basement pea sprouts

The seeds in the basement greenhouse have received about 12 hours of light each day since I planted them 5 days ago. Yesterday, the peas began to break through the soil. Here are the sprouts today, so exciting!

planting plan

As the weeks went by and the greenhouse was no closer to being started, I decided to go to Berkeley Hort to get some advice. After a very thorough consultation with a very patient employee, I've decided on my new planting strategy: some seeds will go directly into the raised bed and some seeds will be grown in my basement. Carrots, beets and radishes are all root vegetables so they need to be planted directly into the ground. They don't transplant well. Warm weather vegetables are ready to start as seeds in a greenhouse. When they grow to about 6" in about 4 weeks, I can transplant them into the raised bed. Since germination requires warmth and sun, I need to use artificial light for about 10-14 hours a day. Hence, the basement.

So here are the seeds I'm planting into my new basement greenhouse (Amish Snap Peas, A&C Pickling Cucumbers and Prizetaker Leeks):


All of the seeds I'm planting are heirloom varieties from the Seed Savers Exchange. This means that they have all been bred for their taste over many years by small farms, free from genetic modification. I am using these mini-greenhouses for ease:


Here are the greenhouses next to the washer/dryer machine in the basement:

greenhouse: following the sun

It has been a quiet winter in the backyard. However, I've noticed that the winter sun shines primarily on the original plot and much less on the raised bed. That leads me to believe that as the sun changes position in the sky from winter to summer, the sunny part of the garden shifts from the original plot to the raised bed. To maximize the sunshine, I am now considering building a small greenhouse on the original plot. That way, I can grow seeds in a warmer environment where the sun is currently shining, and then as the sun shifts, I can transplant the starts into the raised bed. I mocked up a design for a hoop house using PVC piping.

Here are a few models I've been referencing:

http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html

http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/greenhouse.html

ripping it up

It was ugly, but someone had to do it... the recent rain, subsequent mold and overall nastiness had to go:


Incredible how long the tomato plants grew, more than 20 feet long:

happy halloween

My favorite two things about Halloween: carving pumpkins and candy. This year, I was compelled to show my support:


No, I did not grow the pumpkin in my backyard. But next year I will. It's certainly a sustainable endeavor, carving pumpkins that is...and quite time consuming (design thanks to yeswecarve.com). We also couldn't resist baking Halloween cupcakes, with sprinkles and frosting. The contrast between the natural and artificial was striking:


And finally, we made good use of the pumpkin seeds. Just added some oil and salt, and toasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes:

green zebra salsa

Another week has gone by, and another batch of tomatoes are ready for harvesting:


We decided to grill the Green Zebras and then blend them with some hot peppers from the CSA. After chilling in the refrigerator, the green salsa is really, really good!

tomato sauce

The tomatoes are finally ripening. We have some red Early Girls, some Green Zebras and a ton of small, orange Sweet Millions and Wings of Night.





We made a delicious batch of tomato sauce with the cherry tomatoes.


Not sure yet what to do with the Green Zebras...