ex gardens

I’m back today with part 2 of the update on the vegetable garden here at Happy Acres. One of the last things I always get planted are the sweet potatoes, and this year I got them in on June 4th. I set out the usual varieties – 29 slips in all, planted in a ridge I made of loose soil. I grow the slips myself from the the previous year’s harvest, and pot them up so they get off to a good start in the garden. I’m mulching them with cardboard and shredded pepper, which helps keep down the weeds and conserve soil moisture. row of sweet potatoes sweet potato plant One of the first things I got planted outside this year were the container eggplants. I’m growing Fairy Tale, Gretel and Icicle again this year, and all are AAS Winners that do quite well for me in containers. I sow these seeds earlier than the main crop varieties, and potted them up outside in mid-April when danger of frost had passed. container eggplants blooms on Fairy Tale eggplant Those plant...

It’s time for another update on the vegetable garden here at Happy Acres. I’ll break it up into two parts since I have quite a few photos to share. To start, the weather here has been fairly dry this spring with rainfall running a bit below average. We have gotten enough rain to get things growing though, and the vegetable garden is looking pretty lush at the moment. Vegetable Garden in June Brassicas are usually the first crop to go in, and this year I got ours planted early in May. They have taken off since then, and I have been spraying with Bt and neem oil to keep the cabbage caterpillars under control. spring brassicas The cabbage plants are heading up, and the big Kossak kohlrabi will be ready to harvest soon. We mostly use these big kohlrabis for fermenting, and the cabbage for fresh use as well as for making sauerkraut. cabbage plant Kossak kohlrabi I got the pole beans planted in late May, and they have really taken off! My main trellis has quite a few of my old fa...

I thought it was about time for another update as we near the end of May here. Time is surely flying by as I am staying busy with gardening! Spring means asparagus season here, and we’ve had a pretty good year for it. We finished cutting it this week and mowed the bed down to get rid of weeds and let the ferns start growing to replenish the roots for next year’s crop. We cut almost 12 pounds, and we have enjoyed it for many meals. Last week we made a chicken and asparagus stir-fry that we served over black rice, and that is always a favorite here. We also roast it in the oven fairly often, which is a simple but tasty treatment. asparagus harvest asparagus stir-fry As asparagus season ends, I am continuing to cut the spring lettuce on an as-needed basis. Strawberry Oakheart is a variety from Wild Garden Seed that does well for me here. It doesn’t make real big heads, but the long pointed leaves color up nicely and are tender and mild tasting. Strawberry Oakheart le...

Most of the month of April was extremely dry here, with very little rainfall. Last year we had a whopping 11 inches of rain in April, which drowned crops and left the soil a soggy mess. This year we’ve gotten right at three inches of rain this month, and most of that fell in the last week. The temperatures have been running a bit warmer than usual, and that helped get the asparagus sprouting up about two weeks ahead of last year. We’ve gotten about eight pounds of it so far, and we have enjoyed it on several occasions. One of our favorite treatments is to make Aspargua Mimosa, steaming the asparagus and topping with grated hard-boiled egg and a few capers. April asparagus Asparagus Mimosa Another dish we’ve made is a Lemon Chicken Asparagus stir-fry. We served this over black rice, and it is another tasty way to use our asparagus. Lemon Chicken Asparagus stir-fry The lettuce in the greenhouse is keeping as well-supplied for salads. The Salanova Red Leaf letttuce is coloring ...

Today I want to show some of the things we have blooming here in late March and early April. I’ll start with the daffodils. We have quite a few of them planted in various locations, and they have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. They always lend a bit of cheer and color to our garden when little else is blooming. early daffodil mix bicolor daffodils white daffodils Another early and dependable bloomer are the hellebores, and we have several different ones blooming now. hellebore hellebore flower The first iris of the year is always exciting to see, especially for my wife (aka The Iris Queen) who has quite a collection! This first one is a short but sweet and well-named dwarf: Riveting. The second to open was another dwarf named Cherry Garden. Last year she had 51 different irises that bloomed, and we always look forward to the annual parade. Riveting iris Cherry Garden iris Our traditional azaleas are also beginning to bloom now. The red ones are especia...