Alas, my fickled mood has once again swung the other way. Last month I was dancing around enjoying the warm spring weather hoping for an early spring but sad to say, winter returned. This month has been cold, wet, and dreary. Just like my mood. The seedlings are brought in every evening, plopped beside the front door, and then whisked out at sunrise. It's a necessary bother.
Plans for the garden this year will be less experimentation with new varieties and instead sticking to the tried and true. Sigh. After losing last fall's garden, I don't feel comfortable taking huge risks. Food prices are predicted to double and then double again so I must be prudent.
Bill built a raised bed out of used lumber that had been sitting around underfoot. Last year the strawberries didn't produce well in the plastic tubs and have been transplanted into the new bed. They never made enough for me to taste. An unknown variety of onion bulbs purchased from a local nursery are shoved in empty spaces. They are supposed to be good companion plants.
The potatoes that were planted last month underneath the leaves are beginning to sprout.
The lonely spinach bed that survived the onslaught of winter weather has a few plants that are beginning to bolt. I do not begrudge them a respite from my constant picking. They served me well when all the others failed.
Since fresh spinach is a favorite, more were started indoors and transplanted outside this past week. There are two beds. The bed further back toward the woods hasn't been mulched yet so it is possible to see the empty spaces. In about two months, okra seedlings will be slid in between the plants. The okra will grow tall and shade the spinach which won't last long in the summer heat. The rows are wide so the okra branches won't smack me in the face as I walk past.
The front bed has been mulched with grass. It has more spinach and the onions that were started inside during winter. That was not a success. There was not enough sunlight coming through the windows, they sprouted, then stalled. Learning to raise onions from seeds is important because finding a variety that stores through the winter is a necessity. The goal for next year will be to figure out where to set up the grow light and then start them earlier.
There is one bed of Super Sweet Onions also purchased from the nursery - delicious flavor, short storage life. We love them fresh. The extras will be caramelized and either canned or dehydrated and used as a garnish. They are planted under the fence that held tomatoes last year. The empty left side of the row toward the field will have pepper plants so they can be supported by the fence. Since so much compost has been added over the last few years, the soil is no longer clay cement but loose and they will fall over in a storm. I think it is a great problem to have!
Last fall's garlic died during the arctic blast. Yes, you read that right - garlic died from cold weather! These new bulbs were snatched up at the grocery store and dumped in the snowy ground with no expectations of anything surviving.
Supposedly, garlic repels bugs. That old wives' tale is about to be tested.
Golden Beauty Napa Cabbage has become our favorite and since bugs love the flavor too, it will be planted in the middle of the garlic patch. The part of the bed that is empty will be the control group and those surrounded by garlic will be the test subjects. Shall I start a betting pool? My money says it doesn't work. The insects in my garden are too ferocious. They fear nothing. However, I will gladly take anyone's money who disagrees. Bets anyone?
Golden Beauty cabbages have a mild buttery flavor. We all loved them at first bite and it has been impossible to grow enough ever since. This year there will be two crops, one early and another two months later. These were from
December's Garden 2021.
The outer leaves are light green but as they are peeled away, the inside becomes a pale yellow.
The back corner of the garden beside the field and woods has received a makeover. The old, recycled chicken yard doors have been moved. Vining plants growing over the top of the doors were the only things that were successful. Now that this area is more open, hopefully, the extra sunshine will make a difference.
Collard Greens are on the left and broccoli seedlings are beside the stepping stones. They were planted yesterday.
Plowing and planting will begin this month. There is so much to do. Just thinking about it makes me tired. Ready or not, spring is about to arrive.
