Snow Peas Update

I planned to get the Snow Pea seeds into the ground on St. Patrick's Day, 17March, but that didn't happen. I planted the snow pea seeds 4April. Here is a review and update on the peas.

Snow Pea seeds ready for plastic sandwich bag 18March2012

4April2012

2May2012

14May2012

14May2012

The Snow Peas have grown to about 9"/23cm in 6 weeks. I do not see any flower buds. I expect harvest will be in June.


Even before the harvest I will be planting melon seeds in two squares and cucumber seeds in the other two squares in the back of the plot. That will probably happen very close to 1June.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

First Planting 2012 Square Foot Garden Plot

My original plan was to plant by 17 March 2012.  That didn't happen.

On 18 March, I placed seeds into plastic sandwich bags along with damp paper towels to begin germination atop my refrigerator.

Why the top of my refrigerator?  The process of refrigeration involves warm air.  Warm air is blown from the bottom of the refrigerator up the back and exits across the top.   I placed the seeds I wished to germinate atop the refrigerator to take advantage of the exiting warm air.

17 days later, the seeds had germinated.  Each bag was labeled with the contents - vegetable, name, days to fruit and germination start date.

You can see the roots have grown through to the other side of the paper towel.  Not something I wanted to happen.  I had waited 17 days.  What did I expect?  Of course the roots would be long after 17 days.


I originally wanted to use unbleached coffee filters, for two reasons-

1. No bleach would be present that might damage the seedlings
2. The paper of the filters is less porous, not allowing the roots to grow through the paper

Alas, the day I started the germination project, I had no coffee filters in the house.  I made due with what I had, paper towels.

4 April 2012 and I was ready to plant my seeds in the square foot plot.  I began with the following supplies - 

1. a 10 qt /9.5 l bag of organic seed starting mix to use as a bed for the new seedlings
2. a huge stock pot I found in the trash to use as a mixing vessel
3. a 6" /15 cm shovel
4. a supply of water

I dumped the starting mix into the stock pot.

added water to damped the starting mix

enough water that when the mix was compressed, it retained the shape of my hand.

The next step was to stake the garden.  I brought out a bucket of stakes I used last year to create the 1' x 1' /30cm x 30 cm grid within the 4' x 4' /120 cm x 120 cm plot,
a heavy hammer, in this case a ball peen, and twine.

I beat the first stake into the corner of the plot and extended a tape measure to 4' /120 cm and placed four more stakes along the tape measure at each 1' /30 cm increment.

When driving stakes it is important to hold the stake far from the end, so as not to strike your hand rather than the stake.  Another tip is not to hold the stake with an iron grip, so that if you do miss the stake and hit your hand it won't do as much damage or alarm the neighbors with all the yelling and swearing.  Wearing a glove also has the advantage of keeping the blood and broken bones together in a neat package until you arrive at the emergency room.

Once the stakes were set on the first side of the plot, I repeated the same process on an adjacent side.

Again on the third side.

And finally the fourth side.

It was time to begin stringing the stakes.  I tied the end of the string onto the stake with a clove hitch.

Then finish it off with a half hitch to keep the string from untying.

I went around the stakes until the string crated a grid of 1' / 30 cm squares.  There by getting its name "Square Foot Garden"

Each square was ready to plant.  Well almost.  I smoothed the surface of each square, removing any large objects from the surface.  In this case, I removed some of those roots I said didn't need to be removed from the soil when I mixed in the organic matter.  I also removed all large leaves from the surface.  They would smother the tiny seedlings.

I then formed three trenches and placed starting mix in each trench, tamping down the damp mix in each trench.

I tried carefully to remove each seedling from the paper towel in which it was entwined.  Some seedlings didn't make it and broke.  Those seedlings that were successfully freed from the towel were placed in the trenches leaving approximately 1" /25 mm between seedling.

I then covered the seedlings with starting mix and lightly tamped the mix atop the seedlings.  It wasn't necessary to have the leaves of the seedlings above the mix surface, they would find their way to the surface on their own.

I continued from square to square, flattening, smoothing, trenching, filling, tamping, planting, covering and tamping.

I photographed each square with the type seedling planted, for later reference.

One of the squares has half one seedling and half another.

These are the pea squares before I covered them.  I changed the direction of the trenches for no good reason except I liked the design.

Here is the plot fully planted, ready for water.  I watered by hose with the spray head set on shower.  I have a valve between the spray head and the hose.  I find this valve is a much better regulator than the squeeze handle of the spray head itself.  I watered until the plot was thoroughly moist.


My first planting of my square foot garden for 2012 was complete.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Kronos and My Spring Garden

I get great satisfaction from growing plants, whether ornamental flowers, vegetables or fruit.  The satisfaction is like that of a proud parent, bringing an infant into the world and nurturing it to fruition.  Then someone who loves them, devours them, Kronos-like.  I think of Kronos every time I hear someone say, "That baby is so cute, I could just eat it up."


I began planning my 2012 square foot garden the minute my Johnny's Select Seed catalog appeared in my mailbox.  To get the most out of a 4' x 4' garden plot, I planned three plantings for the year.  As the first planting is harvested, the second planting will go into the square in its place.  The same for the third planting.  The crops will be rotated reducing the possibility of passing along disease and viruses.  Additional soil amendments will be dug in with each new planting.



My first planting will look like the graphic below.

The rough schedule for planting is as follows:
• Late winter -  approximately 17 March, St. Patrick's Day
• Late spring - Mid May to Mid June, after the last frost
• Late Summer - Mid August to Early September, several months   
                           before the first hard frost

Brandywine Pink
Source:BonniePlants

Cherokee Purple
Source:BonniePlants

Sweet and Thai Basil in my garden 2011

Thai Pepper
Source:BonniePlants

Bitter Melon
Source:Bonnie Plants

Over the last few decades, if I wanted good tasting produce, I had to start my own seeds.  The plants I wanted were not offered in garden centers.  Garden centers offered the same plants the commercial growers planted.  I found places like Johnny's Select Seeds, Seeds of Change, Seed Savers Exchange, Totally Tomatoes where heirloom seeds could be purchased.  Heirloom tomatoes taste like the tomatoes I remember from my yout' ("Excuse me, did you say yout'?").  Starting seeds is a difficult chore and a big commitment but until recently it was the only way to get good tasting tomatoes.  


While shopping in Lowe's garden center over the last few years, I noticed they sold Bonnie Plants, individual plants in 3"- 4" peat pots.  Amongst the usual garden center plants, Bonnie offered some heirlooms and unusual plants like Brandywine Tomato, Cherokee Purple Tomato, Thai Peppers, Thai Basil, Stevia and Bitter Melon.  Curious to see if Bonnie would be adding new varieties to their line this year, I went to the Bonnie Plant website.  There I saw a few new plants that I am eager to purchase, such as Black Krim and Black Cherry tomatoes and Epazote.


Inside my local Lowe's, last week, was a display of Burpee seeds.  I think I picked up each and every packet of seeds on the display.  I read each label.  I read when to plant, the expected height and spread of the plant and the number of days to harvest.  I spent a long time reading packets.  Lowe's employees frequently asked if I needed any help.  I think they thought I couldn't get up or fell asleep, or worse.  Having finished a preliminary plan for the garden plot, I knew which seeds I needed.  I purchased over $15.00 of seeds packets including a packet of inoculant for the peas and beans.  Later, if I change my mind about the seeds I purchased, I can always return the seeds.  Something I don't think I can do if I purchase via a website.  Nonetheless, I will probably purchase some seeds on the web to fulfill my plan.  Even though the cost of shipping seems to be quite high for the weight being shipped.  But you know what Kronos always said, "You gotta do, what you gotta do to get a good tasting kid."


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved