Slowly the signs of the season emerge

I'm not going to do it.  I'm not going to complain again over and over about how terrible this Spring has been so far.  About the cold.  About the endless winds...  the flurries...  and the rain.  The inches and inches of rain that keep falling day after day.  Rain that has turned everything into a muddy, unworkable mess.  Rain that (at the time of writing this) very well likely drowned the poor peas.  Nope - not gonna harp on that old news in this post.  Instead, let's talk about some of the sings that, completely contrary to today's high temperature of 38 degrees, spring appears to have sprung (or is trying to spring).

Although it might be a little difficult to see in the small version of the picture (you know you can always click on a picture to see a bigger version) the first tender shoots of asparagus have started poking up through the ground.  So hopefully in a week we will be enjoying some tasty asparagus.  If all the roots survived the winter this year, we will have a LOT to consume and will likely post on Facebook when we have some extras for sale.  Nothing says spring like fresh picked asparagus.  (Now - if you clicked on the photo - you might be asking what's that all around the asparagus.  That's chicken coop mulch.  Chickens make lots of nitrogen.  Asparagus likes lots of nitrogen.  Chickens didn't apparently eat all the corn so that's what you see.)

I forgot to snap a picture of the rhubarb but there are 4 very large planting that survived (looks like we lost the 2 smallest ones this winter).  They got the obligatory 5 gallon bucket of compost dumped on them last month and they are doing great.

In another part of the garden I was pleasantly surprised to discover that half the artichoke plants from last year (variety was Emerald) survived the winter and are putting up this years growth already.  We have not had them overwinter before but our understanding is - expect big crops off your artichokes in year 2!  now - if only they can survive sitting in all this water...  we will be all set.

All the garlic planted last fall is doing great.  We set out a bunch of different varieties and they are all doing terrific.  Tried a new planting techniques this year to hopefully help in keeping the weeds down.  Time will tell but so far this spring things look like they are in good shape.  Basically last Fall after we tilled the patch were the garlic was going to be planted we set out some of that rolled paper mulch.  We then covered the paper with a bunch of straw.  Then using a grid pattern and a had dibble (stake) we poked holes in the straw / mulch layer and dropped a clove in each hole.  Quick press with the hand on top of the hole filled it in and so far - looks like the system worked very well.

Finally...  over at the corner of the barn...  we have a special crop emerging that should offer a harvest this year.  That would be these little purple shoots you see here.  By late Summer these tall growing vines will be up the side of the barn and covered with their green "pine cone" shaped flowers.  While not directly edible they are a key ingredient in a very specific libation.  Now...  we clearly have all the water we need and a small crop of barley could be planted...  Any guess as to what might be planted here?

 

Pohooo-tayyyy-tooooeeee's

Some things in the spring time are almost like ritual rights of passage.  For example the fanfare around planting your peas.  The first things in that you hope will have a combination of the right elements in the tumultuous springtime weather and start to GROW.  They are the harbingers of all things green.  There's the starting the seeds inside and the first time some of them come out to sheltered sunshine.  And then - there's potatoes.

Cut seed potatoes (batch 1)

So simple - really no thinking...  you get good seed stock and set them out in the light for a couple of days.  When the little eyes seem like they are waking up - grab a knife and start cutting.  One or two eyes to a chunk.  Then let the chunks sit for a couple of days with the cut side up so they can scab over.

"Straight" potato furrow

Then it's off to the gardens to put in your furrows.  Straight, curved, a little wavy...  last time I checked with the potatoes - they didn't care.  just make sure you leave room between the furrows so as the season goes on there's plenty of space to keep hilling the different varieties of tasty tubers you re growing.  (Hey CSA people - at this point there are 5 differnt varites going in for you - and yes, the first picture is showing the colors right, one of them is purple).

Waiting to be covered

Once you get your rows in (for us this year that's about 500' of tuber goodness) - you just walk down the furrow with a bucket of cut spuds and drop them in the trench.  Anywhere between 6-12" apart and you are in business.  then it's as simple as spreading 3-4" of soil over the top and marking your rows.  Done.  As the season goes on I will hill the potatoes a couple of times and I'll also irrigate the space between the rows...  but overall - potatoes are pretty easy.

Why is this special...  well - after spending several months now playing with seeds that are sand grain size - it's nice to have big things to toss into the ground and watch the progress quickly (plus - I love homegrown potatoes!)

Progressive potting

Please pot us up!

All good things take time - right?  Time to grow, time to become something more...  or in the case of tomato seedlings - time to get so darn big they shade each other out, drink all their water in a day and just become generally unruly in their behaviors.  It's at that point that you know it's time to graduate them to a larger size pot.

I started all the tomato varieties this year in a 72 cell tray knowing that they would go to 4" pots and then to 1 gallon pots (if necessary).  The selection is rather eclectic too.  I went with several standard fare hybrids to help with crop production if the summer is a mess like last year with rain and blight - so there's some Celebrity, Big Girl, Sweet 100 Cherry, Roma and a couple others.  Then there's the heirloom or non-hybrid varieties...  grown not for disease resistance but rather taste and texture.  On that side we have San Marziano (go to your pasta sauce section in your local grocery store and find the most expensive can of whole tomatoes you can - you will see this variety), Brandywine, Black Krim and again - several others.

Now - the plan isn't to have all 72 tomatoes make it onto the ground - I over planted by about a dozen or so simply because you expect several to grow poorly, have issues, or just generally not be interested in feeding you.  It's like anything in nature (or what your mom always said) - there are good seeds and there are bad seeds.  That let's me select for the best growing and biggest plants.  because, they should produce more fruits (yes - a tomato is a fruit).

So what's the process?  Well - like anything - you can make it as easy or as difficult as you want to.  I opt for easy because even potting up 60 of them, plus peppers, plus everything else going on (peas, potatoes, onions and other seeds...) - time matters!

So I used a very simple system this year (hence the selection of the square 72 count flats).  I took the potting soil mix (plug in for ProMix BX) and tossed it into a big tub.  Add water, stir and let it set for about 10 minutes...  that lets the material soak up the water and swell to final volume.  Then - the process is super simple - put a short 2x2 in the middle of the pot, pack the soil around it and remove the stick.  The result is a perfect hole sized just right to place the tomato seedling down deep in and bury about 1/2 of the stem (tomatoes will grow more roots from a buried stem).

The perfect size

Once all the pots are full it then super easy to pluck the plants from their tray cells and stick them into the hole just waiting for them.  I have found over the years this plucking process works best if the soil is rather dry.  then gently squeeze around the roots and grab the base of the stem.  gently pull up as you continue to mush around  on the outside of the roots.  The whole seedling should come right out (don't yank so hard you damage the plant).

Growth FAIL

Once you are done transplanting the best of the best you will want to place the tomatoes under lights and not under direct sun.  Chances are you likely will have damaged some roots and the whole process is rather stressful for the plants - so just hedge your bets in your favor and let them have 24-48 hours without direct sun.  After that - get them under the best natural light you can offer them...  it's now time for them to really start growing!

The work goes pretty fast once you understand the process and is really rewarding to move so quickly.  I do recommend you save the cast offs for a few days just in case something bad happened during the transplanting...  a small tomato that originally seemed to be a failure might just turn out to be a savior if a bigger one didn't make it.  That said - after a few days...  well...  those little guys that didn't give it their best shot from the beginning can become compost for later in the season.