Pea Pod Plants Looking Good

 

Well, it has taken 2 months to reach this stage. Not surprising given the weather, but the plants look nice and sturdy and healthy. They are now about 18" tall. Can't wait to see those little white flowers signalling the eventual emergence of the pods.

Time to Plant Peas/Pea Pods

I love pea pods and my nephew, Christian,  reminded me that we can eat the greens, too. Good way to thin the bed when the plants emerge and are too close together. Start the seeds indoors in a flat-bottomed container . Line the container with a paper towel, folded as needed for the space. Sprinkle with some seeds. Add some water, just enough to moisten, not to drown. 

 You will notice that the seeds "plump up" in a day. 

After 3 or 4 days they will start to sprout a bit.

Time to plant outdoors.

Be attentive to watering if it doesn't rain. Have fun!

'Tis the Season

       Sunny day. Brisk, clear.  
       Time to start putting the garden on paper.
I stopped in to Sam Bridge's Nursery on North St. in Greenwich  today and asked if they had any seeds leftover from last year. They generously offer their "old" but perfectly good seeds to schools for on site gardens. Ask your own local garden centers for their seeds. The germination rate may be slightly lower, but that's not really a problem. We always have more seeds than we have land on which to plant.
My objective this year is to go totally organic and to encourage others to do the same. I love that they had Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, a beautiful orange milkweed. Snapped that up. Another objective is to become more butterfly and bee friendly.  Enjoy the process.

How Does My Garden Grow

Late August. What does your garden look like? Some things have faded, some are still producing, some have yet to fulfill their destiny. And- there's still time to have another round of cool season crops. Let's concentrate on those.

After 7 days- lettuce, radishes, arugula, kale

We can plant lettuces again, arugula, kale, chards, radishes, cilantro, parsley... Think early spring, yes, the same crops can go in now. We, in Connecticut, should have at least 8 wks of growing season left. Given the crazy summer, we might even have more time. It seems like we are a month behind all year long. However, be mindful of shorter periods of light. That will affect plant growth. In any case, we can couple garden clean-up with additional sowing to lead us gently out of the season and into our prep for next year. Stay connected to the earth. It keeps on giving.

Chinese red long beans- great fun!

Rainbow Chard

The Garden Doesn't Stop Until We Do!

We continue to enjoy produce from our summer garden: green beans, tomatoes (cherry and slicing), an occasional cucumber. The garlic has been harvested and will soon be planted for next year's crop. Potatoes have been dug and distributed. Strawberries- done but so many runners to share. Need a few strawberry plants?  Zucchini is finished.  Sage is thriving and will be shared at Thanksgiving. Kale is still producing and we'll let it stay over

the winter. Fun to see what peeks out after the snow melts.
Time now to assess what went well, what can be improved, what needs to be repaired. Sanitation is key to a healthy garden- good project for early fall weather while we can still enjoy being outdoors.

Lettuce Challenge 2017- Finale

Today was the day. The winners were announced and heralded at a special ceremony at the Stamford Government Center. The Mayor presented the awards - a blue ribbon to Tyler Johnson for Best in Show. Lots of beaming faces - students and parents and teachers- all pleased by the lovely looking butter crunch lettuce plants. Now the plants can go back into the school vegetable gardens to grow into full heads and eventually be part of a summer salad. Many thanks to the members of The Stamford Garden Club for all of their work in organizing and funding this effort.