Rogue Lettuce Seedlings and Broccoli Harvest

Well, here are my lettuce seedlings that Dan suggested I "broadcast" over the soil. I forgot about them, just left them behind the house, and they came up! Much better than those I took care of.

And here is my broccoli crop. Don't laugh. I brought it in last night because it got cold. I think I'll sautee the leaves for lunch. The wine will be an important part of this lunch.

My Poor Seedlings

This is what these poor things look like. The one on the left, romaine, may be okay (maybe it's supposed to look like that?), but the one on the right, broccoli, is unhealthy I know. It just stretches and droops. I know it doesn't get as much sun because the sun is lower in the sky, so I moved my plants out front where there is more sunlight. I can't tell yet if this tactic will work. The sun may be too much for the romaine, which looks like it's curling a little.

I'm glad I'm starting small. ;)

I Made a Wire Cage

I made this chicken wire cage following Mel's instructions (and getting my husband to build the wooden frame). I plan to use it when I need to provide protection from cold, and I planned to use 4ml plastic. But the guy at the hardware store who cut the wire for me told me I should not use plastic, but a sheet! To allow air to come in! Could this be right? It doesn't seem a sheet would provide enough warmth.

And... it's been two weeks and my leaf lettuce has still not sprouted.

Germination time is supposed to be 7 to 14 days. The broccoli, romaine, and kale have all sprouted, but not the leaf lettuce.

I'm worried. ;)

Is This Silly?

A little piece of screencloth, stapled into a cube, held in the soil with toothpicks--I don't know if this will protect the seedling. Of course I want it to let in just the right amount of sunlight.

Broccoli Germinates after 4 Days!

I promise I won't take a picture every time something sprouts, but I'm so excited that I just had to mark this event. The last few days have seen fine misty rain and not too much sun, so it was just perfect for sprouting seeds.

But now I'm worried that there is going to be too much sun, and it will hurt my delicate seedlings. I'm thinking I need some kind of shade cover for them. I read in one person's blog that she makes little cubes out of screencloth and covers each seedling with one. This would also keep the insects and other pests away. I may try this.

Garden View

This is the view the vegetables will see when they poke their heads above the soil. I hope it will encourage them to hurry up and grow!

Planted Pots

I planted broccoli (Waltham 29), romaine (Winter Density), leaf lettuce ('Green Salad Bowl'), and kale ('Dwarf Blue Curled'). These are fall and winter seeds, but I must admit I am a little late planting some of them. The leaf lettuce and kale should be fine, but I'm planting the broccoli and romaine a week or two late. Since this is my first real vegetable gardening venture, I decided to go ahead and plant them now ... and see what happens.

Seeds

I bought these seeds (1-gram sample packages) from Victory Seed Company in Molalla, Oregon (www.victoryseeds.com). This is a wonderful company that has hundreds of varieties of high-quality, reasonably priced open-pollinated and heirloom seeds.

Pots Filled and Ready to Go!

These four little pots are not exactly prescribed by Square Foot Gardening, but I thought I would wait until next spring before I buy or build some true SFG boxes. The leftover soil mix will be kept for next spring's planting.

Mixing the Soil

I'm using Mel's SFG soil mix recipe for my soil. I found vermiculite and manure compost at Flower Power here in Nashville, some blended compost at Whole Foods, and picked up some peat moss at Walker Lumber.

Where Will My Garden Grow?

This is where the garden will be, just behind the house. It may not look like a great location, but it is indeed perfect because there is more sunlight in this corner than anywhere else on our property.

Another Nashville Square Foot Garden

I discovered Mel Bartholomew's book just a few weeks ago, and I am glad to know about square foot gardening. I am excited to learn there are quite a few square foot gardeners in Nashville, and they have some great blogs. An adventure begins....