Saturday, May 1, 2010

How Does Your Garden Grow?

My seedlings are doing so well!

Above are my lettuces mix, and below is my kale and chard rows.

I use both of these as "Cut and Come Again" salad mixes. When the kale starts to bolt (as it does in mid Summer) I will start letting the leaves get big enough to make wraps and toss in Kale Chanterelle Pasta. Yum! I am guessing we will be able to have our first salad from the garden as soon as we get back mid May. Already we have had Pak Choi added into our stir fry's and bits of herbs on salads, baked potatoes, and other things. I am really looking forward to the bounty that comes with late Spring/early Summer.

I saved quite a few things from the other garden, but in the two moves last year I lost most of my perennial plants. In the last few weeks I have picked up a few starts from the nursery and gotten a few more from generous gardening friends. Above is my perennial herb bed. It has Thyme, Garlic and Onion Chives, Apple Sage, Chocolate Mint, Chehalis River Mint, Pearmint, Spearmint and Hearts Ease (a variety of eatable Viola). I planted Artichokes (another perennial) all around the center of the bed, and a small gifted Rosemary plant at the back. Both of those will be tall, so I placed them more towards the center with the shorter herbs around the edges. I think it will be quite lovely... especially with the beautiful flowers that the kids made sticking out of the center.

My strawberry tower is doing great! The sage at the top is three years old and this is the first year it has had flower heads on it. I am excited to see what these will look like. I have seen many different sage flowers... but the prettiest were bright red trumpet looking buds that I ended up adding to many flower arrangements that year.

Along the back and outside edge of the two street side beds I put peas. Which are almost trellis ready. Now I need the trellis. I am debating if I want metal (which is by far and away the cheaper option when buying EMT conduit) or wood trellis. I have been reading about the benefits of metal in the garden. What a strange concept! I wonder if the plate flowers will not only have aesthetic value, but also bring down static electricity and help my plants grow? It will be neat to find out.

So all my gardening friends... How does YOUR garden grow? (If you have a post to share, please post a link in the comments. I promise to go check it out! :) )

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7 comments

Shirley said...

You seriously must get more sun where you are than we do. LOL! I just have stuff in pots but need to check on them with all this crazy weather going on.

Val in the Rose Garden said...

We haven't been getting a lot of sun actually. lol! These plants are all cold weather sprouters, and don't mind even lightly greezing temps most of the time. I saved all my warm weather lovers for later in the season. It's taken these babies a whole month to sprout like this (I planted them this day: http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/2010/04/impatient-garden-award.html).

What did you plant in your pots Shirley? Where are you located? I'm in Western WA... not a lot of sun, but very temperate most of the time. Between 35 - 50 (night and day) so the consistancy is helpful for the sprouting babies.

Blessings,

Val

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Crazy typing... I meant freezing! ;)

Katie said...

We plant the first week in June, and I will post about it then! I am so excited after seeing your garden, I LOVE the strawberry tower, we will do that in the next house for sure.
XO

Jenny said...

Love that strawberry tower! Speaking of peas and trellising- I found a neat idea from a children's gardening book where they made a tepee with 4 foot tree limbs & grew peas around it to make a little fort. I've wanted to try it for awhile & you reminded me. Good luck!

Simple Mama said...

Wow! I can't believe how far along your garden is! Crazy. We had a total late start here - not because of Mother nature. Because things were nuts here with chicken pox, new jobs, overwhelmed mama. I've got a bit of the green garden jealousy going on looking at all your delightful pictures!

Val in the Rose Garden said...

@Jenny:

I did that with beans for years! I used 7 ft poles and then laced jute tie around them to make a lattice of sorts, and then let the beans climb up them. Then the poles broke (after 5 years worth of kids and teepee) and I haven't done it since... but I bet Logan would love it!

Here are some pictures:

http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/2004/05/my-urban-garden.html

http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/2007/08/bean-harvest-day-im-mama.html

It's such fun! :) Would you send me pictures of yours? I'd like to see all the variations and steal ideas for later years out of your brilliance.

Love Val

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