Can you believe my fall garden is still producing? The onions and garlic are still doing well though not ready to be harvested yet. I pulled a few radishes the other day too.
I'm still getting small broccoli florets. Not enough to serve as a main vegetable, but enough for an occasional salad or mixed vegetable.
Lo and behold, the things I thought didn't make it: carrots, beets, Savoy cabbage, Romaine lettuce, and spinach have all made a glorious comeback with the longer days and warmer weather. I should get a spring harvest from these yet!
The turnips started to bolt, so I harvested most of the rest of them. I pulled the biggest ones throughout the winter, so these are medium to smallish. Even so it's almost 8 pounds worth.These were planted thickly and my thinning didn't really do enough for them. When I pulled the ones you see above, some were thin and spindly. I left those in the ground to see what would happen. I also left some to go to seed for this fall's turnip crop.
Fall Nursery Plantings
These included:
Everything survived the winter and are beginning to awaken on their own schedule. There are a couple of photos I can show you.
Elder bush leafing out. I splurged on these and got plants four foot tall.Best of all is one of my little peach trees!
It will be several years before I actually get peaches, but these little blossom buds were a delight to discover.
Spring GardenPlanted so far, out doors:
- De Cicco broccoli
- American Flag leeks
- Parris Island Cos lettuce(Romaine type)
- cherry belle radishes
- Dutch Flat cabbage plants (pictured on right)
- 5 horseradish roots,
- Yellow Ebenezer onion sets
- Little Marvel peas
- 2 blueberry bushes, Jubilee and O'Neal
- 3 Caroline red raspberry bushes
- 25 June bearing strawberries
- 25 everbearing strawberries
- sweet Basil
- Hale's Best Cantaloupe
- Lavender
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Roma VF Tomatoes
- Rutgers Tomatoes
- Sugar Baby Watermelons
- Chinese Giant sweet peppers
One big disappointment; out of a 30 foot double row of peas, only one plant came up! One plant!
I got a late start on my indoor seed planting. Our last expected frost date is around April 15 - 20, so my tomato and pepper plants should have been started a couple of weeks earlier. As you can see, these tomatoes are reaching for more light. I have a table set up in my studio, with all it's windows, but that still isn't enough light. Obviously a grow light would be a good investment.Also growing after being planted this spring, are my strawberries.
I planted two types, and the everbearers are doing very well. Of the June bearing ones, 9 out of 25 didn't make it. I've contacted Stark Bros for a replacement. Everything else I bought from them is doing splendidly.Obviously things are going well in the garden. Our weather has been lovely and warm for the past several weeks, and the temptation is there to plant tender things that wouldn't survive a frost. That's where self discipline comes in, and indoor seed starting!
How Does My Garden Grow? photos and text copyright
March 2010 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/
8 comments:
Garden? Oh, yes... I haven't even bought my seeds yet. It's still way too muddy here to dig.
I love it that you are still getting food from the fall veggies. Amazing with the snow and weather you got this past winter.
I am so amazed that you are still getting stuff from your fall garden. I've been getting the garden bug bad here but I haven't been able to do much. It keep raining and the ground is too wet to till up. I've been dieing to get my potatoes in. It looks like your garden is doing well and is shaping up to be wonderful this year.
Here we don't plant anything before mother's day or the frost will get it...even then we could still get snow. crazy huh?
I am seriously considering planting my tomatoes indoors and moving them to the patio when it warms up.
I can't beleive your getting things from your garden. Every thing looks so good!!!!!!
Herbs are coming along but the onions haaven't poke their tops out yet.
well, nothing planted in the garden yet. I did however get to pinch back the early basil plants and got a nice little pile of leaves to use in the pasta sauce.
Weather realities are that we could still have snow and heavy frosts for another month yet. It's not worth the losses to rush things.
I can't see it - it's under snow:) What do you do with surplus turnips? Can you dry them to use in soups??
Benita, I'm amazed too. I did mulch the spinach, but not the lettuce and cabbages. I just figured they were goners.
Robin, It's great isn't it! The wetness is a problem isn't it. We've been fortunate that our rain has let up this month, though our clay soil is still really wet. That said, I need to get my potatoes in too.
Renee, oh yes, do start your toms indoors. The bigger they are after Mother's Day, the sooner you can have fresh tomatoes!
Barb,thanks! Sounds like your getting a good start to your garden too.
Nina, love that basil! Spring time is tough for gardeners, isn't it? The waiting I mean. Except for potatoes I've got all my early stuff in, so what you say about not rushing things really rings true.
Sharon, snow?!? Oh my.
The turnips will keep pretty well for quite awhile. I put them in the fridge because it's getting warm in our back room and I'm afraid they won't last as long back there. We like the little tender ones grated raw in salads. Then we like the roasted in olive oil with a little salt (favorite way), steamed, or mashed. Soups too. I haven't tried dehydrating them, but I may do that, just to see.
Fabulous! I'm so behind in the garden. But, I made the rounds out there today and found that the hops are coming up. The strawberries are begging for me to come weed. And a monster kale plant from the fall, that had appeared decimated over the winter, has put out a bunch of new growth that is going strong. Plus, there are some salad greens coming up from seed that resulted when I was swamped with school work last fall- and a few onions. A garden is such a hopeful thing. And it looks like you will be eating well from yours. Well done!
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