They Bolted!

Can't beat the heat

A few hot days in May and everything starts to bolt!  If you are unfamiliar with the term...let me splain.  No it's to much...let me sum up.  When a plant "bolts" it means it is going to seed.  OrganicGardening@About.com does a lovely job defining "Bolting." Typically, lettuce, spinach or some more tender leafy greens will suddenly sprout a flower stalk and in just a few days, there is a lovely flowering plant where your spinach used to be.  Or in my case, spinach, arugula and cilantro...all bolting with a few days of each other. The cilantro is quite beautiful once it has gone to flower.  I left a few standing to aid in keeping the evil doers (bad bugs) away, but the heavy rain over the past few days quite literally beat it down and only 1 still stands.  I described this to my friend Robin, who is starting her first garden this year (DO YO THANG!) and her response was, "What's the point of growing them?"  Well, that is an excellent point.  One cannot determine what curve ball nature will throw our way on any given day, much less any growing season.  

So what is the point of growing these beautiful greens if only a few short weeks after you may have dropped them into the ground, they are bolting and gone for the season?  

That is one hell of a heading!  Well, as a wise man (or woman for that matter) once said, "Timing is EVERYTHING."  It is important that you take into account the information that is widely available regarding the types of plants you grow and the approximate dates they should be planted.  Many times that information is right on the back of your newly purchased seed packet...and then there are other times when you have seeds and there is no information whatsoever on when and how to plant them.  Please see below.

On the left, lots of useful information...on the right, zip, zilch, nada.  

So, there you have it.  What to do?  This type of situation is exactly what the interwebs were made for!  There are tons of sites that will give you planting information based on what zone you are in.  Does anyone know what I am referring to when I used the term "ZONE?"  Zone refers to the USDA Hardiness Zones and The Vegetable Garden.info offers a great resource of information on timing for all varieties of plants.  Just punch in your zip code, and they will give you your USDA Hardiness Zone, then simply click on the zone you are currently residing in, on their website and up will pop a long list of plants and timing.  As my son Fletch would say, "Easy peezy, lemon squeezy."  

Here is the Sisk Family Farm as of 5/20/13.

Here are my Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes (left) Super Sweet Cherry Tomatoes (right of center), Sweet Banana Peppers and Red Bell Peppers (right edge).

Mesclun greens in front, Mustard greens next, Champion Radish behind and to the left.

My pride and joy...Lupine, flowering beautifully!

Arugula (left), Lupine behind (you can see the one and only flower), Red Russian Kale, Tuscan Kale, more Arugula and finally Yellow Onions.

Other half of the earlier bed, Romaine (left), Lolla Rosa, Peas behind them and the Spinach and Cilantro in the rear, just prior to being harvested for the last time this spring.  I created a trellis for the peas to grow up on and they seem to be utilizing it as I had hoped.  I snuck in some Sweet Corn that I started in my basement in late winter between the peas and cilantro.  It is hard to see, but I hope that changes in the next few weeks.  

Last but not least, Pac Choi (left), a singular flowering Broccoli Rabe, Chinese Kale/Broccoli in the center and Chard on the right.

Many, many, many leafy greens and root vegetables can be grown both as a spring crop and again as a fall crop.  This especially goes for Radish and my favorite Spinach (try a Spinach Cesare salad...delicious!).  They will be back!  

The weather is perfect for planting...and so I am off to sow some Black Valentine Bush Beans, Blue Coco Beans, Hericot Vert Bush Beans, Champion Radish, Mucher Cucumber, Nasturtium and Yukon Gold Potatoes.  

Wish me luck!

Spring Has Sprung

Here comes the sun...do da do do!

Or something like that.  Well, there have been a handful of beautiful days recently.  Even one day that hit near 80 degrees...according to the Subaru Forester!  

Farewell, My Subaru...great book.  

Here is a snap shot of what my garden looks like as of a few days ago.

On the right, Chard, moving left is Chinese Broccoli, and then Broccoli Rabe.  These guys were casualties of frost earlier this spring...it was a miserable morning.  This sad event has been well documented in this blog.  I really need to just get over it!  Ok...I'm over it.  In the last row on the left is Bok Choi, seeded a few weeks ago and doing just lovely.  Chinese Broccoli (or Gai Lan) seems to be recovering well from the wounds of the overnight chill, Chard is doing fine, but Broccoli Rabe...they were hurt pretty bad.  I had such high hopes for these guys.  You might notice some plastic sheeting and the wood slats on the edges of the garden.  I used the plastic after that first frost to protect the seedlings over night from the next few frosts.  I made one big mistake...I left the plastic on during the day light hours on 2 occasions.  BIG MISTAKE!  I drove the temperature up so high under the plastic that the surviving Rabe decided to bolt...and I don't mean run away!  They began to flower...way too early!  And so, I have mostly puny, plants with florets and full blown flowers growing.  There are 1 or 2 guys I am looking forward to.  Not all is lost.  

In this bed is Yellow Onions on the right, Champion Radish and Corvair Spinach, then seeded Arugula, Red Russian Kale and Tuscan Kale and in the left row is Lupine and more seeded Arugula.  This is the first year I am growing Onions, any type of Kale, or any type of perennial flower like Lupine.  I figured if I can grow veggies for my family, I can grow landscape plants for my home.  The onions were started from sets, basically small onions grown the previous season (think pearl onions).  Again, you see the plastic, but on this bed I used green fencing cut to size and rolled over the top of the bed as a sort of hoop house.  GENIUS!  All is well in this bed.  I already harvested a few radishes and they were GRRRRRREAT...like Tony the Tiger.

My pride and joy!  My very first raised bed I built last year.  This guy is solid and is doing fantastic!

This is the rear of the bed, with Romaine and Lolla Rosa in the front, Snap Peas behind, and Cilantro and Corvair Spinach in the back.  I am still amazed at how well the Cilantro and Spinach are growing...these guys are the winter survivors originally planted last September in another bed.  I transplanted them with little hope they would thrive.  There will be salsa in the Sisk house this year!

This is the front of the bed and mostly seeded crops.  At the bottom is Mesculn Greens, then Mustard Greens, more Champion Radish, Kaleidoscope Carrots, and finally Razzle Dazzle Spinach.  I planted a great deal of spinach!  It is good for you...so we will eat spinach!  

Plastic Lesson Learned

My intentions were good, as my wife would say.  I wanted to protect my plants from the frost utilizing cold frames, hoophouses, mini green houses...whatever you want to call it.  I succeeded in saving an a great deal of plants from death my mildly chilly weather, but I also cooked some veggies prematurely by lazily leaving the plastic on during the day.  The Broccoli Rabe got the wrong message and decided that their growing season was nearing its end.  Grow Organic has a great article on making a hoophouse for your garden, and as always, my boy Mike McGrath (host of You Bet Your Garden)and the Gardens Alive website has some excellent information on hoophouses/row covers to extend your growing season.  I hope my mistakes help in some twisted way!  Peace.