Preserving

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Home Garden Mid-May

We made it home from our vacation in New Orleans about 2AM on Saturday. We had a wonderful time and ate a lot! "The Italian" and I were very surprised when we got out of the car and saw the home garden in the dark. It was just amazing how much it grew while we were away! Sophia must have given the plants a lot of love while we were gone!

The garden seemed to explode in one week! The Snow Peas and Snap Peas must be almost 7' high. The Alderman shelling peas are about 5' tall. They are a different variety then I have planted in the past and are supposed to get 4-6 feet in height.

All of the perennial flower beds exploded too! The Dutch Irises are just beautiful!

The Chinese Cabbage and Broccoli are looking good. I do see a little nibbling though. It must be slugs. All of my Pak Choi for some reason has bolted. The Baby Choi looks great though. I may have to try another variety of Choi in the fall and next year since this variety seems very sensitive to bolting.

Some Bunny climbed the fence and tried to make a nest. I guess I will get out the spray and add some additional height to the fencing in this bed.

Before we went away I removed all of the overwintered Kale and Vates Collards. There is some spring Kale & Georgia Collards in this bed. We really like the Vates Collards much better then the Georgia variety. The overwintered Celery in the back has bolted and will most likely be removed tomorrow.

The overwintered Kale is this bed is still doing quite well. The carrots are chugging along and the Escarole in the front has bolted and has to be pulled.

The Sugar Magnolia Purple Snap Peas are starting and so are the Spring Blush Snap Peas! They are just beautiful and tasty too!

This picture is a little fuzzy. But you can see how tall all of the peas are. It really took us by surprise to see such growth! The four early tomatoes in the Kozy Koats are getting pretty big. I will have to remove the cloches and stake them in the next couple of days.

The first Snow Peas of the year were harvested this morning! I'm sure that there will be many more peas harvested this week! Yum!

I will do a separate post on the state of the plots.

49 comments:

  1. Looks like your garden was well cared for while you were gone. Things are looking great!

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    1. Thanks Holly, Sophia just turned 14 last week has been tending the garden and plants for me since she was about 10. She does a great job and is getting a little camping trip for all her hard work!

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  2. Robin, I'm happy to hear you and the Italian enjoyed your vacation in New Orleans. Your garden looks amazing, everything is just growing and growing :-) Sophia did a great job taking care of everything for you. She deserves a nice camping trip. I love the flowers there gorgeous on the Sugar Magnolia Snap Peas.

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    1. Thanks Sandy, The garden really grew while we were away. Sophia is a very dependable and very nice young lady. We will have a fun time camping later this summer.

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  3. Wow, your garden looks great!
    I see you have a little problem with slugs and bunnies, but how about the caterpilars (white butterfy - momentary mental block on name), that decimate the brassicas? If you get them, what do you find most effective in controlling them?

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    1. Hi Nic, thanks for stopping by, It may be the work of cabbage butterflies. I'm going to have to check the plants for eggs and worms. If so, I will remove them by hand and then place some netting over the plants.

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  4. It's so tough to leave the garden but equally nice to come home to see how much it's changed. We don't really notice day-to-day growth, but leave for a bit and WOW! It really pops. Glad you had a good time on vacation. Now, go weed something--the garden calls! LOL!

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    1. So true Sue. I did a lot of weeding at the plots on Saturday. It's raining today so maybe I can get some work done in the house :(

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  5. We still have to plant our peas.

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    1. You have really been having some cold weather in your parts! Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit and you can get your peas planted.

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  6. I love coming back to my garden after a period away, I look at it so much when I'm home I don't really notice the changes but if I leave it for awhile then return that tends to be when I'm really excited by it.

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    1. I agree. It was so surprising to see all that growth when we came home!

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  7. It's amazing your overwintered kale is still going. And those peas are lovely!

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    1. That overwintered kale is just chugging along. It will be interesting to see how long it stays productive. I just love those peas too.....they are so pretty!

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  8. Your garden is looking lovely. I'm going to get my first snap peas this week I think. The plants have really started flowering.

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    1. Thanks Daphne, I was really surprised and happy to see those peas! I'm sure you will have some snap peas this week. There wasn't a single flower on the vines when we left.

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  9. I was away for just 5 days last week and was amazed at how things had moved on!

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    1. I think the garden grows by leaps and bounds when we leave!

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  10. Welcome back! It is nice to be able to get away and return to the garden in such good shape. Your peas are indeed impressive. Wow!

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    1. Thanks Laura, Those peas are definitely tall!

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  11. Very nice and can't believe how tall your peas are! Those purple ones are very pretty.

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    1. Those purple peas are very tasty too. I think we like the Spring Blush Snap Peas a little more though. They are real pretty too!

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  12. Those purple peas are just gorgeous, I've never seen them before. If you have the space for it you should leave one of those bolted celery in the ground for ladybugs to lay eggs in. I learned the hard way last year that they are a favorite for ladybug larva and I had been pulling them out. What a waste! /facepalm

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    1. I grew the purple peas for the first time last year because of the color. This year I grew them for the color and taste!

      Thanks for the advice on the bolting celery. It's definitely staying in the ground.

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  13. Welcome back and lovely garden, those are pristine looking peas.

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    1. Thanks Mac, we think they are very pretty.

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  14. You probably did that right. I think everyone should walk away from the garden after planting so your not out there ever hour looking for signs of germination. Well maybe just I do that ;) Glad you had a great time.

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    1. We always have a good time there. No, you aren't the only one who checks on the garden every hour!

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  15. I hate to be away from the garden for any length of time; I come home and something has always died ;-( Wonderful you have such a great helper for when you are gone. I too would leave the bolting celery for a bit, not just the lady bugs, but also the hover flies benefit from the flowers. Bolting cilantro was a big lady bug draw in my garden early this spring.

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    1. We definitely have a very good garden helper. Everything always grows well when she tends the garden.

      Thanks for the advice on the celery. I learned a couple of very good things about celery that I did not know. It's staying in the ground for sure.

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  16. I can't believe how much farther ahead of mine your peas are! My snap peas aren't even blossoming yet, and my shelling peas have just begun to bloom. Those purple pea blossoms are beautiful.

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    1. Granny, there wasn't a single flower on any of the peas when we left.

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  17. Everything looks great! I never get enough snow peas from my garden :(

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    1. Thanks Becky, Last year was the first time that I got enough snow peas. We won't have enough this year unless I have a successful fall planting at the plots.

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  18. Those purple peas look really neat. I am always amazed too when I am away how much my garden will grow.

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    1. We just love some unusual veggies, especially when they taste good too!

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  19. the purple pea flowers looks so awesome. Are the peas purple too? very very cool!

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    1. Three of the four varieties that I planted have purple flowers. One will produce a purple snap pea, one a blush snap pea and one a green snow pea.

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  20. what a great welcome home surprise!

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    1. We were definitely surprised! You should have seen it in the dark!

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  21. Robin- so glad that you had a great trip and that your garden was in good hand while you were away. The peas that you have pictured for yur new blog header look just like the "Blauschokker Purple Pod peas that I am growing this year. I wonder if it si the same variety with two different names? Either way the blossoms are just beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Lexa, I purchased the seeds from Peace Seeds. I have no idea if they are related.

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  22. Loved seeing the photos of your garden, and especially the purple magnolia snap peas. That is a variety that I haven't heard of.

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    1. Thanks Lou, I purchased those seeds last year and again this year from Peace Seeds. We just love them!

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  23. Always a joy to arrive home from a break away and head straight to the veggie patch. Your gardens looking great Wow those peas are so tall and the beautiful purple snap peas..........to pretty to eat!

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    1. The first thing I do when we come home is check the garden! I think it is a gardener thing. They are pretty....but we love to eat them too!

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  24. Do the purple snap peas stay purple after cooking?

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    1. Hi Norma, yes they do stay purple after cooking, unlike the purple beans that I plant which turn green after cooking.

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  25. I was wondering where you purchased seeds for the purple snap peas and the spring blush snap peas that you mentioned. I would love to try them.

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