Baby Artichokes

My garden store is only open from 10-5 this time of year and I work during those hours. So I ordered onion seeds online from Jung Seed Co. Hopefully they come soon. My onion seeds from last year's garden haven't sprouted yet but my artichokes are growing nicely. I did have a little scare when I neglected to water them. But they survived. I like plants that can survive a little neglect. They're going to be survivors. Wimpy plants don't do so well around me.

Artichoke Seedling

Onions Already

I was looking at my planting calendar today and I realized that onion seeds are (past) due for planting already. So I looked in my seed box, which I thought was fully stocked, only to find I didn't have any packets of onion seed.

I found a baggie of what I think are onion seeds from my garden last fall. I only had one onion that formed a seed head. Unfortunately, I didn't pay any attention to whether it was a white, yellow, or purple onion.

So, I planted those seeds today. I don't know if they're fertile or how long it will take them to germinate. I plan to go to the nursery tomorrow and buy some (labeled) onion seeds. Of course, I'll be the most fond of the onion seedlings that grow from last year's seeds. But don't tell the other onions.

I also turned on my grow lights today and set the timer. I waited until today because my artichokes just started to develop secondary leaves so I suppose they'll be wanting a little light now. After doing a little reading, it looks like most plants like 14-16 hours of light. So I set the timer for 7am-9pm. It's kind of pleasant to have the extra light shining over my shoulder while I work at my computer.

Artichoke Seedlings

The artichoke seeds germinated. They were planted on 1/25 and germinated on 2/11. I guess that's 17 days and the seed packet said 10-20 days for germination. So far, so good.

Day of life #1, 2/11/10.

Day of life #2, 2/12/10.

Day of life #3, 2/13/10.

Lights, Camera, Artichokes

I took down my Christmas tree today and put up the grow lights (many thanks to Dan).

My overly optimistic garden adventure this year is artichokes. Artichokes require a long growing season, which Minnesota does not offer. However, it is reported to like cool nights, which Minnesota does have.

So I've decided to try starting it under grow lights in January. I've read that artichokes typically don't produce their first year, but that they can be forced by providing them with a cool period in late spring (to fool them into thinking they're in their second year).

I purchased Imperial Artichokes from Park Seed Co. The packet states: sow seeds indoors 5-7 weeks before last frost. 10-20 days to germination. So here goes...

"Peat" pots with now-planted artichoke seeds.

It's *Almost* Spring

I've started to browse the seed catalogs for ideas and I've started to plan what I want to plant.

My only "musts" are tomatoes and basil. I know they're not terribly interesting, but there are few better foods than fresh tomatoes and basil.

I haven't put together the grow light shelving...yet. I think I'll plant the artichoke seeds this weekend, but they take a while to germinate so the shelves aren't needed just yet.

January Gardening

It is 33 degrees F today and it feels downright balmy. I went out to check on the garden today.

I was curious to see if there were any mice burrows. I was worried because I mulched my garden before it frosted. I was warned against doing this because it makes it more inviting to mice. But, last winter, I lost a lot of my spring bulbs due to the cold and I wasn't patient enough to wait until after frost. I did not find any mouse holes or burrows, just a lot of bunny tracks.

The snow is about 10 inches deep.

A Little Soil Prep

I took advantage of the 55 degrees and sunny weather to do a little soil preparation.

Late this fall, I adopted the neighboring garden plot. The gardeners hadn't been able to come by and it was untended. So I watered and weeded and last week pulled up the frozen tomato plants. Today, I turned over the soil. Like my plot, they have six inches of top soil on top of hard-packed gravel. I didn't bother digging through the gravel though. I've done that in parts of my garden and it's a huge job.

In my garden, I pulled up the (beautiful) swiss chard to make way for garlic. It's supposed to rain tomorrow so it would be ideal to get the garlic in this evening. I made a 3'6" by 3' bed. Depending on how densely we plant the garlic, it can hold from 56-192 heads. I don't think I'll be able to eat 192 heads of garlic, so it may be wise to space them out a bit!

I also planted some Allium flowers around the chives. I hope the Allium gigantum bulb I planted survives. It will be a fun flower.

Garlic bed in the far corner. To the left you can see the freshly tilled neighboring plot.

Colorful kale, mums, and dianthus. I expected the mums to bloom more than they did. They have lots of blossoms, but few flowers.

Note the long shadows. I took this picture at almost exactly noon today.