Secrets to an early garden!

Needless to say some plants will only grow and thrive when the temperature, moisture, and length of day are right.  One of the problems I had for years was the frustration of finally getting the ground dry enough to work, getting my seeds out only to see birds and other varmints pull up the newly sprouted plant.  I have never been able to figure out what they are after--they don't seem to eat any part of the seedling, they just pull them out of the ground!

The solution to this was suggested by my sister-in-law's husband (thank you Mike!).  He starts his bush beans in plastic cups and transfers them to the garden after they are well established and the soil has warmed.  After three years of experimenting I have come up with what I consider the best way to do this.

I start with a sheet of 2' x 8' "lattice" obtainable from the lumber store, cut into two 2' x 4' sections for ease of handling.  I nail the lattice to a rectangle made of 1" x 4" boards as shown below.

I then take plastic yogurt cups (46 total) and drill one or two 1/4" drain holes in the bottom of each.  I line the cups with newspaper to insure that I can easily remove the plants.  I have found the easiest way to do this is to cut the newspaper into ~ 3" x 8" strips and then use one strip to hold the second strip as shown in the first figure below.  Using a misting bottle I wet the inside of the yogurt cut I am inserting the paper in and push the two together as shown in the second image below.

  While the paper is still damp I place a mixture of potting soil, soil from my garden, and some of my leaf compost into each cup as shown below.

I discovered last year that birds (and presumably other varmints) will still get to the seeds if the planter is left outside.  To stop this I make a cover which is a rectangular frame the same size as the cup holder and, using 1/4" hardware cloth, form a dome to keep undesirables out.  I found a staple gun to be the best tool for attaching the hardware cloth to the cover.

Once the seeds are planted you can decide if it is warm enough to leave the seed starter outside, or bring it in on cold evenings.  I usually place a sheet of clear plastic (visqueen, available from paint and/or hardware stores) over the top of the hardware cloth.  While this means you have to water the starts (often frequently), you have created a small greenhouse which can speed up germination.   Use caution however, since on a sunny day the temperature can  easily raise to 100+ degrees in the miniature "hothouse".

It's time!

After a terrible winter I was delighted to find my rhubarb sticking up in the middle of my back yard garden.  I can always count on it to let me know that it is time to start in earnest.

Growing the winter garden

For the past five or six years I have been extending the growing season of several leafy vegetables.  When I first started doing this the plan was to keep the kale (which actually likes lite frosts) for as long as I could in the fall.  What I found was that several vegetables will not only survive the winter but will thrive in a simple cold-frame!  Considering the number of days of below zero weather and the snow this past winter I was amazed when I realized that my three favorites (kale, spinach, and arugula) were still healthy this spring.  Looking at the images below (all taken in early March), you can see why I consider cold frames an essential part of my garden.  Not only do the hardy vegetable thrive, there are nearly NO bugs in the cold weather!

The cold frame shown here contains "Olympia" spinach, my favorite.  I find that it will not only do well from a September- October sowing, but will yield large tender leaves well into late spring/early summer.  It tends not to bolt and has done well all three years I have grown it.

Two 3"x 3"x 8' landscaping timbers are place on the ground about 18" apart.   Notice the 1/8" steel "clothesline" wire that I use to keep the clear corrugated covers from collapsing under the snow.  A Styrofoam sheet at each end keeps the cold out.  Two or three eye hooks are screwed into the landscaping timber and a length of wire attached to opposing eye hooks reduce the chance of wind blowing the cover off.

 Above are four of this years cold frames (I had six total).  While they will not supply all the leaf veggies I want for the winter, they are a wonderful addition on those days when it is warm and dry enough to harvest them.

This is what the cold frames looked like in January!

Or, if you have 3D (red/green) glasses you can check out this picture.