The Garden Chronicles May 30, 2011 - The Garden Plot

Memorial Day weekend, although wet and rainy, stayed dry enough for planting the garden.  The Brussels sprouts, cabbages, and ground cherries are now in the ground after their 8-week start in the hot house.  The tomato plants continue to thrive, and the squash and cucumber plants continue to struggle.  I planted the rest of the seeds directly in the ground to ensure that something comes of the squash and cucumbers this summer.  This plot now has been seeded with carrots, kale, kohlrabi, and leaf lettuce.

Tomatoes look great!

The lettuce planted a month ago is just about ready to harvest.  This 30-day variety is perfect for starting the season early. 

The rhubarb expanded this spring and is very early.  I will harvest some tomorrow for a friend whose wife bakes pies.

Black currants are starting to form.  All three currant bushes look great.  We will have an abundance of currants in June/July (black, red, and champagne).

The lily of the valley is so fragrant.  They expanded into areas of the garden where they are a potential lawn replacement, and we need to decide whether to let it go or beat it back.

These are tiny apricots starting to form.  We will have an abundant harvest of apricots again this summer.

These onions are starting to look like Egyptian onions after all.  Very easy to grow, and they are perennials.

This plot is now planted with bush beans, Swiss chard, dill, and cilantro.  Left some space for the sweet potatoes that should be arriving by mail in the next few days.  Behind the vegetable plot, the strawberries are flowering and forming fruit.  They should be ready to eat in a few weeks.

In the front yard, a border of black raspberries is doing remarkably well.  Planted last summer, these are now forming flower buds and starting to spread.  We can just taste sweet black raspberry jam!

The pear trees, having finished flowering, are now starting to form pears.

We noticed today a volunteer cucumber plant in the middle of the flower bed.  How did it get here?

The perennials in front of the house have truly benefited this rainy spring.

The asparagus keeps coming.  This will be dinner tonight!

The Garden Chronicles May 22, 2011 - Wet Spring Continues, Every Living Thing Thrives

Since last post, we had warmer, sunny days then more rain resulting in lush, green lawns and trees fully blooming.  Below is our apple tree through my rain-streaked window yesterday morning.  This apple tree is a reluctant fruit-bearer.  It has not blossomed like this in a several years.  Perhaps we will have apples this fall.  This is a Honey Crisp tree.

Between the showers of yesterday, I planted the tomatoes, and earlier in the week, the squash and cucumber plants.  These are the plants that we started indoors in the hot-house.  The squash and cucumber plants were weakened by the time I planted them outdoors - too much indoor time, but most have flower buds.  If they survive the heavy rains this weekend, they may form fruits.  The tomatoes seem strong, and will need good sunshine to grow larger and form flowers.  The eggplant (lower right) is a healthy plant that grew all winter in the hot-house.  We have high hopes for it this summer!

The strawberry bed is a weedy mess, but between the grass you can see strawberry flowers.  In another month, we will have mouth-watering strawberries, the joy of early summer.

My friend, Thuy, is graduating with a Masters' degree in computer science this weekend.  I stitched for her this bookmark as a gift.  Congratulations, Thuy!

The Garden Chronicles May 14, 2011 - This cool, wet Spring

This morning it is 45 degrees, raining, windy - A perfect fall day, but not on May 14.  The average temp this time of year is 65, but averages mean little where we live.  It was nearly 85 degrees last weekend.  You could say we're right at the average, mathematically speaking, but that is little consolation to the hot house full of tomatoes and squash plants that want to go in the ground.  Too soon for them, but perhaps next weekend if the weather improves over the next several days.  

Meanwhile, the pear, cherry, and plum trees are blooming above the tulips in the front yard.  It looks like Spring, even if the temperature is variable.

The early lettuce is benefiting from lots of rain and doesn't mind cooler temps.

The asparagus are also larger and tastier than in previous years, likely because the rains have made up for years of drought that tortured our garden.

David planted another cold frame this week with Swiss chard, and we are looking forward to it weeks from now.  This is the same heirloom variety we planted two seasons ago that fed us from early summer until frost.

This rainy morning we visited the Minneapolis Farmers' Market where vendors had bedding plants for sale (flowers, vegetables, and herbs), and also fresh fruits and vegetables grown far south of here.  They also sold brats, French fries, plate-sized doughnuts and caramel buns, and hot dogs that were being consumed for breakfast.

The Garden Chronicles May 10, 2011 - Let the Season Begin!

Following a dreadfully long and snowy winter, we doubted the start of gardening by May.  But over Mothers' Day we discovered that our perennials returned early and strong, and some edibles have already made it to our dinner plates.

Here is David at work, planting one tomato plant and one squash plant in a cold frame.  It is very early to set them in the ground, but if they stay warm in the frame, we may be eating tomatoes and squash by early July!  It is worth taking a chance with just two plants.

These garlic plants were planted last fall and they wintered over very well in their cold frame.

This is 29-day lettuce, started in the cold frame the first week of May.  We may be eating lettuce by Memorial Day week, if all goes well.

The little squash and tomato plants get a drink to set them on their way.

In the main vegetable garden, two kale plants survived under the winter snow.  A nice surprise!

More surprises.  Asparagus appeared the first week of May.  We will be able to eat them at the end of this week.

In the herb garden, most have returned: chives (first ever harvest in April), summer sorrel, and organo.  The French tarragon, a strong plant in previous years, does not seem to have survived this winter.

These are Egyptian onions, but so far they look like the ordinary onion variety.  We will see what happens when/if they form a flower, for that is the part that makes them a curiosity in the garden.

These are apricot blossoms.  The four trees are covered with flowers this year, setting us up for a phenomenal harvest again this summer.

Our tulips are the show of our street this week.

These are miniature daffodils, one of several varieties that returned this spring.

The rhododendron is also show-stopper on our street.

The cherries are now starting to bloom.

Spring bulbs brighten up the alley, too.

No shortage of rhubarb this spring.  It has multiplied since last year.  The black, red, and champagne currant bushes are full of flower buds.

The hot house is brimming with plants that are ready to go outside.  If the warmer weather holds through the next couple of weeks, we will able to plant them in the ground.  Tomatoes (4 types), squash (3 types), red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, ground cherries, celery leaf, and peppers.

And let's not forget that the eggplant that has been flowering all winter but needs to go outside to form fruits.

At busy gardening day's end, wouldn't we just love to stretch out on the couch and take a nap!