grow is so amazing.
Although the potato sprouts were the last to emerge, the potatoes are now growing faster than anything else in the garden. They look like two bushes growing in the front right section.
With April just around the corner, it will soon be getting warm here. The tomato, basil and beans will be relieved. With the cold nights we've had, they are struggling a bit. However, the warm days ahead will cause the lettuce, spinach and cilantro to "bolt and go to seed". That means the plant will send up a shoot from its center, which will later grow a flower with seeds. The lettuce leaves will become bitter and the spinach and cilantro leaves will become much smaller. So, as soon as the plants begin to bolt, I'll need to harvest them. Even before then--probably this week--I'll pull the rest of the radishes on the left side of the garden. They're getting very large and will crack and dry out if I leave them in the soil for too much longer. After all these plants are harvested, there will be a big open space on the left side of the garden to fill. The entire area from the basil to the chives will be empty. Now is the time to do some planning.
Today, I planted some Ferry-Morse organic seeds in Styrofoam cups. I used three cups and numbered each one. Using a pencil, I poked three holes in the bottom of each cup and filled the cups with Miracle Gro Organic Potting Soil. Then, I planted eggplant in cup number 1, Swiss chard in cup number 2 and zucchini in cup number 3. These plants are all fairly large and will easily fill up the left side of the garden. I put two seeds in each cup, just to be sure that at least one germinates. I placed two chop sticks on the bottom of a plastic container and then put the three cups on top of the chop sticks, so they can drain. For the next few weeks, I'll keep the cups by a sunny window.
Mushrooms are still coming up along the soaker hose line, which means the garden is still too damp. I adjusted the timer and turned the water down again. Now, the garden is being watered for two minutes at 7 a.m. and two minutes at 4 p.m. This past week, I spent as much time picking mushrooms as I did harvesting vegetables and herbs--about 30 minutes in all.
In between cheering my kids on at baseball and softball games, I managed to do a little cooking. Each of the recipes I chose called for lettuce, cilantro or parsley. I served Pork and Mango Lettuce Wraps (www.williams-sonoma.com recipes); Bibb Lettuce, Avocado and Dried Cranberry Salad (www.epicurious.com) and Cilantro Pesto Chicken Tenders (www.grouprecipes.com). All three dishes were excellent!