Celery has appeared!

Celery has appeared!  Only 4 or 5 so far though.  Hoping more will come along soon.

That's 11 days for germination.

Didn't keep good stats last year to compare with no heat mat.

Parsley has appeared!

Two parslettes have appeared.  Removed tub from heat mat and put it under lights.

Asparagus repotted into soil

14(!) asparagus sproutlings repotted into their own soil tubs.  That's 14/16 seeds that sprouted, assuming the other two don't pop up in the coming days.  Pretty darn good!

Asparagus has appeared!

Yay!  Both asparagus tubs each have 2 sproutlings discovered today.  Removed them from the heat mat and put them under lights.  Will wait a little longer before repotting; hopefully the other sproutlings will follow shortly.

Celery sowed

Sowed celery by sprinkling the tiny seeds in a vermiculite tub.  They'll benefit from the new heated seed mat from the get-go.

Heated seed-starting mat

Bought a heated seed-starting mat today.  Hoping this will help the asparaguys get going, no sign of them yet.  Has been on for a few hours and the tubs seem nice and toasty now.

Sowed parsley and rosemary

Sowed parsley and rosemary today, in vermiculite tubs. 

Asparagus seeds started

First indoor sowing (begonias don't count)!

I miss having asparagus in my garden.  So, sowed 2 x 8 seeds, in vermiculite tubs the old fashioned way.  Put them in clear salad "mini greenhouses".  Now the longgggggggg wait to first harvest begins.  Seed was free from Telsing.

Wakey wakey, tuberous begonias!

Potted the two tuberous begonias today, in damp soil.  One was very light weight and hollow-feeling, not sure if it's a goner or what.  The other (with a dried stem poking up) was nice and hefty.

This is 3 weeks earlier than last year, because last year it felt like I gave them a late start.

Freeze up

Hard frost last night.  More like a deep freeze actually.  -11 at 7am this morning, was below zero all night and all day/night tonight.

Milder weather coming up starting Sunday, but wondering how the chard and celery will fare after this. Also wonder if the carrots still in the ground will be ok.

Straw for the chard, celery, and garlic

Bought a bale of straw at Ritchie's for $11.

Spread a bunch of it around the chard and celery by the vertical bed, as well as some on the various garlic areas.

Some chard/celery is un-strawed; will compare how they survive with the strawed parts.

First frost

The tomato plants finally died within the last couple of days.  Until now they were still normal and healthy looking, but now the leaves have all withered and shrunk.

Planted more garlic

Planted more garlic.  ~4 in the overhang bed and a few in the carrot bed.  Left most of the ones that had already sprouted (used one of them in a recipe).

Great fall garlic planting video

https://youtu.be/ad3YRPorWoU

No first frost yet

For the record, no first frost yet, at least not in my backyard.  Has been a very warm fall, and forecast not looking like frost for at least another week.

Things that are still going strong

Wow, October 24th and so many things still to harvest in the garden.

Big tomatoes:  Several large tomatoes still on the plant, some ripening, some still green. No frost yet and probably not for another week at least, so will leave them on the plant for now.

Cherry tomatoes:  The plant I bought late-season and planted I think on July 22nd has done amazingly well.  Have harvested ~a dozen or so ripe ones so far, and there are tons of green ones as well as more ripening.  Will leave on plant until frost comes.  The Tiny Tim plant has been long dormant.

Chard:  Tons of huge leaves.  Haven't been doing much with them lately, all cooked out I guess, plus my basement freezer is already almost full.  Really should get back to eating all this healthy free food.

Celery:  Still quite a bit of celery left too.

Peas:  See other post.

Carrots:  Still a few sizable ones left, and quite a few immature ones that who knows, might get a chance to grow to good size yet.

Green onions:  The ones in the onion bed had a resurgence starting a few weeks ago, very handy.

Potatoes:  One little patch left that I haven't dug up yet, although with the pathetic harvest from what I've dug so far, not holding out hope that there's much in there.

Last beets

Harvested the last beets today.  Delicious steamed, with margarine and vinegar.  Will definitely grow them again next year.

Fall pea harvest

First fall peas harvested about a week ago, and a few more pods harvested every few days since then, which will probably continue for a another week at most.

Nowhere near as tasty or high yield as spring crop.  And, now many pods have a sickly look, something going on with their outside, but the peas inside are good.  Shame though to have to toss all those pod exteriors.

A year or two ago the fall peas were a great harvest.  Oh well!

Uh oh, garlic has sprouted

Woops, must have planted too early, especially with this crazy warm fall we've had.

Might leave a few in anyway to see what they do, but this weekend will replant.

Planted garlic ('Siberian')

Planted ~6 garlic bulbs today.