Friday, February 15, 2013

Planting Brassica Seeds and Other Early Season Veggies


This week and last week we finally got around to planting seeds. We're late! We used soil blocks again. This is our second year using blocks. We have no plans to go back to containers!

Making soil blocks is plenty of extra work in the beginning, but caring for the growing plants and transplanting them to the garden is a breeze! Root bind, and the corollary problem, weather shock was not a problem last year. Our plants were also very healthy last year; we attribute that to the added amounts of soil nutrients packed into the compressed blocks.  We expect the same to be true again this season.

We usea simple formula of 30% garden soil, 30% composted soil, 30% peat moss or coir and 10% sand.


We made 500 blocks.

Here's what we planted:
Onions                         200 blocks
Leeks                            50 blocks
Broccoli                         50 blocks
Green Cabbage              35 blocks
Cauliflower                     25 blocks
Celery                            25 blocks
Red Cabbage                 25 blocks
Brussels Sprouts            10 blocks
Pac Choi                        10 blocks
Baby Choi                      10 blocks
Tatsoi                             10 blocks
Turnip                             10 blocks
Kale                                 5 blocks

Happy gardening this coming season!
                                


12 comments:

  1. Jody - I'm going to search for more info on your blocks in your blog.

    But - what are you going to use the other 35 blocks for...? :)

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    1. I'm thinking we'll plant a few salad seeds with the rest.

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  2. I love blocks too. I'm often time crunched during planting season, but not in the time before. Right now I have plenty of time to make soil blocks.

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    1. Yea! That's a good way of thinking about it.

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  3. You are ahead of me! I'm going to start celery, Asian veggies, leeks, kale, collards and lettuce tomorrow. Next weekend I will start my broccoli and maybe cauliflower & cabbage.

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    1. I guess you'll direct sow onions. That's smart. I should think about that.

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    2. Jody, I have had no success growing onions from seed. I plant sets or purchased plants.

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  4. That's a lot of blocks! Interesting that you made them yourselves. Sounds like a more economical way to do it and I appreciate all the information.

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    1. We're convinced of this model. It's the norm in Europe. We're just glad to have been introduced to it for ourselves.

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  5. I am very excited to see the progression of your brassicas again this year! I'll be busy this summer building the cottage. Ill have to start some for fall. Spring is out because im still all over flying/working!

    Im just going to live vicariously through your broccoli!

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