what’s growing in my cold frame
I can’t get over how fantastic this big cold frame is!! Its overflowing now with green. I didn’t plant seeds any earlier this year than previous years, but things never grew this fast before. (If you click on the top photo and mouse over, there are notes to show whats growing where.) This weekend, I’ll transplant half of the little tomatoes, eggplants and pepper seedlings into larger pots to give away. I’m planning to plant mine out into the garden early next week under hoops. The squashes, melons and cucumber…
plot assignments
The past two evenings, we assigned 23 of the 25 empty plots, including the newly created plots up front. Only 2 new plots are unassigned now. For the first time in at least 10 or 20 years, all of the 120 old plots are assigned! With the 15 new plots, we have a total now of 135 garden plots. We have a rule that plots need to be worked by June 1, so the next step is to see if there are plots that aren’t being worked and maybe we’ll…
wall-o-water tomatoes
Today I checked on my four tomato plants in Wall-o-Water protectors. The Ulra early Beaverlodge seedling is nearly emerging from the top of the unit and has two clusters of many blossoms. Half are budded and half in full bloom. I shook them – pretending to be bee-like – hopefully getting them to self pollinate. The Cherokee Purple and Box Car Willy seedlings look good, though no blossoms, not as big, and a bit of mold in some spots. The protectors seem to trap too much moisture around the plant.…
baby cucumber plants
They are always the cutest little things. The baby cukes are growing up. I planted many this year. Diva (my favorite), Boston Pickling (a new one for me), North Carolina Pickling, Sweet Success and Tonikawa. I’m looking forward to fresh summer cukes. I started the seeds inside under lights and today moved them outside to the cold frame (which I am now calling the hot house). In this hot weather, they can go right out. Today we had temps in the 80’s. More like July.
lilacs
The lilacs are blooming! I have an old lilac in my community garden plot. Its a great bush for telling when to plant. It buds up when its time to plant early seedlings (broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, beets and onions) and seeds (peas, fava beans, carrots, dill). And when it blooms, its time to plant the warm weather crops. Tomato seedlings and bean seeds. And get the beds ready to plant corn seeds and melon and squash seedlings.
wild flowers
Wildflowers: 1 I don’t know2 Wild geranium3 Lily of the Valley (my mom says this is not a wildflower and someone must have planted it here years ago)4 Wild trilium5 Bellwort6 Solomon’s seal7 Wood violets
tomato buds on May 1
I checked inside my Wall-O-Water today and my ultra early Beaver Lodge tomato has buds. On May 1! Amazing. The standard timing is 30 days from flower of fruit so I still have a while to wait, but so far so good. I’d really like to beat my previous record of July 31.
today’s garden work
Transplanted seedlings to community plot:– Greens: Chinese broccoli, radicchio, bok choy, cabbages (savoy, red, Chinese), red mix– Beets (Lutz, Chiogga, White Detroit)– Marigolds (Lemon Boy) Watered.Weeded.Weed whacked paths.
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy
weeks and counting until my last spring frost
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
