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.
Lovely to see your garden emerging with new plants again. I had never heard about growing strawberries and onions together before. Hope you soon get some warmer weather and everything shoots up fast! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteWe just returned from the store. I wanted more strawberry plants to add to the empty bed but they were $5.25 for one!!!! Just for one plant!!!! I splurged and got two. Mercy. They will have to spread themselves to fill up the bed.
DeleteI hope your garlic and cabbage combination works. That cabbage sounds good. I may have to look it up. There are plenty of experiments to try in a garden, aren't there? We're trying grow bags for our potatoes for the first time, hoping it will keep the wireworms and fire ants out of them. I too am playing the "move the seedlings out, move the seedlings in" game. Wishing you a bountiful 2023 harvest!
ReplyDeleteSo far, the garlic cabbage combination experiment isn't working. Last night I noticed nibbles from pill bugs on the leaves. I didn't spray. This morning I have yelled and clapped my hands three different times to run a digging squirrel out of the area. The motion detector alarm awoke Bill from a sound sleep and he is also on the warpath. I need to walk out and inspect the damage but I dread it. All that time tending the seedlings, dragging them in and out of the house, digging and then planting them in the garden, watering daily only to be destroyed by a digging squirrel. They can have the yard and all of the woods if only they would stay out of the garden.
DeleteI will be interested to see how your potato experiment works. There have only been a few of them in my garden so far.
Everything looks great! And I am more than just a little jealous--just so you know. I can't plant until at least mid-May or early June. My experiment this year is planting dill around the zucchini as it's supposed to deter the dreaded squash bug . . . we shall see. Happy gardening!
ReplyDelete--Melanie
I sure hope the dill works because I will give it a try. I'm going to try the scent traps again to catch the squash vine borers. The varieties that they love will be planted together with the trap in the middle.
DeleteEven planting that late you will still get a good harvest. The extra sunshine will make everything grow faster. Its more encouraging to be able to see growth every day.
Hello, we also made a raised bed for strawberries last month. I airways plant strawberries and garlic together. They are believed to be a good combination.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive comment. I will plant more onion bulbs in the empty space. I have ordered a netting to keep the birds out but it hasn't arrived yet. Every berry will be special.
DeleteLooks like you're ready to go with the new growing season! I understand the decision to stick with the tried and true after the weird weather of the past few years. I'm sure your garden will produce well, and I'm looking forward to updates here on your blog throughout the growing season. Happy spring!
ReplyDeleteI am getting ready but just not enthusiastic. It's more like a job instead of a hobby. I don't know if this weird weather is unusual or if it is the new normal. Of course, nobody can answer that question. Losing the whole garden (except for the spinach bed) really knocked the wind out of my sails. I think I will cheer up when the sun shines and I can get a good nights sleep. We had three tornadoes blow over last night. The emergency alerts kept shrieking until 3:00 am - SEEK COVER - GO TO THE BASEMENT!!! Repeat, repeat, repeat.
DeleteI'm glad you weren't affected by the tornadoes--with the exception of losing some sleep of course. I'm wondering about the manner you are growing potatoes. As they grow do you "hill" them with more leaves or dirt or both? I am intrigued . . .
ReplyDelete--Melanie
A train was blown off the track by the high winds only a few miles from where you live. There didn't appear to be a chemical spill or I would have called you immediately!
DeleteAs for potatoes, I've tried both ways, putting them in trenches then hilling the dirt over as they grow and also using leaves to hill them up. I prefer using leaves. It is much easier on my back. It is a continuous process raking leaves and grass then putting them over the potatoes. I don't focus on raking, its just whenever there is something available it is thrown in that spot instead of the compost pile. The potatoes grow down in the ground but there will be places where the dirt washes away leaving some potatoes exposed. If the sun hits them, they turn green and are not safe to eat. The potato vines do a good job of shading until they start dying back. At that time, it is too hot to rake so I move the leaves around to cover the exposed potatoes. There doesn't seem to be any difference between how many potatoes are produced - both ways seem to be equal.
You've made a good start on your garden already. We're probably warmer than you and I have not yet planted anything except onions and sweet potatoes. I've been moving raised beds, and now need more garden soil. If garlic helps strawberries, I'll try it. I'm going to put screens on my next strawberry bed but it probably won't keep the slugs out.
ReplyDeleteSweet potatoes! You planted sweet potatoes! You are way ahead of me in warmth. I'm still watching the weather report daily because we are at the time when a frost can still hit. It will be at least two weeks before we are safe. I tasted my first strawberry today from the plant I bought from the store (I picked one with a green strawberry already on it). Popped it in my mouth dirt and all. It was great!!!
DeleteMoving raised beds is a HUGE job but it will be worth the effort. Nothing keeps out the slugs. Ugh!
Can I say jealous? WOW! You have made a really good start. We, here in Oregon, have had lots and lots of that famous liquid sunshine--today, my yard was actually covered in standing water to the point that my shoes got wet from a short, tiny little walk into it. It is much cooler and wetter than normal this spring. We go entire winters without seeing snow, but this year....it actually snowed a few days ago. Again.
ReplyDeleteI did get one section of the garden planted with some early seeds and so far I have spinach, lettuce, snow peas, shelling peas (what's left after the crows picked off my seeds:(), radishes and beets sprouting. It's much too cool for things to grow very much, and it took a very long time for anything to sprout. I also absolutely cannot get into the area now to pull weeds, or anything. I just look on from the edge and wait for sunshine:).
Our plants in the greenhouse are also growing super slowly, especially the peppers, who crave heat.
I love seeing your garden, as usual. I hope it does better this year.
We had enough sunny warm days for us to get out and work some but oh, how sore we were afterwards. Just a little digging and we were beat! The cool weather plants are loving this weather and are growing fast. We have one more 39 degree night this week and then I might be brave enough to plant a few tomatoes. Beets seeds were planted last week, one between each collard seedling. I'm trying to squeeze as much out of the garden as possible this year.
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