RKayne's Blog

Almost time!
Jan 17, 2008 | 10:56 AM PST
Tags: triple curled parsley , compost , companion planting , tomatoes , kohlrabi , Walla Walla Onions , cold frame , garlic

We are in zone 7B here. Almost time to gear up! I have a couple of the large boxes that salad comes in so am going to introduce our youngest to cold framing. He is going to grow Kohlrabi this year so it looks like, the best bet, would be to go ahead and cold frame the starts at the end of this month, beginning of next as our last frost SHOULD be about March 24th.

The other item he is going to grow is Walla Walla sweet onions. He got the area ready and composted in Fall so they will have he perfect setting and I plan to place them randomly as they also lend to being a pest deterrant.

I need to get a new pic of my Parsley, you can't see it between the last of the tomatoes there but it has gone plumb crazy with the nice cold weather, beautiful tufts of green-ness, like giant green snowballs (the pastry...if you can call them that, haha). I had put it in for two reasons, one, I love fresh parsley, but more so for the fact that parsley and tomatoes are companion plants. I had the added benefit of having something nice and green through these winter months on my side.

Interestingly enough, the garlic (this hedges his space, sides and back, random side and back on my side) decided to come up with our warm snap. Nature came to her sense and was all over the being winter again these past few days and the garlic does not seem to care so maybe it will just keep going. G there is excited as this is the first results he is seeing for all his hard work, he went out the other day  'just to look at the garlic'.  Hard to teach an 8 year old patience but he has been pretty good at it (or he just kinda forgot for a bit, hehe).

Fall goodies
Sep 11, 2007 | 11:28 AM PST
Tags: brussel sprouts , Walla Walla , Sweet Onions , tomato , compost , manure , cold frame , broccoli , Bloomsdale Spinach , kohlrabi , sugar snap pea seeds , early radish seeds , forced bolting
Got our youngest excited about doing some cold weather planting, now I just have to figure out what else to put in when the tomato's are done!   I know  I will be planting some Walla Walla onions in between the maters as they need to be there now, and then get some of the best sweet onions in the world come spring.  But for G-man's spot, there are the sugar snap peas that are done, and I need to go pick the seed off of them and the early radishes I forced to bolt for next spring and clear it out.  He will help, he seems to love it (YAAAY!).  So, we will clear it, take down the trellis and stir in some compost and manure.  I got him some broccoli and brussel sprout seed, and there was something else!  And I can't remember! OH! YES! PURPLE KOHLRABI! He is going to love this, wanted stuff he likes that has odd appearances, these will suffice, hehe.  As the tomatoes are finishing (I have time) I Will probably throw spinach in..fresh spinach, yum!  I am on the lookout for some material to make a cold frame as that is move able, we may lease on for the next year but if not I want to be able to move it!  That would be a fun one for our youngest, he would get a kick out of the early growers and fresh lettuce all winter, this little guy can't get enough salad and he eats brussel sprouts with me, no one ELSE in the family will, haha.