I direct seeded these guys in the garden on March 23. The two pictures below show what they looked like on April 19th and May 31st.
beets, carrots and sugar snap peas on April 19, 2021
beets, carrots and sugar snap peas on May 31, 2021
If you look carefully at the first picture, you can just about make out the two rows of beets: one on each side of the tape measure. Then there’s a row of tiny little carrot tops in the center, and a row of sugar snap pea seedlings against the back of the bed.
In the second picture the beet and carrot tops are a foot tall and the sugar snap peas are growing over the top of the trellis.
The tape measure is there because I was thinning them out. What a tedious job that is! Even for just an eight foot row. But necessary. I made sure the carrots were spaced two inches apart and the beets, three.
I used Ferry Morse seeds for both root crops. The beets are Detroit Dark Red and the carrots are Rainbow Mix.
The beets could be harvested any time now.
The carrots are a bit small. They need another week or so in the ground.
I must confess that I have no idea when to pick sugar snap peas. I don’t want to pick them too soon because then they’ll just taste like grass (or what I imagine grass would taste like had I ever eaten it). But I don’t want to leave them on the plant too long, either, and risk adversely affecting production. The ones for sale in the grocery store are a little puffier than the one in the (second) picture below. So I’ll leave that one where it is for another day or two.
Plants starting to flower
Peas beginning to grow
These plants were direct seeded in the garden on March 23 with Ferry Morse seeds. They sprouted fairly quickly, in about a week. These pictures were taken on May 23, so the “62 days to harvest” information on the seed packet is spot on. The seeds were not inoculated but the bed was amended with compost and a general purpose organic fertilizer before planting. I only had room for one eight-foot row, but I have lots of seeds left so if the yield is good I’ll plant more in the fall.
If I remember correctly, the plants only produce for a few weeks. They don’t like the heat. Fingers crossed for a bumper crop before summer sets in. We’ll update in a few weeks.
June 21: I ripped the plants out today to make room for the sweet potatoes. The total yield from my eight foot row was 3.23 pounds. I don’t know if that’s good or not. I do know that sugar snap peas cost about $5.00 per pound in the grocery store, so I grew over $15.00 worth of peas from a $1.78 packet of seeds. Not a bad return on investment.
So in order to reach my goal of producing 375 pounds of vegetables from my little garden patch, I have to make the most of every inch for every minute of the gardening season. That means planting and replanting as the seasons change. But what if the old plants aren’t harvest-ready when it’s time to replant with the new?
Case in point: Bed #1. According to my plan, the spring planting of Quickstar kohlrabi should be ready to harvest by May 1, and the spring planting of Ferry’s Round Dutch cabbage should be ready by May 21. That leaves the bed open for the tomatoes and eggplant which will occupy it through the fall.
It’s May 9. The kohlrabi can be picked anytime now. The cabbage, however, is nowhere near ready, and will probably need another month. The tomatoes can’t wait that long.
The kohlrabi is almost ready…
The cabbage is not.
The tomatoes need transplanting now!
If I harvest the kohlrabi and weed real well, I’ll be able to see how much space I have to work with. If there was room, I could plant the tomatoes amongst the cabbage. It would only be for a month.
Apparently that’s a no-no. Most gardening sites agree on the inadvisability of planting nightshades and brassicas together.
Bed #3 is another problem. The sugar snap peas, carrots and beets are nowhere near ready and the sweet potato slips are here and need to be planted. Now, if I remember correctly, it took the sweet potatoes a while to get going last year. However, the carrots, peas and beets probably need another 4 weeks. The sweet potatoes could be enormous by then! I’m afraid they’re going to completely overwhelm the spring stuff. I’ll keep an eye on the vines and cut them back if I have to. I’m also going to plant some in Bed #3 and some in Bed #5 so nothing’s too crowded.
I don’t know why this is happening, I mean, I can add, after all. Which is all that’s required. Days to germination plus days to maturity equals days to harvest. I should have added in a few days (weeks?) to account for the unexpected. Like a very (very!) cold, wet spring, and covid-corrupted shipping schedules. Not complaining though! I’m happy and healthy and planting sweet potatoes! Life is good.
