This summer's garden will be no-nonsense: no experimenting, growing new plants or taking chances. After seeing my local grocery stores empty and only partially restocked (still no toilet paper), I have been rattled - maybe it is a harbinger of what is to come. Regardless, the garden is no longer a hobby, but a necessity - it might be all we have to eat. The focus will change from eating fresh, healthy, exotic vegetables, to what can be canned, frozen, and dehydrated for storage. Our (hopefully) last frost was this past week. Now it is time to focus on getting as much done as possible. It isn't going to be an easy month.
Nothing has been done yet in these first two rows. The sugar beets on the right are still growing from last fall and more will be added to fill in the whole row. They store and can well. The row to the left was weeded because I couldn't find the onions. It will be plowed under after they and the Scarlet Kale are eaten.
Hida Beni Red Turnips, Tokinashi Turnips plus Detroit Red beets are beginning to sprout between the spring onions.
The middle of the garden is still under leaves waiting for my attention. One self-seeded red poppy is blooming. Two Swiss Chards and one kale are all that are left from the winter hoop house.
This is the only risk I am taking and it is a big one for me. All of the stores for miles around ran out of potatoes at the beginning of the panic and weren't restocked until two weeks ago. The new potatoes are priced twice as high as last year's potatoes. They are one of Bill's favorite foods. Finding seed potatoes was almost impossible since the seed companies have sold out. Never before have I succeeded at harvesting enough potatoes to cover the cost of buying the seed potatoes because my hard clay soil won't let them grow larger than a marble. This is a big chance dedicating this much space to them.
Youtube videos abound with suggestions to grow them in hay where they can easily expand. There is still some left behind in the field that the horses didn't eat. With Bill's help, we have been hauling it to the garden - not an easy chore.
The horses would never want it because it is beginning to rot; however, it is perfect for my garden. The dry hay was put over the potatoes and the slime was spread to dry over the walkways.
"Just throw them on the ground, cover them with hay, and nothing could be easier." claimed the smiling, confident people in the videos. We "threw" them out at the beginning of the month and they are beginning to sprout. I hope I'm wrong and they are right.
Toward the end of the garden is the row of assorted unknowns from saved seeds. Tried and true not exotic and risky.
One row of tomatoes has been planted at the far end. More will be put in the ground when there is absolutely no chance of any more late frosts.
Lettuce is planted in the empty spaces and will be harvested long before the tomato vines get big. At either end, vining squash or cucumbers will be planted to spread through the empty spaces under the tomato plants.
No work has been done yet in the far back of the garden. The Swiss Chard bed is beginning to bolt and soon the lettuce will all be gone. This whole area will be plowed and replanted.
The lettuce I planted beside the shed in the rain was worth the effort. We have shared it with the rabbits but there is still plenty.
No space will be left empty, every inch will be used as I try to squeeze as much out of my garden as possible. It is time to put all of the knowledge I have acquired from years of mistakes to good use. This is serious. Kid gloves off and garden gloves on!
Last Year's April Garden (2019)
April's Garden (2018)
April's Garden (2017)
Looking good! You are prepared! We signed up for a CSA food share last year, so we're good to go, too. Yum. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea. When I get too old to handle a garden (and we are getting close to that time!), I hope there is a CSA available for us. Fresh vegetables are so much better than anything bought at the grocery store.
DeleteThe garden looks great! I didn't realize you could eat sugar beets, and am curious what you do with them.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post a long time ago that will explain everything about how I use them:
Deletehttps://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2016/12/you-cant-beat-beautiful-bowl-of-boiled.html
This year I bought two packages of seeds and plan to grow more. They have never bolted no matter how long I leave them in the ground, so I haven't been able to save any seeds.
Your garden looks great. You have an exact plan where to plant vegetable, I hope there is a little place for flowers, too.
ReplyDeleteThere is always room for flowers, except this year has been different. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are experiencing food shortages in my area. The farmers have produce on their farms but getting it to the grocery stores has been a problem. Most of the food in the USA is shipped thousands of miles back and forth across the country. The supply chain is breaking down. I have been focusing on planting food and have let my flower garden sit. I'm telling myself when the vegetable garden is planted, then I can enjoy my flowers as a reward.
DeleteWow! I have one (1) volunteer tomato plant and rely on supermarkets. We are lucky to have a Neighbourhood Farm a few blocks away - so I can shop there too.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed. Do nurture that one brave tomato plant. It will be the best tasting tomato you have ever eaten. If I had a neighbourhood farm down the street, I would probably shop there and only grow flowers too. I am missing working in my flowers but this year the vegetables come first. Being locked down and not having visitors has given me the perfect excuse to not weed.
DeleteYou give me hope!!! Thanks for this post on common sense and resourcefulness.
ReplyDeleteThis year I am determined that the garden will be a success. Gardening has been a hobby and if something failed, no problem, there was always Kroger. But what if Kroger is empty? Well, it has been empty twice now, on two different trips. There was some food there, but it was the over-priced weird things no one ever buys. It was sobering but I have chosen to do something about it. I will grow my own food and solve the problem myself.
DeleteThis has been fun to read....I will be anxious to see how the potatoes do.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I walk by I pull up some of the hay and peep under. I can't wait either.
DeleteHope the potato experiment is a success, they look as if they are growing well! We didn't have many tomoato plants and were told a slice on tomato put in a pot and covered would seed. There is a small plant emerging - it's amazing what you will try when life isn't normal! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteLife is certainly not normal anymore!
DeleteI'm in the same mindset as you are! I've crammed as much into my garden and back yard as I can, and even this morning, I've been contemplating what else I can fit into the "cracks" of my garden and flowerbeds. I do have a few flowers. My nephew, Jake, planted a short row of zinnias as his own this year--maybe 3 feet, but it will be rewarding for him. He has also planted a few snow peas, and those will be useful. My daughter planted a few sunflowers in the back of the garden. I have no idea if they are tall or short, but they will be pretty. My husband grew a whole bunch of Dollar Store snapdragon seeds so we have those little plants here, there and everywhere. They certainly came up good!
ReplyDeleteWe live in a wonderful growing area--the Willamette Valley of Oregon--so I have a feeling that the farmers around here will have extra produce that they will want to sell to people, especially if their supply chain breaks down. But, that's a long ways off. I want to start producing as much as I can for myself, my extended family and a couple of friends. We always can and freeze everything we can get our hands on--I think this year, though, we will do even more. I have a sister who rarely cans anymore that wants to can this year, so between myself and my gardening sister, we will hopefully get enough for us all.
It got down into the upper 30's this morning--a little fright, since I've planted all the tomatoes and everything, but did not frost and I'm hoping we are home free now. It's supposed to get nice this week, so with all the rain we've had over the weekend, added to the sun this week, I'm hoping all those baby plants will just grow like crazy.
So far, I've harvested snow peas, 4 volunteer radishes, a few green onions, and a few small artichokes. It's a start. I'm not experimenting this year, either, except for adding a couple of new items--kale and collard greens. I only planted a few of each, and think we will easily find a way to cook them if they grow. I'm not growing potatoes because I don't get a lot from them in my garden, so I will be watching your new method. I also did not plant corn as it takes so much room. I wanted the garden area for the basics--lots of onions, lettuce, and beans, beans, beans! I didn't need to can many last year, but this year, we will use bucketfuls if we can get them for myself and my sister.
We are using the home-preserved foods much more than normal, so will need to replenish them more than normal.
I'm actually getting quite a bit of enjoyment in gardening because I am home more and seem to be more relaxed about the whole thing. It's so nice to have time to get all dirty and grubby and know I don't have to go anywhere so I can just do a little here and a little there, and then rest a bit......
Collard greens! My favorite. Shred them and put them in salads.
ReplyDeleteYesterday Dustin put up the rest of the fences to support tomatoes. We (Dustin) took the long fence piece that was curled up like a scroll last year and cut it into smaller sections. I carefully planned where to put them but still caused poor, sweet, patient Dustin to have to dig one section up and move it twice.
Gardening seems different this year. I'm enjoying it less, but feeling more satisfied. It really matters now.
Yesterday another horrible storm blew through middle Tennessee. It ripped 8 shingles off of our roof, threw my seedlings on the porch out into the yard, and our power was off a long time. I cheered myself up by eating all the melting ice cream in the freezer for supper.
Having read all you wrote about the situation in your country, I would like so much to say some
ReplyDeleteencouraging words to you. And I nearly have a guilty conscience, as here in Germany there are no empty shelves in the super markets. Some prices have gone up however, but you can buy whatever you want. The place where I live is called "wine and vegetable village" ( which is the literal
translation) So I could buy all that very easily, but I have lots of vegetables and fruits in my
own garden. I do believe that after some weeks the situation will be better in most countries.
Surely it would be a good idea to choose vegetables for your garden that will grow well: Beans,
swiss chard, tomatoes, potatoes. peas, zucchini and pumpkin. And all sorts of lettuce of course.
I hope that you will have fine weather and no more storms that could spoil the harvest.
I have seen that some gardeners even grow potatoes successfully in containers. But this is surely extra work. And as to flowers, I remember that you have such beautiful day lilies on
your property. These will soon have blossoms. No extra work needed.
I wish you happy days in your garden and good luck.
Christel
I have spent the whole day playing in the flower bed and paid no attention whatsoever to the vegetable garden or the news. It has been quite pleasant even though the weeds have almost taken over everything. Tomorrow the weather is to be perfect again and I plan to get more vegetables planted and to start my herbs.
DeleteRight now we have more greens and lettuce than we can eat. I planted extra because I always share with people at work, but it has been canceled since we are all on lockdown.
I did check the headlines a moment ago and it seems Wendy's Restaurant, which is a fast food hamburger chain like McDonald's, is out of beef at a fifth of their locations. I think it is going to get worse before it gets better.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/wheres-beef-rolling-meat-shortages-strike-fast-food-chains