Container vege gardening in Portland, OR- part 2

by Esmeralda
(Portland, OR)

I am fairly certain that I’m falling into the trap that many new-ish vege gardners tend to unwittingly stumble on, only the difference is I’m diving into it as though it were a swimming pool in summer. I can’t decide on what to plant, so I’m planting EVERYTHING. Admiral Akbar is screaming and waving his flappy little hands “It’s a trap!” and I’m merrily flouncing right into it, becasue I sincerely believe that I will be able to manage all this s***.

Really.

Anyway, what time I didn’t spend goofing off this weekend, I spent rolling around in the dirt like a little child. Ok, well it wasn’t all mudpies and archaeological dig sites, I did in fact manage to get some seriously laborious stuff done.

I made a moat around it, then lined my grape/ strawberry patch with the big mouldering pile of bricks that had been begging to be creatively used, I did battle with another spurge plant that was dominating the little dirt patch that sits right alongside the road, then filled it with peas. I also pruned the big, old, sickly grape vine that also sits out there. I think maybe this will be the year that it really comes back to life- even the branches I thought were all dead had some spring in them. It was very encouraging. I direct seeded some more early veges, (baby corn, some other stuff I can’t recall), and planted the “clearance” plants I got for 75% off at the Portland Nusery (wild strawberries, salal, spearmint, and catnip- which is in a planter hanging from the fig tree. It’s 99% dead sticks, but Ludwig could smell it across the houe and almost put his eye out trying to reach the new growth)

I also transplanted some of the beans that I had started indoors. Ideally I should not have put them out for some time, but they were getting really out of hand, and I just didn’t really have anything to do with them, so if they die, I suppose I’ll just direct seed them later in the year. If the DO live, then I’ll have some gorgeous and hardy bush and runner beans. We can only wait and see- it’s been a warm year, so who knows? Anyway, that freed up space in the *incubator* fishtank, so I started some violetta italia cauliflower (it’s purple!), some thyme, and some more wild strawberries. I really wish I had a spare 10gal tank to use instead of just the 5.5gal, since it clearly works SO WELL to start healthy seedlings.


On a final note- I’m especially excited about the “stawberry spinach” seeds I got from Baker Creek Heirloom (I’m growing 98% heirloom or organic seeds btw) — it’s neither a spinach NOR a strawberry, but is instead related to lamb’s quarters. It’s a delightful looking plant that produces BOTH edible leaves AND fruits. So it’s super efficient. The fruit has been described as both “bland” and “insipid” , but I have hope that with the right kind of fruit fertilizer, it will sweeten up.

I’ve heard salmonberries described as both “insipid” and “excellent” depending on the location/ plant- and I have to say that I have tasted both “excellent” and “insipid” salmonberries myself. I know they can be both very tart/ sweet and grapefruity, or conversely, they can taste like old shoe rubber. I, personally, think it has a lot to do with the quality of the soil- like a person who eats too much garlic and has potent BO.

Baker Creek said their particular variety was nearly extinct in gardens, and was only recently rediscovered in the back of a monestary!! I guess monks would have rare heirloom seed, wouldn’t they? hah.
So anyhow, I’m going to give it a shot and see how it goes. I’d love a spinach plant that *also* produces fruit, even if it IS “insipid”, I bet I can find some use for it.

Find the rest of my blog entry, plus more, at http://esmeraldasquietlife.wordpress.com/