It's pepper, tomato, squash, beans, and corn time

Since I last wrote, garden activities have quickly shifted to summer mode. Almost all of the brocolli is finally out of the greenhouse. I have three plants left to be used as replacements if I were to lose any that are in the garden. So far, all are performing well. So I will have to find some place to squeeze these guys in. Throwing away garden seedlings is something terribly painful for me. Yet it is wise to plant extras because sometimes there is loss in the garden.

I transplanted the last of the cauliflower and brussels sprouts over the past week.

I planted a batch of 60 day yellow sweet corn mixed with purple bush beans last Saturday. I set out summer squash and pole bean hills which are started in the greenhouse in gallon pots on a regular basis now. These are ready for transplant when all three squash plants are up and have their first adult leaf. The beans are usually more than ready and are already sending out runners by the time the squash gets its first adult leaf.

Almost all the turnips are gone now. The last six will go out this weekend. The first ones I planted almost a month ago are starting to produce bulbs as are the Rutabagas. All the fennel has been set out.

I have also set out four tomato plants. It is a bit early for tomatoes especially this year when it has been so cold. But the plants have outgrown their gallon pots and are starting to show stress. They respond by flowering. This is not good because the plant needs to remain in grow mode and not flower until much larger. So I pinch off the flowers and out they go. Ideally, I would like to wait another week. Over the next ten days, all of the tomatoes will be transplanted into the garden.

The next big event is the garden planting of 90 day Kandy corn and Silver Queen corn mixed with carrots and pole beans. This will be done before the weekend is over- maybe tomorrow (Friday April 13).

I continue to transplant pepper and eggplant seedlings from the six packs into gallon pots. The first early Gypsy peppers will be set out around Mother's day. All will be in the garden by the first of June.

The 2007 leek is just coming up in flats located in the greenhouse. Note that I produce most of my own leek seed. I occasionally buy a seed pack just to keep some diversity. I still am transplanting onions as last year's carrot ground from which I am still digging carrots becomes available. It is very late for onions. These last guys may choose to go to seed before bulbing. If they do, then I harvest them as bunching onions. Fortunately, I have a bunch already in the garden which should bulb just fine - I hope.

I will continue to start hills of summer squash throughout the summer. The first of the winter squash won't get planted until late May or early June. I delay planting of winter squash in order to maximize the finding of squash bugs among the summer squash. As I have stated before, if you smash a squash bug, it puts out a strong aroma which attracts more squash bugs. Squash bugs like both winther and summer squash but do little damage to the summer squash plants or fruit. However, they can be devastating for winter squash. Plus I don't mind a late harvest of winter squash because we don't eat them until late fall anyway. I still have a lot of winter squash from last year stored in the patio.

Except for the squash, greenhouse vegetable garden seeding is finished until September when I start the first of the 2008 cauliflower. I take this time to start flowers and herbs in the greenhouse. I will start Mexican sunflowers in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, when they are ready to be transplanted in late May, the wildflowers will have died down in the flower garden providing space for the sunflowers. I just don't have it in me to pull out blooming wildflowers. So the sunflowers will have to wait.

That's it for now.

danh