Oh my, I haven't posted in ages. Thought I'd come and post and update because it is just way too hot to do much else around here! It's near 100 today, and should break 100 the next 3 days or so. It never gets this hot around here, so we are really not used to it at all. It's also very humid, which just makes it so much worse.
ANYWAY. The garden is booming! We have harvested 5 gallon sized bags of raspberries in the freezer, and eaten our fair share fresh as well. We also have about 3 gallon size bags of blueberries in the freezer. Those are much harder to get in the freezer as my girls wolf them down as soon as they are picked!
Zuccini is coming in like crazy. We've had our first baby potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, beets, turnips, onions and lots of peas, and lettuce although those two are are just about gone now. We should be getting our first beans, cukes and carrots anytime now. Our corn, watermelon, canteloupes, pumpkins and winter squash look to be doing really well. For the first time our apple trees look like we will have a nice harvest and we are excited about that. Next year or maybe even this fall, the kids have requested that we put in some grapes and more plum trees. We have some very old Italian style plums here which are still producing, but they are very small, so I'd like to try and find some type of plum that produces the bigger plums. If you have recommendations, please let me know what has worked for you!
Hope you are all staying cool and sipping some lemonade while you enjoy watching your gardens grow!
Hot Hot HOT!!!!!
Productive Week and Asparagus is up!
Well for the most part the weather was great this week. Supposed to be even nicer this weekend, which will be perfect for finishing the new chicken coop. Over the last few days, I got quite a bit done. I planted alot outside, including 3 packs of peas, two Early Frosty and one Lincoln Homesteader. I also planted two packages of Shallots and half a packet of spinach, and three types of lettuces, red romaine, green romaine and buttercrunch. I also got all my Sweet Peas planted. Most of the seeds I planted inside last weekend are up too. What I'm most excited about though is I have some asparagus coming up! I planted a 30' row last year, and had almost given up hope! But the first spears are starting to peak through! YEAH!!! Now I just have to resist harvesting them this year so they can grow stronger for the years to come. I imagine I'll have to pinch a few though, just to have a taste!
Rain Rain go away!
It's been chilly and wet this week, and it's supposed to stick around over Memorial Day weekend. Needless to say, we haven't gotten much done outside this week. My husband did dig another potato row/trench for me. The first row I planted quite few weeks ago is due for it's final hilling. Hoping to get him to do one more row for me for a total of 3 rows of potatoes. I also got in my misc "leftover" 6 packs planted out front. They filled up one row with cauliflower, broccoli and both red and green cabbage.
Because of the chilly weather, I'm glad I haven't put out my tomatoes, peppers, squashes and cucumbers yet. I pulled them all up close to the house earlier this week, and they seem to be doing ok. We've had a few nights this week in the low 40s, so I've been a bit nervous. I'm hoping next week it finally warms up enough to get them all planted.
We also picked up a bunch of bamboo poles to build a support for the scarlet runner beans. Hoping to get that built this weekend along with a cucumber support structure. If I can get my husband to help me build those, and till the remainder of the garden in (again!) this weekend, I'll be happy. I'm really hoping to get the remaining items in next week.
Oh! And we've harvested our first radishes this week and lettuces. Anyone know what to do with radishes? We are not big radish fans, but we have a TON of them coming in! I'd appreciate any ideas! Have a great holiday weekend!
Happy Mother's Day!
WOW! How did two weeks fly by already since I've posted last? Hard to believe!
I hope all you mom's out there are enjoying our special day! I woke up to breakfast in bed and we are heading out soon to buy all our veggie starts we still need for the garden. Looking forward to that.
Let me fill you in on what's been happening in the garden since my last post! Ok, in the back beds, in the one with the broccoli and brussel sprouts, I nixed the 2nd path on the right, and made one super wide row on the right side of the bed. I did almost half with beans, which went in about a week ago, I did about a 3' square plot of lettuce, and did the other half with another batch of peas yesterday. That bed is now completely full and the broccoli plants have the first teeny tiny heads of broccoli in there if you look real closely.
The other bed in back is full now too. The peas are up about 6" or so now. I should have lots of radishes in another 2 wks or so. I sprinkled them in with all the root crops I planted and they are getting big and leafy. The last root crop that went in were my parsnips and they are starting to sprout now. I already have loads of carrots up, rutabagas, beets and turnips as well. I also planted the lettuce (some starts and some by seed) in the middle row of this bed where I had an open spot. They went in about 10 days ago or so. The walla walla sweet onions are doing great, and have about 8-10" of green on them now.
In the front garden, we got one row of potatoes planted about a week ago. I have plans to do 3 rows, but was hoping to find a furrowing attachment for our tiller, but no such luck. So this depends on if my husband will help me dig the other two rows out because it's a lot of work! Yesterday I planted two more bags of onion sets, one yellow and one white. Also got the shallots in and one 6 pack of leeks. I have another 6 pack of leeks, but ran out of room in that row, will have to stick them in somewhere else. I have been wanting to put in all my "left-over" 6 packs (1 cauliflower, 1 red cabbage, 1 broccoli, the leeks) but have been nervous to do so with the rabbits our front. So yesterday I started with the chicken wire at the bottom of the fence, and need to get the rest of that done this week before I put the new starts in that we are picking up today.
It's warm enough out now to pick up the warm weather starts, so on my list I have some more (4-6) determinite tomato plants (I'm doing them all in pots this year), cucumber plants, zuccini, pati pan, yellow summer squash, pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, blue hubbard squash....I think that's it. I started most of these by seed in flats this year, but they didn't do well. I still have seed left and may plant some of those as well and do a few starts of each with a few by direct seed and see which fairs better. I also have another misc row out front I want to put another batch of beans in, but I may stagger them out a bit since I just planted a batch out back. Oh! and the asparagus is starting to poke through out front! Just a few tiny purple stalks peeking up. I hate having to wait a year or two before being able to fully harvest them!
OK, I think that's about it for now! I'll try and post more pic's this week. It's supposed to reach near 80 degrees by the end of the week! :-)
Things are sprouting!
I was out today inspecting my seeded crops very closely. The peas are now up here and there, and the radishes I sprinkled in with my seed tapes are also sprouting.
Here's some photo's of my 2 back beds, which are nearly all planted. In this photo below, I have one wide row left on the right for the beans to go in. Then I have one row of brussel sprouts and one row of broccoli.
In this second bed, I have all my carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, rutabagas, walla walla onions and a wide row of peas. I have about a third of a row right in the middle, that I'm going to stick some lettuce in. Then both of these will be full for the time being.
After I harvest my peas, I may throw a second row of beans in. I'd like to get more peas and lettuce in somewhere also before it gets too late, but that will have to be out front. All depends on how much roto-tilling I can get my husband to do this weekend. Wish me luck!
