More Plantings

Since the bees didn't come on Thursday I had time to get the rest of our the seeds for Spring in.  I planted all the lettuces 10 different varieties, parsnips, 3 types of carrots, 3 varieties of radish, cilantro, and dill.  I used the dial seed sower for the first time.  It took a bit of practice to get used to how to lightly tap it so that too many seeds don't come out.  But once I got the hang of it the seed sower does help to space out tiny seeds of carrots and lettuce more efficiently than sowing by hand. 

I covered all the rows of seeds with an organic soil that I bought from the store. My soil forms a crust after it rains which makes it difficult for seedlings to break through. The soil that I bought is loose and crumbly and perfect for the seedlings.  Eventually it will get mixed into the rest of the soil.

   

The six leaf lettuce varieties at the bottom I planted closely together because I harvest them as cut and come again and they don't need too much room.  I left a section empty for a succession planting in a week or two.  Then the lettuce head varieties were planted a bit farther apart to give them the proper growing room.  I did space the spinach quite closely together in the upper right because we like them more as a baby greens. 

On the right I planted a decent amount of parsnips about an inch apart in rows four inches apart.  This year I am trying to extend our growing season and the times of year in which we are harvesting food.  I wanted to try parsnips since you can keep them in the ground all winter and harvest them as needed up until the following Spring.  I had never seen Parsnip seeds before, they looked more like dried pear blossom petals than seeds to me.

On the left are the three varieties of radish (purple plum, cherry belle, french breakfast) and carrots (half long danvers, red cored chatenay, cosmic purple) closely together.  Radish grow very quickly and will get pulled about the time that the carrots are needing more space.