More boring gardening talk

[urocyon]

I got back from Homebase a little while ago. Hiking there and back, I was reminded again of the West Virginia Temperature Conversion Chart*. I only saw one other person out in short sleeves, though it's now about 57°F/14°C. All the jackets were a tad disorienting.

The trip was ostensibly for some gardening tools. Besides the trowel and garden fork, I was compelled to take home a few plants. This happens frequently. Yay for herbs!

I'd planned to plant some seeds today, but it now seems that transplanting is needed as well. The job may become interesting, since I managed to leave the store without a watering can.

Working with a small garden seems challenging, with the more careful planning required. What I'm used to dealing with isn't particularly large, but more plants can always be worked in, even it means digging another bed. A major advantage is that this should be far easier to keep watered and weeded--one of my weak points, especially when it's hot. Sorting through the bag of assorted seeds I threw in my luggage, it struck me that I think I have a reasonable idea how a number of flowers and herbs might do, but no clue how some vegetables should grow in a cooler climate with different sunlight intensity. Seeing how the couple I'm planting turn out should also prove interesting. I'll have to wait until next year to find out, but I do suspect that some of the old mountain tomato varieties which are nicely adapted to cool springs and nights may do reasonably well. Direct-seeded basil is a mystery, since the soil is unlikely to get very warm soon. The raised beds might help with that, though. I can see that I need to investigate further and do a lot more reading.

A bit of exercise and plant acquistion made for a good start to the day.


* Of course, the author(s) avoided an important bit:
+85°F
North Carolinians, Georgians, Texans, and Californians happily drive around with the windows down.
People in West Virginia submerge themselves in the nearest body of water like hippos, if they venture outside air conditioning.

No, I don't think I'll miss summer temperatures hovering around that point. :)

Comments

[vatine]

I've frequently used either creamic jug-thing (currently, I think, in the library) or one or other of the measuring things (there's a 1.5-or-2l plastic and a smallish glass one) instead of a watering can.

[urocyon-c.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I wound up using the "big pot and a cup" method--gentle enough to avoid washing seeds all over the place, I hope. I did get some dill planted. :) With any luck, overseeding from that old packet should do it.

[urocyon-c.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, some of that wood in the back has actually turned out to be useful. A few pieces looked just right for tomato (and other tall plant) stakes. :)

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

We're happy to compare notes. Been growing veg of varying descriptions in the UK (including London) for a few years now. Runner beans and tomatoes seem to do very very well, especially if they are started out in a seed tray and then planted out later in the warmer weather. Not had much luck with carrots or other root veg in London, but the herbs went ballistic and spread all over the place.

[urocyon-c.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Your experiences with tomatoes and beans are reassuring--I went ahead and picked up a couple of tomato plants earlier, since summer just isn't complete without fresh tomatoes. *g* We were also considering using some scarlet runner beans and possibly Kentucky Wonder pole beans for a useful screen against next door. Walls with trellising at the top seem very handy. :)

Have you grown cucumbers here, out of curiosity? It seemed a shame not to try running a couple of plants up a section of wall with decent sun.

It sounds like my thoughts about perennial herbs were close to the mark; the milder climate here should encourage earlier spring recovery and a longer active growth period. Rampant herbs--and not having to worry about more tender ones like rosemary--are certainly welcome!

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

I managed to propogate only one cucumber plant year before last, and only got one fruit from it... mind you, I wasn't exactly looking after it at the time, and it got swamped by the 17 or so tomato plants I ended up with - these were all grown from seed as well, so a seedling plant may give better results.

[vatine]

Cucumber would be funky. The latest Chez Chaos experiment with salt-pickled cucumbers ended up with the vote "perfectly fine, but next time use a weaker pickling mix" (swapping some pickling liquid for water on opening seems to have worked wonders, though). One item on the "things from the Olde Countrie I miss" crossed out with that experiment, I can now get salty pickled cucumbers at will.

[urocyon-c.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you. I'd already planted some seeds, so will hope for decent results. Starting with seedlings does seem a better idea.