Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 3/3/13

Crazy, crazy weather here in the Lowcountry. Rain and rain and rain, unseasonably cold temperatures, frost in March. Add that to my garden soil issues, and it’s no wonder my harvest is delayed! However, spring is three weeks away, I’m working on amending my soil (the best I can), and my plants are still hanging on.

THE NEW:

I was just beginning to wonder what may be wrong with my bare raspberry canes when I was greeted with this sight this morning. My first cane is sprouting!

New leaves on raspberry canes

My Yukon Gold potatoes, which I planted in a raised bed, are finally through the soil.

Yukon Gold potato ~ 28 days post planting

MOST CHANGED:

My purple potatoes in the five-gallon buckets are growing quickly now that they’ve popped through the soil.

Purple potatoes ~ 31 post planting

SEEDLINGS:

My tomatoes were showing signs of environmental stress this week; the leaves were drooping and curling under. I watered well, but there still was no change. Then I realized the grow lights were too close to them now that they’d grown. So, the other day, I raised the lights to the next notch six inches higher. They seem to be doing a little better.

Tomato seedlings ~ 41 days post planting

Depending on the weather, my seedlings need to be ready to head outside for hardening in two weeks. They’re getting big enough. Here are my peppers and artichokes.

Pepper transplants ~ 41 days post planting

Artichoke transplants ~ 41 days post planting

My celery is growing. You can see the first small celery stalks now.

Celery

My coleus seedlings (see top picture) are growing and getting more color. Almost time to plant them outside!

OUT IN THE GARDEN:

My new batch of asparagus has survived the last frost. I’ve lost 3 batches, so I’m hoping these get through the next few very cold nights.

Asparagus

My swiss chard is looking great! This is the sole surviving plant from last spring. I’ll be planting more from seed in a few weeks.

Swiss chard ~ 2nd year

Some of the leaves on my plants, especially my radishes, are turning yellow and brown. Thinking it was due to insufficient uptake of iron and/or zinc, due to the excessive phosphorus in my soil, I did some research to know for sure. Yellowing leaves show up in new growth when there’s a deficiency of iron or zinc. If older leaves turn yellow and brown, it’s a sign of nitrogen deficiency.