carrots, beets & cole crops

well today was a warm one and the next two are supposed to be cold and rainy and maybe a freeze..geeeeeeeze...
but i couldn't stop myself...i had to plant..
got the mini rototiller out and into my little kitchen garden and just had to plant something...

soooooooooo here goes for today
beets and carrots..for those who have never grown either...it's pretty easy
but first a look at the seeds
they are tiny and it will take time to sow them with some distance between seeds

you can soak the beets just like you do peas..but you don't have to





rototill or spade and then rake it level

i do hold them in my hand for a minute and tell them to grow if they feel like it
then into the little shallow row i have made

try to space them as best you can..each will be a full plant and the room they have between each other
will make a difference in their size

mark your rows..which don't have to be that far apart..i didn't measure but i think they are 11 inches between rows
pull a little dirt over top

and then water in
...you water after you pull the dirt over for a reason
if you water before..the seeds tend to run with the water and you will have a puddle of seeds trying to grow
and big blank spots in the rows

here's my little plot


i added some sand and some peat moss here last year to lighten up the soil as most of it was clay..then mixed in some good composted soil and rototilled it
this year i just rototilled and planted...

as you can see you don't need a largae amount of space..and they would probably grow in a big tub if you wanted to try that
there isn't a lot of work involved..so try it...


ok.. i bought a 6 pak of each cauliflower and broccoli... i used to plant way more..but if you plant them all at the same time they are ready at the same time and unless you plan on canning or freezing..you don't need more than 6 each...
we will probably eat two and give two to my mom and freeze the other two for thur the winter

so i bought the first 6 and have seeds that i will put into the same plot in a week or two for a second batch
if you have never done cole crops..the darn leaves all look alike..so pay attention to who's where when you stick them in the ground




Freezing them

i got lucky and the cauliflower pak had 8 in it...
i don't can cole crops but freezing is easy

i pull the head apart to seperate the floretts
blanche them in hot water ( maybe a minute..or untill the color deepens)
then a quick dump into cold water with some ice cubes..this stops the cooking

don't let them soak..hot -cold -then-dry

onto a towel to dry them..you want all the water off before you freeze them

i lay them onto a cookie sheet spaced so they aren't touching..
put the cookie sheet into the freezer
in maybe 12 hours or the next day
they are nicely frozen and i put them either into a freezer bag or a plastic container
date and mark the container

when you want to use them

pull out the amount that you want and go straight into the steamer..frozen
give them maybe 3 to 5 to 7 minutes depending on the amount and how soft you want them
and yum..just like fresh

sorry got ahead of myself..lol..first you have to grow them

*****

so over top of your plot
turn the six pak on it's side and lightly pinch the little growing well
out comes the plant and the starting soil it was in

place the plants where you think you want them
like this






this gives you a way to see if you have left enough space between plants..and if not it's an easy fix

ok..this dirt has been rototilled and compost was added last fall so all i am going to do now is plant
i will put seeds in the same plot a bit later..
and these may be a bit close..but i know the soil is rich and can deal with that

so make a space for the plant and roots to fit..i put the trowel in the ground and move it back and sit the plant in front of it



cole crops tend to have a long thin stem to the root so plant them as far as you can..but do not bury the heart of the plant




pull the soil in and press it firmly with your hand

then water them in...i am using a sprinkling can right now..
and i will mulch with something later so i don't have to weed

if you have not worked your soil before..you can toss a little fertilizer in the planting hole
but you need to dig deeper down and then toss the fertilizer and put some dirt between it and the plant
that way as the roots reach down they get some food

you can also top dress with fertilizer later..before you mulch..but you have to be careful not to burn the seedlings

ahhhhhhhhhh hum..did i say it was going to freeze maybe...

well cole crops can take the cold but not too many plant can take a nasty hard frost or freeze
sooooooooooooooo
i will make mini greenhouses for each of them..this is also a way to protect some early stuff
if you are like me and just can't wait for the right time for everything

a clean plastic gallon jug...these just had water in them
you cut off the bottom and remove the cap




save the bottom... if you have slugs you can put a little beer in them and those little pests will gladly drown for ya..lol
or just toos the bottoms in the recyling

then you place the bottle over each plan..pressing it into the soil so it won't blow away
ta-da..mini green house



be sure to remove them during the day..if it is hot or you will cook the plant
leave the handles on so you can run a string thur them and hang them for the day and then replace them at night



ok.. there are all my tips and screts..go forth and plant

Did I hear you say carrots?

Once again fantastic post sky..cheers

Sky, with your blow by organised blow and pictures I don't think any one can go wrong with planting now. I know you have showed me exactly what to do and I have now heaps of information from your good self on how to grow. Thank you my love for all your hard work and patience with us. xxxooo

welcome, susanspy.....
we especially like carrots around here.....

Thanks for the informative post sky. I am inspired to plant more, bought seeds for beets carrots and fall crop of lettuce

oh gee
guess i should have updated sooner..
hi susanspy..

thanks Louise..i just wanted to help out anyone who hadn't tried to grow their own veggies by showing the steps
that i do and hope they can see it's not that hard - even if you buy the plants
we used to have a huge garden but are trying real hard to down size ..not doing real well with that..sigh
anyway

here's the beets and carrots today and weeds
i only planted enough to eat and not can
the weather has been extreme and between the humidty and the rain storms i just haven't been as good as i should about pulling those weeds
you will see most of the stuff is mulched and that elliminates weeding


unfortunately the cole crops were lovely but the cabbage moths had and early week and laid eggs and the larve had a field day eating the stems
so i had to start over and mixed it up a bit...
i did three colors of sweet bell peppers and mixed them with the new plants
they're doing pretty good

Thanks looks great! I got radishes not beets. I read they are easy to grow. Plan on going over to Kmart to buy a plastic bin to plant more on the patio. After looking at the prices of pretty pots, I decided it was the best way to go. All my stuff is doing nicely

Lots of tomatoes coming on, will plant more peppers too. The lettuce is done so will plant the radishes there.
and beans look like Jack and the Beanstalk