The really hot daytime temps seem to have exited, along with the warm nights. It's not really chilly, but the cool-weather crops can tolerate what's happening now.
The nice thing about the cool season is that many of the things I grow during the cooler months, like mustard and lettuce, are fine for salads. Sometimes I worry a bit about not eating raw foods during the warmer months, since I rarely eat fruit. Fruit gives me toothaches.
So I'm looking forward to planting all kinds of salad greens. I've already got radish greens and pac choy coming along, and today I'll probably start some mustard seed. Young mustard greens are so good in salads...more nutritious and tastier than lettuce. I've been wary of planting lettuce, turnips, etc., since the weather has been so warm on most days. But the radishes and the Shanghai pac choy can take a bit of heat for a while, so they're well along now. In fact the radishes seem to be thriving, especially since the heat eased up a bit and the sun has been losing some of its intensity.
Right now I'm concentrating on getting my radish seedlings into larger containers...they've almost outgrown their six cm pots. I usually sow seed in a pot that's about nine cm or so, then separate the seedlings into individual small pots later. It takes about a month give or take to get a seedling that's ready to plant in a large pot or a planting bed. I always have trays of seedlings coming along.
Yesterday I planted some Hattorikun radish seedlings in 40 and 43 cm nursery pots, those are grown for their tasty greens rather than their roots. The roots are edible, but they only form after the plant has been around for some time. For roots, I'm growing Miyashige and China Rose...two varieties bred for fall harvest in temperate climes. Everest is another good one for me, I've had very good results with that variety. I like radishes in salads, as a garnish, in soups, or in stir fries. For a subtropical gardener radishes are a good choice because they tolerate a bit of heat and they grow like weeds generally. Of course if you want crisp, mild roots it's best to grow them in rich soil. The temps should not be too hot when the roots are forming or they'll be really pungent and strong-tasting.
So right now I'm focusing on getting my radish seedlings transplanted, along with my Jwala peppers. This year I plan to keep growing sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) right through the cool season. I have three varieties growing, and I don't want to have to buy slips again when the weather starts to warm up. With the warm weather we've had in recent years, I'm gambling that the Ipomoea will continue to make tubers in the coming months.
They are so easy to propagate. Today I noticed that a potato vine had put down roots into one of my Jwala pepper containers. If I snip the vine and cut it off from its parent, it will grow and produce potatoes in that pot. So all I really have to do for propagation is set pots of soil on the racks and lay the vines from existing plants across them. But usually I snip leaders from the vines, strip off most of the leaves and stick them in the pots or planting beds. It's that easy. There's nothing else I grow that produces more food than Ipomoea batatas...you can even eat the greens, though I've never tried them.
Once I give the lawn areas their last cutting, I should be able to forget mowing for a few months. Our grasses don't seem to grow during the shorter days...thankfully! So I'll be able to spend more time gardening...assuming the air is breathable for me. This morning I got a strong stinging sensation if I tried to breathe through my nose...no idea what was causing the irritation. We'll see how things go...as usual.
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