Harvested and Planted 3-10-12

Here are the carrots I covered and left in the ground all winter.  I cleaned up the dead leaves before taking this picture.

I pulled all of the carrots out of the ground.  I am planting potatoes in this bed.

I did not clean up the dead leaves where the beets were covered all winter.  There would have been nothing to see if I had cleaned them up.  Notice the little spot of green in the upper right quadrant.

The two beets that are good are the ones that were in a low spot and got some water.  I'm sure if I had watered them all better and more often all winter the rest would have been good instead of shriveled.

Here is what is left of my potatoes from last year.   The little ones are perfect for next years crop.  These are in the refrigerator vegetable bin all year.  Shriveled or not; I pick the whole ones with 4 to 6 eyes and plant them.

Here they are.  Seven potatoes in each row.  The beds are 6 feet long and 2 1/2 feet wide.  They are covered now with about 2 or 3 inches of soil and I put the glass cover over them also.  They were also well watered after covering with soil.

I usually plant my potatoes on St. Patrick's Day, but decided to plant on the 10th, because the afternoon was so nice.  I'm glad I did since snow is expected for the 17th.

I Started My Garden Sunday

I looked at the calendar in early February and found out that March 3 and 4 were Sunday and Monday.  Those were the best planting days for above ground crops according to the  Planting Astrology Days.  I wanted to give it a try.  Sunday afternoon I realized that March 3 and 4 were actually Saturday and Sunday.  I hurried and got out my supplies and started planting.  So much for just being lazy and having a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

I buy seeds from a place in Hidden Valley at the community yard sale every year.  Last year they said that they would no longer be selling seeds.  :(

I bought 4 little starter kits last year along with other seeds.  Some I planted the seeds that came in the starter kits and some I planted other seeds in.

This year I decided to take pictures along with writing down what I planted.  Last year I ended up with a few mixed up pots of plants.  I like to keep track of the number of seeds I plant also, so that I get an idea of germination rate.  Here are the things I planted before I covered up the seeds.

Remember to plant your seeds 2 to 3 times the depth of the seed.

Peat pots are in these tiny cups I got from the yard sale too.

Two trays of Genovese Basil started in last years pots with last years soil.

I took tall tomato starter refills and put them in this cupcake tray and planted pumpkins, gourd, and melon seeds.

Two cilantro seeds germinated in the pot that is at my front door.  One died.  I planted a seed packet in January, but kept forgetting to water them.  I planted them because there is cilantro growing in my flower beds that I didn't plant and they were ready to harvest is January.  I replanted seeds that I saved in 2010 from the plant that was in that pot that year.

Lids on containers and next to windows that get a lot of sun.

Mini greenhouses.






I got everything planted except tomatoes.  I will plant them during the light, or waxing, of the moon, so that means I need to wait until after March 22.  I am going to try planting a piece of ginger root too.  That needs to be planted during the dark, or waning, of the moon.  I can plant it this weekend since the day after the full moon is Friday.
Planting by the moon and/or Astrology dates takes a lot of planning.  This may be the only year I do this unless it is very successful.

New Pages and Page Updates

I created two new pages today.  "When do I Plant What".  This has the planting schedule in it.  Now you won't have to search for that post.  Also new is the "Planting by the Moon" page.

The February and March to do Lists are update in the "Monthly To Do List" page.

I'm ready to start planting.  Bought seeds a few weeks ago.  I'm sure I don't need them, but I can't resist.

Planting by the Moon Phases According to the Farmer's Almanac

Today I bought the Old Farmer's 2012 Almanac.  Last week I bought America's Garden and Farm Almanac at the Dollar Store. I thought I would try planting things by the moon phases.  My Grandmother used to plant by the waning and waxing of the moon.

Everything I wrote about today came out of those two books.

Here is how it works:
Plant flowers, trees, and vegetables that bear crops above ground during the light, or waxing, of the moon: from the day the moon is new to the day the moon is full.

Plant bulb flowers and vegetables that bear crops below ground during the dark, or waning, of the moon: from the day after it is full to the day before the new moon begins again.

To go into more detail you can also learn about the moon's zodiac, which is astrology not astronomy.

Aries, Taurus, Libra and Capricorn are good Fruitful Signs.  Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are water signs and assist vegetation to withstand drought and produce much fruit and grain.  Cancer is best, Scorpio is second, and Pisces is last choice to plant during.  Sagittarius and Aquarius are poor signs.  Leo, Gemini and Virgo are barren.  Leo being the strongest down to Virgo, and are best to destroy weeds.  The first day the moon is in the sign is better than the second and the second is better than the third.

Now are you thoroughly confused?

I am ready to start some herbs indoors.  So according to the almanac the best days to plant above ground crops are January 25and 26.  These days are after the new moon and the only water sign days (Pisces) before the end of the month.  The next time to plant is February 4 and 5. Those two days are Cancer and even better than the January days.  February 23 - 26 are the second best days (Pisces) in February.

This is some fun information that I will keep posted this year.

Here is a quick reference:
Aries - Rapid growth and abundant tops.
Taurus - Quick root crop growth.
Gemini - Barren. Good time to stir soil and weed.
Cancer - Quick germination, good growth and abundant yield.
Leo - Barren. All will die.  Don't plant or prune.  Good time to weed.
Virgo - Barren.  Don't plant or transplant.
Libra - Second best to Cancer.  Good plant and root growth and reasonable amount of fruit.
Scorpio - Fruitful.  Next best after Cancer.
Sagittarius - Nothing will do well.  Not a good time to plant or transplant.
Capricorn - Rapid plant and root growth, but not much fruit.
Aquarius - Nothing will grow well.
Pisces - Fruitful.  The third best sign for producing fruit.

Starting the New Year and My Ongoing Pest Problems

Saturday I inventoried all the food I had canned, and dried.  Sunday I inventoried the things I froze.  This inventory will help me decide what to plant this year.  I must say "THANK YOU" to my mom for canning beets, peaches, and spaghetti sauce and drying apples for me.  There was no fruit on my trees and I didn't get enough beets or tomatoes to can.
This year I know that I need to plant lots of cucumbers.  The pickles are getting low.
My seed catalogs are arriving in the mail and I am getting excited for a warm afternoon to start working in the garden.
I watered the garden December 27 and left it uncovered for two days.  There is enough spinach for a salad still growing.  I will harvest that and the beets this week, since it is supposed to be warm.  The beets are planted in the coolest raised bed in the garden and I want to get that bed prepared so I can get cabbage and  broccoli started there really soon.
I will get another bed or two prepared for lettuce, spinach, and peas this month too.
I keep having the feeling to start things earlier this year, so I will.  I can cover everything if needed.
Two years ago I started my lettuce and spinach in February.  Three years ago I started my lettuce, spinach, and peas in January.  Both of those years I had great crops.
I looked out into my backyard Wednesday morning and saw a rabbit sitting near the garden.  I had noticed in November that there were foot prints near my compost buckets, but I couldn't tell what they were and I wondered if something was living in my yard.  Well I guess a cottontail rabbit was.
I opened the gate and threw rocks near him, so he would head towards the gate.  He did.  He ran out my gate and under the neighbor's gate.
I scraped the driveway gravel so that it would meet the bottom edge of the gate.  I checked the fence between us and next door.  I had to fix the chicken wire in the back corner where it was pushed in.  I'm sure the rabbit could fit through that opening.
I moved the wood and rock that I had used to block the antelope squirrels from coming in behind the beehive, since it wasn't doing any good.  I ended up making a big mess instead of blocking out the critters.  The bees are all inside the hive, so it was a good time to clean.
I also found that the cat is back and has been for a while.  It has three new places it is going to the bathroom in my yard. One place is next to the fence where there isn't any tack strip.  That side of the yard was never a problem.  Thursday I got out the box of tack strip and now the fence has carpet tack strip on it except where the grapevine grows over the fence.  I need help to get it there, but I am hoping the cat doesn't decide he can climb up and down a grapevine to get into  my yard.  There is also a section of fence that backs the desert that doesn't have tack strip on it.  I don't expect him to show up from that direction.
I got the vinegar spray bottle out and sprayed all the dirt.  I've been so busy I can't believe it is already Monday.  I will get spraying again this evening and do that daily for a while. This time I hope the cat leaves for good.
Forgot to buy more tulle at the fabric store this morning.  I have enough to cover the frame on the bed while they are short, but I will need more to cover the plants as they grow.
I am going to keep the cabbage and broccoli covered with tulle from seed to harvest.  Hopefully that will help with the bug problem better.