On the internet everything is great, fantastic and perfect. Well, this blog is about to get real folks.
Not everything we try works out. That’s one good reason to try a lot of different things in your experimental garden – variety for your meals … you may really like Kale, but how much can you eat in a week during peak season? As well as variety in case a particular plant doesn’t really like your soil, sun exposure etc.
So, confession time … starting the herbs from seed didn’t work. The vegetables seemed to work fine both last year and this year which is why I had so much confidence in starting the herbs from seed. The herb seedlings stalled and pretty much stopped growing. Admittedly, they weren’t getting a ton of sun, but they were kept moist. Ms. A used a grow light above hers and seemed to get better results.
Not everything we try works out. That’s one good reason to try a lot of different things in your experimental garden – variety for your meals … you may really like Kale, but how much can you eat in a week during peak season? As well as variety in case a particular plant doesn’t really like your soil, sun exposure etc.
So, confession time … starting the herbs from seed didn’t work. The vegetables seemed to work fine both last year and this year which is why I had so much confidence in starting the herbs from seed. The herb seedlings stalled and pretty much stopped growing. Admittedly, they weren’t getting a ton of sun, but they were kept moist. Ms. A used a grow light above hers and seemed to get better results.
The other thing I was disappointed by is the germination rate of the seeds from 7rowseeds. I usually planted 2-4 seeds in most of the little seed starter cells because not every seed sprouts. I had entire cells that sprouted nothing. This rarely happens with seeds you pick up on a seed rack from a “brand name” supplier. Only about 2 of 4 cells planted with the Habanda peppers sprouted anything viable. Many of the Badger Flame beet cells barely sprouted when the Chiogga beets I started from seed last year took off no problem. I’m not sure if its because they are hybrids or maybe they are just finicky. Maybe I haven’t mastered something yet to allow them to thrive. We sowed the RK squash directly into the ground and got some plants, but not as many as we should have for all the seeds used – so it was a trend for pretty much all the specialty seeds.
The carrots haven’t really taken off this year either. I tried 2 varieties – half a row of orange Danvers carrots (because we are really close to Danvers, MA) from a seed bank, and half a row of carnival (multicolored) carrots from a rack in a store. There are a few signs of life on one end of the row, but I’ve forgotten which is which at this point.
I happened to go to a wine and herb festival this spring where they paired a small food sample made with an “herb” with a wine at various wineries. As you went on the tour from winery to winery (I was thankfully on a bus – it was a lot of wineries), you also got a small potted herb that was used in the food pairing to take home. We ended up with some single plants that we probably wouldn’t otherwise have in the garden that add some biodiversity. It will be interesting to see how they fare.
The carrots haven’t really taken off this year either. I tried 2 varieties – half a row of orange Danvers carrots (because we are really close to Danvers, MA) from a seed bank, and half a row of carnival (multicolored) carrots from a rack in a store. There are a few signs of life on one end of the row, but I’ve forgotten which is which at this point.
I happened to go to a wine and herb festival this spring where they paired a small food sample made with an “herb” with a wine at various wineries. As you went on the tour from winery to winery (I was thankfully on a bus – it was a lot of wineries), you also got a small potted herb that was used in the food pairing to take home. We ended up with some single plants that we probably wouldn’t otherwise have in the garden that add some biodiversity. It will be interesting to see how they fare.
By this time the potted herbs were showing up at the home supply stores, so I just spent the $30 and got healthy plants so I could have herbs all summer.
The collection (Starting top left and proceeding down … Habanada pepper, oregano, thyme, sage, chives, parsley, rosemary, Mexican oregano (I think), basil)
And, since this was getting to a proper garden with structures etc., and since great gardens had names, we decided we needed to name ours. A name was selected, a sign was made, and future gardening appointments should up on our calendars with the locations designated as Cyrwood.
And, since this was getting to a proper garden with structures etc., and since great gardens had names, we decided we needed to name ours. A name was selected, a sign was made, and future gardening appointments should up on our calendars with the locations designated as Cyrwood.
One thing you can do with a diversity of vegetables when they all start coming in is make Minestrone.
I find that the website thekitchn.com has some really good basics recipes. See their recipe for Minestrone here. https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-minestrone-224794
For a great table of how and when to add various vegetables from The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, see this website … https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/09/the-best-minestrone-soup-recipe.html
For a great table of how and when to add various vegetables from The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, see this website … https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/09/the-best-minestrone-soup-recipe.html