Friday, December 7, 2012

For Now...

All there is left to do is dream. If I could hibernate and wake in March, I'd seriously consider it. Despite some truly freaky warm weather, which I cannot help but love, winter really will come. My last task will be to chop down the asparagus stalks and order leaf mulch to refresh the borders (and drown some weeds). The seed catalogs are arriving, giving me some much needed vegetable garden planning time. I can hardly contain my excitement for next spring, when the greens will start growing again, when bulbs will pop up in this bed (some that I'm sure I will have forgotten about), and when I'll have flowers again.
When I can scarcely believe that, I can look back at photos from spring, excited that it will be the same next spring, only bigger and better!





Monday, December 3, 2012

Under Cover

All of the greenhouse covers are in place, plus hoops for row cover (on the non-covered beds). Just in time for 70 degree weather!The only problem seems to be some bolting tat soi (maybe it was crowded or the weather irked it).











 



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Baby Brussels and Other Winter Fare

I planted my Brussels sprouts at least a month too late (around Labor Day), but there is still hope. We aren't due for a hard freeze any time soon (fingers crossed), and I'll be installing a plastic greenhouse over this bed before then. With temps back up to the balmy 60s for a few days, maybe these tiny sprouts will have time to form before winter sets in. Or, maybe if I keep them alive under cover all winter, then we'll have early spring sprouts! Either way, it's proof I can grow sprouts ... if I get the timing right.  

Elsewhere in the garden, I have plentiful arugula, though it should have been thinned--hard to do when it seeds itself everywhere!:
 
Fava beans ready to be overwintered, though a little floppy after Sandy and being under row cover to keep marauding rabbits away. They should produce in early spring, just when they will be appreciated most:
 Some gorgeous kale that I probably could leave uncovered all winter:
 
Lettuce (with radish and carrot in between)--this will need protection:
The bed of much smaller kale and lettuce:
Some sad-looking turnips (trying to sow them under the okra did not work out so well):
I finally got around to thinning the Asian greens, and I think they will do okay with protection--meaning I'll get some baby greens at the least and maybe an early spring flush of growth. 
 












Since rabbits and/or slugs ate my spinach seedlings (I had filled this bed with both seeds and seedlings--both were a bust, sigh), I moved the Asian green thinnings over here. I just can't bear to waste any seedlings.
Despite the usual fall problems--namely, not getting things started early enough--it's a pretty good supply of winter greens. I also would have liked to sow more roots. There's always next year!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Please help me I'm fall-ing

This is a great time of year for the native shade garden (left) and the "twixt the shed and Magnolia" bed.
I'm also fortunate to have wonderful views of some magnificent large trees on my neighbor's properties: 
cherry tree (surrounded by black cherry trees and black walnuts). The view even extends into another neighbor's yard with an amazing metal roof (not visible in this pic).
red maple (love the Virginia creeper vine on that shed, too).
the king of the block, an oak. The low evergreen holly makes nice bird cover.

Happy fall!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Seedlings Taking Shape--Winter Garden!

My bed of many Asian greens is coming along nicely. Time to thin these seedlings!
 
 



I have a labeled diagram in my notebook, but this is an assortment of red and green komatsuna, tat soi, pak choi, Tokyo behana,  red and green Chinese broccoli, and yukina savoy.

Also in progress, kale transplants I purchased, safely ensconced under row cover until threat of cabbage moth is past:
Something was still munching the Brussels sprouts (slugs?), so the bed got a dusting of diatomaceous earth (DE).

Something is also awry in the spinach bed, so the newly purchased seedlings have a cover also, and need some DE stat in case it's slugs.

Time to give up on the okra and hope these turnip seedlings thrive.


We're flush with lettuce, with rows of radish, carrot, and some reseeded pak choi in between.
I'm so excited about these purple fava beans!

I detest cold weather, but cold season gardening helps a little!