March 25, 2012

There have already been several busy gardening weekends this year, but this weekend gave us a short break between Spring and Summer planting.  We're just waiting for our plants to grow up. The Spring garden of spinach, lettuce, peas, and raddishes is just a few weeks away from harvest.  Meanwhile, the Summer garden, which is normally indoors under lights this time of year, has really enjoyed its early start outside under the warmth of sunshine and gentle mist of rain.  Tomato seedlings are setting out their first true leaves and could be transplanted any time now.  After nearly a month without frost, there seems to be little danger of another killing freeze, but it won't hurt the plants to wait until April. 

Red clover flower.

We transplanted broccoli out to the garden last weekend, and it has taken off, filling up the milk jug covers with noticeable vigor.  Larger transplants (the kind that often come from garden centers) tend to be root-bound and take a week or two after transplanting to begin new growth.  Experience shows smaller plants are best for transplanting without shock.

50 strawberry plants beginning growth.

It's time to plow under our green manure cover crop of red clover in anticipation of sweet corn planting next month.  But the weekend tended to be rainy, so we're waiting for a dry day this week.  We are harvesting swiss chard and beet greens from the garden along with some random carrots that got left after adding our winter crop to stew.

Perennial culinary herbs are at their best now - parsley, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, chives, and thyme.  The 50 strawberry plants that we set out last week have already sprouted and are loving this weather.  Finally, tulips that we planted around the mail box last October are making a show.

Mailbox tulips planted last October.

March 12, 2012

The first peach blossom.

March is here, and it's beginning to look like it.  Mounds of green clover up to 10 inches high are covering our future corn patch.  Grass is turning green again, thanks to abundant Spring rains, and trees are in bloom everywhere.  After wheelbarrowing mulch to the far ends of the property during a church work day, we came home to plant:

Onion and carrot plantings
next to garlic

6 ft. of raddishes
18 ft. of 'Salad Bowl' lettuce
6 ft. of 'Romain' lettuce
25 ft. carrots
25 ft. yellow onions

Bush cherries two years old.

We also re-planted spinach seed where there are bare spots and mowed part of the lawn.  A second batch of peas is rolled up in moist paper towels on top of the refrigerator to sprout and be planted before St. Patrick's Day.  This is a busy weekend for the garden, since it's also time to sow seeds of tomatoes and dill indoors.  Broccoli will be transplanted out into the garden by next weekend, so it's time to start hardening off our seedlings by acclimating them to sunlight and wind after being pampered under fluorescent lights on a heat mat indoors.

Bees are loving our bush cherries, and the first peach blossoms have opened.  We finished a very busy day by watering our blueberries with an acid-loving fertilizer and by misting all the newly-planted seed.  Thanks to all this work on a sunny day, we can humbly show off our red necks!

The vegetable garden in March showing garlic left; clover center;
and peas, spinach, lettuce, and brussels sprouts right.