Leaf Lettuce

 Transplanted collards and red cabbage yesterday. Will see how they do. No more trouble with mice yet. I've been careful to block the door each night. We are going to Phx for Easter, so today I need to figure out a way to keep the greenhouse alive for four days while I am gone.

Tomatoes

Arugula 

Peas

Alas Juanaita es no mas. I think she was a little too fond of the cheese (actually peanut butter) She managed to rob two of my new traps but the third and final trap was her undoing.  I found the hole she dug under the door so I will have to watch that.
Today I replanted the chilies Juanaita ate, so we are back in business. Emily and I ate our first two radishes. Yummy.

Window #2  on March 25th

Sunday: Juanaita narrowly escaped with her life. She fell in the bucket while walking the plank but the plank fell in after her and she used it to climb to safety. Then she mowed off more of my chilies just to spite me. I hope she had a cold night.

Monday: Juanaita is getting crafty. Last night she rolled the plank off the bucket and then helped herself to the peanut butter. She also ate more chili plant salad. Ethan bought me a couple of traditional traps and we will see how the little chicita fares now.

Collards and Cabbage

Friday: I leveled the four rows in front of the lawn and transplanted a couple dozen tomatoes (yellow pear, rutgers, and large cherry) from crates to cups. Hardly made a dent in the tomato crate. Third long planter in greenhouse is coming up (lettuce, chard, spinach). Last batch of chilies is coming up as are sweet cherry tomatoes.

Pretty Stand of Lettuce

Saturday: Transplanted chilies from crate into cups. Something  is eating them--digging up the seeds and munching the tops. Must be another mouse. I Have no idea how they are getting in. Can't find a hole anywhere.  Why does it eat chili plants only when there is a gorgeous stand of lettuce inches away? I think I'll name her Juanaita Chili Pepper. And it's time for Juanita to walk the plank.
Radishes are starting to bulb and all of my garlic are now up. Also found some onions coming back up from last year.

Radish almost ready to eat

Onions and Chard

Pea crate

March 17th: I replanted my cauliflower. Noticed that some of my other plants had been nibbled on too. Guess I'll keep them closed for a while. Cold weather coming anyway.

Transplanted chilies from crate to cups because some bug was eating them at night. Dumped that mulch outside.

Spaded three more rows and helped Ethan build a small green house for his flowers.

March 18th: I finished helping Ethan with his greenhouse and he helped me with a little one for my garden. My primary greenhouse is facing West (next to worst direction) so this small one will allow my plants to receive much more sun during the day. Then I will move their crates inside for warmth at night.

Kohlrabi is coming up in furrow outside and all of the kale planted the same day is up inside. Most of the first batch of tomatoes are up and second batch of chilies are thinking about it.

March 19th: It snowed 2 inches over night and is quite cold today but the plants all seem to be doing fine.

March 20th: Got down to 23 degrees last night but plants survived.

MARCH

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THINGS TO CHANGE NEXT YE

Journal of activities:

March 2: Red cabbage starting to come up. Hurray. Also some herbs and maybe a couple of tomatoes are coming up.
Made another hot window and planted carrots, beets, and some lettuce and broccoli under it.

Hot Window2

March 3: Watched dirt hoping to see tomatoes and chilies emerge. No luck, but any day now.

A few days ago I tried to heat the green house on a cold night with a chimney charcoal briquette starter crammed with wood chips. Bad idea. Those things go crazy. Filled the house with smoke through the dryer vent and charred some of my young plants. Laura sent out an electric space heater. It works but where is the excitement.

Garlic and Chives

March 8th: Planted some more chilies. Some tomatoes are coming up. A few of the garlic I planted outside are coming up in addition to the volunteers.

Hot Window 1

March 9: Transplanted Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and Swiss chard into garden under hot windows.
Planted some more chilies and tomatoes in green house. Also planted cilantro and arugula.
Most of my soranos and banana chilies are up. Yellow pear tomatoes are up and others are slowly following. Lettuce or spinach is coming up in second hot window.


March 10:  Found some kale, kohlrabi, and sweet cherry tomatoes seed, so I planted those today. kohlrabi outside and the others inside.

Plants out to sun

March 14: Arugula came up on the 12th (3 days). Some kale is starting to peak through. Most everything in second hot window is up (carrots, beets, and some lettuce and broccoli)






March 15: While I had my four hot windows open today to water them, a sparrow ate all of my cauliflower in one window while I was watering the broccoli in another. I didn't realize what it was doing until it was too late. I don't know if they will come back up. My wife thinks that was the funniest thing ever. See if she gets any cauliflower. I tried to ventilate the sparrow with my pellet gun but missed.

February

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FEBRUARY

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r

Journal of activities:

Early February:  Put new plastic on greenhouse and sealed cracks. Feb 10th: Put mulch barrel on stilts with handle to turn. It is a little rickety and hard to turn when full and wet. Made mulch from apple leave, 4wing, tomato leaves and manure.Using mulch in bins under plant trays as heat source. Planted big jims, banana peppers, bell peppers, radishes, Swiss chard, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, and onions. Soaked peas. Feb 11th: Planted jalapeños, Serrano chilies, and peas. Got load of manure from Carl Cluff. First batch of mulch with apple and tomato leaves heating up nicely. Second batch with leaves and four-wing starting to heat. Need way of sealing in heat during night. Feb.14th Some plants are already coming up: radishes, cauliflower, broccoli. Something is digging up some of my seeds and seedlings, mainly, my peas. I suspect a mouse, but don’t know how it is getting in the greenhouse. It snowed today but the green house is nice and warm. Bought a poblano chili at the store and hope to get seeds from it to plant. (Never came up) Feb. 17th: Warm day. Caught one mouse. Lettuce and a few peas are coming up. Planted poblanos inside and garlic bulbs outside. Collected a truck load of leaves and started mulching them behind my rock wall. Planted some radishes, lettuce, and chard outside under a hot window I made.    Feb. 18th: Another warm day. Caught two more mice. Hope that is all. A couple of chilies have come up but not most. Planted peas under hot window. Planted a few tomatoes and some herbs for my hanging planter. Feb. 19th: No mice! Snowing again. Feb. 20th: Collected another truckload of leaves from limb dump and put on mulch pile. Onions are coming up strong. Chilies slowly emerging one by one. No cabbage yet? Bad seed? First batch of peas mostly up. Found garlic coming up from last year’s patches as are chives (tried to pull them thinking they were grass, ups). Feb.24th: Planted some more cabbage and chilies. Also planted several types of tomatoes, some spinich, fenell, and more lettice. Chard is coming up in outside window. Tilled three rows in front of lawn and panted a few hills of aspargus. Feb. 29th: Big snow past few days (4 to 6 inches) Everything in hot window is coming up (Radishes, Califlower, peas) Spinach and fennel coming up like crazy(6days). Caught another mouse after he did minor damage to chilies. Still no tomatoes, herbs, cabage, or second batch chilies.