Horrible photo, but after I had locked up our community garden plot and was leaving I realized some seeds had sprouted! Mustard, tatsoi and arugula. I had scattered them on 02/09 thinking they’d be sitting for a few weeks, so I wasn’t expecting this at all! Didn’t even check on them when I was there. As luck would have it it’s supposed to drop down to the twenties tonight, so we’ll see how that goes.
I had also transplanted some tatsoi and komatsuna on Tuesday (those are getting covered), if they all make it it will be interesting to compare how they grow.

A volunteer bok choi on the edge of the bed I neglected to remove decided to flower.

I think vegetables are ornamental like this kale, fava bean and celery ensemble.

The extra warm February has taken a toll on the cool weather greens planted at the end of 2022. They are coming out today for sweet corn, the other half came out yesterday.

Bulb fennel is a home run vegetable. Nothing bothers it and it isn’t needy at all. Made it through 2 nights of 18° with just a cover of freeze cloth and then bounced right back Looks pretty to boot.

Love the way fennel looks in the garden plus love the taste.

That kale is lovely!

Yesterday was glorious weatherwise so I worked in the beds. I direct seeds cantaloupe, galia, and watermelon in one bed. Zinnia, bread seed poppy, and sunflowers in the bed next to the red pontiac potatoes and then a variety of basil in the bed with the fennel.

The two in the ground beds have been massive nitrogen sinks. I suppose all that ground up stump sawdust decomposition is sucking every bit of nitrogen up. I’m combating the issue with worm castings, composted chicken manure and greensand.

I cleaned up and planted peas in my 20ft backyard raised bed yesterday. Carrots and parsnips had been covered with shredded leaves and AG19 until Feb, so it wasn't really cleaned up last fall. The edges of the bed had hot pepper plants that eventually froze out. I found this thing near one of the dead pepper plants. Not sure what it is yet. There were plenty of black swallowtail caterpillars in Sept, maybe even October last year, so that was my first thought.

I guess I had it propped the wrong direction for pics, as that white silk harness should be in tension. I didn't even notice that silk until now. After photographing I put the cocoon aside, with my camera, but later it started raining again and I must have knocked it off the table by accident when I gathered the camera and seed to put away. I'm going to look again today, but I couldn't find it last night. I was a rather mad at myself.

Kennebec Potatoes and curly-leaf parsley, good companions in and out of the garden.

The Celery Forest.

Got some free horse bedding and some not free ($$$) woodchips this past week. Time to give the fruit trees some love.

The beds as of this morning. The seven original beds and the stump beds. The stump beds have been a challenge with all the decomposing wood debris sucking up all the Nitrogen, but I’m battling that with fish emulsion and composted chicken manure. I have okra not pictured coming up to the right of the lettuce and onions. There’s also dill and coriander not in the photo. Cascadia snap peas, too. Herve mowed over those. I do most my own mowing, but occasionally have it done.

Red Pontiac potatoes and windsor fava beans mostly populate the other stump bed. I planted the Fava beans around the first of the year. They are blooming, but look a bit low on Nitrogen. They didn’t get an inoculation. The other portion is marigolds, recently seeded zinnia, nasturtiums, and maybe a few sunflowers. I’ve got marigolds in most of the beds

@karstopography "I’ve got marigolds in most of the beds"

Critter control?

The Gotch

Cornelius_Gotchberg wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:11 pm @karstopography "I’ve got marigolds in most of the beds"

Critter control?

The Gotch

Well, french marigolds, Tagetes patula, also look pretty once they are blooming, but they are known to repel/inhibit RKN and whiteflies. None of my marigolds are blooming yet, I’ve got a several dozen young marigolds scattered around out there.

I grew some marigolds last summer and into the fall and they did look nice as an understory around the vegetables. Marigolds have been super easy to start from seed. Some of them I seeded in starter trays sometime after I started my tomatoes and peppers and then transplanted. I direct seeded others. Either way apparently works.

Planted a mini garden with my mini human. She chose the seeds, mixed the mix, planted and watered. Fairly certain The Gotch will appreciate her fashion sense.



@Cornelius_Gotchberg

Rescued this succulent from a loval free group and it seems happy. Last year when i got it, it had burst its pot and the person just gave it away. I said sure, thinking that based o. The photo which had no scale, it was maybe in a quart pot. As you can see, it is... A bush...

Oh and don't mind the annoying edging base housing does to my perfectly fine (betore they hacked them) succulents and other plants.

@Mark_Thompson; " Fairly certain The Gotch will appreciate her fashion sense."

You's got THAT right! When yer clad in 13 World Champion Green Bay Packers (who call TitleTown their home) gear, you's can't go wrong!

The Gotch

Dwarf canna, lavender Cat's Whiskers bush, one of four Tiger Lily plants.

I used to pull the middle out of tigerlillies and suck on them. I thought they were sweet. I don’t think my elderly neighbor appreciated it much.

Edit: I don’t know if they were truly tigerlillies or if they were/are safe to suck on. Not advocating copycatting.

Cats like celery. Tom Sawyer, my parent’s cat, loves to rub his face on the celery. It’s a good thing as the more Tom is around the less the squirrels are. He’s definitely a squirrel killer.

Please help yourself to some spinach!