Garden 2024 – Journey Home

On May 8th I’m way behind in getting the garden in. The first plot is mostly garlic planted in October. I’ll finish that plot off with herbs, lettuce, bok choy, and spinach under row cover. The second is onions and potatoes which will soon need weeding. I don’t know what will go in plot three but I have to get cabbage and kale in the ground before they get root bound. So I guess that will be part of it. I also need to get peas in, so maybe I’ll plant those next to the fencing so they have a support system. This is more hodge-podge than I care to be.

Wednesday was taking down last year’s fencing and pulling up the ground fabric. I was on my knees most of the time while working. There are two large collard plants in full bloom with abundant pollinators. The buzzing didn’t bother me while I worked around them, and took photos. Just being in the garden is affirming.

I asked the neighbor about cutting back the overhanging branches from their wild wooded area adjacent to our property. I did that, and left the branches to dry before piling them up for burning on Thursday. It was getting so thick, I couldn’t get the mower through without knocking my cap off my head.

The last of the volunteer garlic was ready to pick as spring garlic. It looked like a head developed and I missed picking it last year.I trimmed it and brought it to wash in the kitchen. While the spring garlic dried on the counter, the aroma filled the space. It was wonderful.

On Tuesday afternoon I drove the 6 or 7 miles to the Ely creamery. They have a retail store with products they make, including cheese, fluid milk, ice cream, and more. I like the cheese curds particularly. When I was riding my bicycle during the pandemic, I would ride the trail to Ely and stop there as a turn-around point. Their prices are a bit high, yet it is good to support a local business.

I don’t work in the garden as long as I did. I have to stop after an hour or so and take a short break. If I keep at it, I can likely get everything in the ground by Memorial Day. At least that’s what I’m hoping.

Saturday was the first day I worked up a sweat in the spring garden. I moved storage items around and contemplated where I should bury the potato containers. The fence around the southwest plot needs to come down, and ground cover taken up. The layout will be changed to accommodate six potato containers, mowing around the apple tree, and placing the large compost bin made of old pallets. There will be space leftover. It will be an awkwardly shaped space.

Potatoes do better when there is a fence around them to keep deer away. If I can find mulch to put around them, they won’t need much besides water and pulling a few weeds. I must remain vigilant to see if the Colorado Potato Beetle arrives. The insect hasn’t been around the last few years.

I moved chard, collards, and fennel seedlings into larger pots to allow them to grow. I also thinned the bok choy family of seedlings to one sprout per block. One never knows how older seeds will perform so I doubled up. About half the celery seeds germinated. I’m not sure if twelve plants will be enough and I may plant more.

How many varieties of pepper seedlings should be planted? I cut back. Using the remaining bell pepper seeds from last year, I may not attempt to grow them again. With nice bell peppers available year-around at the wholesale warehouse, I am less worried about my failure to grow good bell peppers. The rest of the peppers are Serrano, Jalapeno, and a variety of long, red hot peppers for drying and converting into red pepper flakes. Reducing the variety aligns with how I use them. If I want a specialty pepper, I can likely get them at the farmers’ market.

The most important annual crop is tomatoes and I cut back the number of varieties this year. I’m a bit nervous about that with three varieties of plum, three slicers, and five cherries. For fresh eating, we tend to consume more cherry tomatoes than slicers. Both are reasons to grow a summer garden. The plums are mostly for canning whole or as sauce. There can never be enough of those.

I collected fallen branches and twigs from the yard and started a burn pile. I’m running behind on that, yet there is not a lot to burn. All the same, spring gardening has begun. It will be a constant activity from now until Memorial Day.