New Garden Week 8

Tropical Storm Andrea

We just dodged Tropical Storm Andrea, our first for this season.  But we didn't dodge the rain.  It flooded our pool deck again, just not enough to flood the garden.

Flooding from Tropical Storm Andrea

I have harvested 5 Romaine plants so far, including some for the family.  I also harvested Kale, Swiss Chard and Spinach leaves but left the plants with enough leaves to survive.   That is how I had been gardening in the past, just taking enough leaves for a salad every now and then.  My 2013 garden goal is to have plenty of lettuce, harvesting full Romaine plants weekly or when they are ready.
The Spinach has already bloomed in the heat.  I cut off the seed pod, hoping to keep pulling leaves from the plant.  Usually plants get very bitter once they bloom.

Week 8

Last month I planted Kale, Basil & Oregano seeds, but nothing has come up.  The Spinach I planted a while back also didn't sprout.  It leads me to think my garden soil needs to be tested, something I should have done before planting this year.
I did have to pull one sick-looking Romaine plant which looked like it never recovered from the flood damage, and pulled the roots of the plants already cut once the square was empty.  A shovel of new soil from the composter and I'll re-plant this square when ready.

Square 1, starting anew

I planted 4 new Romaine seeds with the plan to continue this practice until I run out of space or the garden gets flooded again.  That should keep us in lettuce through the summer.
Happy Gardening!