New Veggie Residents

Snap peas emerged right on track. I planted them in a 4' row about 2" apart. I soaked them for 8 hours in a bowl of tepid water to plump them up and prepare them for planting. I heard that this increases the likelihood of seed germination. So far it looks like they are all coming up.

Here are my Green Sprouting Calabrese broccoli soldiers. I'm really going to have to thin these out. Since this is my first veggie garden, I was unsure what percentage of the seeds would grow. Good thing we love broccoli.

Red Cabbage (Salad Delight) visitors.

Other new seedlings beginning to grow that are not pictured are:

• All Season Romaine Mix Lettuce
• Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach,
• Red Detroit Beets
• Red Chantelay Carrots (all planted the third week in Aug.)

On a side note, I went to the library today and checked out an arm-load of edible gardening books.  One book that I’ve begun reading is Square Foot Gardening.  The theory is that it’s not an effective use of space to plant seeds/plants in a row.  The author promotes a 4’x4′ raised bed divided into 12 square feet.  Each section is planted with the appropriate number of seeds so there’s not as much wasted seed and space in between rows.  In another book last night I also read that a “hexagon” plan is an efficient use of space with every other row staggered from the row before it, allowing for optimal growing space without any wasted space.  Hmmm, I’m going to test these theories next time seeds need sowing.  

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