Update from the Vegetable Garden

Garden update part three...it's been a few days now since I took these pictures and the weather has cooled of a LOT. There was a frost advisory last night and another for tonight. Here's hoping everything pulls through! I've brought a few things inside, but that's not possible for everything. That said, I present the veggie garden.

Look at those peas! They're climbing the tomato cages nicely, and if you look beyond, you can see the green beans I planted a couple weeks ago. It always amazes me how fast those puppies grow!

The first planting of lettuce is coming along nicely. I'm seeing salad in my near future!

And here is the beginnings of the second planting of lettuce. Last year I (unwisely) planted all my lettuce seeds at once and we were completely overrun. This year, I am trying successive plantings so I only get as much as I can eat at any given time.

If you look closely, you can see where the blueberry has been doing its pollinating thing. I'm really looking forward to some homegrown blueberries!

You can see how my seedlings are coming along. I put some of my tomatoes in larger containers to see if they'll grow larger root systems before I transplant them. I also wanted to be able to keep them in the greenhouse for a little while longer since we're getting some cooler weather.

Update from the Container Garden

I know, I know.....I promised to finish the garden update, but in the interest of not creating the longest blog post ever, I decided to split it into three sections: flower garden, container garden, and vegetable garden.

SO.....without further ado, here is the latest on the container garden....

I can't remember if I've gotten to show this guy off before now. This was Jacob's (my husband) St. Patty's day pick: a shamrock. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but it seems to be thriving.

Since it was so warm for so long (most of March was in the 80's here), I took the ranunculus (the one in front) out of the greenhouse. There are a few more hanging out on my newly painted plant shelf. Behind that is something called an orchid lily, which I am really excited to see bloom. My voice teacher and his wife gave me this from a division of theirs. Apparently, it blooms in an arch like an orchid, only the flowers are lilies! How cool is that?!

Ok, let's talk about the one on the top of the shelf....I knew that nasturtium were effective as natural "bug traps", but I was really unprepared for just how effective they really are....see how the leaves are mostly chewed off? None of the other plants have been touched....not even the tulip in the same pot!

This one's a baby. I decided it would probably be ok to go ahead and transplant some of the dill seedlings that were in the greenhouse. I may have to bring it inside later this week though...they were talking about frost on the news today.

I was starting to get a little worried about this rosemary plant. I had overwintered it and it was looking pretty anemic for a while, but it seems to be greening up nicely with some sunshine and warmer temperatures.

And lastly, the strawberry plant is starting to make berries!

Nasturtium Update

A week or two ago, I mentioned that I planted some nasturtium seeds. They must have really liked where I put them, because I've already got some tiny nasturtium leaves!

No sprouts in the greenhouse yet (except for the ranunculus)....hopefully those will come along soon!

What is sprouting in your garden?

Update: seed starting and ranunculus

It's a gorgeous day here for some gardening. It seems spring has officially begun, whether the calendar says so or not. I even spotted a few yellow butterflies flitting around the backyard.

After one more trip to Home Depot for more Jiffy Pots (we don't use enough tp to ONLY use the tube cups...I'll have to start saving them earlier next year!), I have got seeds started for each variety that needed an indoor start. My poor little green house is stuffed to capacity!!

Also, exciting news.....I have one teeny tiny ranunculus sprout!

I'm very excited. I bought a few tubers a while back knowing that they aren't really hardy in zone 6B, but hoping I could get them to grow in a greenhouse. I've had to clear out a few of the pots of ranunculus and relocate them to my windowsill while the food seeds are going, but I think I'll be able to put them back in there in a few weeks!

I also spotted a couple pea sprouts as I was walking around the garden.

And this friendly little bit of sunshine.

I'll take another picture when it opens up all the way.

Re-emerging Rhubarb and (Some) Started Seeds

Last year I decided to try to grow rhubarb. My single plant did pretty well, but I thought it was kaput when it died all the way to the ground.....to the point I couldn't tell where it had been at all! Needless to say, I was pleased to find some tiny rhubarb leaves with red stalks yesterday!

Now I just need some strawberries!

Okay...this is really trivial, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway because I'm excited about it....I bought a hose winder! No more messy, tangled hose for me...

I did manage to get some of my seeds started yesterday. I used my saved toilet paper tube cups along with some purchased Jiffy Pots. I purchased some disposable aluminum baking pans that were significantly less expensive than the "official" seed starting trays and labeled them according to what was going in them (one type of plant per tray, just to avoid confusion) and planted my seeds (container tomatoes, basil, bell peppers and jalapenos)! I still have two more trays of seeds to start, but I'll have to get more Jiffy Pots first. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out.

Have you started any seeds yet?

Lesson Learned....always stake your tiny greenhouse!

Ok, I finally got around to setting up my little greenhouse in the backyard, only to come outside this morning to find it flat on its front, blown over by the wind. I had potted a few ranunculus tubers yesterday and put them in there, so of course, there was a giant potting soil mess. Major FAIL on my part.

Fortunately, Home Depot is not far, and a quick trip for some stakes seems to have taken care of the issue. I suspect once I get more stuff in there, that will help as well, but for now, it's ready to roll.