Friday, June 14, 2013

Garden Update

 I'm still moving in slow motion, just puttering enough to keep myself busy, without any real goals or ambitions for keeping the family fed this winter.
 Greenhouse One has a mixture of tomatoes I started from seed and some I bought.  I had trouble with the seedlings this year for various reasons.  The biggest plants are only about 8 inches tall and not very thick.  With only 12 weeks left (84 days) until fall frost date, I'm not expecting much from them.

Peppers are crisscrossed with the tomatoes.  All but two are my own.  They did better as seedlings, but then, just days before they went outside, the tray was knocked over by a dog.  The labels scattered and I don't have a clue which peppers are where.  Two of the peppers I brought in the house last fall survived the winter and are in the right front corner now, still in pots.
Between the tomatoes and peppers I scattered companion seed, and then just fluffed the soil a bit with my fingers.  Onions, radishes, carrots...  there may have been something else, I don't remember.

Cucumbers are just starting to come up in the centre, along with a couple of sunflowers.  I'm disappointed in the sunflower germination, so far anyway.
 I changed the growing plan again.  This year I planted about 2-3 feet around the outside, along with two feet down the centre.  Technically it should give me about a two foot walkway on each side, so we'll see if it still becomes a jungle.
 Greenhouse Two also has the centre line of cucumbers and sunflowers.  Bad I know, same spots as last year.  Greenhouse Three and Four are on hold for the time being.

A few carrots overwintered, so I left them in to see if they'll go to seed.

I planted short rows from the outside wall to the first log- brassicas.  Two or three types of cabbage, some broccoli, cauliflower, kale...  Notes are kind of non-existent this year.
I haven't done anything on the other side yet. The weeds are healthy though.  I have one tray of mixed seedlings left in the house that I think I'll put in there.
The garden looks more like a hay field than a garden.  In fact, I'm planning to tie Mildred in here to clean it up somewhat.  Then I'll toss buckwheat seed, as about 2/3rds won't be planted this year.  I put in 6 rows of potatoes, 4 rows of beans, 2 rows of beets, and two rows of peas. 

I put some strawberries in on the new hugelkultur row, not enough to fill it, but those seedlings weren't great either.  I might buy a few more plants if I can find them.

The first hugelkultur bed still sits mostly empty.  There is some garlic.  No signs of life from the potatoes, beets, or mangels I had left in it for seed last fall.  If I get ambitious I might plant some brassicas in it.

No squash, no pumpkins, no melons, no corn...  I hope I made the right decision.

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