Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[digitS']

Golden King of Siberia tomato for the first time, and does it ever have unique flowers. The blossoms are huge!

Those large flowers would make hybridizing easier. The small flowers was a real impediment in my efforts. Impediment? Yeah, I may as well have been using my #13 feet trying to do the needed surgery on those tiny flowers.

digitS'

 

[heirloomgal]

This week it feels like every corner of the garden is in need of attention all at the same time. We picked up a load of compost at our regional composting facility so I've been weeding the beds and top dressing. The compost looks really nice this time. They had their huge sifting machine going when we were there, and does it ever produce a fine textured product. (And what a bargain-- we paid $8, and got 2300lbs!)

I'm growing Golden King of Siberia tomato for the first time, and it has unique flowers. The blossoms are huge! After I had admired them sufficiently a bunch of tall stakes got pounded in to support the tomato plants, and then I pinched out the suckers at the same time. Along the way I found a heavy black aphid infestation on the nearby Rattlesnake beans, so a few minutes were spent squishing the bugs and rinsing the plants; hopefully that will do the trick.

We trimmed a couple of our hedges recently so all of that material is being turned into mulch for the squash, melons, and pathways. Oats, winter rye, comfrey, and timothy each got haircuts too, so there are piles of that for me to buck up to use as mulch for the beans and tomatoes.

Yesterday I began removing the garlic scapes, and a few made it in to our rice pilaf for dinner. One garlic patch hadn't been checked for several weeks, and it was almost buried in hairy vetch; a few minutes spent weeding, and now it's good as new. The Poached Egg Plant that I direct sowed along the front of the garlic looks really nice, and seems to help keep the weeds down.

Poached egg plant is a special one, it helped save the sperm whale. Pretty too.

 

[Branching Out]

that's a great bargain if you have a way to get it moved around easily. ground covers are useful ways indeed to help keep weeds down, that they can flower and smell good while you're out there weeding are bonuses!

I moved it around easily until the end, when I was so exhausted that I could hardly even move me. LOL. 2300lbs is a lot to schlep over the garden. Thankfully my hubby came home and shovelled the last ten wheelbarrows or so, and a neighbour brought her wheelbarrow over for a load as well. We put some on bare patches on the lawn too, to see if we can get the grass to fill in. There are a couple of spots where the grass does just not want to grow, in high-traffic compacted spots. I think we need to get some big drainage holes in there so air and water can get down to the roots.

 

[flowerbug]

...We put some on bare patches on the lawn too, to see if we can get the grass to fill in. There are a couple of spots where the grass does just not want to grow, in high-traffic compacted spots. I think we need to get some big drainage holes in there so air and water can get down to the roots.

putting it on the bare spots is a great way to encourage them to fill in. the worms will do the digging and drainage for you... if you want to speed it up you can by having an airator that does plugs go along and then put down the mulch.

if you are interested in learning a whole different idea of gardening in difficult places that have to deal with water in creative ways you and look into keyline plows and deep trench areas to help speed them up with recovering from being overcompacted. but i think where you are at is about the opposite of those who get a lot less moisture.

of course before doing any deep plowing on any property i'd make sure to know where your underground utilities are at (gas, electricity, phone, septic and well)...

 

[Branching Out]

Our Pacific Northwest climate is one of extremes, with very wet weather for half of the year and the potential for very dry conditions from May until early October. With the wild climate swings that we have seen over the past few years we kind of need to be prepared for anything-- especially if we want our gardens to thrive. I have been looking for a new garden topic to research, so I will definitely investigate keyline plows. Thanks flowerbug!

 

[Branching Out]

Last year I tried growing a perennial called Fama Deep Blue Scabiosa from seed. It turned out to be trickier than expected but one lone seedling made it through the winter and resurfaced this spring. We are now enjoying the most remarkable 3" blossoms in varying shades of blue on tall, willowy stems that bob in the breeze. I hope that I can propagate this plant through cuttings or division. It would be amazing to have a row of them along our driveway.

I think I will buy another packet of seeds as well, and try and up my game in terms of growing them from seed. https://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/scabiosa/fama-deep-blue-scabiosa-seeds.html

Alongside is Arizona Apricot Gaillardia, another perennial that I have found easy and rewarding to grow from seed. They tolerate heat, drought, and benign neglect, and by the second year the plants are quite large. So easy, and so pretty.

 

[Dahlia]

Saw these two foraging at the side of the road yesterday afternoon.

We get a lot of deer wandering around the neighborhoods here too! They are not afraid of people!

 

[Branching Out]

After months and months of seed starting, weeding, and watering we are finally beginning to enjoy the fruits of our labour. This weekend we enjoyed a Middle Eastern salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, scallions, oregano, and Italian parsley. We also tried our first Ronde de Nice zucchini, which resembles a small green pumpkin. Peppers are off to a slow start, with the exception of the Alpine Poblanos which are really taking off.

Seed saving is ramping up as well. I grew out some yellow mustard seed from the grocery store to use for pickling, and the flavour is fantastic. Nice and spicy. The pods are very prickly though so I am using rose gloves to protect my hands as I attempt to thresh it.

 

[Dahlia]

After months and months of seed starting, weeding, and watering we are finally beginning to enjoy the fruits of our labour. This weekend we enjoyed a Middle Eastern salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, scallions, oregano, and Italian parsley. We also tried our first Ronde de Nice zucchini, which resembles a small green pumpkin. Peppers are off to a slow start, with the exception of the Alpine Poblanos which are really taking off.

Seed saving is ramping up as well. I grew out some yellow mustard seed from the grocery store to use for pickling, and the flavour is fantastic. Nice and spicy. The pods are very prickly though so I am using rose gloves to protect my hands as I attempt to thresh it.

Are those feta cheese cubes on the salad! Did you grow everything in that salad in your garden?

 

[digitS']

Are the mustard seeds going into a pepper grinder, BranchingOut? So you will be using them in the kitchen?

Canola is grown here. I am not planning on buying a press to make my own oil but we do have a twisted-stem mustard in the garden every year and I have wondered about how it might be different from all those different condiments – and there are a number and differing additions.

I find that an easy way to thrash the mustard is to 1 put a tarp down on the lawn, 2 walk on the mustard, 3 separate out the larger debris, 4 climb up on my ladder with some seeds & such, 5 dump that back down on my tarp, and allow a nice breeze carry most of the debris away. The seed has good viability over several years but, I guess that I would feel the need for cleaner conditions if kitchen use was intended .

Steve