Going Big with Bolero

For years I have had difficulty starting carrot seed. While I continue to struggle with the perfect way to start carrots, I tried a new technique this time around. I seeded and watered the bed. Then I used a white 1-yard macro bag (like those used for carrying sand) to cover the top of the bed. After a week or two, I saw little seedlings sprouting up when I lifted the bag from the bed. Given that I have never had success growing carrots in Fairfield, this was a big win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I did overseed, so I spent quite a bit of time thinning out the seedlings. But over time, the results were worth it. We mostly ate them a little at a time until the heat kicked in. Once the temperatures started getting to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the carrots began bolting. If you have ever had a woody carrot, you understand the importance of harvesting the root before it bolts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, we had plenty of carrots. We were able to store a couple of bags and give quite a few away. I’m always grateful for the opportunities I have to share carrots – or any of my vegetables – with others. While I don’t usually grow any kind of hybrid vegetable, I feel that this was a good way for me to start down the road of growing carrots in the area where I live. In the future, I would love to do some trials with other vigorous heirloom varieties to see if there is anything else that might work well in my climate.

Cover Crops in the Grape Harvest Bins

Every year I change what I am growing in my winter gardens. The majority of the time it is a cover crop. This last winter, I chose to grow out Mustard Greens. Mustard Greens are usually very good at cleaning the soil, though they don’t provide a lot of organic matter. At both of the gardens where I planted them, they grew a bit wispy. However, at the old chicken plot, they were a little more vigorous. Once I had taken the time to cut the plants down, I covered them with a high quality soil mix.

 

 

 

 

 

For the second garden, which had received a lot of city compost with excessive pathogenic bacteria, the results were nowhere near as good. The plants dithered and only grew a little. We tried planting buckwheat, but to no avail. So in the end, I planted some fava beans in some high quality compost. Those seemed to do very well and helped better prepare my garden for the summer crop

 

 

 

Winter Wine Barrel

While not as safe from critters as planting in the greenhouse, planting in a wine barrel worked out pretty well for me this winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I learned three things while using the wine barrel for my winter garden. The first was a bit of a surprise. Despite my previous experiences, I discovered that I actually like radishes. Don’t get me wrong. I am not a fan of spicy radishes; but rather, at least to me, chopped up and stir-fried radishes are really good. Unlike in the heat of the greenhouse, the lettuce that grew in the wine barrel was very thick and dark. But also unlike the greenhouse, the squirrels bit through the barrel lettuce - so I didn’t get to enjoy much of that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last thing I learned from my winter garden was that I can actually grow carrots here in the Bay Area. Howbeit I am starting off with hybrid carrots, hopefully sometime in the future I can ease into a vigorous open-pollinated variety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I'm grateful for the opportunity to garden in a wine barrel this last winter. Despite the occasional attacks from the squirrels, we managed to realize a bountiful harvest.

Winter in the Greenhouse.

After many years of fighting squirrels and slugs in the winter, I decided to try something a little different in the winter of 2022-2023. Specifically, I decided to try growing away from the main garden. My theory was that if I put the plants far from the squirrels, they would tend to bother them less. While this is generally true, it is especially true in the greenhouse, where the squirrels can’t get to my plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My greenhouse plants grew faster than those grown out of the greenhouse, but this came at a cost. Winter vegetables often perform better in cool weather. The lettuce was not as good, as dark or as thick and the carrots were not as sweet as when kissed by a frost. On the other hand, radishes are not as fussy. Unlike the other two vegetables in the greenhouse, the radishes I planted in the greenhouse performed just as well – if not better – than if planted outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The primary disadvantage of growing in the greenhouse was having to water more often. Because the greenhouse does not let water in, I needed to water the plants a lot more than I had to water my outdoor plants – which tended to remain well watered due to the rain and cool weather outside.