Going Outdoors

Spent most of the day outdoors.  Fluffed the compost pile; put back the grid on the 3x6; transplanted peas and broccoli; sowed seeds (carrot, spinach, lettuces); transplanted some chamomile...

Plants have the electric fan turned on them (medium setting) overnight.  They've been hardening off outside for a few days to a week now.  Today they were out from about 10:30 til 22:00.  Tomorrow will be about the same.  Will leave them outside overnight by Thu or Fri.


I'm very pleased with the compost pile!  It's coming along nicely!  (The brown stuff in the middle is compost on its way!)

 

I decided to transplant my peas today.  I should have done this earlier for more (earlier) peas, but I wasn't happy with the soil quality at the time.  The soil quality hasn't really changed since--I've just cared less.

From left to right:  Coir-topsoil-vermiculite-bone meal mixture; handy gardening tote; empty container, peas, gloves.  The empty container is for holding the Jiffy Pots, since a friend told me they don't decompose well in the garden.  However, I think they will compost well enough, so I'll tear them to pieces and throw them in the bin.

While digging new homes for the peas, I accidentally displaced this guy.  LOOK HOW JUICY HE LOOKS!!  Guess he's got plenty to eat!  I'm proud!  Centipedes are friends in the garden.


Where was I...  Oh yes, Jiffy Pots!  Before and after:

 

Peas transplanted.  They still have their dowel with the type of pea written on it.  I also dug up the seedling I thought was a pea, and transplanted it near the trellis.  If it's sweet pea flowers, then I guess it'll grow up nice and pretty!  If it's a pea, then I guess it'll fit right in!



Snow peas:





Hey, he came back!



If you view these pictures in sequence you can see him tunnelling back into the soil.

 
 

Snap Peas:



When transplanting broccoli, be sure it is planted firmly into the soil.  This goes against the general rule of not compacting your soil.  But every rule (except this one) has exceptions ;).



All the broccolis:

Strange, I thought I took a picture after I applied mulch to the broccoli...  Here's a blow-up of a larger pic:

I also sowed carrots today.  Since carrot seeds are tiny and must be sown shallowly, I tried something new, modified from "Square Foot Gardening":

• Spread a thin layer of coco peat over the area.
• Depress a dowel rod (or pencil, side of a ruler, or other thin, straight-edged object) to divide square foot into partitions (in this case, 16 partitions by dividing into quarters, twice).  
• Label the square foot!
• Use dowel rod (or pencil, or other thin stick-shaped object) to make a shallow hole in the centre of each partition.  
• Sow one seed per hole.  
• Cover hole with cocopeat.  
• Water very lightly (I used the "mist" setting on my new hose showerhead).  

Plants I sowed using this method today:

• Carrots - Scarlet Nantes
• Carrots - Sweetness
• Carrots - Nutri Red
• Spinach - Bloomsdale Savoy
• Spinach - Correnta

I also spread a thin layer of cocopeat over two square feet and sprinkled some lettuce and mesclun seeds over top, then covered with thin layer of more coco peat.  

We'll see how successful this method turns out to be! (I hope it will be VERY successful!)  

Here's the 3x6 bed when I finished today.  

Back row: all broccoli

Middle row from left to right:  Spinach - Correnta, Spinach - Bloomsdale Savoy, Lettuces and Mesclun.  

Front row from left to right:  Carrot - Sweetness, Carrot - Scarlet Nantes, Carrot - Nutri Red.  

I also managed to get a sunburn!  No pics for you :)

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