Transplanted and Sowed Seed Today in My Raised Bed

Our raised beds were built yesterday and filled with wonderful soil.  Today I transplanted my seedlings and sowed some seed as well.

Here is my personal Raised Bed.  You can see the watered rows are Arugula in the center long left wet row and Nasturtiums in the long right wet row.  In the short rows on the left beside the thyme are 2 shor rows of Alkindus (red) lettuce and the middle short row is Starfighter (green) Lettuces.  The very front wet row on the left, I planted Russian Kale seeds.

The Two  transplants in the foreground are Red Robin tomatoes.  They only grow about a foot or so tall but give lots of small tomatoes.  On the left, the wet mark, is planted some Lemon Gem Marigold seeds which are edible, both leaves and flowers.  The short wet rows between the Red Robins are Cherry Belle radishes.

In this right corner are the Stevia plants that I  transplanted today.  The left plant is one of the Red Robins.

These are two Lizzano tomatoes in the cages.  They, too, are miniature plants only growing about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall but giving lots of tasty tomatoes.  I grew them before.

In the cage on the left I sowed several Bush Cucumber seeds around the area.  Again, a small plant and even giving small cucumbers, but tasty ones.  On the right you can see my 3 Mini-Red Pepper transplants.  They harvest little sweet red peppers around 2" long and wide.  Just the right size for snacking.

These are my Summer Thyme transplants.  I love Thyme.  I it a lot, in soups and with chicken and tomato sauces.  One of my favorite spices when fresh.

A long view of my rasied bed from the other side.

I used a couple of tricks I learned over the years so I added some Epsom salt and some crushed Tums (for the calcium) in my tomato holes.  The calcium helps prevent blossom end rot, which is when a tomato gets brown on one end. You can use crushed egg shells, but I had none available today. 

I also placed 3 or 4 toothpicks right up against the stems of all the transplants.  They help prevent cutworms from cutting down my plants and destroying them.  I have used this method for years and it works.  

I will tuck more Cherry Belle radishes between the Lizzanos and Cucumbers in another week or two to get a continuous supply.  These are cool weather plants so sowing the seed between plants gives them shade which can help their growth before they get too warm.

The same is true for more lettuces.  The two types I sowed today, Alkindus and Starfighter, are heat tolerant but I never grew them before so I do not know how well they will do when it gets warmer.  I hope to get some harvesting done before it gets too hot.

Have a good day friends.