I just had to show off my Broccoli Harvest!

Some years the broccoli is good and sometimes not so good. This year has been a great year for us! Sorry Jody!

This year I am experimenting with broccoli and cauliflower varieties for Spring & Fall plantings . I planted 6 varieties of broccoli, 4 of each for the spring; Arcadia, Fiesta, Nutri-Bud, Packman, Premium Crop & Tendergreen. The Arcadia has been #1 so far with the two heads harvested so far weighing 1 lb. 8 oz. and 1 lb. 7 oz! That's just amazing! Fiesta is not far behind! The 4 heads weighed in between 1 lb. and 1 lb. 5oz.

This is what I picked today......8 lbs of Broccoli!

This is the largest head of Arcadia Broccoli weighing in at 1lb. 8 oz and 9" across!

 

So...how is your garden growing????

New Addition to the Family

For those of you who have been following this blog for some time, you will remember Alvin, one of my cats. I posted about him here, here and here. This past week we had to put him down. It was a very very hard thing to do. But, I had no choice, there was nothing the vet could do for him.

Three weeks ago when I took Alvin to the groomer, I fell in love with a rescue kitty. After Alvin's passing, I called the groomer to see if she still had him......and the answer was yes! We couldn't believe that she still had this little guy! I guess it was meant to be!

Welcome Nunzio!

He was named by "The Italian"



Here he is in the cage before we brought him home.

 

Little Nunzio half asleep.

This is the only time you can get a picture of him!

He is one active little fellow!

 

Too Busy to Blog & Garden Update

Yes, everything is A-OK.....I've just been too busy with work, life and the garden to blog!!! "The Italian" and I had a lovely vacation in May. The garden is doing great and work is busy as usual. I really appreciate the inquires.

As you can see the plots are bursting with growth! We had one heat wave already in late May. Other than that the rain has been consistent and the heat wave didn't seem to hurt the spring crops.

Plots from the front

The Eggplant were getting nibbled, but the new growth is good.

It looks like they are going to be OK

 

The Peppers are looking good and so are the potatoes (on the left)

The Broccoli is forming heads!!!



The Asparagus is finished for the year. We harvested about 3.5 lbs this year.

 

The Squash are coming up.....and we have Peas galore!

There are Snow & Snap Peas at the plots and Snap & Shelling Peas growing in the Home Garden. To date we have harvested more than 5 lbs. of Peas.

The Tomatoes are Happy!

 

The Cauliflower has yet to form heads. But, I'm sure they will be forming soon!

The Cabbage is starting to form heads.

 

The Blackberries have lots of blooms....so do the Raspberries!

 

The Strawberry bed has to be kept covered due to the birds.

We've picked more than 17 lbs. of strawberries so far this year!!!

Overall the garden is looking great and we are happy gardeners!

 

How's your garden growing so far this year???



 

What's Growing On at The Plots mid-April

I've been spending a lot of time at the plots on the weekends. Due to the weather, some garden is behind compared to last year.....but, it's looking good and I'm happy!!!

View from the front left

Bed #1 with newly planted Broccoli and Garlic in the back

The Broccoli was planted over the weekend and it's looking good!

I put the pots around the plants to protect them from the windy weather we were having

 

All of the Garlic came up.

It's not as tall as last year. But, that's due to the dry weather. I'm sure it will catch up with some nice rain and warm weather.

 

I've been working on the Raspberry Trellises

It's hard to see from this pic. I'm adding some T's and wire to the posts to support them. I will finish them up this coming weekend.

Blackberry & Raspberry Bed

I've planted onions around the edges of the blackberries and in every location that I have room. Hopefully we will have a good onion harvest this year.....unlike last year

The Jersey Supreme Asparagus is coming up!

It looks like we will be having some asparagus for dinner this week!

 

The Purple Passion Asparagus has yet to pop up

 

I finally made a decision on Tomato Cages.

These are from Burpee. They had great reviews and I got a great deal! I found a coupon code for 25% off and then another coupon code for free shipping! I purchased 18 cages for around $200.

These cages are 5' tall before you put them in the ground and they fold up!

I hope they work as well as the reviews say they do!

There are Snow Peas & Snap Peas planted in two locations. They've all popped up since the rain!

The Strawberry Bed has been cleaned out.....

and they're looking good!

 

Another view of the plots.

You can see some additional Broccoli plants and onions planted in Bed #5.

I stopped by the plots on Monday and saw this pretty Bluebird. I think I spent 15 minutes taking pictures of him. He's a beauty!

 

I also took about 100 pictures of the Community Garden. Most of the gardeners have their plots ready to go. That's another post! 

  

Home Garden Update mid-April

Wow, I can't believe it's mid-April already and that I haven't posted in a month! I have been reading a lot of blogs though. It's just been very busy with work, life and the garden.

The cold weather and then the hot dry weather has passed and the weather has turned to normal for this time of the year. So.....I finally managed to get the home garden cleaned up this weekend.

The Right Cold Frame Bed

is planted with onions and carrots under the boards. I use Granny's Seed Mat Method.It works great!

The Left Cold Frame Bed

is planted with Asian Veggies, Kale, Collards and Lettuce

The over-wintered Spinach is really taking off!

I harvest this nice big colander of spinach on Sunday

"The Italian" sautéed it with olive oil and garlic....yum!

 

The Peas finally sprouted after our rain this past week!

They're all popping through the ground!

 

I usually plant my early Tomatoes in this bed.

This year I sowed 2 rows of Little Marvel Peas and 2 rows of Carrots.

Slicing Cucumbers will be sown on the right side in about a month

The Herb Garden has been cleaned out.

It was a mess from that Sandy blowing through here last fall!

The Rosemary made it through the winter for the first time!

Lots of Happy Daffodils in the Herb Garden too!

 

In the basement, there are a few Large Tomatoes......

smaller tomatoes......

and even smaller tomatoes!

They will be a nice size when it's time to plant them out.

There are a lot of peppers growing....medium and small

Way too much Celery!!

Cauliflower, Cabbage & Eggplant

The Broccoli has already be planted at the plots.

I'll post on the plots tomorrow.

 

So, how's your garden coming along???