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Derek Freiman Gardening

Hi guys - Wow I have been so busy "working in the field" LOL.

I hope you will continue to call and schedule garden consulting - there is plenty of time to still get warm weather gardens started.

Just 2 days ago, I planted pumpkins and still plan to plant squashes and peppers in the coming weeks.  These are the crops that rely on warm soil to germinate and produce very well with a long summer - which I am crossing my fingers, this will be.  At least the farmers almanac says it will be :)

Here is what we have to look forward to!

Derek Freiman Gardening Consultant Rates For Summer

We are still working hard and I now added an assistant to help me.  So you can still order a garden consult and we'll get your herb garden going or whatever you need!  Just $75/hour (Most 8x8 gardens can be done within 4 hours, including compost)!!

Our kale plants are going to seed, so we have excess right now!  LEt me know if I can give you any!

Almost Summer!

Derek Freiman on Flickr now!

Boy it is so nice these days.  I have spent 3 days last week and 2 days this week working outside in the garden.  Life is a lot more balanced when we are working with the Earth, in the garden.

I have been cleaning things up lately, removing old branches I used to use for garden bed walls.  Now, I have accumulated a lot of scrap 2x4's and other pieces that I'm crafting into sturdy garden beds.  It is so much nicer when things are neat and straight.  The aesthetics in the garden are important to me.

What have you planted so far?

For me in my personal garden, it has been beets, bok choy, carrots, potatoes (last week), fava beans, peas and romaine.  The favas and peas have been in the ground nearly 3 weeks and just starting to come up.  It's been cold recently, so I think that's why it took longer than usual.

Most of the time, they'd come up in 2 weeks.

Anyway, back off to work and helping others get their gardens growing!!

Best, Derek Freiman

My First Video - Overwintering Veggies!

I put together this pretty basic video to show some of my overwintering vegetables. Most of these things were planted last October, got started and did great over the winter!

Tomato Transplanting

I found this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozHhKfM_C7o and I thought I'd share it with you.

Many people get scared of transplanting tomatoes.  It's super easy - the key is just to harden them off a few days outside when it warms up into the 60's by day and at least mid 40's by night.

When you transplant them, do it like the video suggests - if' you've been growing them indoors for a while (like I do) you'll probably notice the stem's have gotten pretty long and need support.  So, you overcome this by planting deeply.

Don't be scared, just trust your instincts and contact me if you have any questions!

Peas And Fave Beans Planted!

Well, with the weather clearing a bit here in the Northwest, it was a real good day to log some hours in the garden.  Just a reminder that you can still get in on the Derek Freiman garden package for 2013.

Okay, now, back to the events of the day - with photos!

I spent a few hours cleaning things up and weeding before I could plant.

Like marking my territory!

This is where I planted each of the fava beans today - each one was planted about 2' apart.

I know it is hard to tell from this photo, but the bed is 45' long.

The nice thing about planting fava beans is that they come up pretty quick.  IF you plant them in March, you can harvest by July 1 if not sooner, depending on the weather.  Then you can put them up - freezing is best.

Then follow them with another summer crop, depending on when these come out, I will be able to come back with squash, pumpkin, or basil - something like that.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Finally Got the Tomatoes Going

Just a quick update - I finally got 20 tomato plants started a couple weeks ago.  Most of the seeds came up and are already leaning toward the sunshine out my big picture window in the living room.

I'm cutting back on the # I grow this year because i've been busy with other projects.

The plan is to grow two parallel rows of 10 plants each for a total of 20 altogether.  I'm looking for a better way to support them, anyone got any ideas?

Trellis is too bulky and the old tomato cages just get overgrown so quickly.  I thought I saw something in Organic Gardening about aluminum trellis's?

Feedback would be great!

The old trellis - won't be using this baby any more!