Successes and Failures

It happens to the best of us and those of us who are usually pretty good at gardening.  I think I have been beat this year and will not enjoy my own garden beans.  I did everything the way I usually do, but I have a few miserable sprouts coming up.  I have them fenced to protect them from the big critters and covered them for the little.  Still there are a few lousy plants and some that look like they were eaten by something.  This is unprecedented in my gardening years.  I will put more in, bush beans that are short season.  I hope to enjoy some fresh beans before the growing season runs out.  My pole beans and the elaborate growing structure appear to be a futile attempt at gardening.

Instead of tender sprouts, I have a bed full of purslane.  Purslane is edible, but they aren't beans.  On the other hand, peas were very successful.  I grew both sugar snap and garden shelling beans.  I enjoyed cooking up three different meals from the last picking of shelling beans alone.

I went out and picked again before work this morning and got almost a full pail of both types.  They are starting to dwindle in number so there is probably just a meal left to grow in on the vines.  I am leaving some on to try and get some for next year's crop.

I am also pretty happy with the onion crop.  The tops are starting to get brown tips so they should be starting to shut down and start hardening up for harvest.  We have enjoyed several pullings of fresh onions that I have cooked or used fresh.  Garlic is also starting to brown at the top. The leeks also look pretty good, but those are still growing.  I put in carrots, but only those shaded by the adjacent plants actually germinated.  I think they got too dry when they needed it most.  We have not been getting timely rains this month.
I also enjoyed the first four blueberries on my bush today.  It is not going to be much of a crop.  I just bought the plants last year.  They were in pots all last year and through the winter.  I have them in a large above ground planter now that is filled with peat and compost.  In our alkaline soils, we can only grow blueberries in an artificial environment like this.
Fencing of some type still needs to go up.  I did get down soaker hoses around the tomatoes and peppers last week.  I am also going to put some around the squash just to cover my bases since I do have a few left.  I haven't peeked at the corn coming up under the floating row cover, but I can see some shoots pushing up the fabric.  Okra is small and in desperate need of weeding.  I do have to get busy in the weeding department as I know they will need it again when we come back from our first vacation.
I try not to linger on the failures and enjoy eating the food that is coming from the garden.  Lettuce is at it's end, so I need to enjoy salads this weekend rather than send it to the compost pile for lack of interest.  It is also time to forage for berries.  Enjoy summer as it is short.

Starting over, my new garden

 The gardening venture begins anew in a different place.  My daughter and her husband will enjoy the fruits of my labor in the raised beds I left behind at the house we have owned for over 20 years.  I now get to garden in a much larger plot, but one that has been neglected.  One previous gardener used Roundup on a paint roller to "weed" the garden.  The second gardener, I have learned from second hand reports, put in plants and and did very little follow up.  I can believe the reports as I spent all of last summer just trying to clean up dead weed stalks only to find all the precious little babies they were sprouting underneath.  I resorted to the first gardeners technique and used herbicide to control the weeds, but did not plant.  It was tilled a couple times as the compaction was horrific and I expanded the bound with the herbicide to bring it up to the size it was when I I kept a small corner plot her over 20 years ago in the after work hours.
I have decided to not till again this spring to keep the covered weed seeds under the soil and deal with the ones that have and will sprout at the surface.  They are numerous!  I brought in some composted manure last fall which covered the smallest of areas.  This is where I will put my beds of seeds like spinach and such.  The other vine crops will get a mound of compost at their planting site with weed cloth or mulch around their growing area to try and suppress the potential weed army rallying forces underground.

I started this year off as I always do with peas.  The garden here tends to stay wet, so I have chosen to use the mounding method to create raised beds.  I loved my foot high, wood sided beds at home, but I am not going to invest in the materials or labor to do this here.  Starting with the area where the manure was spread last fall, I raked and mixed the soil a bit.  After getting it a bit loose, I pulled it up into a pile and then leveled off two rows for putting in my two different types of peas.  I like the sugar pods, but still enjoy the pleasure of shelling out peas as well.  They are starting off about six inches high, but will settle as the season goes on.  I will side dress these rows with carrots or other rooting crops to take over when the peas are done.  Right now the sprouting peas are covered with mesh to keep the squirrels and chipmunks from digging up and eating the peas as seeds.  I always soak my seeds first as the germination is so much better when I do.
I have to fence this garden much more heavily than I did in my urban plot.  The property is fenced off from the roaming deer herds for the nursery crops, but we still have four residential does that still call this home.  I put a hardware cloth and t-post fence around the perimeter of part of the garden that will keep the tastiest crops away from bunnies and wood chucks.  I am certain that I will have to do battle with something even still.

Next to each t-post is a ten foot conduit post pounded in about two feet.  I fashioned a hook for the top of each to hang a five foot wide mesh cloth that meets up to the three foot tall hardware cloth.  All together they form an eight foot tall enclosure which should keep the deer away from my peas, greens and bean crops.  The opening is an over-lap of the mesh with a gate of hardware cloth.  I have to duck to get through the mesh over-lap, but it is a small sacrifice.  Time will tell how effective this will be.  I did not dig the hardware cloth in very deep and this may be my weak spot if I don't monitor the perimeter enough.

Once my perimeter was secure (this was two separate weekends to accomplish) I felt I could continue with the actual gardening.  I used my Weed Dragon to scorch the weeds that were abundantly germinating already.  Next to the pea rows, I formed a square bed for my greens like spinach and lettuce as well as some root crops of parsnips and salsify.  Both root crops are over 100 days to maturity and are best harvested after frost for sweeter quality.  I have not added my kale yet, but need to make that a priority.  I have greenhouse starts of cabbage and bok choy to add as well.  I just hope the enclosure will fit them all!
I put the tender onion plants in as well.  I did two types of bulb onions, Ailsa Craig and Walla Walla.  I also have Lancelot leeks which I plan on mounding to blanch the stems as they grow.  These were also greenhouse starts back in February.  Onions and leeks are very long season crops when started from seed.  I have decided that the radicchio is going to be a fall crop this year to form the best heads closer to frost.  I also put in my radishes, French Breakfast and April Cross, for my early crop.  I have another called Rat-tailed which is grown for its seed heads that will go in later.  I put in short rows of these as one family can only eat so many ripening radishes at once. Straw that was used for winter protection around my potted fruit crops is down on my walking paths for mulch.  This will get turned in next fall to compost in ground for more soil tilth in future years.  I can't wait for the weather to warm if only to shorten the distance I have to run a hose to water.  I don't have a rain barrel area established here yet as I need to put up some gutter on the shed close to the garden.  I have an idea, I just need to execute.  I look forward to some rain water for spot watering the garden here.

I used what little compost I had left last fall to create a rhubarb bed with bounds.  There was a ceramic "planter" already in place in the yard.  After digging down over two feet, I decided it wasn't getting removed.  I vaguely remember this being put in by my former manager and it involved heavy equipment.  One of my rhubarb varieties didn't make it through summer in the pot that I was growing my roots in.  I think a watering lapse or late planting was to blame.  I was scrambling about with my garlic bulbs last fall looking for a place to put them in before winter.  The rhubarb plot was the only area that I did not plan on disturbing the following year.  It was also the only area that I am not battling weeds.  I will get through the weed ordeal... The garlic has sprouted with hopes of another crop to come this year.
I will continue to plan and plant.  It is almost like learning how to garden all over again.  There is so much work to get done, but I can see all of it in my mind.  I can't wait to share it all with you.

Rain and the garden wait for no man

I took a walk in the garden before work this morning in between rain storms.  We have been hit pretty hard with wind and rain.  There has been plenty of storm damage keeping my co-workers in the district offices busy in to the wee hours of the morning.  The rain has kept us out of the fields.  We are so close to finishing the tree planting that this is an unwelcome roadblock to that completion.  The walk this morning was a welcome diversion.  I found my garlic forming scapes (seed heads) which were ripe for the picking.  These saute up well in dishes and are best picked early to continue good garlic bulb formation.  Seed formation tends to diminish the rest of your plants in general.
I took another gander around the yard on my return from work and found a bountiful crop of those beautiful Alpine strawberries.  So packed with flavor in their marble size miniature form.

They will be a tasty addition to a spinach salad for supper.  I made up some bacon to make it an official spinach salad.  The cool weather has produced the best crop of spinach I have had in my garden in years.  I have taken note that planting on the north side of my raised beds helps to keep it from bolting early.  This will be the first spring I have had success with this crop.  I planted in square foot fashion and popped about 3 seeds per dibble hole to ensure success.  The first round was thinning out the extras and now I take out the largest of the plants.  Lettuce has also been a terrific crop this year.
If you are experiencing rain, take the time to see how truly beautiful the garden is with the moisture brightening all the colors.  It's worth the damp feet.

Fitting in the spring tasks, a photo tour

My basement greenhouse is full with overflow to the kitchen window and south facing upstairs window.  I have many transplants to fit soon, so I have to come up with a plan for all the large pots occupying space here.

I have been cleaning out the gardens so I start with a clear base to start this spring.  This is my herb garden with several perennial herbs and reseeding herbs.  I added additional cilantro seed in a larger plot than normal for an early spring harvest.

My potted stock from my grafting class is coming along.  It has been super exciting to see that the grafts are taking and sprouting.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for great success.  I do have the small greenhouse set up this year.  It is a low tech design, but with my husband home during the day he can vent the front for me!

Tomatoes, peppers, and many flowers are close to getting true leaves which means I have lots of transplanting ahead.  I have cabbages and baby pak choi rooting for transplant into the garden.  I think I will have to toss them to the wolves in the outdoor greenhouse soon to make space.

Potted fruiting bushes are a direction I have started to move in last spring.  I have honey berries which have overwintered and are sprouting.  I will be able to take these with me if we have to make a move.  I can't say the same for the peach tree, apple, or kiwi.

I got small variety blueberries from Jung's this spring.  I potted them up to straight peat moss yesterday.  It is my plan to keep them as potted stock so they can go wherever I need them.

Two out of three raised beds are planted.  I have carrots germinating under the cloth (it helps to keep the bed moist) as well as lettuce seeds.  I also have several varieties of kale this year, half a bed of storing onions, a row of bunching onions and radishes.  Some radicchio overwintered, my new crop I am growing as a fall crop this year.  The garlic is also up 6 " already.  Peas were also put in last week but no sprouts as of this morning. 

Planting Garlic

Some people have never planted garlic before.  Six years ago, I was one of them.  It is such and easy crop and uses garden space during the slower parts of the growing season when you have the space.
The first step is to buy good bulbs of garlic from the farmer's market.  Make sure they are not damaged and are nice and firm.  Size will depend on the type you are planting, but the bigger the better.  If your goal is to braid garlic, then you will need a soft neck variety (ask your farmer, he will know).  If you like a bigger bulb, then the hard neck varieties are probably more your speed.  I have hard neck garlic in the photo above.  You will never braid those stiff stems.  I have one bulb broken into the six individual cloves.  The cloves are what you plant.  So, in this case, one bulb should yield six more bulbs if all goes well.

A general rule of thumb for planting bulbs is to plant three times the depth of the bulb.  A one inch high bulb would be planted three inches deep.  My garlic will go in about 4" deep.  I dig a trench, add some compost, put in the clove of garlic (pointy end up), and cover with more compost.  Done!

I mark the ends of my garlic row so I don't start another early season crop there next spring.  I also put down some of my expanded metal squirrel-be-gone deterrents.  If you have ever planted fall bulbs just to have them come and dig them up, this is an effective barrier to keep them out.  I have had mystery bulbs come up in my yard from squirrels re-burying bulbs from the neighbor's yards.  This year I had a bonus canna.  Other years I have had tulips, hyacinths, and one other spring bulb that has multiplied and I still don't know the name of it.

As long as I had the shovel out, I dug a trench on the north side of one of my raised beds and tucked the Alpine strawberries in for winter.  Unless we get a warm stretch, my berry days are done.  I have not covered them in past years and they seem to overwinter just fine.  I choose the north side to reduce the freeze-thaw cycle that the south side of the beds tend to have.  I also chose to not put my garlic in the raised beds this year as last year's mild winter was confusing the garlic into growing so early.  It didn't matter what side it was on as the soil barely froze last winter.
Tomorrow I will get out to clean out the beds and get my snow drops and daffodils in for next spring's bloom.

Mediterranean Salsa

If your harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers is coming in now it the time to enjoy some really terrific salads.  One of the other favorite recipes I like to make is for a salsa recipe that was published by Pampered Chef.  It is so simple to make, takes ingredients so easy to buy (or grow), and is a great dish to take to parties.  Best of all there are no utensils required to eat it!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Mediterranean Salsa                                 Pampered Chef recipe

½ medium cucumber, seeded and chopped

½ c chopped (red) onion

1 plum tomato seeded and diced

3.25 oz of ripe olives sliced or chopped

2 T olive oil

1 clove garlic pressed or finely diced

1 t Italian seasoning

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Stir the ingredients together and chill.  Serve with pita chips or other flat crackers

Garden Walk-thru March 27

Blood root (top)





Hen and chicks with candy tuft iberis
(left)






Chives (below)

 Garlic (right)













Herb garden (below)

White hyacyths (left)



















Red Russian kale-overwintered plants (below)

Primrose (left)













Rhubarb (below)

scilla foreground with vinca background (left)














Lilacs in March??????

Gardens inside, gardens outside...what a crazy spring!

I have started the early seeds of Heliotrope, Mammoth Stocks, and Violas.  They are in the dome to keep the temperature and moisture higher with my seed heating mat underneath.  The dome is ventilated to keep temperatures moderate. 

Onions are up and almost ready for their first hair cut.  When they reach 6" cut them back to 3".  When you are two weeks out from transplanting (April 15th is my date, weather and soil dependent) start setting them outside for a few hours a day, lengthening that time each day.

My first crop of basil and cilantro have been transplanted to cell packs.  I will keep these under lights and harvest the leaves as an indoor crop.  If the basil holds up well, I will move it outdoors.  My plan otherwise is to start more basil seedlings May 1st and direct sow more cilantro into the herb garden.  Cilantro is a crop worth seeding a little bit every two or three weeks to keep it coming all season long.

Coleus, rosemary, and ibosa are all rooting in my jars along my kitchen window sill.  This is also where I am keeping my seedlings and small starts so I can keep a good eye on them.

I have been dividing and upgrading my plants as they have showed signs that they are crowded in their pots.  It is becoming painfully obvious that I really need to come up with an outdoor structure to hold my abundance of plants.

I took a good hour of my weekend to sterilize and wash pots and flats.  I think this is something I am going to try and do in the fall when I can take it all out to the driveway and garage where I have more room to set everything out to dry.  I also will be ready to transplant at a moment's notice so maybe I will not procrastinate so much.

How exciting to come home from work on March 12th and see my dwarf irises in bloom.

The first snowdrops are nodding their heads in approval of our very warm, Spring weather.

Tulips and daffodils are up almost 6" now.  I plant my tulips in the middle of daffs to keep the rabbits from biting off their heads.  It really works.

Rhubarb is showing color and pushing out of the dirt.

I will have early parsley from these plants.  Parsley is biennial so it will set flowers and seeds this year.  I will start new plants to take their place when the time comes.

Garlic is up and making a good showing.  This is one of the fall planted bulbs.  Separate the cloves and plant each individual clove 6" apart and 3-4" deep in mid-fall.  If your soil is tillable you may get some in with our early spring.

Spring is busting out all over!

Garlic

Garlic is one of the easiest things to pop in the garden.  Remembering to do it is the hard part.  When you are cleaning up much of the other vegetable garden debris in the fall, that is the time to put in your garlic.
Choose bulbs in good condition, no cuts or soft spots.  Any garlic will do but if you want to braid your garlic, you will have to choose a soft neck variety.  Do a little research and you can decide which one you will like.  I usually end up with a hard neck variety.  The center stalk comes off of these like a stiff stick and is not going to braid no matter what you do.  I grow it to cook with so storing it in a mesh bag or basket in the basement serves my purpose well.  After  you have chosen the variety you want and hve selected bulbs in good shape you have to pull them apart like you are going to cook with the individual cloves-Don't take off all the papery husk from each clove though.  Each bulb will probably have 4-6 cloves each.  This is usually enough for me.  Chose the best cloves with no rot and of good size.  Small cloves will grow small bulbs, big cloves-big bulbs.  Loosen up the soil well and plant the cloves 5-6" deep.  Some books may advise less but this depth has been successful for me.  Cover with soil and walk away.
In the spring you don't have to worry too much about forgetting where the garlic was put in as it starts showing pretty early.
In early summer they will send up a flower stalk which will curl around as it grows.  When it is still not in bloom but curled, cut off this part called the scape.  The internet has many ways to cook with scapes.  They are mild in their garlic flavor.  Allow the garlic to remain in the ground until the leaves start to yellow and die.  Now is the time to pull it out (midsummer is about right).  Gently clean off the dirt and cut the stalks back to several inches.  Cut off most of the roots off the bottom.  Hang in a cool, dry location to cure.  Garlic cloves will store well into winter.
Garlic reminds me of my aunt, Ginny.  Aunt Ginny was born to Scandinavian parents but we always thought of her as Italian as she married a dark, handsome, Italian man from Chicago.  Aunt Ginny was blonde and very petite, but she learned how to cook Italian and her accent tells you she is from Chicago.  I will never forget the first time she made her garlic bread loaded with mushrooms and cheese on one of her visits to our little town in northern Wisconsin.  It was wonderful!  When anyone makes it we call it Aunt Ginny's bread.  Here's to Aunt Ginny's fantastic use of garlic!