Symmetry

It is with much effort that we are gardening with a more refined aesthetic. Part exercise in garden planning, part beautification of our neighborhood. John built this trellis on Friday, along with all of the tomato trellises: a simple Eliot Colemen design we modified slightly after the first one. Instead of having them be flush on the ends we let the top overhang, thus giving it more of a Japanese arts and crafts feel. 

 

Butternut squash trellis.

The trellises for tomatoes (middle and back beds) and for our pole beans (front "lettuce" bed). The middle bed was the first one built and after that we allowed the extra length overhang, in part because it meant no scrap wood.

The bed I'm most proud of for it's sheer symmetry: basil, tomatoes, carrots, peppers and cosmos. 

Purple haze carrot patch in the above-mentioned bed.

The Growing Garden

Ezra has a knack for picking more than just our radishes.

  

Jonah harvested our first ripe tomato, May 20. Unfortunately the kids love tomatoes too so we had to share with them!

My favorite view of all the front garden beds from the 'orchard'.

Watermelon and cantaloupe hoophouse.

Grow, garden, grow.

Mid May

Well this garden continues to inspire and delight me. I am quite proud of both the timing and amount of food we have eaten thus far this spring. We cooked a stir fry with most of the pok choy on Tuesday night as some heads were starting to bolt; I sowed another row in our lettuce bed which we'll probably be eating in another week or two.

the lone ripe tomato. won't be another one for at least a month.

We harvested our first planting of radishes over the past 2 weeks. Our second planting is swelling so it won't be long before those end up on our plates as well. Our pea vines are flowering and the pods are growing by the minute. We are now completely eating greens from our yard, yet we ask ourselves why it takes so long to get to that point (mid-May versus mid-April). Next year I will sow lettuce in mid-March in a covered bed in addition to starting lettuce really early indoors.

While lettuce gets bitter in the heat of summer I am trying to stick romaine heads in around where our waltham butternut will be vining up, as well as on the north side of our green bean vines. Both will be trellised upwards of 6 feet so I hope we can extend our harvest into mid-July and only have about a month without fresh greens.

Our tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are all flowering and flourishing. We have 7 eggplants, 14 tomatoes, and about 12 bell peppers. I am doing 2 successional plantings of summer squash, one in the orchard bed and one in the raised bed after we harvest our brassicas. I am preparing a hoop house for our watermelon and cantaloupes: stars and moon, yellow doll and minnesota midget. Hopefully with a little extra heat from the landscape fabric and the hoop house we'll get earlier and heavier crops. We'll soon know.

the mighty radish.

salad bed.

tomato/pepper bed with carrots in foreground.

peapods.

Cowering

So much for the warmup. It's been cold this week - I'm optimistic that we won't (have snow on the ground tomorrow morning) but just as a precaution I cowered to the overnight forecast of snow showers mixed in with rain. I covered our lovely heads of pok choy, the onions, peas and both of our lettuce/radish/spinach beds with delicate, young greens in them. Everything else is either still covered or can handle a frost should we endure one this evening.

We just can't seem to get away from weather chit chat in this great state.

Spring Flowers + rock garden planted

Vegetable Garden this week

A blushed Super Marzano tomato ... maybe a ripe tomato in May?

The hothoused peppers and tomatoes. Looking good inside there.

Dakota pea flowers open!!

Spring bed full of lettuces, more radishes, spinach pok choy and chinese cabbage.

The Progress

Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are covered. Everything else is exposed.

Onions, peas, brussels sprouts, pok choi and beets - mostly a spring and fall bed.

Background: A peek into the hothouse of peppers, tomatoes and basil; foreground: germinating spring bed (will be converted to beans and edamame in mid-June) head lettuces, radishes, spinach, pok choy and chinese cabbage.

I will plant creeping thymes and possibly other low ground cover in between the stepping stones throughout the vegetable garden.

Sidewalk edge stones set!! Planning perennials for the area to be planted in two weeks (or sooner if I can find them): hens and chicks, creeping phlox, creeping sedum.

Looks to be a bumper sweet pepper crop this year!!!

Garden photographer self-portrait.

We share our crops with the neighborhood bunnies.