... and a Frost Advisory!

This is getting old... another frost advisory tonight. I think that this will be a new record if it really happens.

The broccoli, tomatoes and peas are beginning to reach the top of the garden frame protector. I will have to build trellises and open the rear of the frame protector this week so that the vining plants can keep growing. I spied a tomato flower blossom this evening and the marigolds that we started in April are getting ready to flower. In the non-edible vegetable realm, I saw a yellow lily flowering and the peonies are getting ready to burst their seams.

Sunshine and rain

There is not much to say about our garden this weekend, though I hope to add another photo to each slideshow to show how things have grown. We spent the day helping a friend plant his garden and it has been raining steadily this past week and tonight, so we haven't had much time. Note in the picture that we planted a lot of hot peppers for Dave. Dave likes peppers!

I am feeling pressure to get another frame or two built to accommodate some plants that we have started. Maybe I will find some time during the week. I have noticed daisies, honeysuckle, rhododendron and poppies blooming around town this week.

Memorial Day update

We just had six days of warmth and sunshine overlapping Memorial Day weekend. The lettuce, carrots and beets that we planted in garden frame #5 are now coming up. We picked a lot of greens this weekend and I am working on an animated graphic to display the garden. (Updated Tuesday 26)

Spirea and chestnut trees are blooming.

Pick a little, talk a little...

Two nights ago, we picked another large bowl full of salad greens. It has been three weeks since we purchased any greens at the grocery store (though we did accept a donation of spinach and arugula from our neighbor). This means that we are saving at least $5 a week at this point thanks to the garden.

We have had a long stretch of sunny, warm weather. We have been watering each garden frame with about 2 gallons of water every morning or evening. That may sound like a lot, but according to Mel (the originator of the SFG method), it is impossible to overwater a square foot garden due to the special soil mix that absorbs what it can and allows the rest to drain away.

This weekend, we will be helping a friend and his two daughters start a garden. Next week, we will need to build more garden frames to ensure a continuous harvest through the Summer and Fall.

One more frost

The temperature gauge said 24 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. This is getting ridiculous. Another frost warning tonight. Hopefully that will be the end of it. The forecast is for a high of 80 degrees on Wednesday.

We picked a couple of gallons of greens for dinner and this time there was more we could have picked.

Another freeze warning

I had to bring out the drop cloths again tonight to cover the cold-sensitive plants. It is getting really late to be having frosts. My sister-in-law, the Master Gardener, identified the brown spots on the tomatoes as frost damage, so I covered them extra well this time.

We finished planting the fifth garden frame this weekend (seeds: 32 carrots, 32 beets, 8 lettuce; plants: 2 watermelons, 2 tomatoes, 2 basil, 1 pepper) and started some garlic cloves, sunflower and lettuce seeds inside. Iris and dame's rocket have started blooming.

Mmm, greens!

We harvested another loosely packed gallon of greens this evening for dinner (romaine and oak leaf lettuce, beet greens, and spinach). We will pick some kale tomorrow evening. The tomato plants are developing brown spots, not sure if that is due to the cold weather or something else. Honeysuckle and cornflower are beginning to bloom.

Freeze warning

We appear to have survived a freeze warning last night by covering our sensitive plants with drop cloths. This weekend we built two more garden frames and planted one. So we have four frames in production and one awaiting groundhog protection before planting. We harvested a loose packed gallon of lettuce and spinach.

I think I have the design for the garden frames worked out, so will be posting some instructions and pictures soon. Another freeze warning tonight, that should be the last of them...

In the photo of the new garden above, my eldest daughter planted from seedlings everything except the beets and carrots. The beets and carrots were moved from the first frame where more than one plant sprouted in the same location. Pictured are four tomatoes, four basil, two green peppers, six parsley and two marigolds.

Lilacs in the air

It was a warm, sunny morning. The scent of lilacs is in the air and wild strawberries are blooming in the yard (no weed-and-feed for us ;). The watermelon seeds that my daughter planted last week are pushing up through the vermiculite. We have plants sunning on the front porch waiting to be planted. Everything should be in the garden this weekend. We will also begin harvesting lettuce and spinach in earnest.

Celandine and winter cress blooming around the yard and iris flower stalks appearing.

Progress

It has been a while since I have written. Looking at the photo with the last post, those plants have all grown tremendously and we did get everything except the tomato, peppers, parsley and basil planted that weekend. We have been making progress with the garden amidst birthday celebrations, chorus recitals and soccer games. One thing that we have learned is that it doesn't pay to put out seedlings too early. Though cold-tolerant plants like lettuce, spinach and cabbage can survive frosty nights, it is the seedlings that matured a little more inside before planting out that are now flourishing the best.

We now have three garden frames fully planted and two more under construction. I felt that I needed to get some tomatoes planted, so we planted them among the peas even though the peas are only two or three inches tall. Hopefully, these plants will get along. No sign of frost in the forecast.

Now blooming in the yard are violets, vinca, quince, pilewort (buttercup), garlic-mustard, forget-me-not, cuckoo flower, ground-ivy, dandelion, and apple and pear trees.