veggie garden update
This morning I started picking snowpeas. I don't have enough for a full meal yet, but that will probably resolve itself in a few days.
A few weeks ago we had turnip greens from the thinnings, but we're hoping that the rest will turn into turnips. There are radishes (and radish greens, of course) in the fridge, waiting to be used. We've had broccoli raab for a few weeks now, and we'll have at least one more meal's worth before we wait to see if it sends up new shoots after being harvested (they say that it sometimes does). Next year I should actually get the spinach planted, start everything earlier, and do succession plantings for a longer season of greens. This is my first year doing an early planting of cool-weather crops, and I'm very much enjoying the results.
All of our tomatoes & related things are planted, consisting of 3 romas and 1 tomatillo verde grown from seed, and 3 volunteer tomatoes of unknown parentage that we found in the garden. After a seed-starting mishap a couple of months ago, we decided to try our luck with the volunteers rather than buying plants to fill out the garden. The tomatillo, though still small, has had buds forming for a while now, and I noticed this morning that buds are starting to form on the romas. Yay! I've found homes for several of the other volunteer tomato plants in my garden, so that's a good thing. Meanwhile, the next door neighbor has become increasingly more insistent that he's got some tomato plants set aside for us. His plants are beautiful and big and strong, but I do wish he'd said something before we'd planned and filled our garden!
So now we're expanding the garden again, in an effort to accommodate the neighbor's tomato plants. This is not what we were expecting to do so late in the game, but it was part of our initial plan for this year's garden, so it's not the end of the world. I can expect plenty of canning in the Fall, too...which will be an entirely new experience with a new baby in the house, but I'm sure we'll manage, somehow.
The summer squash and cucumber seedlings we bought are doing fine. The zucchinis we planted from seed have sprouted, and are eager to catch up with their curcurbit brethren. The purchased broccoli is going strong, but no sign of heads yet...maybe it's early. Pole beans were planted just a few days ago, which is awfully late, but hopefully will still produce something.
Over all, I'm quite pleased with the garden so far (I've never had substantial harvests so early), and additionally pleased with what we've spent on it. All of the seeds were leftovers from previous years, and we've purchased a bare minimum of transplants. Nonetheless, the garden is full, and is producing nicely.
The herb & perennial garden is worth a post of its own.
A few weeks ago we had turnip greens from the thinnings, but we're hoping that the rest will turn into turnips. There are radishes (and radish greens, of course) in the fridge, waiting to be used. We've had broccoli raab for a few weeks now, and we'll have at least one more meal's worth before we wait to see if it sends up new shoots after being harvested (they say that it sometimes does). Next year I should actually get the spinach planted, start everything earlier, and do succession plantings for a longer season of greens. This is my first year doing an early planting of cool-weather crops, and I'm very much enjoying the results.
All of our tomatoes & related things are planted, consisting of 3 romas and 1 tomatillo verde grown from seed, and 3 volunteer tomatoes of unknown parentage that we found in the garden. After a seed-starting mishap a couple of months ago, we decided to try our luck with the volunteers rather than buying plants to fill out the garden. The tomatillo, though still small, has had buds forming for a while now, and I noticed this morning that buds are starting to form on the romas. Yay! I've found homes for several of the other volunteer tomato plants in my garden, so that's a good thing. Meanwhile, the next door neighbor has become increasingly more insistent that he's got some tomato plants set aside for us. His plants are beautiful and big and strong, but I do wish he'd said something before we'd planned and filled our garden!
So now we're expanding the garden again, in an effort to accommodate the neighbor's tomato plants. This is not what we were expecting to do so late in the game, but it was part of our initial plan for this year's garden, so it's not the end of the world. I can expect plenty of canning in the Fall, too...which will be an entirely new experience with a new baby in the house, but I'm sure we'll manage, somehow.
The summer squash and cucumber seedlings we bought are doing fine. The zucchinis we planted from seed have sprouted, and are eager to catch up with their curcurbit brethren. The purchased broccoli is going strong, but no sign of heads yet...maybe it's early. Pole beans were planted just a few days ago, which is awfully late, but hopefully will still produce something.
Over all, I'm quite pleased with the garden so far (I've never had substantial harvests so early), and additionally pleased with what we've spent on it. All of the seeds were leftovers from previous years, and we've purchased a bare minimum of transplants. Nonetheless, the garden is full, and is producing nicely.
The herb & perennial garden is worth a post of its own.