Tag Archives: Cabbage

January 29, 2023 · 6:52 pm

CABBAGE UPDATE

This is the third winter

Of my seed starting education.

I guess if it’s a college course

I’m a Junior!

And honestly, I feel like I’m making progress.

As of today I have 128 cabbage “teenagers”

Since last week they were potted into

A bit bigger pot and seem to love it.

When I began the process

Of popping them out of their toasty cell homes

They were actually root bound.

That has never been the case for me.

I think the credit goes to having the grow lights much closer.

It’s really the only big change this year.

But there are a few tricks I’ve picked up

Over the past few years

That are improving the end result.

For years I had a problem with “damping off”.

It’s a fungus that kills a happy baby plant.

They just lay over and die.

Very disappointing.

While listening to one of the endless gardening

Podcasts or YouTube videos

Someone made the comment that Chamomile tea

Is a natural fungicide.

So now my seedling babies and I enjoy tea together

On a regular basis.

I simply put a tea bag in my wonderful mister

And one in the watering can.

I don’t want to jinx it but so far not a casualty this season.

Another great help are timers.

Since seedlings like about 16 hours of light a day

These are great for turning that off and on.

I also plug a fan into a separate timer

To go off and on every 30 minutes

About 10 hours a day.

The fan also helps with fungal growth

It’s big job is to act as a gentle breeze

Strengthening the stems of the plants.

Everything is watered from the bottom

Once it has sprouted.

I set the pots in everything from old cookie sheets,

To rejected boot bin trays

To saved carry out containers.

Yellow sticky traps come in handy

For all those gnats that will eventually come.

I’m sure there are more tricks to learn.

For me that is the joy of all of this

Picking up tips and tricks

And the continual learning.

You have to be willing to fail a little along the way

But then there is the joy of getting to try again…and again.

Gail

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January 15, 2023 · 8:19 pm

TINY MIRACLES

As I reported last week

I’ve started my indoor gardening season.

This is my third year for starting cabbage.

Just this week I read that the germination rate for cabbage

Is near 100%.

Wish I had known that before I planted 140 cells with seeds.

Sure enough within three days over 100 of those seeds had sprouted

And today I am the proud mother of 126 baby cabbages.

YIKES!

At least twice a day

Coco and I journey to the garden house

To make sure they are OK.

So far everyone is happy.

Now I don’t expect each of them to make it to maturity

But I probably will be looking for homes for some of these

Since I will have more than even Faith Farm can handle.

This week I added Flat Italian Parsley and Sweet Peas

To the line up.

So far they are still dormant

Which is fine with me

Giving me an excuse

To check on things.

Just as I was ready to plant an indoor lettuce crop

I noticed a tiny miracle in my garden.

The luscious crop that was a victim

Of the pre Christmas Artic blast

Is coming back from the roots.

Never did I imagine that.

Both areas are planted against the edge

Of the brick patio

Giving them warmth

And one area is well protected from the north.

But really

Surviving -20 degrees!

There is a richness that comes

From these tiny miracles.

For me it adds to the depth of joy

In the cold and sunless days of winter.

Wishing tiny miracles for you this week.

Gail

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September 14, 2015 · 1:45 am

FALLING FOR FALL

The signs are everywhere.

I can hear the high school band

Practicing every morning.

Sweaters are appearing.

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Geraldine’s asters are starting to bloom.

 

The air is softer.

Shadows are shifting.

Fall is almost here.

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I think I’ve mentioned before

There’s only one other place

I can think of living.

The place where the weather

Alternates between spring and fall.

I’ve never found that place.

I know it doesn’t exist.

Because

In order to have spring

You must first abide winter.

Difficult for me.

And so it follows that

In order to have fall.

You must abide summer.

Gardening makes this one easy.

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Fall here on the plains

Can linger for weeks

Months actually.

After last year’s glorious fall

I wasn’t sure we’d see another one like that

For some time.

Something tells me

It’s happening again.

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There’s a lushness this September

God is spoiling us.

Spring rains

Mild summer temperatures

And now the glorious days of fall.

Coco and I spent Saturday transplanting.

We dug up a batch of daylilles

That were spreading wildly

In the main garden

They’ve been moved to areas that are

A little more accepting of their behavior

Some will even get transplanted

Across state lines

To Elliott’s garden.

In their place I planted cabbage.

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Not sure they have time to get giant

But I saw these babies at the store

And thought…why not?

They are near where we lost a Redbud tree

In June

Between the two new stands of Dahlias.

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Not sure what will be the more permanent fix.

But after following Floret Flowers

On Instagram for a few months.

My monies on…more Dahlias.

Can this woman grow Dahlias!

One goal this fall

Is to fill in the empty spaces.

That were weed havens all summer.

So I’m scouting for plants in need of dividing

And volunteers that are popping up in odd places.

I’m looking forward to weeks

Of playing in the crisp clean air

And basking in the glory of a garden.

Gail

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Surely this is the last Easter Egg left in the garden!

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