Lettuce and Spinach Seeds Mark Start of 2007 Season

Tomato Seedlings Forest, originally uploaded by joaobambu.

Officially kicking off the 2007 season, lettuce (romaine and loose leaf) and spinach seeds were started tonight. 27 plants in all got the call up. A modest start, given how early it is and the depth of snow on the ground, these seeds should sprout within a few days.

While it might be a bit early, my 28-year-old copy of the Victory Garden suggests otherwise, recommending that I start taking steps before the close of February. Big up, Mr. Crockett. I poured some rudbeckia seed on the ground in honor of you, kind sir.

Some tips for how to start seeds
1. Use a heating pad or a seed starting mat to ensure your seedlings get sufficient heat.
2. Get seed starting mix or equivalent, but don't use regular soil as it might contain pathogens that will kill your seedlings.
3. Make sure your new plants get plenty of light. Think: a really sunny window or two fluorescent lights suspended just inches above your plants and switched on for 18 hours a day.
4. Keep the the soil moist. A no-brainer, but be sure to check on them from time to time and keep a lid on your starting tray during germination.

Source: University of Missouri Extension

Growing Degree Days

sundance, originally uploaded by nice+smooth ultramedia.

How fast plants develop is largely dependent on the weather. Cold weather means slower growth whereas warmer weather brings faster growth. Flowers don't bloom because it's April. Plants bloom because April (as well as March, February, and January) have brought warmer temperatures. While calendars are a great way to keep track of plant development, a better way might be to track just how much warmth a plant has received.

This can be done by logging growing degree days ("GDD"). A GDD is a simple calculation. In essence, it's a running tally of the number of degrees above a base point. Although there are many ways of calculating GDD, the easiest way is to take the average daily temperature (high + low / 2) and subtract a base temperate. 50 F is a good base point. Below that, most plants don't grow so well. So, for example, if today's high were 70 and the low was 40, we'd have 5 growing degree days.

Great. So what's that mean? From this events like bloom and pest emergence can be predicted. Plants develop at somewhat specific times. For example, corn is ready at about 1360 GDD. Red maples begin to bloom at 75 GDD. Forsythias get going at about 86 GDD.

From Weather Underground to your local extension agency, GDD data is plentiful. The NWS NOW Data has sensors all over faithfully logging GDD. In fact, there's one not more than a mile away from the grange, which should make it easy to log events based on GDD. While there are plenty of resources for commercial growers, there appear to be few geared toward gardeners. For example, a tomato might take 70 days to bear ripe fruit, but, how will colder or warmer weather affect fruit set and maturation? As such, I'll try to log events and key them to GDDs.

Sources
National Weather Service, National Corn Growing Degree Day Tally
Mont. St. Univ., Using Growing Degree Days to Predict Plant Stages
Ohio. St. Univ. Ext., Biological Calendars (fantastic power point)
Ohio. St. Univ. Ext., Summary of Phenological Events
National Phenological Network
Ohio. St. Univ. Ext. Growing Degree Days as a Method of Rating the Maturity of Corn Hybrids
Weather Underground, Degree Days
NYS GDD Tracker
UMass GDD Checklist (providing information about the timing of blooming and pest emergence based on GDD)

Fooling Nature: Forcing Forsythia

Plants bloom in the spring as the weather warms up. For the most part, plants aren't as smart as my readers. They can be tricked into blooming months ahead of time. Suckers. A whole bunch of plants, from forsythia to fothergilla, can be forced to bloom. Forsythia is a good candidate. Cuttings can be taken relatively early and they are quick to bloom when brought inside.

"Mimic springtime and your branch will bloom"
Although forcing blooms requires little more than warm temperatures and water, the plants must be out of their dormancy phase. Forsythia's usually ready by mid-January.

On a relatively warm day when the branches aren't frozen solid, take a bunch of cuttings and bring them inside. Mash up the ends with a hammer or your forehead. This will help them suck up lots of water, which, it seems helps them bloom. Next, stick them in a warm place and stare. Within a week or two, you'll have flowers.

top row l to r: 1/25, 2/3; bottom row l to r: 2/8, 2/10

Sources: "Garden Geek," Iowa State Extension Service, About.com

Raised Bed Construction Plans

The thermometer suggests otherwise, but warmer temperatures are not too far off. It's time to get building. After a few weeks of research, here's a compilation of my raised bed gardening knowledge. In the thumbnails are plans for a 4' by 8' raised gardening bed I made using Google SketchUp. Unlike most designs I found, this one has a trellis for growing peas and training tomatoes. Although a trellis can be fashioned out of PVC, the wood should provide a more soothing appearance.

UPDATE: See the finished product here. See how to string a trellis here.

The Benefits of Raised Beds
Much has been written on the subject, such as here, here, and here. In short, raised garden beds give complete control over soil conditions. The soil is keep loose and well aerated because we're not walking all over it.

Wood: Natural or Pressure-Treated?
This structure will take a beating. It will be outside in the elements, freezing, thawing, roasting, and, it will almost always be wet. Under these conditions untreated lumber (except for naturally rot resistant species like cedar or black locust) will almost certainly rot in a short amount of time, perhaps a couple of years. Pressure-treated, however, easily might last a decade or more. Even though some authorities state that newer pressure-treatment agents such as ACQ are safe to use around kids and food, let's not forget that the old formulation, CCA, has been taken off the market out of fear that it was leaching arsenic into the environment. With all of this conflicting information, others simply play it safe and go with untreated wood.

The Materials
The Raised Bed Frame
(2) 8' 2x12s
(2) 4' 2x12s
(1) 4' 2x4
(4) 1' 4x4s

The Trellis
(2) 5' 2x4s
(1) 8' 3" 2x4
(2) 3' 1 7/16" 1x4s (bracing)

Vegetable Root Development

rutabagarama, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

Growing plants is as much about feeding the soil as it is feeding the actual plant. At the intersection of plant and soil is the root. Here's a link to exhuastive treatment of root development of vegetable crops. Published 80 years ago, it still remains a wonder resource.