Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Garden notes

Our winter garden is growing nicely; here's a shot of the brussels sprouts. No sprouts on them yet, but I think we'll have some before the end of next month. The broccoli is starting to bud; in a few days, I'll start picking. The collards are getting bigger; I'll be able to take a few leaves from them by the end of the week. The chard - a leftover from last winter - is still growing like mad and producing far more than we can eat. I like chard, but not every day!

Yesterday I planted two rows of spinach and a row of lettuce, and today I planted a long row of peas. It might be too early for them, but the weather has been so lovely that I decided to plant them and see how it goes. Volunteer lettuce plants are already coming up where some seeded last year; I'm going to trust that they know what they're doing. If it turns cold on us again, I can always replant. If it doesn't, then we'll have a nice long season of spring veggies.

It gets hot here pretty early, so the season is usually short, especially for the peas; fresh peas are so good, though, that they're worth it. This year, I'm trying an experiment; I'm planning on planting the tomatoes in front of the peas. While the tomatoes are growing, I expect the peas to finish off; I've got a sturdy wire and steel trellis for them to grow on, and, as the tomatoes grow, I'll tie them to the steel posts that support the trellis.

We're eating through the veggies that I put in the freezer, and looking forward to having fresh ones very soon.

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