Gardening 2023

[cineater]

And it all starts over again. 

I already have onions, leaks and pansies under the lights we started late December.  I'm growing for plant sales.  Starting the seeds in groups to be transplanted later into their selling containers.  The onions and leeks are on their second cut back.  It makes them stronger to cut them back and keep them around 3 to 4 inches.  I'm running 14 flats already.  Could add another 3.  The new lights are working well.  So much lighter fixtures and the plants under them do much better.  I'm liking my rearranged growing room.  It's just nice back there with the lights and the radio going.

This one ornamental fringed kale has a weird germination process.  Soak the seeds for 12 hours, changing the water every 4 hours.  Then they go in the frig for 24 hours, dry to the touch and then planted on top of the soil with light.  The other, orn kale, looks like a rose on a stem,  just needs dark germination.  First time growing these.

[cineater]

My plans for what goes into each of the 12 pantry beds went over pretty well with just a few changes.  Need to redraw my lay out plans for each bed but I have to wait for the seed packets to be finalized so I can figure out what area they need.  I'm ready to go with the sign ups to adopt the beds.  I have 7 already adopted so I'm pretty confident I won't end up taking a bed.  Damn it I wanted one but really I don't have the time.  I don't think I like squashes but there are some pretty interesting looking ones and growing them vertically can look pretty cool too.

I'm treating it like it's a big demonstration.  It all goes in at one time and it all gets terminated whether it's finished or not to make room for the next display and then that all goes it.  It kills me to do that, terminate a plant.  I'm done at the end of summer but if someone wants to grow a fall crop, have at it, we have seeds.  Otherwise I'm cleaning up the mess.

I have to set up the watering and group harvest schedules.  Those poor folks who take the cherry tomato and bean beds can't harvest all that by themselves.

This is fun.  I'm a little on edge.   

[cineater]

The ground hasn't frozen here so I'm back out in the drain basin throwing out seeds.  Today I seeded American Beauty Bush.  One of my favorites.  I like how the berries circle around the stem.

[cineater]

Woohoo!  I have only 5 of the 12 pantry beds left to get adopted and I think I have somebody who wants the sweet potato bed.  I've only sent the email to a few people and I haven't put it out to the whole group.  I don't think I'm going to get a bed for myself.  Once again I'm so busy managing the work to be done I can't get to learning how to grow veggies.  It's good though, once I have the management all laid out anybody can take over and I can go back to managing the rest of the garden and put the educational programing into place.  I'll got that production line thing going in my head all the fucking time.

[cineater]

The onions and leeks need cut back again.     I'm seeding up the ornamental kale today.  The rose looking one I've never seen before.  If it times out right, it's headed for the flower show.  I'm going to use it in our breast cancer planter at the hospital.  And a couple of planters right outside the plant sale.  Our members are going to freak because I know they've never seen it.  It's meant to say, oh yeah I run this place, spend your volunteer time with me, I do cool shit.  Bunches of a few different colored lettuces in our show case bed last year has everybody wanting to do that this year.  It got me two new people to take over that bed this year. 

Anyway, here's the rose looking kale.

[cineater]

Woohoo, I'm down to 3 pantry beds needing people to adopt them.  The announcement for adoptees goes out in the Monday news this week so hopefully they are all adopted by next week.  But now what do I do with plan B?  The University wants us to grow up 300 fruit trees if they get a research grant.  They would have taken 4 pantry beds for that.  We'll have to break ground for a new place for them if they get it. 

And then there's plan C, downsize that garden.  That was never going to happen under my watch.  There's a few top people that's going to disappoint.  Sure I agreed to no new gardens but that is a University research project, not a garden sponsored by us.  See the difference?  Yeah it's only on paper, we'd have a new garden.  It's baby trees.  How much work is that?  They grow like weeds only slower.  We just have to keep the deer off them.  I think plan C is going to fail and maybe morph into a whole new plan.   

I think I'm about to have some fun.