Sowing Vegetables: Mesclun Greens, Carrots and Spinach
I have not been lazing around since the sowing of the tomato seeds. Two weeks later, I followed up by sowing vegetables again — the seeds of carrots, spinach and mesclun greens. Incidentally, I bought them from Jardiland, the local gardening store. This time the sowing took place outdoors though, directly in the vegetable bed. These three types of vegetables seem to be made of sterner stuff. That’s because they don’t need to stay in warm conditions while waiting for the harsh spring weather to pass.
Growing these vegetables out in the open means no protection from predators like spinach leaf miners, snails and slugs. I had a horrible experience last year when the larvae of these leaf miners mauled my young spinach overnight. To forestall carnage, I have to be on my toes this time and monitor the sprouts daily. Once they are up and coming, I will have to cover them up with a garden mesh.
It is my first time growing mesclun greens and carrots. For the mesclun greens, I am assuming that they are similar to the lettuce I grew last year. As a result, they’re probably susceptible to snails and slugs too. There are various ways to deal with these pests, and I’m currently experimenting to find the most efficient one. I will update you in the next post! As for carrots, I have to do a bit of research to find out their weaknesses.
First Signs of Growth
In the past few days, I have seen little green heads pop out of the vegetable bed. Unfortunately, I can’t tell at this stage whether the green heads belong to weeds or to the seeds I sowed. This is similar to what I mentioned in the last post. As such, these little green heads will stay a little longer until I can confirm their identity.
Sowing Vegetables Indoors: Courgette, Melon and Butternut Squash
Four days after sowing the seeds of spinach, carrot and mesclun greens, I continued with my vegetable spree. Next up were courgette (courgette in UK/France and zucchini in the USA), plus two more fruits — melon and butternut squash. Yes, butternut squash technically counts as a fruit since it starts from a flower (just learned about that myself!). Like the tomatoes, the courgette and the melon need tender loving care. So, I have to sow them indoors before transferring them to the exterior vegetable bed.
I have decided to home grow butternut squash since I love making creamy soup with this orangey, creamy-textured fruit. Since like carrots, I blend the butternut squash with them and top it with a whopping spoonful of cream. The result: a perfect meal on a cool autumn day. I can also make this fruit into an all-in-one steamed rice dish with soya-sauce-marinated chicken. In fact, it’s similar to the pumpkin rice which my mum used to make when I was a kid. I hope to be able to enjoy creamy soup and steamed rice with my own homegrown squash this coming September! Since butternut squash takes quite a bit of space, I can’t grow very many of the fruit. I have sown 12 seeds in 3 little holes about 50 cm apart. Hopefully, I can get to see something popping up soon.
Courgette Sprouts, or Weeds
Today, seven days after I sowed the seeds, two little green heads have popped up. Specifically, they appeared separately in two of the three courgette containers. One head has two little roundish leaves while the other head has two longish leaves. I am quite sure the former is one of those common weeds I see around in the garden. As for the latter, only time will tell. It may be another weed I haven’t come across, since it seems too soon for the courgette to sprout. However, I have decided to leave both seedlings alone until I am absolutely sure that they are not weeds.
I will come back soon with more updates on my crops and my experiments dealing with snails and slugs! À plus tard!