Month: October 2011

In The Doghouse. Er, I Mean, The Greenhouse

Oh yes.  We went there.

This week Andy had some extra time off and he really needed a project.  I asked him to make a simple plant stand for my rosemary plant, and somehow over the three days he didn’t work, that turned into a greenhouse for Garden Bed Number One.  Here’s some pictures.

There is still kale and swiss chard thriving in this bed, and a few carrots that need more time to mature.  In addition, one lone Lemon Drop cherry tomato plant is still plugging along.

Today Andy put the door on and then put a thermometer inside.  When the sun was bright and shiny it was 76 degrees, despite the 45 degree exterior!  So that got me thinking, and it didn’t take me long to decide I needed to play around and see just what a greenhouse could do.

Of course I planted something!  I planted three varieties of radish, a bit of broccoli raab and then a bit of spinach.  I guess I’m not sure what to expect of any of them- I suppose that will depend on how the temperatures go for the next while.

To be completely honest, I’m not sure what to expect.  I’ve read quite a bit about growing in a greenhouse, but never actually expected to give it a shot, so we’ll see what happens.  I’m thinking that I’ll be able to use it to extend the season by about  a month on either end of the growing season.  I’m really not expecting much out of the seeds I planted, but I guess you never really know until you try.

October Planting

Planting in October?  You bet!  A few weeks ago Andy finished assembling a small raised bed for my garlic.   I think that ideally, I should have planted the garlic three weeks ago, but I don’t think the bed was ready at that time, and I also really haven’t had two seconds to myself to do so.  But today I did.  I had purchased a huge sack of garlic at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market back at Labor Day that has just been waiting for planting.  I’ve used a good deal of it, but happened to save the perfect amount of cloves to fit into the bed.

Of course, you can’t see anything but the bed and dirt, but the cloves are in there.  It’s a Siberian variety- delicious and crispy- the bulbs are compact and on the small side- most have only between 4-6 cloves of garlic.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the next generation turns out!  I topped my freshly planted cloves with a nice layer of homemade compost, and here’s to hoping that next fall I am busily braiding my own string of garlic!

I also took a minute today and dug up my Tarragon and my Rosemary plants.  I transplanted them into pots with some compost, and I’m hoping I can keep them alive in the house over the winter.  We’ll see, I don’t have very much sun in the windows, but I’m hopeful.   I need a small plant stand or two to set in this corner window for them.

I expect the Sage, Lemon Thyme and Thyme to survive the winter intact.  The Lovage I think I’ll be harvesting and drying.  But maybe if I find another pot with a bottom I’ll dig it up and add it to the indoor collection.  My Summer Savory died quite a few weeks back- even before it got cooler out,  so I’m not sure what happened there.   If I get a chance I would like to make a batch of pesto out of the basil, but I’m not sure when and if I’ll have time.

The rest of the garden is still hanging out, though I have some clean-up to start focusing on.  I have beets and carrots all over the place that I will think about harvesting soon.  The kale is looking gorgeous, as is the chard, so I’ll just leave those and pluck them as I desire.  I still pick a few handfuls of green beans here and there- plenty for the kids to snack on, so they’re happy.  And I’m also still harvesting tomatoes- and quite a few at that!

They’re not the prettiest- they’re pretty much all cracked, but once you cut the cracks off, they’re perfect for adding to soups or stews.   The Lemon Drop cherries and the Black Cherries are still going, so we’re still delighting in snacking on those as well.  Today my Woodle Orange plant surprised me with a cluster of four ripe and orange tomatoes.  Those ones are not cracked- so we’ll have a few slicers out of those ones.

My leeks are continuing to struggle, and I’m unsure if I should harvest them and use them as babies, or let them winter over and see if the come back in the spring.  It just wasn’t a good year for them, I guess.

While the gardening season is meandering to a close, my thoughts are already turning to next year.  What to plant, what to plant, that is the question.  I’m researching the possibility of joining a CSA when we get our tax return in the spring.  Then, we will utilize the CSA veggies for everyday eating, and then I can use the garden to focus on what I would like to preserve.  Like planting onions, peppers and tomatoes for salsa, cucumbers and dill for pickles, and cucumbers and tomatoes for eating fresh out of hand.  We’ll see.  I have to find out more about the CSA that has a drop off just a few blocks from our house.