Carrot Problems

I just got home after a weekend trip and found the last container of carrot seeds I had planted had a hole dug in it. It's not that tall, so I'm thinking a squirrel climbed in there. The seeds hadn't sprouted yet, so I'll have to wait till they do to see how much damage was done. Half of the carrot seeds I'd planted in small containers for my mom had met some mysterious demise over the weekend, so I stuck the remaining ones in a large container and also tried thinning out one of my containers and transplanting the ones I pulled out. With such small, delicate root systems, I don't know if any of them will survive. If not, I'll toss some more seeds in there.

I dug up one of the cloves of garlic in my attempt to put it in a larger container. At first I thought all I had was a container of ants, but the clove was down in there, looking pretty much the same as when I stuck it in, only dirtier.

Lettuce be happy

Here's the lettuce that has sprouted. I think the other seedling may be starting to poke through the dirt too. I planted a couple more today for mom.

Here's what I've got:

Lettuce
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5137/
heads 5 inches
50 days to harvest

Broccoli
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5836/
heads 6-8 inches. plant 16 inches high/wide.
66 days to harvest

Carrots
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5879/
6-7 inches long
62 days to harvest

Onion
http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5208/
125 days to harvest

One of These is Not Like the Others

The soaker hose did the trick- my plants were happily growing upon my return today. To the right is a photo of one of the broccoli plants which had a growth spurt while I was gone. Before I left I stuck a couple lettuce seeds in a pot just to see what they'd do. I thought it might be too hot still, but one of them has sprouted. The onions look about the same.

The carrots have also been growing. I am curious what these other little seedlings are that have sprouted in both the carrot pots and one of the onion pots. I haven't decided yet whether to pull them out or see what they turn into. See the middle of the photo below for the odd man out.

Soaker Hose

I picked up a soaker hose today to try to irrigate the plants when I'm out of town (and probably when I go back to work too so the ground will stay moist). It's not a perfect solution, but it'll do for now. As you can see in the photo my carefully laid out carrot seeds in the square container shifted some in the dirt, but more little seedlings appear every day. The other photo is of two of the onions.

The composter is still producing flies and curious neighbors. Another lady stopped on the corner as she was driving by this afternoon and apologized for asking, but wanted to know what it was. That was about five minutes after the lady across the street came over and asked. It is unique looking. It's slowly migrated toward the front yard too as I try to move it into full sun to help with the decomposition, thus making it visible to anyone driving by.

Specks of Green

More little seedlings have popped up in the carrot containers over the past couple days. A couple of the onions sprouts also made an appearance since yesterday.

Lots of Flies

Almost a week into my first composting experience I can't say much for any progress actually producing compost but I've increased the fly population in my yard exponentially. They literally swarm out of the composter when you unscrew the top. I'm hoping as things decompose a little more in there it'll get better. I've got what I believe to be a pretty even mix between greens and browns- fruit/veggie scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and newspaper/cardboard. I've wetted it down as best I can (water just flows out of the seams at the bottom when I dump any more in). It's sitting in the sun. All that's left is time. For now though the only good thing I can say about it is that it doesn't smell. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the plastic containers in the kitchen we've been putting the kitchen scraps into. They smell terrible when you crack the lid on them and actually even sorta reek even with the lid on if you sniff at them. It's a smell I just had not experienced before.

As for more pleasant matters, the three little broccoli seedlings are looking good... as good as a two centimeter tall stalk with a couple leaves can look anyway. There are a few wispy little green shoots in one of the carrot containers that may be carrots. There are none in the other container though, so I don't know. The broccoli I planted for Mom hasn't sprouted either. I've also forgotten what container I planted it in, so I've been peering at all of them and whispering encouraging messages.

The aloe babies I transplanted into old yogurt containers are looking much more greenish than brownish, so I'm taking that as a positive sign that I didn't kill them in the transplant. I'm thinking I either pulled them a bit too early or gave them too much water at the beginning.

Hello Broccoli

The three broccoli seeds I planted have all sprouted. Look close right in the middle- they are tiny! It's the first sign of growth for my fall garden, so it's very exciting. The carrots and onions have longer germination periods.

Starting My Fall Garden

Yesterday my seeds from Park Seed in SC arrived as well as the garlic I ordered from www.thegarlicstore.com. I planted a few containers each of carrots, onions, broccoli, and garlic.

I put the carrots in my two largest containers and did my best to spread out the seeds, but as tiny as they are it was tough. Keeping them moist might turn out to be a full-time activity since right now I'm watering (more like misting) them with a spray bottle.

I have three containers each of onions and broccoli and am planning on one piece of produce for each container. Finally, I did a window box with three cloves of garlic that I bought and then another container in which I stuck a clove from Trader Joe's just to see if it would sprout. I stuck some of the other cloves I purchased in the fridge as the tip on the instructions that came with them suggested, and I'll plant those in a couple weeks. There's still a little space in my reinvented garden cage, so perhaps I'll do another couple containers of broccoli then too or perhaps the lettuce. I'm considering waiting until Spring for the lettuce. Right now I think it would be too hot for the seeds to germinate.

And yes, you read that right, the garden cage has risen again from the tangled mess of bent screen I found when we got back from vacation due to a storm that hit while we were gone. I picked the three straightest screens of those remaining and turned them on their sides and attached them together to create a tunnel of sorts. Then I closed the ends with some chicken wire-type material. I didn't have enough to full enclose one end so there's a gap at the top. I haven't decided yet if I should worry about that. I also haven't staked the new structure down, which I'll need to do before the first wind comes along. When I do that though I'll lose all physical access to the plants since I don't have a door like I did with last season's taller garden cage. All issues to be worked out in the future...

Composting Death Star

I just got an early birthday present- a composter! It's an Ecomposter and looks kinda like a big hamster ball. Just as I finished putting it together (no small task) a couple that lives down the street pulled up on the corner. They stared out at it a minute and then rolled down the window and the wife asked what it was because they couldn't guess. I'm excited to give it a try, although I'm not sure how long it'll take to get some usable compost since we don't generate a lot of fruit and vegetable scraps. It took a couple hours to put together and cost $100 on woot.com, so I hope it turns out to be a good investment. If nothing else it's sort of an interesting lawn ornament...