Planting Peas

Tomatoes under my lights!

Although it is supposed to be cold this weekend, if you haven't planted peas, you need to get on this. If you want spring peas, I planted sugar snap peas so I can eat them pod and all in stir fries. I will probably plant another round of peas mid-August to preserve. I soaked them overnight and planted them about two inches apart and one inch deep. I did not use an innoculant. I'll track my yield. My two rows are about nine feet long.

As I mentioned, I planted fifteen hills of Yukon Gold potatoes. I dug holes about eight inches across and deep and 18"-24" inches apart. I have them in an area I can water easily. Potatoes like grapes need plenty of water. I cut whole seed potato into sections, each bearing two to five eyes, about one and a half inches by one and a half inches by a couple inches. I placed one section in each hole. My row is about 24 feet long. I only press about an inch of deep down on top of the potato section so I can hill it up as it grows.

In front of the potatoes, I have a red leaf loose leaf lettuce, 'Little Fingers' Carrots, and French Breakfast radishes. I even planted the carrot is a short day variety, so I will be harvesting this stuff before my potatoes start to take up all the space.

That parsley I though was faking life? It has new growth, as does the oregano. Especially as it reached 80 degrees on Sunday and the parsley got "warm". I have to consider it passed the "warm and dead clause" and has effectively established it's biennal self in my yard. This parsley was the Italian flat-leaved variety (versus the curly type), if any of your are looking to have perennial parsley in Wisconsin.

I also intersowed my garlic with black annual poppies. I think the curly heads of the garlic will be attractive above the blooms of the poppies.

I planted out spinach without hardening them off, with no apparent ill-effects, which is something to remember.

I could also have planted out some of my other cole crops: kales, cabbage, broccoli, and probably will in the next couple days.

I should have my tiny cold frame together and I could have planted fennel and dill already as well.

Best Practices in the Vegetable Garden

Picture of the Day: last year's parsley!

It's not dead, until it's warm and dead!

Working in the garden yesterday, I uncovered last year's parsley. Parsley is not perenial here. It sure looks alive though. I guess I can hope.

Over the last couple years I have been trying to come up with the best practices and best seed selections for vegetable gardening in central Wisconsin. If you have any ideas or something that worked really well for you I am interested in hearing about it. I believe the best gardeners are observant gardeners.

I saw someone was looking for information on whether thunderstorms are good for the flower and vegetable garden. Our "air" is like 70% nitrogen (according to my chemistry-nut son). (Regardless, of whether he has his percent right, it is a big percentage.)

When it drizzles and gently rains for a long period during a day, it is gently bringing that nitrogen down to the soil so it is accessible to your plants. It is not your imagination that everything seems greener after a gentle spring rain. It is not only having all the moisture they need, but the extra nitrogen which is responsible for greening up foliage.

The flip side of rain is when it is torrential, it pushed the nitrogen down through the soil and away from the plants and their roots. I've seen corn, a big nitrogen lover, go from a nice blue green to a sickly yellow green after a period of excess and torrential rains. I'm sure many of you have seen corn that was fairly yellow looking in standing water or flooded areas.

So if it is nice gentle rains, like I imagine they typically have in Britain, it's all good. Those torrential rains we have had often the last few years in the Midwest, not so good.