Ciscoe's visit to IDCG on Thursday, March 20th
Due to a change in plans Ciscoe Morris will speak to the IDCG gardeners and Intel employees on Thursday the 20th. The presentation will be held in the Intel DuPont Building 2 (follow signs to the DP-2 lobby) starting at noon that day. Lucky winners of a drawing will receive Ciscoe's book: "Ask Ciscoe: Oh, la, la! Your Gardening Questions Answered". They are welcome to request Ciscoe to autograph their copies of the book.IDC Garden Work Party - A Roaring Success
The rain on Saturday, March 8th did little to damped the enthusiasm of the IDC gardeners who turned out in record numbers to kick off the 2014 gardening season. We welcome several new members to the garden this season. Thanks to Dennis, Avery, Dan, Jim and Stu, our panel of veteran gardeners, for providing excellent guidance and answering questions from the audience.
We welcome all gardeners to emails any questions you have related to the either the garden or gardening techniques to idcgardens@gmail.com at any time and we will forward it to the appropriate person(s) for an answer.
Thanks to the efforts of all participants that day, we cleaned up the garden and surrounds in preparation for the coming season. We have several yards of mushroom compost available for dressing any beds that need nutrients this season. The recommendation is to add a layer about 1" thick to the beds.
We have received donations of a variety of seeds from the Territorial Seed Company, Wilco Farm Store and others and they are in the garden shed or the larger greenhouse, for all to use. Please feel free to use what you need. We also have a supply of trays with different cell sizes and starting soil mixture available for starters in the larger greenhouse (GH2). You are welcome to either use the tables along the south wall of the smaller green house (GH1) to grow the starts or take them home for closer attention and care.
The Washington State University Extension service has provided an excellent guide for vegetable gardeners in this state. Check it out at http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/EM057E/EM057E.pdf. Here is an excerpt from the document showing the pertinent information for some selected vegetables that are of interest to us:
Seeding recommendations for common vegetable crops grown in Washington (adapted from
Kumar et al. 2009, 3-4).
|
Seeding
|
Germination
|
Growth
|
||||||||
|
Vegetable
|
Depth to Plant (inch)
|
Distance Between Plants (inch)
|
Distance Between Rows (inch)
|
Number of Days to Germinate
|
Optimum Soil Temperature
Range (°F)
|
Base Air Temperature (°F)
|
Weeks to Grow to Transplant Size
|
Days to Maturity
|
||
|
Arugula
|
¼
|
6
|
10-12
|
7-14
|
45-75
|
40-55
|
DS1
|
30-40
|
||
|
Celtuce
|
¼
|
8
|
10-20
|
7-10
|
50-80
|
50-60
|
4-5
|
80
|
||
|
Bean, Yardlong
|
1
|
3
|
24-36
|
6-13
|
60
|
50
|
DS
|
75-85
|
||
|
Beet
|
½-1
|
3
|
12-18
|
7-10
|
50-85
|
40
|
DS
|
45-55
|
||
|
Bok Choy
|
¼-½
|
4-12
|
10-18
|
5-14
|
50-80
|
45
|
4-5
|
30-50
|
||
|
Broccoli
|
¼-½
|
12-18
|
18-24
|
3-10
|
50-60
|
40
|
5-6
|
50-80
|
||
|
Cabbage
|
¼-½
|
12-24
|
24-36
|
4-10
|
50-90
|
50
|
5-6
|
65-95
|
||
|
Cabbage, Chinese
|
¼-½
|
10-18
|
18-30
|
4-10
|
60-85
|
50
|
4-6
|
70-90
|
||
|
Carrot
|
¼-½
|
1-2
|
12-24
|
7-21
|
50-75
|
45
|
DS
|
60-80
|
||
|
Cauliflower
|
¼-½
|
18
|
24-36
|
4-10
|
45-85
|
50
|
5-6
|
65-80
|
||
|
Chard, Swiss
|
½
|
4-12
|
18-24
|
7-14
|
50-85
|
40
|
DS
|
55-65
|
||
|
Endive, Escarole
|
½
|
8-10
|
12-24
|
5-9
|
50-80
|
40
|
4-6
|
50-60
|
||
|
Chive
|
¼-½
|
2-4
|
12-18
|
7-21
|
50-70
|
45
|
4-6
|
80-90
|
||
|
Collards
|
½-¾
|
8-18
|
18-30
|
4-10
|
40-85
|
40
|
5-6
|
65-85
|
||
|
Corn, Sweet
|
2
|
6-12
|
24-36
|
6-10
|
60-90
|
48
|
DS
|
65-90
|
||
|
Corn Salad
|
¼-½
|
4-6
|
6-18
|
10-14
|
50-65
|
40
|
DS
|
45-55
|
||
|
Cress
|
¼-½
|
4-6
|
3-4
|
4-10
|
55-75
|
45
|
DS
|
25-45
|
||
|
Cucumber
|
1
|
12-18
|
36-48
|
6-10
|
70-95
|
55
|
4-5
|
45-65
|
||
|
Eggplant
|
¼-½
|
18
|
24-36
|
7-14
|
70-90
|
60
|
6-9
|
75-95
|
||
|
Garlic
|
2
|
4-6
|
12-24
|
6-10
|
35-50
|
30
|
DS
|
90-150
|
||
|
Kale
|
¼-½
|
8-12
|
18-24
|
3-10
|
60-90
|
40
|
5-6
|
55-80
|
||
|
Kohlrabi
|
¼-½
|
8
|
18-24
|
3-10
|
50-80
|
40
|
6-8
|
60-70
|
||
|
Leek
|
¼-½
|
4-6
|
18-24
|
7-12
|
45-90
|
35
|
10-12
|
80-90
|
||
|
Lettuce, Head
|
⅛-¼
|
12-14
|
18-24
|
4-10
|
40-80
|
40
|
4-6
|
55-80
|
||
|
Lettuce, Leaf
|
⅛-¼
|
2-4
|
4-6
|
7-10
|
50-80
|
40
|
4-6
|
45-60
|
||
|
Mustard Greens
|
¼-½
|
8-18
|
12-24
|
3-10
|
45-85
|
35
|
5-6
|
35-65
|
||
|
Spinach
|
¼-½
|
6
|
24
|
5-10
|
60-75
|
50
|
4-6
|
70-80
|
||
|
Onion, Set
|
1-2
|
2-3
|
12-24
|
n/a
|
50-90
|
40
|
DS
|
90-110
|
||
|
Parsley
|
¼-½
|
2-4
|
12-18
|
20-30
|
50-85
|
35
|
6-8
|
75-90
|
||
|
Pea
|
1-2
|
2-3
|
18-36
|
6-15
|
45-85
|
40
|
DS
|
65-85
|
||
|
Pepper
|
¼-½
|
18-24
|
12-24
|
10-20
|
65-95
|
50
|
6-8
|
60-80
|
||
|
Potato
|
2-3
|
12
|
30-36
|
14-21
|
40
|
40
|
DS
|
90-105
|
||
|
Radicchio
|
¼-½
|
8-10
|
8-18
|
7-10
|
45-85
|
40
|
4-6
|
65-90
|
||
|
Radish
|
½
|
1-2
|
6-12
|
3-10
|
50-65
|
40
|
DS
|
20-30
|
||
|
Rutabaga
|
½
|
6-8
|
18-24
|
3-10
|
45-85
|
40
|
DS
|
80-90
|
||
|
Shallot
|
1
|
4-6
|
12-18
|
18
|
45-95
|
32
|
DS
|
60-75
|
||
|
Spinach
|
½
|
2-4
|
12-18
|
6-14
|
45-75
|
15-20
|
DS
|
30-40
|
||
|
Squash, Summer
|
1-1½
|
18-24
|
36-48
|
3-12
|
70-95
|
45
|
4-6
|
45-60
|
||
|
Squash, Winter
|
1-1½
|
24-36
|
72
|
6-10
|
60-90
|
45
|
4-6
|
85-120
|
||
|
Tomatillo
|
¼-½
|
18-36
|
36-48
|
6-14
|
70-85
|
51
|
5-6
|
55-90
|
||
|
Tomato
|
¼-½
|
18-36
|
36-48
|
6-14
|
70-85
|
51
|
5-6
|
55-90
|
||
|
Tomato, Cherry
|
¼-½
|
18-24
|
36
|
6-13
|
70-85
|
51
|
6-7
|
90-100
|
||
|
Turnip
|
¼-½
|
2-3
|
12-18
|
3-10
|
40-85
|
35
|
DS
|
40-50
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
1DS is
direct-seeded.
Happy Gardening!!
