This is Chinese Cabbage
I am chasing the sunshine once again. This worked well in 2011so I will try again.
For me chasing the sun is moving our plants outside during the day when it is above freezing and somewhat warm and setting them in the sunshine. They start off in the backyard for the morning sun and front yard for the afternoon sun. It takes a lot of work but it makes an early harvest so another crop can be planted. I have cool weather vegetables, spinach, onions, carrots and lettuce ready to plant as soon as we get the beds ready. They are sitting out back on the patio right now soaking up a bit of sunshine. We do have two grow lights because we do not have any sunny window sills and I use them when the plants are inside. I would prefer a sunny window sill.
Today I planted zucchini and cucumber seeds in peat pots and I will do the same with them (chasing the sun) when they come up but for much longer because zucchini and cucumbers are warm weather vegetables and do not do well in cold damp weather. In 2011 when I did this we made a bumper crop and filled the bottom of our freezer. I cannot leave them out in the cold so I bring them in and out. Whew! just thinking about it!
We did have a cold frame for the keyhole garden but the plastic fell apart and little pieces went everywhere so we removed it. The other problem was getting enough heat to keep things from freezing.
Another update is the old keyhole garden (above photo) is going to have a makeover. We will be removing the top third layer of blocks to shorten the keyhole. We decided that it would save having to use so much soil and we want to add on and make it bigger. My husband will help me with this project since it is a bit much for me to do alone.
We are removing the strawberry bed and will use these blocks to add on to the patio keyhole garden. I will plant the strawberries in a large container.
Just a reminder of some of the things we grew in the keyhole garden in the past. Some beautiful carrots, lettuces, spinach and cabbages.
