GARDEN 2023

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Our order from True Leaf came in this last week. I was really surprised the number of varieties that they were out of stock on. Last year's garden was so beat to snot, that we barely had enough produce for fresh eating, let alone any for seed saving. The wife and I sat down last night and scheduled out our seed starting plan, starting seeds in the aerogarden presents a different set of rules than traditionally starting them. In the aerogarden, seeds germinate and sprout in less than half the time than in traditional media. Last year, we had massive transplant plants because of this and a late cold snap in the spring. The tomoato plants we put into the ground were well over 18" tall. I'm planning on starting the cool weather plants the second week in March, the warm weather ones the last last week in March, that should gives us a decent amount of growth, but the plants will not be overly huge when trying to transplant.

Ordered some second year asparagus crowns to replace the asparagus bed from last year, as we are changing up our garden plot this year. Also have horseradish, onion sets and strawberries on the ordered, just waiting for them to ship mid-March.
 
Our order from True Leaf came in this last week. I was really surprised the number of varieties that they were out of stock on.
I ordered large packages last year in hopes of have enough for this year.
True Leaf has great seeds, but I may have went over board on the Black radishes, they are HOT & I can eat them only in small doses.
 
I ordered large packages last year in hopes of have enough for this year.
True Leaf has great seeds, but I may have went over board on the Black radishes, they are HOT & I can eat them only in small doses.
We must have been thinking the same thing! We ordered a couple of packages of those black radishes and they are really spicy radishes! Now, we like spicy foods, but these guys were sharp. We did pickle some and that helped to tone down the spice a bit, but I this year we are going back to the old tried and true crimson giants.

Thinking of it now, I may put some of those black radish seeds into my sprouter and see what the sprouts are like.
 
I ordered large packages last year in hopes of have enough for this year.
True Leaf has great seeds, but I may have went over board on the Black radishes, they are HOT & I can eat them only in small doses.
Have you tried the white ones? Might be my favorite.
 
Have you tried the white ones? Might be my favorite.
I have Black, purple, Easter egg mix, watermelon, Radishes patch mix.
I do not have icicle, but they are next on my order list.
I have not pickle any radishes, but I may this year.
 
I have Black, purple, Easter egg mix, watermelon, Radishes patch mix.
I do not have icicle, but they are next on my order list.
I have not pickle any radishes, but I may this year.
I planted the party mix which is probably akin to the Easter egg mix, but it was too late in the season so they immediately bolted. Will try again this year but earlier. I did better last year at planting a small row every-other weekend so we always had some rather than a bunch at once.
 
I mentioned in another thread about storing cabbage buried up side down.
I dug one today and still just as fresh and crisp as the day I buried it.
I do have to remove a few leaves. About 4.
Soon to be 5 months of storage.
That's good to know! We've only tunneled them over with straw and plastic and had alright results. How deep do you bury them?
 
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I ordered large packages last year in hopes of have enough for this year.
True Leaf has great seeds, but I may have went over board on the Black radishes, they are HOT & I can eat them only in small doses.
Have you tried cutting them up and frying them in butter? Cooking them usually takes all of the spiciness out of them.
 
Have you tried cutting them up and frying them in butter? Cooking them usually takes all of the spiciness out of them.
No not yet, I always eaten radishes raw, even knowing Asians eat radishes every way they can think of.
 
No not yet, I always eaten radishes raw, even knowing Asians eat radishes every way they can think of.
They are used in keto recipes and diets. People use cooked radishes instead of potatoes in potato salad. I have had cooked radishes, and I liked them. Radishes grow so fast and would be a great thing to have lots of seeds for in a SHTF situation for growing food quickly.
 
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Are those radishes?

Ben
YES

SAKURAJIMA GIANT RADISH​

Rating:
71% of100

11 Reviews Add Your Review
90 days. No other vegetable stirred my childhood imaginations like the “Giant Radish” of Japan. It was grown on the Island of Sakurajima since around 1800, and is still famous in South Japan for its fine flavor and mammoth size. Some specimens have reached 100 lbs! But it commonly grows to 15 pounds in its native land. It is started around the first of September and harvested in mid-winter. Fine texture and size make this the “King of Daikons”
https://www.rareseeds.com/sakurajima-giant-radish
 
YES

SAKURAJIMA GIANT RADISH​

Rating:
71% of100

11 Reviews Add Your Review
90 days. No other vegetable stirred my childhood imaginations like the “Giant Radish” of Japan. It was grown on the Island of Sakurajima since around 1800, and is still famous in South Japan for its fine flavor and mammoth size. Some specimens have reached 100 lbs! But it commonly grows to 15 pounds in its native land. It is started around the first of September and harvested in mid-winter. Fine texture and size make this the “King of Daikons”
https://www.rareseeds.com/sakurajima-giant-radish
I believe I have seeds for those. I only grew one because the spacing limited me to only per 4x4 foot garden box.

Ben
 
Today I decided to pull out some seeds and start some starter cups.... I generally order my seeds a year ahead of time. This year I carefully organized them in zip loc bags and then stored them in plastic containers, then stored the containers in a cool place..... It's amazing how after 6 months I had the hardest time finding that cool dry place again :( It only took me 3 hours looking before I realized that they were under my indoor carrot shelf....

I found that a dog (or something similar) has dug up my shallots, not happy. I suspect that it is the same animal who's owner lets run wild early in the mornings... I have seen it half a block away at 05:30 several times now. I don't blame the dog, it's the owner who needs the lesson. I have though about using ground pepper but then I got the idea to use powdered Ritz clothing die... I am thinking black or orange would make nice tracks in carpet..👣 I need to make sure that it will not hurt the dog before I do anything rash...

Today, I picked the first flower out of the flower bed for the wife... it was cute and yellow but the wind blew it over right after it opened..🌾
I also found a 🐞 on my desk and moved her to the greenhouse.. ;)
 
Today ... organized them in zip loc bags and then stored them in plastic containers, then stored the containers in a cool place..... It's amazing how after 6 months I had the hardest time finding that cool dry place again :( It only took me 3 hours looking before I realized that they were under my indoor carrot shelf....

I found that a dog (or something similar) has dug up my shallots, not happy. I suspect that it is the same animal who's owner lets run wild early in the mornings... I have seen it half a block away at 05:30 several times now. I don't blame the dog, it's the owner who needs the lesson. I have though about using ground pepper but then I got the idea to use powdered Ritz clothing die... I am thinking black or orange would make nice tracks in carpet..👣 I need to make sure that it will not hurt the dog before I do anything rash...

Today, I picked the first flower out of the flower bed for the wife... it was cute and yellow but the wind blew it over right after it opened..🌾
I also found a 🐞 on my desk and moved her to the greenhouse.. ;)
I am generally pretty good at were I put things but my seeds have a basket at the top of the non-frost free freezer in alphabetical order.

20230210_164227.jpg


Ben
 
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Last night I planted some lettuce, spinach, radishes, and onions.

I ordered some of those "purple" grow lights and they arrived yesterday. I plan to add 2 to some of my grow shelves to see if it makes a difference.

I now have 600 watts of "spare" solar panels, I am going to mount them above my rain barrels in the hope of being able to fully cover all the growing stations electrical needs. It will actually put me just north of 2000 watts of production, but I want my battery bank to be at least 12 volts at the end of each day...
 
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