June 3, 2009

The corn is not germinating well. One complete row has not come up. I dug down into where I expected the seeds to be. Some were not there. Others had germinated but were not ready to break through the dirt. I had to put nearly twenty new seeds in the four rows. Now, all we can do is wait.

I planted three eggplant starts yesterday. I uncovered the black plastic and watered well the day before yesterday. My starts, which had been transferred from 2 inch pots to quart pots, were almost pot-bound. It's obvious when looking at the yellowed bottom leaves.

The tomatoes are about a foot tall. I decided to keep the Remay on them because there is a constant breeze that cools the whole plot. It seems to be working. I water them once a week.

The broccoli are also growing fast. I haven't watered them at all for a week and they seem to be tolerating the heat from the black plastic. I keep expecting them to bolt, but so far, they're not.

I planted the two melons today. Their roots filled the 2 inch pots. I had watered under the plastic yesterday and made wells on the top. I didn't water them after putting them in their spot so that the roots will move toward the wetter mounds.

Monday, May 25, 2009

On Thursday, we sowed corn in four rows nine feet wide. On Friday, I went to check out the plants and added Remay to the corn section to warm up the soil there which was a good suggestion given by my plot neighbor. I noticed that the squash has germinated, just barely showing its first leaves. The view from my plot is of the CSA farm below. I took pictures of the previously developed plots and one of our new addition plots. There is a chicken coop nearby, a gorgeous barn and a huge compost pile.

May 21

I am starting this blog a few months into the season. So far to date, I have designed and marked off the 400 square feet into four equal squares using a French potager-type model. I have planted broccoli starts, squash seeds, corn seeds four tomatoes, and six peppers . I am waiting for June 10 to plant six Japanese eggplants and four melons. Sometime in June, I'll plant a winter squash. Right now, I have some areas covered in black plastic mulch: the winter squash triangle and the broccoli. The tomatoes have red plastic mulch. I made a cloche for the peppers with baling wire and Remay. So far, everything is living. I'm in the process of wrapping Remay around the tomato cages to protect them until mid-June. I'm hoping to take pictures today and upload them to my blog.