Starting out 2011

We had a pretty rough winter in MI this year. It's still getting down into the 30's even at the end of April so everything is getting a late start this year. So far we are starting everything from seed this year, which is my favorite way to do a garden. :)
I made a new cat-proof way to start all the seeds down stairs using a wire rack.

 I don't think the cats will even try to get up on that because the wires are spaced too wide.

Because we usually over plant I got a little more organized with the seeds this time and put all the past seed sprouts info into an Excel spread sheet. This shows how many seeds were planted vs how many actually sprouted each year that we've used them.

I've sort of been doing this all along but not very organized and all hand written.

Now I have it all in one file and can easily plant less of what I know will sprout.

Then I number each tray and make a table showing where all the seeds are planted. I start with them as circles and then fill them in with a sharpie as they sprout so I can get stats for next year.

The seeds all have a code which I write on the charts and the seed pouches to match everything up without having to write out the long names each time.

 The trays are numbered and I also mark a corner on the inside (in red) so I know the orientation of the tray compared to my chart.

Last year we used the plastic inner trays which ended up being a bit of a pain because the sprouts would grow though the bottom and we had to use a razor and slice open each little square to get them out.
This year I reused the big trays but got some organic squares for the inside. These can be separated easily and you just plant the whole thing. I was glad that they actually fit perfectly inside the big trays.

Ok, a little tight, but no problem.

 Then outside I have all the porch pots ready to go.

 And things like lettuce, cucumbers and hot peppers can all grow on the hot tub cover.
That rope is a wick to drain off any water that pools up on the cover.

 Out at the Grow Camp we already have some growth from last years crop.
All of the tomatoes are going to be in pots over here this year where there is more sun. We probably won't put many in the Grow Camp because they just grow too well and end up blocking the sun from other things.

 Chives

Lettuce

Strawberries

Onions

Still need to clean up the tomato mess from last year.

Our water is really hard so I'm going to try to clean up the sides where it's stained.

 We get a lot of wind right here, mainly due to what I call the "landing strip" and one of the clear covers cracked over the winter and now has a hole about the size of a quarter. I'm contacting the US Grow Camp distributor in NY for warranty replacement instructions. Haven't heard back yet.

 That's where we're at so far this year. As you can see the grass hasn't even really taken off here yet.
We are so ready for summer!

Frost

Tonight we are expected to get some serious frost so the Grow Camp windows are down. I shoved all the spilling tomato plants inside (surely broke most of them, but we might still get more ripe tomatoes from them since they aren't going to get frost). Buttoned up and tucked in the plants the best I could. Threw an old sheet over the peppers and tomatoes on the porch. If they survive they survive. It is fall, and we've certainly eaten very well and healthy from all our plants in the garden this year. We've even canned some of the produce. Now it's a test to see how long into winter we can keep some of the plants going with the Grow Camp sealed up. Should be interesting...

Summer of Delicious

Even though the Grow Camp is over planted we've been eating loads of tomatoes, green beans, squash, peppers and now tomatillos from it. Everything tastes delicious!
Now we are getting into fall and need to decide how to trim everything back so we can drop the covers down.
Here is a picture post update before we start on that...

The porch tomatoes didn't do very well. The peppers did ok.

The one corn stalk had 3 ears of corn but all got attacked by worms, so we didn't get any of our own corn this year. We knew it was a long shot...

Tomatoes grew up, out and down. They are everywhere! 

It definitely turned into a small jungle in there, but the strongest plants sure prevailed. We get about 20 huge green beens, about 50 cherry tomatoes and 10 - 12 big tomatoes every week. Plus all the herbs and the super squash. Having good light and excellent - deep soil in the Grow Camp has really made a big difference in the taste of our harvest. Next we get to find out how long into winter we can keep things growing and see what still produces in the cold Michigan winter. Should be interesting, we will keep this updated. :)

Mystery Squash

We are not sure what to do with this...