Garden Update - November 16, 2013

One of the things I'm really enjoying in gardening this time around is the picking up new skills.  In the past, I'd plant something and hope for the best, but I didn't really have a plan for what to do when something goes wrong, or what to do to increase yields.  I was an emotional gardener, but not a strategic one.  Here's a walk through of some of the gems of knowledge that have been dropped on me.

Here are some of my carrot seedlings.  I've learned how to thin the plants so that they have enough room to develop into good sized carrots.  You pick a good looking seedling that has started growing the secondary leaves, and then you thin out the plants an inch around it.

Also learned to thin radishes.  It occurred to me that I was crowding them before because when I think of radishes, I think of how they look in bunches at the grocery store -- but clearly, they can't be that close in the ground.  I think these are making it to the plate tomorrow.  I'll let the kids each pick one.

Potato plant going like gangbusters in the compost pile!

Yellow leaves on celery are a sign of over watering.  Guilty as charged.

Cauliflower varietals progressing nicely at their own pace

Gave up the ghost on the beets, which never came up.  Instead we planted some lettuce and leeks!  In the past, I would never give up so soon and would probably lose a growing season for it.

These cabbages (and the broccoli out front) have been a lesson in pest management.  I've spotted green caterpillars called Loopers which will kill the plant.  Deal with them by taking them off plant or squishing onto leaves.  Theory is that it will be a lesson to their friends.  I've also found little meal bugs -- those have to be sprayed off with a strong hose.  I was worried that the plant would suffer from the direct spray, but it looked fine.

Mint is happy in its new home.

No, we aren't being pre-holiday festive.  The red bands are scare tape.  That appears to be doing the job of keeping the crows away.

The lettuce has really bounced back.  I knew there was such a thing as plant shock, but I didn't know it could last a month.  I picked a handful of leaves tonight for our salad and I can't wait to use more!