It’s always a milestone when we decide to put tomatoes in the ground. This year there was a lot of pressure because we started the seeds so early. The seedlings are huge and starting to be unhappy in their pots. But the weather is not yet totally reliable and we are obviously before the landmark Memorial Day.
Anyway, Sam planted one row today. 19 plants, 20 if you count each of the twins. There will be two more rows to come.
Tomato row
In other news, I’m starting to remulch the garlic.
Twelve weeks (estimated) until last frost date for my zone (5b). I’m using May 8 as that date.
First seeds started
So we started seeds today. I’m trying to get more organized with my garden planning. I used a planting schedule from Johnny’s Seeds to plan out the indoor seed starting schedule week by week. First up, alliums:
Conservor shallots
Borrettana Cippollini onions
Bleu de Solaize leeks
We used our soil blocking tool and a potting mix composed with the following recipe:
5 parts ProMix Growing Medium
3 parts compost (Vee, left over from last year)
1/2 part sand
1/4 part azomite
5 parts water
I sprinkled the seeds over the top of the blocks, then sprinkled more ProMix over the top and misted. The flat is on the kitchen floor for now, where the radiant floor heat can keep them warm.
Next week, I’ll start some celeriac and leaf celery. Maybe parsley. And I need to fill out my planting schedule with set-out dates and direct-seed dates.
Flower row with garlic bed beyond. Mostly poppies and daisies at this time, but sunflowers coming.
Three sisters row. Corn (a few stalks), squash, green beans. A few volunteer potatoes. Horseradish at one end and comfrey at the other.
Broccoli (Aspabroc and DeCicco). Started under row cover. Vulnerable to porcupines! Saved by electric fence, now harvesting. Some cabbage, I think.
Fava bean row, plus some Dazzling Blue Kale and volunteer wild arugula from last year.
Parsnips, first and second year. Turnips. Beets. And a patch of broccoli rabe bolting. Will replace with some carrots.
Mixed greens row. Chard, radicchio, ruby red orach, Salanova lettuce, escarole, some volunteer dill, baby Turkish rocket, and some room for succession planting.
Soybeans just flowering, fingerling potatoes, carrots. Artichoke at the end of this row and three others.
Tomato row. Plus one marigold at the top.
Fence row – scarlet runner beans (not shown), rudbeckia perennial, zucchini, patty pan squash, Hopi black sunflowers, Chinese cabbage.
Lettuces under the corner trellis. Also visible – a few cucumbers starting to climb.
Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes to thaw.
Peel about 4 sweet potatoes and it into slices. Add to casserole dish, along with 1 cup of frozen broth. Add spices and salt. I used turmeric and cumin. Stir to mix. Bake for about 20 minutes to soften.
Stir again and add one cup bulgur wheat and two cups of water. Bake until bulgur is soft and liquid is absorbed.
The quantities are perfect for us in this version of this recipe. It makes about 10 pints. I’m freezing them in one-cup portions, so we can use whatever we need.
