Garden Update: April 9, 2012

We had a good rain yesterday afternoon, and the garden looks a lot greener than it did prior to the rain. It's cloudy today so I'm hoping the plants are really able to enjoy the rain water before the sun pops out and dries everything out. And who knows... maybe we'll get rain again by the weekend! Here's hoping!

I'm trying a few new things in the garden this year. We had a couple leaky (think collander) troughs in the barn that I was going to plant potatoes in. I didn't get around to planting spuds soon enough, and we don't eat many potatoes anyway, so I decided to plant them with a couple tomato plants, some chard, and nasturtiums. We'll see how they do.

I am also using some of the big blue tubs left over from some of the treats we give the cows in the winter. Alan drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, and I filled them with good soil, tomato plants, some herbs, chard, mints, and a few other things (radishes, onion chives, etc). They are unsightly, but hopefully functional.

The sunflowers and zinnias I planted along the chicken yard are coming in well. The bed is filling with our icky crab grass, so I've got to get out and trim it up a bit. You can see that the fence took a bit of a beating from Lucy and Darcy (cows) while we had the girls in the back yard this winter. Baaaaad cows! :)

This small bed was supposed to be all flowers. Two seeds came up. Well, more than that sprouted, but were quickly eaten off by pill beetles. So, I planted some acorn squash seeds in the center of the bed. They didn't come up either. So, when I had to stop at the nursery to pick up some replacement plants for the ones I lost in the hail storm, I decided to pick up a few more to plant in this bed. The day after I planted the peppers and two tomato plants, all of the acorn squash seeds popped up. This should be an interesting bed to watch grow.....  *grin* Oh, and the netting that's around the beds is to keep the free-ranging chickens and cats out of the beds. Works great!

I'm excited for this bed! Down the center, on both sides of the trellis are three different kinds of cucumbers. Then a row of beets and a row of spinach, on both sides. YUM!! I did lose some of the cucumber plants to hail, but there are plenty of others and they're doing just great.

This year's primary tomato bed has 6 plants that are coming along beautifully! Last year I planted 8 plants in a different bed this same size, and it was a bit crowded. It was difficult to only plant 6 (they're so small when they're first planted!), but I'm hoping that with a little extra elbow room, they'll do great!

This bed is beets and spinach, and as you can see by the "holes", I've lost quite a bit of seedlings to pill beetles ... rollie pollies. After this bed is harvested, it will be getting a second board added to the perimeter to increase the bed's height, and I will be adding lots of really good compost. I had the most trouble with this bed last year, and since it's not doing so great this year either, I think it's in need of a face lift. I only wish I'd have thought to add the extra height before I planted this spring! But no worries .... I'll be able to get something else planted in this bed soon enough, and it will be marvelous!

This is more spinach, and a row of radishes.

The unruly peas, refusing to climb the trellises.

Onions, 8-Ball zucchini, Patty Pan, and some kale.

Hopefully, things do well this year. A lot of work goes into a garden, and last year's drought really did a number on ours. We're hoping for better luck this year!

Comments

[Michele Ghent]

Oh, look at all the wonderful new, green growth. I hope it stays lush and green all season long and produces wonderfully--NO DROUGHTS PLEASE!! We had snow flying around today so there are no little green seedlings planted here in the great white north just yet:)

[Shellie Daniel]

Oh, I'm hoping you have better luck this year too! Your garden is beautiful! So much fun stuff planted . . . .

[rose kerry]

Thanks for the garden update. I just love seeing food grow and you are the only one I now that works as hard as yo do. I'm a city girl in an apartment, now even a window sill or balcony to plant a thing. My granny had a fabulous garden up into her 80's, I just loved going over there and helping her weed and water. Thanks for sharing your bounty with the rest of us.

[D K Wight]

WOW, I'm impressed. So impressed I'm speachless......Love, Dad

[Jan Elmore]

Hey...nothin' unsightly about your tubs or garden. Awesome photos. Thanks

[Dee in NH]

Yummm....looking good! Can you just give me a call when something (anything!) is ready to eat? I'm jonesing for some fresh veggies!

[SueB]

It all looks wonderful.

[Lora Lauhoff]

Looks fantastic, Anna.

[VivLyn]

Looks great, Anna!!

[Jennifer Woodward]

You're such an inspiration and seeing your garden gets me inspired! We have about one more month before we can plant anything here but I'm loving seeing yours taking off. Prayers for no droughts for you this summer.

Cheers!
Jennifer

[SweetMissDaisy]

Hi Jen,

I
planted in containers a few years ago and had great success, and since
we had those big tubs laying around, I decided to put them to use. We have
terrible soil, which is why I havent put in a traditional garden. Id
love to, but we dont plan to live here many more years, so I would
rather just piddle around with my raised beds and a few containers. Yes,
they require a bit more watering, but Im out there several times a day
since the chicken house is there, so its no problem for me to give
them a drink while Im there. :)

Cluck, cluck!
-Anna.

[Jen]

How come you plant so much in the smaller containers like the blue buckets? Don't they dry out a lot faster? I did tomatos one year in buckets about the size of yours and they were a nightmare to keep watered. And that's in Indiana! What's the driver behind the containers...I'm sure there is one! :)

[Ruth S]

Looks great so far Anna - can't wait to see how it progresses ;)
Rx

[Sherri D.]

It's looking really good, now let's hope it stays that way, unlike last year's!

[Carol Dee]

You are so far ahead of ours. Most seeds have jst gone in. tomato and pepper plants waiting for frost danger to pass. We have moved a few raised beds over and added a new one. (I took over most of 2 of them for FLOWERS!) Will you be using the watering system you had last year for the tomatoes? I thought it was genious :)
hugs...

[Troy Louise]

That's one magnificent garden project you've got going! I love your blue containers. Good luck with all of it. Hope your weather is better than last year. Hugs & happy belated Easter wishes.