Harvest Monday..............04/23/2012

This week's harvests are once again all about greens and a little asparagus. The overwintered cold frame greens, lettuce and winter spinach bed  had started to bolt from the heat.  So, I harvested what was ready and cleaned up the beds. There is another harvest left before I have to pull the plants. In addition to what is pictured below, I  harvested at least 2 lbs of lettuce. I did not take any pictures of it though. I am not including their weight in this week's total. As I am not sure how much of the lettuce is good and will add the weights in as they are eaten.

The spring planted Collards & Kale did not bolt. So, we will have another flush of Collards & Kale before the summer weather sets in. I also have some spinach starts to plant out once the rain stops.

8 oz. Vates Collards

5.5 oz. Squire Kale

This variety is not bolting

4.5 oz. Lacinato Kale

12.75 oz. Mixed Spinach

2.25 oz. Asparagus

All of the transplanted asparagus plants are sending up shoots!! I really don't think we will harvest much more though. As most of the shoots are very tall & thin and starting to flower out into ferns. I am just so happy that they survived the move!

Total Weighed Harvests - 33 oz.

Hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions, our host of Harvest Monday and see what's going on in Veggie Gardens around the globe!

Home Gardens Mid-April....A Pictorial

Everything here at the house is moving along slowly but surely. Boy what a difference from last year!

Left Cold Frame, overwintered carrots are finally growing and some spinach & pak choi has been sown

Right Cold Frame, the arugula is about finished, some spinach has been sown here too. I will sow more when I pull the arugula plants

The peas are finally coming up

I planted some pak choi in empty spaces in the garlic bed

Some color in the perennial beds & herb garden

Carrots have been sown in between the cloches. More carrots will be sown today in 4 large pots.

There are some good brussels sprouts on this plant. I will cut them off today and finally pull the plant. This year I started them earlier.

Lilacs are filling out. Last year they were in bloom at this time, a month earlier then normal.

Oregano is coming up nicely

The chives are also pretty big and we have been using them for cooking

Spring flowers are blooming in the perennial beds

Four flats of cold crops & some herbs have been hardening off under the bench on the back porch and most will be planted at the plots this weekend

The early tomatoes at 8 weeks old. They have been spending most of the time outside and will be planted in the cloches this weekend. Last year they were in the cloches about 10 days earlier.

Busy day at the Home Garden

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day! The sun was shining all day and the temperature had to be at least 60F!! I had a list of things to get done at the home garden and actually accomplished everything! I started out this morning making many carrot seed mats as done by Granny. Around noon I started working outside in the garden.

It was such a beautiful day even the little daffodils were happy in the messy herb garden!



I cleaned up and re-arranged both cold frames. I moved some of the plants around and set-up two Kozy Koats in the right cold frame and four in the one small bed bedhind the cold frames. They will accommodate six of the early tomatoes. I will also plant four more early tomatoes in the bed covered by the greenhouse.

Right cold frame all cleaned up with some extra room for probably lettuce or spinach.

Left cold frame all cleaned up. I am going to sow some spinach in all of the empty spaces.

I took some of the straw off of the garlic and moved some kale to an empty space in the bed. The straw I got last year was not very good and I was getting weeds and grass growing from it. There are no signs of the peas popping up yet which are planted around the perimeter of this bed.

Kale moved to the garlic bed.

"The Italian" was out and about, so I took it upon myself to put the greenhouse up. I was going to wait for him, but wasn't sure what time he would get home or if the weather would hold out. Even though it usually takes two or three people to do put it up....I thought "what the heck, I can do this by myself"! As you can see it is like a pop-up tent. You have to lay it out and start by putting in two side supports on each side. No problem....I'll just go inside the collapsed greenhouse and put them in. Well the first one went in just fine. Then I realized that one of the velcro straps that you wrap around the poles was tangled in my hair! I managed to free myself with the collapsed greenhouse on my head and preceded to erect the greenhouse. After about 30 minutes of tugging, pulling and forcing the poles into their designated pockets....it was up!! As I sat on the steps to take a break.....guess who pulled up??? "The Italian" 

"The Italian" staked and tied the greenhouse in place.

We usually put the greenhouse up about a month earlier. It will stay up until the danger of frost has passed, around May 15.

Just when you think Spring has Sprung

you wake up to SNOW!!! Yes, it is snowing outside! "They" said that we might get some snow....but, "They" are usually wrong!

This was yesterday

This is today!!

It's a good thing we put the tops back on the cold frames last night...just in case of an ice storm!! I had planted some new lettuce and spinach seedlings in them yesterday.

Chives in the herb garden

Tulips in the herb garden

Does this mean that I have to clean my house today??

Signs of Spring

We are being blessed or teased with a few days of warm weather. The temperature today reached 55 F and we are supposed to reach 63 F tomorrow! Saturday the temperatures will return to normal, about 45 F. The snow is beginning to melt and there are signs of Spring!

The Crocuses are almost ready to bloom & I can find the Leeks once again!

The Grape Hyacinths are green and signs of bulbs peaking through the ground

The Sage bush has emerged from beneath the snow and the Strawberries are showing signs of new growth

Daffodils sprouting through the fall leaves and the Garlic is showing through the straw and snow

Come on Spring!!!!