Phaedra's Garden 2022

[Phaedra]

Good weather today; those solar led lights can keep providing more light after it gets dark.

It feels comfortable inside.

The seedlings germinated in the boiler room have to come upstairs for more light; however, so far, the germination speed is quick in the boiler room.

I sowed today onions, peas for shoots, five varieties of sweet peas, and pink cornflower. The cut flower patch was quite successful last year, and I am looking for an even better harvest this year.

Tulips in the pot from last spring - I have no specific expectation about how well they will grow this year. Let's see.

New tulips planting last December

I enjoyed a pleasant sunny afternoon working in the greenhouse and the garden - I felt fully charged with solar energy.

 

[digitS']

Maybe the BEST thing about having a greenhouse.

So pleasant to be in there on a cold but sunny day, even when you cannot open a vent for fresh air. Who needs fresh air when you are surrounded by plants!?

Pleasant, unless I have to stand too long transplanting and my legs go numb … May build my own highchair this year . I was so conscientious about having the bench at elbow height to allow for close work and sunlight beneath. A purchased high stool isn’t high enough!

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

After the storms and rain, rain, rain, and more rain, finally, there is a sunny day again.

The broad beans are ready to be transplanted, so let's go!

Dibber is also ready.

The root balls look quite nice.

Half of them are for harvesting the young and tender leaves.

Transplanting and pricking

 

[Phaedra]

A walnut in one raised bed - I didn't expect the squirrels to come from our neighbor to my vegetable area.

An overwintered broccoli - two side shoots growing there quietly the entire winter when I didn't have time to clean this flower bed. Suddenly, they became pretty big. Maybe I can harvest something again in April?

Seeds collected from the flower patch last year - different sweet peas, alliums, lupines, marigolds, etc. I didn't have time to clean them better and will mix them with compost later and directly plant the wildflower patch for this year.

Hellebores are at their peak.

The pantry and tool storage room in my FIL's house is also near the end of the renovation.

Silk flowers storage area, also a lovely way for displaying

The new combination for the kitchen table today

 

[ducks4you]

Food for thought:
Did humans invent lemons?

The lemon is a human invention that's maybe only a few thousand years old. The first lemons came from East Asia, possibly southern China or Burma. (These days, some prefer to refer to Burma as Myanmar.

How the Lemon was Invented

Everything that's true about history, etymology, food, pop culture, and stuff that's even better.

www.trueorbetter.com

I always Wondered how the Meyer lemon was created.
Meyer lemon is believed to be a hybrid of lemon and orange parentage. The tree was brought to the United States from Beijing, China in 1908 by Frank Meyer, a plant explorer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Improved Meyer lemon

Citrus × limon L. Burm.f. C. meyeri Y. Tan. CRC 3737 PI 539447 VI 319 Source Received as budwood from CCPP VI 319 stock plant at Rubidoux screenhouse, 1971. Parentage/origins Meyer lemon is believed to be a hybrid of lemon and orange parentage. The tree was brought to the United States from...

citrusvariety.ucr.edu

 

[ducks4you]

Re: your renegade broccoli~

How to Save Broccoli Seeds | Gardener’s Path

Saving seeds from your vegetable garden is easy – especially from broccoli, because one head can produce hundreds. Learn how to do it on Gardener’s Path.

gardenerspath.com

 

[digitS']

I would have expected that broccoli would not have survived your winters, Phaedra. Certainly, a variety that could survive here would be worthy of saving seeds.

Ohio State has some research online that says broccoli can be grown with high tunnel protection in zone 5. That's well below zero F (minus 29°C) buuuut that is with protection. Although most Oregon gardeners are in warmer areas than here, Oregon State University recommends a purple sprouting broccoli for overwintering. Apparently the pigmentation itself makes for a hardier plant. (So, there's the USA O's recommendations ).

I've been surprised at the lack of hardiness of some "kale" varieties -- however, kale is just a name (as "broccoli" is, apparently ). Scotch kale is so hardy that the failure of Italian and Portuguese in my garden is surprising and a little disappointing.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

After hens worked here for a few seasons, here is a new area for planting, no weed at all. They also left a quite nice and fertile layer of compost; under that are many worms. Although it's a bit too close to the hedge, well, still worthy for a trial.

I need to leave for Cologne now but will be back to chat. Everyone has a lovely weekend!

 

[Phaedra]

I would have expected that broccoli would not have survived your winters, Phaedra. Certainly, a variety that could survive here would be worthy of saving seeds.

Ohio State has some research online that says broccoli can be grown with high tunnel protection in zone 5. That's well below zero F (minus 29°C) buuuut that is with protection. Although most Oregon gardeners are in warmer areas than here, Oregon State University recommends a purple sprouting broccoli for overwintering. Apparently the pigmentation itself makes for a hardier plant. (So, there's the USA O's recommendations ).

I've been surprised at the lack of hardiness of some "kale" varieties -- however, kale is just a name (as "broccoli" is, apparently ). Scotch kale is so hardy that the failure of Italian and Portuguese in my garden is surprising and a little disappointing.

Steve

Hi Steve, I also didn't expect they could successfully overwinter. Besides this plant, a few I didn't remove from the vegetable area are also alive. They flowered once and just stayed there.

I also planted another one which is always planted for harvesting in April. They did well in the winter; hopefully, I can have some pretty purple broccoli in April.

For Kale, I also planted a purple color one; however, I didn't harvest them for food till now, don't know why. Meanwhile, the flower sprout (kale x brussel sprout) performed amazingly, so I want more this year. Gardening is like an adventure or journey full of trials and errors.

 

[Phaedra]

Food for thought:
Did humans invent lemons?

The lemon is a human invention that's maybe only a few thousand years old. The first lemons came from East Asia, possibly southern China or Burma. (These days, some prefer to refer to Burma as Myanmar.

How the Lemon was Invented

Everything that's true about history, etymology, food, pop culture, and stuff that's even better.

www.trueorbetter.com

I always Wondered how the Meyer lemon was created.
Meyer lemon is believed to be a hybrid of lemon and orange parentage. The tree was brought to the United States from Beijing, China in 1908 by Frank Meyer, a plant explorer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Improved Meyer lemon

Citrus × limon L. Burm.f. C. meyeri Y. Tan. CRC 3737 PI 539447 VI 319 Source Received as budwood from CCPP VI 319 stock plant at Rubidoux screenhouse, 1971. Parentage/origins Meyer lemon is believed to be a hybrid of lemon and orange parentage. The tree was brought to the United States from...

citrusvariety.ucr.edu

Thanks for the sharing.

In the beginning, I brought an ordinary lemon (The Italian variety is quite popular here). But I am not a fan of that variety. Later I read some articles about Meyer lemon and tried once on the farmer market - they are much more tasty and juicier.

Now it's one of my favorite plants, and I decided to build raised beds in the greenhouse for them.