Spring has definately sprung!

I suppose one reason that early man called this time of year spring was the way in which everything sort of springs up at you seemingly overnight! That was certainly true of this row of spinach and radish seed that I planted just a couple of weeks ago. Right now conditions are just about perfect for many of the crops I have planned to get a fast start. The weather is mild with cool temperatures overnight. Veggie heaven!

Say Yes to an Early Spring Salad!

Sure, it might be winter outside right now, but before you know it spring will be rushing past! That’s why even in January, I’m making seed purchases and getting ready for a fantastic garden salad harvest that will be way before my neighbors even get started!

Making this happen requires just a bit of planning, some seed starting equipment and  a small cold frame or two. (See my video on how to build a simple cold frame on You Tube). First off, you’ll want to get some seed ordered right now! I usually order mine online from one of many good outlets like Burpee Seed or Seeds of Change. My first order of the season will generally be a packet of romaine lettuce, spinach and mustard greens. (I’ll also order a packet or two of radish seed like Cherry Belle to use as markers and for an early snack as they can be ready to harvest in just 30 days).

When the seeds arrive, I’ll take a small folding table, some starter trays and a fluorescent light to begin growing my starter plants. The seed starting trays can be purchased at most garden centers or you can make your own. Just make sure to use a sterile starting medium (like Miracle Grow potting mix) to avoid disease problems like damping off.  From past experience, I will generally start about 30 seeds (a mix of romaine, spinach and mustard greens) in early February. This will generate enough salad plants early in the season to make up for the lag period while waiting for the direct seeded crops in my raised beds. These will be ready for the cold frames by mid-March. Now, since I already have romaine growing from the previous fall - (see my article Cold Frames Now Paying Off) I will just make a little room and set the tray into the cold frame for a couple of weeks or until conditions are favorable to plant in the raised beds.

In no time at all, you’ll have plenty of fresh salad greens for the table. With a little extra planning you can enjoy home grown lettuce for most of the year.

Cold Frame Update - Early January 09

Well. Well. It’s the first week in the New Year and I’ve finally harvested my first morsel of lettuce and spinach for a grand total of nine grams! Yes, I said grams. Not much to show for my efforts at this point. I also had a single radish that was about half and inch wide and weighed in at 5 grams. As I think I have pointed out in another entry, the crop is more or less in suspended animation at this time. Everything looks healthy; it’s just not growing very fast. Had planted the seed back in September instead of late October, I think I would have a lot more to eat at this time.

The radish got consumed first and tasted great! The lettuce and spinach was next. I added a small amount of iceberg lettuce and a short stalk celery, then sprinkled on some oil and vinegar. The result was a very fresh and tasty addition to my lunchtime fare.

My big hope is that as the weather moderates, I will see more and more growth. So that’s it for now. A total of 9+5 grams for a whopping total of 14 grams. My basket runnith over.

Cold Frame Plants

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update on cold frame #1 (CF1). I have romaine lettuce, spinach and radishes growing here. As you can see by the picture of a spinach plant, the plants are getting bigger. Growth is not as fast as in the summer, but in view of the below normal temperatures we have had lately (daily temps in the 50’s and nightly in the 20’s) here in southwest Missouri, I am happy they are surviving at all. For added protection, I have made sure to place covers over the frames and even have rigged up two 40 watt light sources to help keep the internal temps in the high 40’s even when it has gotten as low as 24F.

The cooler growing environment is resulting in slower growth. That’s a given. What interests me, however, is the overall effect slow growth will have on the morphology of the mature plants. I do know that in very warm conditions, plants like lettuce and spinach will have a tendency to bolt. Bolting is very common in plants like these when they begin to form flowers and seeds in response to stresses like too much drought, light and heat. I am making sure to give my plants about an inch of water per week, light in the late fall and winter is now as severe and they are definitely not getting over heated. Even under full sun, with the lids closed, I am lucky to see internal temps in the mid 60’s. So when can I expect my first harvest? Perhaps sometime in late December. That’s my best guess at this point.

CF2 on the Way!

It's now mid November 2008 and we are now entering the time of year I like the least. The next fourteen weeks will see some of the coldest weather of the year and most of the trees will be bare. Thank goodness for my cold frame with its spark of spring greenery inside. It will soon have a friend when I install a twin unit next to it. I'm in the process of painting the frame and still need to purchase a soil amendment (vermiculite)to add to the 3 cubic feet of Miracle Gro potting soil bought at a store last week. I now have three trays of plants (lettuce and spinach) that need to be planted out soon, so I need to get to it as they say. The new cold frame will be referred to as CF2 and the original CF1. CF1's plants are going great. I'll try and post a current picture sometime soon. The average temperature in that frame has been about 54F which is near the ideal temperature to grow lettuce and spinach at.

Over the next weeks they are forecasting a series of cold fronts about every other day with lows getting into the twenties. This will be a real test to see how well these guys can surviive.