Fall Planting

As much as I gripe about the weather around here, we do have the potential for four-season growing. Take that, New England and your beautiful fall leaves! Yesterday, we clipped our pumpkin fruits, leaving me free to pull out the pumpkin plants from the ground, along with my potted tomato that produced a grand total of maybe 6 tomatoes over the course of the year, and one of my two remaining potted basils. I planted from seed:
Bibb lettuce
Carrots
Salad Bowl blend lettuce
Basil (ambitious, I know)
Beets, golden and red
Broccoli raab (last chance for this packet of seeds to impress me after lack of performance last go-round)

I still have four cherry tomatoes, two green beans, and a zucchini in the ground, all of which somehow managed to convince me they justified their dirt for at least another week. I also have a pretty row of leafy carrot greens and just enough cilantro for my own needs. It remains warm in the afternoons and cool overnight, hope my little seeds are cozy!

Normally I would not call myself an optimist, but you can't help it when sowing seeds... definitely part of why I keep at it.

Getting Kids Excited About Gardening (or at least the Garden)

For my older child in particular, garden projects work best if they tie into an existing interest. For example, he remembers eating cherry tomatoes right off the plant last summer, so he was totally jazzed to plant a cherry tomato in "his area". Another example is art activities - he can't get enough of them, so when we were invited over to Left Brain Craft Brain to make seed bombs and decorate containers, we accepted with alacrity!

Seed Libraries

Long have I been intrigued by the seed bank I've driven past in Petaluma, last year I kept thinking I'd make it to the one down the road in Richmond - now finally a seed library has basically come to me. I could ride my bike to this new one here in my adopted hometown (theoretically... it's actually kind of uphill the whole way... my husband can do it, though). Looking forward to checking it out soon!

Planting on Impulse

Speaking of garden planning... didn't do any of that, but did get inspired by the warm weather to put a lot of shoulder season seeds in the ground this afternoon. The kids participated - not saying "helped" because that sets expectations incorrectly - with digging in compost, sprinkling seeds, and watering. I insist on covering up the seeds myself because "gentle" is just not in their vocabularies.

We sowed beets, green onions, cilantro, sugar snap peas, and lettuce in the ground, and basil in a small container. We didn't put in too many of any one crop. It was a bit of a frenzy to use up the 2013 seed packets. (Although my husband says that doesn't matter.) Can't wait to see the results!

Rainy Days

Happy, damp vegetable garden

While the drought proclamations and rationing threats rage on, we're in the middle of an excellent soaking. Last week on the first or second day of a light rain, my kindergartener - a good Californian - asked, "Is the drought over?" Not yet, honey.

But in the meantime, the plants are sooo happy, and so am I because I can put off watering! Except, that is, for my indoor seeds, one of which is chugging along delightfully. I think this is cilantro. I don't know for sure because I didn't think to label them. (This is one reason why my promotion to Upper Gardener keeps getting delayed.) But I am thrilled since I've never grown anything indoor from seed before unless you count the toothpicks-in-a-tuber thing in elementary school. Which actually only ever creeped me out because of the weird alien experiment look to it.

Maintenance

The 3 y.o. and I are loving the "winter peas" (actually snow peas) - we get a handful or so a day and share them. The 5 y.o. and their father turn up their noses at them. This week I also started some seeds indoors, for the first time ever. This is such a mild climate I never felt the need before - it's an experiment with cilantro and lettuce. I got 4 packs of seeds for $1 at the dollar store so felt it was worth the risk. But did I still think to myself while planting them - "wait, let's not use them ALL up"? Of course I did! I am the world's frugalest undergardener.

Let's Plant Some Plants

Yesterday was more summery than the average summer day in my microclimate - almost 70 and no clouds. It put me in the mood for gardening - funny how much more appealing it is when you don't have to bundle up to weed. But with other things going on, we didn't have time to get out there much. Today, though, my 3 y.o. and I had the time and energy - well, she always has the energy - to sow some more "winter" crops (honestly, like Dora, I suffer from mixed-up seasons in this crazy weather).

We put in American Flag leeks, Salad Bowl blend lettuce, Tokyo Long White scallions, and slow-bolt cilantro. She reminded me to add "fresh dirt" (compost blend). Thank you, helper, because I sure would have forgotten. As usual, I sprinkle a bit of straw around the new planted area and water with a gentle sprinkle for 15 minutes. As usual, with my helper helping, the row distribution was imperfect. I hope some of the seeds are drifting off to sleep in their new home.

Last night I read Jen Lancaster's Tao of Martha; I particularly enjoyed her gardening chapters. I too have an imaginary love-hate relationship with Martha; I too am not going to have a "cutting garden" in this lifetime.  Martha, Martha, Martha...

Fall Planting: Beets, Peas, Lettuce

Checking out the last of the golden cherries

Planted today - it had been on my to-do list for about two weeks but everything else - such as planning for the world's best Angry Birds birthday party, coming up this weekend - took precedence. On a lovely 70-degree day, took the 2 y.o. out there for some "help" (company) to plant a third sowing (this go-round's count) of salad bowl lettuce and cilantro. Planted two rows of beet seeds, one from this year and one from 2008 that my husband had saved (they WERE yummy golden beets, but my hopes are not high), and - a first for me - snow peas. Mixed advice from Pam Peirce on all the beets and peas but I figured worth a try. Anytime I have the time and ability to plant, I try to, with whatever *could* theoretically work at that time of year, +/- a month (or two).

The contemporary seeds I planted today (2008 beets not shown)

My "helper" hard at work dropping pea seeds all over the place

Fall Planting

Got all fired up to do fall planting now that my tomatoes seem to be slowing down, and rushed right out to buy beet, snow pea, and carrot seeds. Not until the next day did I check in with Golden Gate Gardening... and find I'm completely off the mark. Maybe I could take a risk and put the beets in, but the other two, no. Always over-ambitious... I don't know if that's the mark of the novice gardener, or just A gardener.