Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Mid-March Garden Update

Since several of you have expressed interest in my veggie garden, I thought I’d provide a little update.  As always, click on any shot to blow it up.

The garlic, planted in November, is growing well – I’m experimenting with 4 varieties.

The garden asparagus is beginning to send up a few small spears, but not big enough to pick and eat.

The spinach, radishes, and green onions planted in later Feb are all up.  My neighbor said she always plants spinach but never gets any and when I showed it to her just coming up her response was - it looks just like grass, maybe I've been hoeing it up.

For those of you with rich loamy, black soil, this is actually pretty good for red clay and that crust helps hold the moisture in when it gets dry.

I planted an entire row (about 150) of a large white sweet onion that we love, called Superstar, which we get from Dixondale Farms. They were planted as dormant slips but will start putting on new growth soon.

This past week, before the rains, neighbor Pat and I, planted the red and Yukon gold potatoes, lettuces, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and kale. Pat offered to help with the planting in return for eating from the garden – good deal for both of us.  They look a little punny after three days in the garden but they all survived and should perk up soon.

The blueberries are loaded with blooms.

In the greenhouse, I transplanted the tomatoes into containers and as deep as I could - they should be ready for my mid-April garden planting date. I’m growing the following varieties: Kada Hybrid, Quimbaya Hybrid (both paste tomatoes for canning and salsa), Better Boy, Persimmon, Sudderth’s Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Cherokee Purple (all slicing tomatoes), Sugar Snack Cherry, Green Zebra (salad tomatoes).

I’m a pretty fair vegetable gardener and actually teach it to new Master Gardeners, but I’m just adequate in the greenhouse. If I were to teach a class, it would likely be titled “Do As I Say Not As I Do,” but I’m normally successful in spite of the rules I break. Most plants are okay with being transplanted, some (like cukes, squash, etc) really don’t like it, but tomatoes love it, if done correctly. This means planting them much deeper than they were, so they develop new roots along all of the stem that has been buried. Here’s a before and after for mine - note how much less is above the pot.

This was the perfect day as it was overcast – the new transplants don't need full sun exposure on day 1 after transplanting. Only three varieties were ready to transplant so I’ll get the others as they become ready.
Then look what they've done in just three days.  I adjusted the greenhouse vents to try and cool the greenhouse down more and I have the fan blowing on them a few hours a day - both of which will help them be stalkier.  The ones in the background flat are now also ready to transplant - except the eggplants on the right.

It must be spring as I heard my first wild turkey gobbling when I went to get the paper.

Welcome new followers and thanks for reading my ramblings.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Larry

12 comments:

  1. Your garden is off to an AWESOME start! What I wouldn't give for a blueberry bush and homegrown asparagus!

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  2. That's a great garden, Larry! We have a small one but mostly plant herbs to use in my cooking. I love pesto so we plant a lot of basil. Can't wait to see how it progresses!

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  3. What a great garden Larry. Sure is nice to have a good neighbor like Pat.

    We only do herbs and a few tomatoes. I wish we had room for more. You are a lucky man, but I know you already know that.
    Sam

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  4. Hi, Larry! I've been busy as a beaver at work but I'm ready to catch up on my reading. I was excited to see your garden in progress. Gives me the fever something fierce though. I think I'm doing my garlic wrong, though. I plant them too far apart compared to yours. Love the varieties you list and the info. I'm going to be making notes and dreaming ahead.

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  5. Love the garden...things look great so far! Looking forward to all you will create with it!!

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  6. What an awesome garden Larry...I'd love to be your neighbor!
    You've got alot of tomatoes that I haven't even heard of. I'll be anxious for you to post photos of them as they grow!

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  7. Hi Larry, You are an excellent gardener... I know you will enjoy all of the fruits of your labor... Glad you have your garden fenced in... I'm sure the rabbits and other critters would love your garden....
    Betsy

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  8. You are off to a running start. I didn't know that you were a Master Gardener. I am, too although the county pulled funding for our program and it is a shred of what it used to be. We have hail at this time of year, so it is hard to get things going. My herbs, however have started to bush out and I can rely on using our own rather than those from the grocers. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  9. Sometimes I wish we lived on our old farm homestead so I could have a garden like that. I really miss planting potatoes. Look forward to your garden updates Larry.

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  10. Larry
    The garden looks so healthy! It is really growing fast. We are still in cold temps here in my zone so no planting for a long while. Garlic, huh? I tried to plant it once with no luck at all. You do have a green thumb!
    Robin Sue

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  11. I can't grow anything in a greenhouse. Primarily because we don't have one, ha ha.

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