On Saturday, I spent most of the day gardening at my community plot. It was warm and overcast. With a week of rain arriving the next day, it was a perfect day to transplant seedlings and plant carrot seeds. Skippy hung out under the lilac tree and I:
- finished preparing the soil in the last 3 beds
- weeded the garlic
- spread salt hay in the rest of my paths
- planted 3 types of carrots seeds: Mokum, Kyoto Red, and Bolero
- transplanted a perennial flower called Trilobia that I started two years ago
- transplanted annual flower seedlings: pink cosmos and big yellow/orange marigolds
- transplanted vegetable seedlings: red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, fennel, celery, Chinese broccoli, beets, leeks, and lots of onions.
I found a triplet of squash plants of some type that has sprouted near the compost bin. They are big seedlings. I can't remember what pumpkins or squashes I discarded there, but I love to have a mystery to watch.
Other volunteers this year are borage sprouts, lots of dill and a few sunflowers.
I left out the other half of my seed potatoes for other gardeners. As usual I bought too many this year. I was pleased to see three of four gardeners take some of these and plant them in their plots.
Our gardens are very active this year. Many past years, I would have been on my own in the gardens, even on a Saturday in early spring. Not so this year. Lots of activity. And, along with the activity, lots are really fantastic gardens growing. I will have to bring my camera the next time I walk through.
Lots going on there.
ReplyDeleteI've always planted Mokum carrots-soooo sweet and delicious. They rarely make it into the kitchen, even though I keep planting more and more!!
It's my first year planting Borage and I've read a lot that they produce LOTS of volunteers. Should I be worrying? I hear the blooms and the bees make up for it.
Wow, I love how many beds you have. So awesome.
ReplyDeleteI never worry about volunteers. You can always turn them under. Dill are my most prolific volunteer. And I think the more the better.
ReplyDeleteBorage produce about as many volunteers as sunflower - certainly not an invasive.
That is a great looking garden plot. I love mystery sprouts too. I have one near where I planted the pumpkin seeds this year. It's probably a gourd of some kind. I hope you get a great return from your plantings.
ReplyDeleteGood job. Everything looks so organized and neat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photos of your plot before it is full of thriving plants. It's nice to be able to compare your site plan from your earlier post against actual photos. Looks as though you have a few busy weekends ahead of you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.media-organic.com/garden-week-in-review-6
Kathy, your gardening and organizational skills really shine! You are an inspiration to me! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, your garden is very inspiring. I love the layout. It's exactly what I hope to do at our new farm at some point. I'm afraid I've missed this season, but if we can get the house part done in the next few months, I will totally be doing a Fall garden and I'll use you for inspiration! Thanks! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete1st Man - http://twomenandalittlefarm.blogspot.com
you have a great garden layout. I envy you.
ReplyDeleteWe live on the south coast of England and a couple of years ago I started to "grow my own" - tomatoes, courgettes, garlic, strawberries and salad leaves, not very exciting but a start and it tastes delicious. Your garden plot looks superb!
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming looking vegetable patch! Soil looks rich too. I'm from the UK and haven't come across 'Salt Hay' before. Does it help suppress weeds on the paths?
ReplyDeleteOne of the gardening tips in a recent issue of Mother Earth News is to raise the squashes generated in a compost heap, since they seem to thrive in that manner and make less planting work for the gardener. Glad this is doing the trick for you!
ReplyDeleteI am so appreciative of these varied resources that have been published for anyone’s benefit.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post and thanks for sharing. Some things in here I have not thought about before.Thanks for making such a cool post which is really very well written.