On the Grid

Last Tuesday was time to plant out and start filling in the grid. Each 8'x4' box is divided into a square-foot grid, 32 squares, to be filled in with either plant starts or seeds. With almost ninety heirloom varieties to plant, 128 squares doesn't seem like so much. Must build some more boxes. Next year.

Soon to be announced: Beetnik Urban Farm® T-shirts, in three great colors!

The squares on the north side will be filled with either one tomato or two pole bean plants. I will be adding a netting trellis on the north end of each box, and train the plants to climb the seven feet.

About half the squares were filled with starts, the rest were planted with seed—one per square in the case of cauliflower or cabbage; up to sixteen to a square in the case of radishes or onions. The big spreading squashes and melons were planted along the fence in the background. 

Anticipating last weekend's cold spell, I installed the PVC hoops that will allow me to cover the boxes without smashing the new transplants. Enjoying a challenge, I waited until Saturday's gale force winds before attempting to attach the plastic covers.

Here is a complete list of all we planted this year:

Arugula OG (AKA Rocket or Roquette), Arugula (Apollo), Arugula (Sylvetta 603, AKA Wild Rocket) , Asparagus (Mary Washington), Bean (Climbing French  OG), Bean (Ideal Market OG), Beet (Burpee's Golden OG) , Beet (Chioggia), Beet (Detroit Dark Red) , Broccoli (Calabrese) , Broccoli (Rapini), Brussels Sprouts (Catskill), Brussels Sprouts (Long Island Improved), Cabbage (Copenhagen Market) , Cabbage (Red Express), Carrot (Atomic Red), Carrot (Danvers OG), Cauliflower (Giant of Naples), Caulliflower (Green Macerata), Collards (Georgia Southern) , Collards (Vates) , Cucumber (Japanese Long), Flower ((Prairie) Black-Eyed Susan), Flower ((Prairie) Butterflyweed) , Flower ((Prairie) Purple Coneflower), Flower (Brocade Mix Marigold), Flower (Red Marietta) , Herb (Basil Genovese OG) , Herb (Chives Garlic OG), Herb (Chives OG), Herb (Cilantro OG) , Herb (Florence Fennel OG) , Herb (Flowering Chinese Leek), Herb (Lavender (English) , Herb (Parsley Giant from Italy OG) , Herb (Spearmint), Herb (Summer Savory), Herb (Thyme), Kale (Dwarf Blue Curled OG) , Kale (Lacinato OG) , Leek (Giant Musselburgh), Lettuce (green) (Radicchio Catalogna Puntarelle Dandelion), Lettuce (green) (Chicory (Castelfranco), Lettuce (green) (Radicchio  (Rossa Di Treviso), Lettuce (Amish Deer Tongue) , Lettuce (Chadwick's Rodan), Lettuce (Cimmaron), Lettuce (Ella Kropf OG), Lettuce (Forellenschluss), Lettuce (Gold Rush OG) , Lettuce (Oak Leaf), Lettuce (Outredgeous), Lettuce (Petite Rouge), Melon (Blacktail Mountain Watermelon (OG)), Melon (American Green Fleshed Pineapple), Melon (Collective Farm Woman), Melon (Pride of Wisconsin) , Onion (Bianca di Maggio), Onion (Red of Florence), Onion (Wethersfield Red), Onion (Yellow of Parma), Parsnip (Half Long Guernsey), Pea (Sugar Snap Pea), Pea (Tall Telephone Garden), Radish (Chinese Green Luobo (Qingluobo), Radish (Chinese White Winter), Radish (Early Scarlet Globe) , Shallot (Zebrune), Spinach (Amsterdam Prickly Seeded Spinach), Squash (Black Beauty Zucchini OG) , Squash (Golden Zucchini), Squash (Patisson Panaché (Jaune et Verte OG) , Squash (Patisson Panaché (Vert et Blanc OG) , Squash (Table Queen) , Squash (Waltham Butternut OG) , Swiss Chard (Verde De Taglio), Tomato (Amish Paste), Tomato (Cherokee Purple), Tomato (Green Grape), Tomato (Hssiao His Hung Shih), Tomato (Riesentraube), Tomato (Rosso Sicilian OG) , Tomato (Ukrainian Purple) , Turnip (Purple Top White)