Saturday 17 March 2012

Garden Progress Already

March is not gardening season in my neck of the woods...usually.  We had very little winter to speak of this year, though, and things are in bloom, and the weather is warm, and predicted to stay that way, so I thought I would take a chance.  With the winter we had last year, I don't think I was this far ahead until the end of May.  I know I didn't plant potatoes until June (I'm still a ways away from potatoes this year, but still, I am excited).
 I planted a row of peas next to the strawberry patch.  The strawberries actually need to be dug up and moved around a bit, but I don't dare start that yet just in case we still get some winter.  Usually, I just fill the whole pea area with branches and let the peas climb, but we didn't have very many around this year, and there was a package of these tiny bamboo stakes in my shed from when my in-laws moved, so I am trying that out.
 I have several rows of the vegetable garden raked up and mounded, with last years leaves in the spaces in between.  I don't ever remember having this many rows done in March before.  That baby tree on the right is an apple tree, grafted with 5 kinds of apples growing off the trunk.  I got it last year for Mother's day.  In front of that, I planted Swiss chard and celeriac because the packages said I could plant as soon as the ground can be worked.  I also planted a small patch of heirloom radishes that said "as soon as the ground can be worked".  I am using as many heirlooms as possible this year.  I found more than ever before at our local nursery and I'm pretty happy about that.
 I am trying out these new row covers I bought at our local nursery.  I am hoping they will extend the season by a month or two on each end.  Under this one, there are two kinds of heirloom lettuce.  I have another one that has pak choy planted underneath it.
 These are last spring's onions.  They didn't grow last year because we were so short of rain.  In fact, I didn't even think there was anything there, but in the fall, they started to grow again, and I left them, and now I have onions well under way.  Two rows of them I think.
A few things are just starting to come up in the herb bed.  Some, I lost, but I am pretty sure they were annuals anyways but even the parsley is usable already.  Score!

There is nothing to speak of yet in the fruit garden, so I am not including a picture.

Hop on over to small things to see how other people are progressing in their garden.

4 comments:

  1. Your garden is looking good. Parsley is always the first herb I notice that comes back. Happy gardening.

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  2. what great progress = I haven't got to planting yet, maybe tomorrow!

    Blessings
    Karen

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  3. Your garden area looks great..soon very soon all the planting will start!

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  4. I want to put my peas in...and spinach...and bok choy. I think those will all be ok. I don't expect too much more snow or frost here...but we are zone 5a...perhaps I am too optimistic this year!

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