Garden Friday

H~E~L~L~O 

December!

Where in the name of Mike did you come from?

It's hard to believe that we've been in our new state

for almost a year already.

Wow, did that go fast!

Today's Garden Friday is back after a couple of weeks' hiatus.

There just hasn't been much to report.

Here's what's going on in our Piedmont garden this December 1st.

 I've pretty much shelved the straw bale garden until spring.

These snap peas were planted on October 1st,

so by now we should be able to harvest, or pretty doggone close to it.

The bales didn't germinate well in general,

and what did germinate grew at a slow crawl.

It's probably something I did or didn't do right,

so we'll chalk it up to being a newbie in this arena

and start again in the springtime.

At the very least, I can reuse the straw in the composting of the new beds.

 Over in the container garden,

I've been able to harvest the Vates kale fairly regularly.

It is delicious, and I'm glad I tried this variety.

This crop actually did much better than my old standby,

dino kale, which I also love.

No pest issues with this Vates,

so it will stay in the pots all winter long.

 The Detroit Supreme beets are still growing.

I haven't picked any yet, as I'm waiting for them to size up.

I'm hoping that they will continue growing during the cooler weather.

The garlic seems happy enough.

Once it emerged,

it hasn't stopped growing.

It will be exciting to increase our garlic plantings next season.

It's one veggie we use almost every day.

 Hey, what do you know?

The shallots finally decided to take a peek out of the soil!

Although the squirrels used this tub to bury acorns in,

it didn't deter the shallots from sprouting up.

It took them a few weeks to germinate,

but they seem to enjoy the cooler overnight temperatures.

This is another crop that will earn more space in the garden.

 I love watching the leeks do their thing.

They are filling in this container and getting thicker.

They may need to be banked one more time before harvest.

This one will be ready for a stockpot in no time.

Potato leek soup, anyone?

 

 I'm so happy to see this lil' guy!

Broccoli is one of my boy's favorite veggies,

so I can't wait to serve him some home-grown!

This Pacman variety puts out numerous shoots

after the main head is harvested.

That means yummy vittles for a good, long while!

 These Pacman starts will be transplanted into pots in the coming week.

The leaves are also edible and make a great addition to salads.

Although I'm not sure how long I can keep lettuce going

without a hoop tunnel,

these Red Salad Bowl seedlings are doing well

and will be put into bigger pots that I can keep on the back deck.

It might be the only way I can keep them from freezing

later on in the season.

 One variety of spinach, called Winter Giant, looks promising,

and so far, it is doing just fine out there.

I'm thinking about starting up sprouting in the kitchen too,

so that I can have greens all winter long.

Our first year with this garden has been a testing period,

and we learn as we go.

 

One exciting thing that happened this week,

is that I signed up for The Master Gardener Program

through our local extension agency.

I've always wanted to take the course,

but was unable to, as it has only been offered during the week.

Thankfully, Big K is off on the day that the class meets,

and so I will be able to fulfill a longtime desire.

Feeling so blessed!

I will be sharing what I learn as we make our way through

the 14-week course.

It's a North Carolina version of Farm School!

 Hot diggity!