After yesterday's posting blitz, I think this post will be short and sweet. Yesterday I didn't spend a lot of time in the garden, but I did get my spinach and mache in. The spinach I chitted for two days before planting. One of those days was in the fridge.
The ex-eggplant bed is now a spinach bed with rows 6' apart and seed 3" apart. I hope it germinates and the sow bugs don't kill it.
The mache seed was broadcast in the old onion bed right next to some of the fall brassicas. The variety is Golden Cornsalad. It was seed from Michelle at From Seed To Table. Last winter she offered some, but I decided not to take her up on it because it is not as hardy as most mache. Then when she collected seed again this summer, I looked the plant up. It turns out it is hardy to zone 6. Whoohoo! That is my zone. So I got some and will find out if it is really hardy here.
This is the last of the seeding for the fall. If anything else gets seeded it will be a cover crop. I'm a little worried that I'm too late for fall spinach, but I figure worse comes to worse, I'll just try to over winter it. I might try to over winter it anyway. I'm always dying for fresh veggies from the garden in spring and I usually don't get much until May.
That reminds me, I need to sow my fall mache planting now also. I hope the Golden Cornsalad does well for you and even more important, that you like it. Do you grow spinach mostly for salad or do you cook it? I can never seem to grow enough for cooking.
ReplyDeleteSome of my mache plants stayed tiny until March, then they came on like gangbusters. I believe some of them germinated in the early spring too. Whether it over-winters or starts early, you're going to have more green in your life when you need it most. Can't wait to hear how it goes...
ReplyDeleteThis year I have about 8 Kale planted, especially for our bunny. *grin*
ReplyDeleteI envy people living in lands of four seasons... you tend to be very articulate about gardening, timing and all. Growing is tied and pushed within confinement of seasons.
ReplyDeleteHere we don't really do that. There is only one, a year long hot and humid season... Hope your plants will race up before autumn really steps in.
Happy gardening,
~bangchik
Good luck, fall planting will bring winter blessings! Kim
ReplyDeleteLooking good as always, Daphne! Abundance to you!!!
ReplyDeleteI seeded spinach and mache around Aug 15th, I've been thinking I should have seeded Aug 1st. I am in the same boat thinking it may not provide much until early next spring. I was looking back on my blog and I was harvesting radishes in Nov last year so the greens may produce something this fall.
ReplyDeleteI love having an overwintered crop of spinach. I try to do a fall crop that is for fall/early winter eating and a big bed of spinach that is purposefully overwintering. I am hoping to plant that crop this weekend. If I time it right they will be emerged and well started but not mature at the time the cold dark days shut down the growth. They then just winter over in that limbo status - ready to spring forth with new growth when February arrives and the weather starts moderating and the day length increases. By March we are swimming in spinach which is the really lean months of the garden.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I like my spinach cooked. No one else in the family will touch it so I just need enough for me. It does take quite a bit to boil down to a reasonable amount, but last spring I have it a good 4'x4' spot and it gave me 2 1/2lbs of spinach. I might do more next spring. I used the spot that was to be the three sisters garden and that didn't need planting until May so it took up a lot of wasted early spring space.
ReplyDeleteJune, I hope it works out well. I still haven't planned next year's garden (obviously) so I'm hoping the spaces I gave them will work in the plan. I suppose the garden will be planned around them.
keewee, I've yet to eat kale. I have some planted this year. Just a couple of small plants, but at least I'll get to taste it.
Bangchik, I messed up my timing so often in the past. Usually that means they crop is just starting to go when the frosts hit. Sometimes I envy those that can garden year round. You always can eat fresh food from the garden. But then I get to fall and think that it would be nice to have a break. In the winter I start envying you again :>
inadvertent farmer, thanks.
our friend Ben, thanks.
Dan, I was harvesting in November too, but I remember it was a really warm November. Last year I wasn't growing any of those fall crops that can handle the deep freezes. This year I have kale, spinach and mache so hopefully my harvests will be a bit longer.
kitsapFG, I wish I had done a crop just for fall eating, but I had no space to plant it. I'm thinking maybe I should underplant my tomatoes with mache and spinach earlier in August. It is always so hard to find an empty spot in the garden in August.