More Planting in the Vegetable Garden
Fresh, organic produce will soon be growing in my vegetable garden.
Planting is in full swing here at my farm. My vegetable garden is looking excellent this season. We already planted several rows of wonderful and nutritious crops that were started from seed in my greenhouse. Most recently, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, planted many seeds directly into the soil - seeds for carrots, turnips, parsnips, radishes, beets and more.
Enjoy these photos. What vegetables are growing in your garden this year? Share your gardening comments below.
-
- Ryan labels wooden markers for our crops. He already planted artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. Now he will plant the seeds for the rest of these vegetables. I am very fortunate to have the room to plant so many different and delicious vegetable varieties.
-
- Most of our seeds come from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Johnny’s has been farming organically for more than 40-years and offers hundreds of varieties of vegetable, herb, flower, and fruit seeds for the garden. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/
-
- I am so proud of the soil in our beds – it is so rich and filled with nutrients. All the beds have been well-prepared for the season’s crops.
-
- Ryan uses this bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to create furrows in the soil. Hard plastic tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows.
-
- It’s a cleverly designed tool for making multiple straight rows in one pass. The depth of the furrows depends on the amount of pressure placed on the rake as it moves through the soil.
-
- Ryan places a tape measure alongside the bed, so he can space the varieties of each vegetable evenly.
-
- Next, Ryan decides the order the seeds will go in the bed.
-
- Some of our carrot varieties include ‘Mokum’, ‘Hercules’, ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Malbec’. ‘Mokum’ carrots have attractive, slender roots. They grow to about five to seven inches with short tops.
-
- This is an Intervale Seed and Plant Spacing Ruler from Gardener’s Supply Company. This works great for smaller gardens. It is well labeled and includes its own dibber for making seed holes right through the ruler. goo.gl/MtfHqb
-
- Ryan pokes the dibber through the appropriate hole to create an indentation.Then he drops one or two seeds through the opening – it’s very easy to use.
-
- Because we have 44-beds in this garden, it is easier and faster for Ryan to drop the seeds directly into the furrows.
-
- The seeds are very small – it’s hard to believe these tiny seeds produce such beautiful vegetables within weeks.
-
- Ryan then covers the seeds with a thin sprinkling of backfilled soil.
-
- Here, Ryan plants our turnips. We always plant several varieties. This year, some of them include ‘Hakurei’, ‘Niseko’, and ”Milan’. ‘Hakurei’ are best harvested young, up to two-inches in diameter. Eaten raw, the flavor is sweet and fruity, and the texture is crisp and tender.
-
- This season’s swiss chard varieties include ‘Barese’, ‘Bright Lights’, and ‘Bright Yellow’. ‘Barese’ is a dwarf variety and can be grown for exceptionally tender baby greens, or grown to maturity for an early crop.
-
- After Ryan plants several beds, he goes over the bed with the back of a rake to ensure all the seeds are covered and the beds are tidy.
-
- The chicken yard is adjacent to the vegetable garden. My chickens love watching all the activity around the farm – perhaps they’re hoping for a few greens to be thrown their way.
-
- Ryan also plants some Asian cabbage in the garden. Chinese cabbage can refer to two groups of Chinese leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group and the Chinensis Group. This is ‘Victory’ – a sweet, tangy, and juicy variety. Behind it, we planted ‘Red Dragon’ – a new full-sized variety with 10-inch heads that are bright red, inside and out. It is slightly stronger in taste and great for salads, stir-fries, and kimchee.
-
- Ryan lines them up equally down each row before planting – everything is straight and well-spaced.
-
- And here is our kale, Brassica oleracea. We grow both green and purple kale varieties. These were grown from seed indoors.
-
- Once again, Ryan uses a tape measure to ensure the rows and columns are as straight as possible.
-
- Ryan is using my Martha Stewart gloves from QVC. I love these gloves. These breathable garden gloves feature nitrile-coated palms for a handy, nonslip grip and are available in black, mint and slate. You can see them on the QVC web site. http://www.qvc.com/Martha-Stewart-3-Pair-Non-Slip-Grip-Garden-Gloves.product.M55935.html
-
- I am so pleased with this season’s crops. We still have lots of room to plant more seeds in the coming weeks. I am already looking forward to the first harvest.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
