Wavy rows of radishes appeared just three days after planting seed – three days of rain and warm overnight temperatures triggered their sprouting.
When I last blogged about the garden, I had just finished two days work clearing a massive tangle of weeds, roto-tilling the soil, planting a bunch of seeds and watering them all…then had crossed my fingers. To my delight, in only a week things are already beginning to grow!
I returned to the Roseville Community Garden to check things out on Wednesday afternoon (after some intense rains Monday and Tuesday) expecting to find some of the loose, recently tilled soil washed out, or the transplanted peppers, squash, zucchini and cucumber plants flattened. The peppers were still too delicate when I transplanted them, and they indeed were decimated. But all else seemed to survive…and seeds for the two variety of radishes I had planted (Cherry Belle and Crimson Giant) were sprouting after just three days. Yay!
The wet week and very warm nights seem to have been just what the newly-planted seeds needed. I returned this morning (Saturday, May 26) with my parents – who are visiting from Minnesota for the next few weeks – to plant tomatoes and peppers. More change was apparent – even more seeds are sprouting. I now also have tiny lettuce, chard, beets and broccoli plants popping up in wavy little rows.
Below is a picture from this morning, to give an idea of what has changed in the last week (the original “baseline image” can be viewed by clicking here). The six tomato plants are all nestled into their cone-shaped cages, and the four pepper plants are tucked in and ready to grow as well. I just hope the massive thunderstorms that rumbled through Sussex and Warren Counties this afternoon – pummeling the area with 2-3 inches of rain in an hour – did not pummel the plants!
Check back for updates as it’s looking like the face of the garden will change rapidly in the next couple of weeks, and the first “harvest” of radishes should come on or about June 11th, if the indication on the packet is right.
With tomatoes and peppers planted, and radishes, lettuce, chard, beets and broccoli beginning to sprout, the garden has changed noticeably in the last week.