Edibles Update

There were a few moldy forgotten beets with sprouts at the bottom of my fridge produce drawer, so I planted them in March. What do you think I’d find if I pulled up these beets now? This spinach was planted as soon as the snow melted in this container on my deck. I'm afraid it's about to bolt. Of the 4 beds in the backyard, only 3 have been planted.

Bed #1 is ready to be thinned. The Sugar Ann snap peas are flowering,
and the French Breakfast radishes are starting to poke their little red shoulders out. That means they’ll be ready to harvest soon! The daikon radishes will need a couple more weeks.

The carrots are finally getting their feathers.


Here are two kind of red lettuce: Red Rosie and Mascara. Mascara is proving to have a deeper color.



Bed #2: I planted quite a few kinds of tomatoes this year that were new to me: Giant Italian Tree (don’t know WHAT to expect! But my friend Beth is even braver - she's planting these in the upside down topsy turvy planters this year!), Celebrity, Purple Cherokee, Vintage Wine, Husky Red, Ponderosa and Extra Large Cherry. Broccoli lines the side of this bed

and there’s some soybeans squished in the corner here.

Pepper varieties include Lilac (purple), Carmen (red bell) and Diamond Bell (Green). The red and green peppers were started from seed. I bought a Mammoth jalapeno at the nursery today.


In Bed #3:
Two zucchini and about 5 tricolor bush beans are in this bed.
Hillary gave me a few onion sets that she started in peat pellets! I’m excited about that because I’ve never grown onions. Do you think they’re spaced too close together? (Be sure to note the exceptional crop of broadleaf plantain weed in the lawn behind them!)


I put in a few cucumbers this weekend that I started in the greenhouse at school. The wine bottle raised bed is planted with herbs: Purple Opal basil, Italian oregano, Giant Parsley, Purple Sage, Lemon Thyme (my new favorite herb!) Asian Cilantro, Dill and Lavendar.
I put the mint in the middle in a container since it spreads like crazy around here.

Bed # 4 will be done this week. It will. It will. I swear it will.

My biggest disappointment this year is my Concord Grape Vine. It looks like it may have a few leaf buds, but most of the grape vines I see around here are all leafed out by now. Probably a mistake to plant it in a container. I’m on the lookout for a sunny spot in the yard now.

Did I tell you my Mother’s Day gift this year was compost? Sure beats a vacuum cleaner.