Garden Friday

It's Garden Friday!

It's spring, it's really spring!

The frigid winter air is all but a memory.

The apple tree is budding, despite its poor condition.

This poor soul was not well cared for by the previous owners,

but it still strives to provide food.

 There are quite a number of things going on in the veggie garden.

Our cover crops have suddenly exploded.

I guess they were waiting for the warmer weather too.

This will be hacked down and left in place as mulch,

and seeds or transplants added to the raised rows.

A few dozen beets were sown this week.

This is the first time I have soaked the seeds before planting.

Just look at those sprouts poking through!

Conditions seem ideal right now for these chill lovers,

so I'm hoping we will get a nice harvest.

The Yukon Gold potatoes were prepped for planting this coming weekend.

 They were cut in half and left in a box to "scab" over.

This year, I will be growing them in loose straw 

in the potato towers I made last year.

It's fun trying new techniques in the garden.

The extra lil' room next to the master bath

is being taken over.

It's my makeshift greenhouse for beans,

eggplant, peppers and herbs that are not ready to face the cold mornings.

Two types of heirloom cucumbers are already popping out

of the containers.  

Germination took less than a week.

I'm thinking of adding these to the straw bales.

Lettuce took no time at all to germinate in the hugelkultur bed.

I used to carefully place seeds in the soil,

this time I just scattered them in their designated spot

so they can be used as baby greens.

Harvesting smaller leafy veggies helps you enjoy them

at their tender best.

 I adore the new arches we put up on the northeast side of the garden.

We decided to remove the rusty wire (on the left),

and get a few more cattle panels when they go on sale.

The intention is to grow runner beans,

melons and squash on them.

Leaf mulch was added to the ground underneath

to deter weeds, grass and create more of a walkway.

 Unbelievably, I found someone who was selling straw bales

for only three dollars!

A farmer who lives around the corner from us

had some leftover straw and just wanted to get rid of it.

The bonus is that he doesn't spray his fields, 

so it will be fine for growing food.

I spent some time leveling the bales and getting them set up the way I wanted them,

on the east side of the garden.

I like the structure they add.

This year, I will be skipping the 10-day conditioning process,

and simply soaking them with water before planting.

As long as I use good soil, I think that will be enough.

 This tulip tree in my neighbor's yard

was just begging to be photographed.

What a beautiful sight from our kitchen window.

The forsythia is blooming like crazy around here lately.

The color, shape and texture are all so lovely.

We've had blooming tulips under the apple tree.

The same ones I thought I moved last year!

So far, I haven't seen them pop up anywhere else,

so maybe it was something else that got relocated.

In any case, they are a sight to behold, so intricate.

They make a sweet lil' arrangement for the kitchen table.

 Various daffs are exploding all over the neighborhood.

These stand under where the big oak used to be.

What a blessing to have all these amazing flowers surrounding us.

It's been a busy few weeks.

With spring floating in, it's bound to get even busier.

Between working for others, volunteer projects

and tending my own garden, each day is filled with

hard work and ample joy.

Spring may just become my favorite time of year.