Lots of Veggies In

We've had a few days in the mid-80s, so I was anxious to get things into the ground. I've planted eight tomato plants, eight pepper plants, and two aubergines, all in the rose bed. I've planted zucchini and delicata squash and cucumbers in a raised bed, all ones I had started. Two melon plants went into the bed along the back of the house, in front of the raspberries.

I sowed some pole beans along the trellis on the deck where I killed the clematis montana by pruning it too late. I hope the ground is warm enough for them to sprout. And I sowed another row of carrots. Something is eating the first row, but I put Sluggo Plus down, so I hope that stops whatever it is.

The blueberries have lots of fruit coming, as do the new strawberries and the raspberries. And both the asparagus and potato beds are looking good. The pear trees has lots of fruit, and even the peach tree, which looks totally butchered, has quite a bit of fruit. And the mandarin is loaded with flower buds.

State of the Garden

Here are some photos of the garden that I took in early May.

Big Garden Day

Today was the first really nice day in a while, so I was able to get a lot done.

I planted the six packs of cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli in the bed where I have had lettuce all winter. I had to move a few lettuce plants, but most of them are still there. I then covered the bed with a floating insect barrier. Just in time, too. A few hours later a white butterfly cruised by. I also sowed a row of chard in with the newly-planted spinach. That bed will also be covered with insect barrier as soon as the chard is up.

I pulled lots of weeds and did some general cleanup.

Uncertain Times

With the unfolding of the coronavirus pandemic, I've decided to plant more vegetables. I went to Wilco today and bought starts of chard, onions, kale, bok choi, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. I've planted the chard, bok choi and kale in the bed at the side of the house, in front of the dahlias. The onions went into the center of the onion bed. The brassicas will go into their own bed with an insect barrier over it.

On the positive side, the peach tree is blooming (I'm hand pollinating just in case the bees don't find it) and the pear trees are close. The early blueberries are starting to bloom. I've started more lettuce, bok choi, and kale, including Ethiopian kale. I also sowed a row of carrots. All my earlier starts are doing well under a fluorescent light, except the aubergines, which are not up yet. I think the heat mat was too much for them. I've put some insulation between the six pack and the mat, so it isn't quite so warm. We'll see.

We've had several days of sun and 60s temperatures. Tomorrow it cools off and we have a week of rain coming. I'm happy to have a rest, and the new plants will appreciate the rain.

Starting seeds

Today I started a bunch of things for the garden: Tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, and chard.

The green onions and leeks that have been out in the greenhouse are doing well. They'll be ready to set out in the garden soon.

I also sowed pak choi and spinach in the garden.

Feels Like Spring

I know it isn't close to being Spring, but the last week or so has given us a taste of things to come. We had several days of highs close to 60 and sunny. We even had lunch on the deck a few days ago.

Update on overwintered vegetables:
My fall plantings of lettuce and spinach are still there, and we've eaten many meals of them. However, we've had a fairly mild winter, so I won't expect that to happen every year. I still have some carrots left, mostly big split ones, but they're still good. The bok choi was good for a while, but it has now bolted. I left the plant to flower, hoping to entice some early bees. And we have seen one.

After some major pruning, the pear and peach trees seem to be fine and are close to blooming. With them being short now, I'm hoping to be able to hand pollenate them.


I started green onions and leeks indoors, and now they are in my greenhouse. Three days ago I sowed snap peas, but they aren't up yet.

First Frost

We had our first frost two nights ago. Nothing was totally killed, but I took out the basil and peas, both of which looked pretty sad.

The celery experiment is amazing. New leaves emerged within a couple of days, and they are now several inches tall.

When I took out the tomatoes, I saved about six of them to use as green tomatoes. I still haven't cooked them, but one by one they have ripened on the counter, even though they were totally green with no color showing.