Everything has germinated as of 9/1 except for green peppers and carrots. That’s absolutely to be expected so all’s well. I did something in the garden today that I had promised myself I wouldn’t do. I thinned out the turnips and replanted the ones I thinned. It’s a tedious job and you get a high loss on transplanting root crops. But it was a coolish, overcast day with light rain forecast on and off all day. Perfect conditions for the transplants. Also, the soil where I planted the turnips is so soft that I can remove plants without totally disturbing the roots – at least that’s how I rationalize it to myself. Last season we found so many ways to eat turnips that I’m putting a lot more garden space and effort into them. Aside from mashing them with potatoes or carrots, you can roast them in the oven/Holland Grill and they’re really tasty. Depending on size, peel them or not, coat with oil, season with salt and pepper, roast for an hour and they’re perfect. I like to cook them with chicken or ribs that also take about an hour on the grill.
Update 9/3 – the green peppers started germination with about 6 plants popping out over night. So the only question mark is with the carrots and that’s to be expected. I’ve also moved all the tomato and cabbage starts from the seed beds to plastic yogurt cups. I transplanted 5 different varieties for a total of 30 tomato plants. Three varieties of cabbage for a total of 18. The plan right now with the tomatoes is to eventually move 12 to the garden proper and the rest given away to Nancy’s friends and setting aside a few for garden fallout. The cabbages will move to the garden in a couple of weeks with a few spares set aside for critter damage.
Now the real news – Barbara sold the house – aka the garden. Not labeling the change as good or bad at this time. The timing details are not set yet insofar as when she moves out and the new folks move in. I’m guessing 60-90 days as a reasonable transition time. That should translate into me harvesting beans, squash, turnips, and cucumbers. Maybe some cabbage. No tomatoes, peppers or carrots. According to Barbara, the lady of the house loves “gardening” but that probably means flowers and other distractions. I have a lot of time invested in this season but very little money since I mostly had the seeds from last season. It will probably be a month or so before I’d plant the peppers and tomatoes in the garden and by then I should know whether to go ahead as normal or buy some containers to grow them on the front porch. Who knows, maybe the new lady will be a bridge playing quilter.
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