Monthly Archives: April 2010

Before and After

Despite the recent snow, and the threat of more snow in the next few days, we decided to start planting things outside. We figure we can cover them a week or two to protect against frost. But seriously, why are we still getting frost when it’s almost May?!? But I digress.

After I uploaded the photos to the computer today, I clicked on the “Last 12 Months” short cut in iPhoto to see how this year’s garden is shaping up compared to last year’s garden. I was amazed at the difference. I guess those Master Gardener classes Charmaine took last fall are really paying off!

Planted outside this week:
16 Roma Tomatoes
18 Jalapeno Peppers
6 Squash
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Onions (from seed)
Beets (from seed)

Snowy Thursday

It snowed this morning. That’s right. It snowed. With most my plants outside, trying to harden up, I have been watching the news every night. First they said it would snow, and I was ready to move my plants back inside. Then, last night they changed their minds and said it wouldn’t freeze. No snow, just rain. I decided to leave a few things outside, but bring most of it in (I don’t really trust the news). That proved to be a good choice. The good news is that everything seems to have survived.

Snowy April

Peas and Potatoes

It suddenly turned warm this week, and we found ourselves planting peas and potatoes. We planted 2 beds of potatoes and a few short rows of peas. After planting 6 rows of peas, I wasn’t able to tell which bag of peas I had used… it’s clear to me that we bought way too many peas (seems the cashier at IFA was right). We tilled two of the raised beds from last year to plant the potatoes.

At a certain point, when you’re hobby grows to a certain size, you have to ask yourself, “is this still a hobby?” I’m not really sure anymore. We were in Herriman for a birthday party, so we hit the Home Depot there… and they still had our favorite shop lights in stock, so we picked up 4 more. We have 16 (sixteen!) shop lights hanging from our racks. I don’t think we’ll need any more.

I decided to do a full count of what’s growing this week:

Large pots:
33 Roma Tomatoes
24 Jalapeno Peppers
18 Poblano Peppers
16 Cascabella Peppers
12 Banana Peppers
3 Winter Squash (pumpkins or banana)
2 Anaheim Peppers

Medium starter pouches:
21 Sweet Red Peppers
21 Tomatillos
20 Brandywine Tomatoes
19 Big Boy Tomatoes
18 Orange Sun Peppers
12 Sweet 100 Tomatoes
12 Big Jim Peppers
11 Habanero Red Peppers
11 Hungarian Wax Peppers
10 Big Bertha Peppers
10 Jalapeno Peppers
10 Peperoncinis
10 California Wonder Peppers
10 Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
9 Anaheim Peppers
7 Eggplants
6 Winter Squash (pumpkins or banana)
4 Poblano Peppers

Tiny sprout starter:
48 California Wonder Peppers
40 Anaheim Peppers
12 Jalapeno Peppers

Sold Out

I must be crazy. I have 12 shop lights hanging on 2 racks. I would have more, but the style of shop light I have been buying is out of stock at both the local Home Depot stores in my area. That’s right, I have to wait for Home Depot to restock before I can buy any more (unless I break down and buy some other style). And I’m already chomping at the bit to get 4 more. I must be crazy.

Not a lot has changed this week, other than adding the two lights. Charmaine came home from San Diego and we re-potted a bunch of peppers (which only adds to my need to get more lights). But she also brought the camera back, so the pictures should be better quality (or at least higher resolution).

There are too many sprouts to list now, or at least more than I’m willing to count. Some of the 12×24 planter (with the terrible jiffy soil) have finally sprouted, and I’m just not willing to count them anymore until they are re-potted.

Potted in large containers:
33 Roma Tomatoes
24 Jalapeno Peppers
18 Poblano Peppers
16 Cascabella Peppers
12 Banana Peppers
3 Winter Squash (I should have kept track of what squash I was planting)
2 Anaheim Peppers

Easter Project

Charmaine packed up and headed to San Diego this morning, so I spent the day putting together a second baker’s rack and a few more lights. I also transplanted the first round of tomato seedlings into bigger pots. The first round of peppers are probably ready to be transplanted as well, and I have enough dirt and pots for them, but I’ll need more lights before it makes sense to do. The dirt for the transplant is some new Miracle-Gro potting mix that we picked up at IFA. There was no way I would sacrifice any more plants to the sure-death Jiffy soil.

One thing I didn’t count on was being without a camera today (Charmaine took it to San Diego), so you’ll have to settle for pictures from the world’s worst camera (my iPhone).

Sprouted so far:
33 Roma Tomatoes (we removed 3)
22 Jalapeno Peppers
21 Orange Sun Peppers
20 Big Boy Tomatoes
19 Brandywine Tomatoes
15 Banana Peppers
14 Poblano Peppers
12 Peperoncinis
12 Sweet 100 Tomatoes
11 Habanero Peppers
11 Tomatillos
10 California Wonder Peppers
10 Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
9 Anaheim Peppers
7 Squash (What was I thinking?)
1 Eggplant
0 Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers
0 Big Bertha Peppers
0 Sweet Red Peppers
0 Big Jim Peppers