sowing and growing

Planting, especially direct seeding, is probably the most romantic part of growing. Some seeds are finer than a grain of sand and others are bigger than a thumb nail; they are all packets of perfect chemistry that come to life when the right conditions are present. So to take a handful of these out to a bed of prepared soil, tuck them just deep enough that their enclosed energy will be able to send seed leaves out into the sun is a magical moment. With a drink of water and a poem or song for good luck, they are ready to go. In a few short days tiny seed leaves begin to breach the surface. In the past couple of weeks I’ve sown fava beans, peas (snow, shelling and sugar snap, hyacinth), radishes (daikon and black) and carrots (yellow, orange, red and purple). The radishes come up the quickest, followed by the carrots and then the legumes.

The favas are biggest by now, big enough that I mulched them with hay to keep the weeds down around their area. Some of the peas did not germinate, so I reseeded them and I gave those seeds a head start by soaking them in cool water overnight. I try to keep areas that are direct seeded really well watered especially for the first couple of days so that the tough protective hull of the seed stays soft and so that the germinating process to stays active. I wonder if the first pea seeds I planted got too dry under the ground, especially since my nice sandy soil drains really well and there were some sunny days around that time.

I also went out on a limb a couple of weeks ago and planted my tomatoes and cucumbers well before the May 20th frost date. What really prompted me to make the choice was that my cucumbers were getting so stressed out in their little 36-tray boxes that they had started to flower. Also, some of the tomatoes in the middle of the tray had gotten really leggy, fighting for sunlight like trees in the middle of the forest. Checking the 10-day weather forecast, it seemed the temperature wouldn’t go below freezing, so I decided to go for it. Since then, some of the plants died from exposure (we had a hail storm and 60mph wind) and there is sunburn on a lot of them. So I learned my lesson: let the plants acclimate for to outside weather, bringing them in and out day and night, giving them a shady spot for first day or so. I was in too much of a rush. So that’s what my other trays of tomatoes, peppers and onions are doing at this point.



Bok choi is doing really well. I might have enough to sell at market this weekend.

I am still trying to find a comfortable rhythm for this work as it fits into my life. Soon I’ll be organized enough to plan my work more than a day ahead of time and invite you!