New Plants Growing

Lots of new seedlings coming along, I've got lettuce ready to plant, carrot seedlings separated into individual 8 cm pots, and all kinds of seeds germinating...Lacinato kale, chard, turnip greens, tatsoi, etc.

I've always followed the gardening books and planted my carrot seeds in the beds or in large pots, but last year I tried treating them like any other crop...germinate the seed in a small pot, separate the seedlings, get them to a decent size, then set them into the beds and large pots as hand-high plants.  It worked just fine, so I'm doing it again this year with more plants.  Yesterday I separated 25 little carrot plants into 8 cm pots of nice rich soil mix and they're still on the makeshift table on the carport where I do this kind of work.

So far so good, no wilting at all...I'll leave them protected from full sun for another day to give them time to set new rootlets.  Those two pots with the tags in front are some germinating seed pots...Lacinato kale and Italian style parsley.  Maybe the gardeners who failed at transplanting carrots didn't take sufficient care...I'm always very gentle when untangling roots of seedlings, I don't expose them to sunlight, I use a rich mix of compost and potting soil, and I let them grow their roots before I set them out in sunlight.

Once they're well set in their little pots and actively growing, only then do I put seedlings in planting beds or large pots...haven't lost one yet with that method.  Last year each carrot weighed a pound or so...I don't need more than 25 pounds of carrots that's for sure. So we'll see what happens this year with them.  The variety is Muscade from north Africa, it's a very fine-flavored carrot that does well in my climate.

Here's the rest of the seeding flats and some mustard plants...

As you can see, the lettuce seedlings are ready to be transplanted into larger pots.  I was going to set up a few today, but I got a late start this morning and I had other things to do.

I find the gardening difficult physically at times, but it always relaxes me and makes me feel better mentally.  I also enjoy grounds maintenance on my hectare of land, that will be competing with the gardening work as these cool-season months progress.  We've been exceptionally dry here since October when the rainy season ended abruptly.  So I need to get into some areas near the house and clear out dead palmetto fronds and fallen pine branches.  I figure keeping a buffer area near the house where the fire fuel has all been cleaned up and shredded for compost is a priority in the cool season if it's been dry.

Unfortunately I injured my back dealing with a big woody Ficus my neighbor disposed of on my property.  People often use my land as a dump, that seems to be a custom here among the less responsible people who live in this area.  So I'm not getting a lot done, but usually these back problems ease up within a few days.

Meanwhile, I'll work with the 34 cm pots for a while.  I've got several of them cleaned out and ready to fill with new potting mix. Those lettuce plants will soon be spreading their roots in new homes and making leaves for me to pick...Romaine is my favorite lettuce, I don't like those flat-tasting types.  So this season I'm just planting Romaine...the leaves will make an outstanding salad when mixed with mustard leaves and freshly picked chives...mmmmm!

I feel sorry for all the people who get by on stale Iceberg lettuce, all full of chemicals and tasting like water.  I guess I'm spoiled now with all these fresh veggies I eat every day.  People often seem to think gardening is too much trouble, but I see what they do with their time and the money they spend at restaurants for substandard food and I wonder where their priorities got so mixed up.  They say that in the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Mustard Ready to Pick

Had some raw mustard greens last night, they grew fast.  If we had some cooler weather, they'd be better, but the little I had was very tasty.  Mustard greens are very high in so many nutrients, especially when you eat them right after you pick them.

If you don't like the spiciness, keep the leaves in the fridge for a couple of days and they'll become milder.  I like the snap of young mustard greens and I also love them in soups.  The aroma of freshly chopped mustard greens in the kitchen always makes me smile. After they grow for a while, especially if the weather is hot, they'll be too spicy-hot for raw munching and I'll just use them in soups and stir fries.  People in the US associate them with southern cuisine, but of course they're actually Asian as gardeners know. 

There seems to be an almost endless variety of Asian mustards.  I grow Florida Broad Leaf, simply because it grows like a weed in my soil and climate.  And it's not too spicy for me.  I have a pill vial crammed with thousands of mustard seeds in the fridge and I just use those in planting.  If you let it go to seed, it will produce a great abundance of small black seeds that last for years and years in the fridge.  They can be ground up for mustard seasoning if you want to do that.  The flowers are also edible, but watch out...they're extremely pungent.