Last post for 2012

Parsley in front, and a row of garlic behind, with brassicas in the top left; half of the garden is
tucked in for winter underneath a layer of cardboard and fallen leaves.

First frost was also a killing frost for us, on Thursday morning November 1st.  Any tender vegetation that was not freeze tolerant turned black in the morning sun.  Nearly half of the vegetable garden is tucked in for winter, underneath a layer of cardboard and fallen leaves.  Parsley is still growing, bright green, to add to our late fall soups; one-third of our cabbage heads have been harvested.  Brussels sprouts increase in size, while our future corn patch is really turning green with clover.

One-third of our cabbage is harvested.

The change back to standard time has returned us to long nights.  Another growing season has come and gone; we're looking forward to enjoying our preserved harvests through the coming holidays.  The garden will remain essentially as it is now until February, when we prepare for planting early spinach. Thank you for enjoying the season with us!

The garden in November.

April 23, 2012

Spring radishes grew the size of beets!

This is the BIG week!  It's time to plant our favorite seeds for the summer garden:  sunflowers, cantaloupe melons, honeydew melons, summer squash, zucchini, green beens, and if we are ambitious enough, the first batch of sweet corn.  Seeds of these veggies tend to rot in cool soil, and though we had six weeks of warm weather March into April, a hard freeze on the 12th would have been a major set-back if we had already planted.  Our highs have averaged only in the upper 60's F since then; but soil also absorbs radiant heat from sunshine and has sufficiently warmed enough to increase germination success.  If we don't have time to plant everything, we'll hold off on sweet corn since our hybrid variety is especially sensitive to soil temperature.

Seeds ready to plant.

We are still ahead of schedule since transplants went into the ground almost three weeks early, and they are doing great.  Bell peppers are already flowering - though we will pick these early buds off until they grow larger.  Tomato plants are ready to have their cages and stakes put on for support.  Broccoli is the big success this Spring.  We've had to water a little extra to supplement natural rainfall, and those big leaves are going to produce some whopping florets.  Maybe we'll see some 16-inchers this year.

Broccoli plants are growing large.

Spinach is still coming strong, though we're eating everything we harvest.  Peas are looking healthy; it's time to supplement with natural bone meal, which will encourage flowers and pod production.  We pulled radishes, which went a little too long in the ground.  Last year's parsley, a biennual, is sending up stalks now to bloom, and we will save these seeds to plant next Spring.  In the meantime, parsley seedlings started this year are still small but quickly gaining size.

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.