The Modern Victory Garden

February 2nd is not only “Groundhog Day” but also marks the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox – a point in time also known as Imbolc.   By the time February 2 arrives, we have completed the most difficult portion of our ascent out of winters darkest point (December 21st – winter solstice), and are heading towards the longed for beginning of spring (March 21st – spring equinox).   It’s a time of optimism because the low point of winter is behind us and it is possible to actually feel, taste, and see the promise of spring just around the corner.   It’s also the point in time where items that I have overwintered in the garden (or the greenhouse) begin to respond to the increasing sun strength and day length by putting on some noticeable growth after a long period of near dormancy.   It’s the real turning point in the transition out of winter and I look forward to it each year.                                                

Despite the wintery weather over the last several weeks, I have begun noticing some definite signs that Imbolc is almost upon us.   The garden walkways have tiny new shoots of grass and weeds emerging (which the hens have been happily gobbling up!); items in the unheated greenhouse are growing a little faster now, and the garlic that was planted late last fall has sent up shoots through the very thick mulch of rough finished compost that blankets the bed.    I went out into the dark tonight to get a picture to show you.    It is a flash photo on a very dark evening so the picture is not very good quality, but I think you can clearly see how uniformly the bed is sprouting and how much the sprouts have grown.      

This is why I always celebrate Imbolc (groundhogs day).   As a gardener it marks a real milestone in the cycle of the seasons - heralding the arrival of the transformational magic of the first green shoots, which are like a healing tonic for those of us weary of the dark days of winter. 

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

It’s getting harder to do anything in the garden after work these days because each day is getting noticeably shorter.   Adding to the sensation of seasonal change is the hasty departure of our brief late season weather warm up.   It was great while it lasted, but it did not last very long.   The crops that have been pouting from lack of real warmth this entire summer suddenly woke up and got a move on it.   The squash-family plants in particular responded to the warm up.   At long last the normal jungle of vine growth has occurred – almost a full month behind schedule but better late than never I guess.     

Part of that response came in the form of pumpkins that are finally starting to put some size on.   Again, this is very late and they have a long way to go to maturity but for the larger ones formed, it is at least possible now that they may get to the finish line before the plants give it up to disease or killing frosts.   It just all depends on what kind of fall we end up experiencing.         

While the squash family plants have been putting on a last ditch growth spurt, the fall crops also used the brief warm up to do some growing of their own. I have an early-planted spinach patch that is already producing regular harvests, and a younger (later planted) patch that will soon be producing harvests as well.   Next to the spinach is a patch of mache and some lettuces.   The slugs have managed to munch most of the young lettuces as fast as they grew, but a few have survived and should also soon be harvestable.                

The parsnip patch has been growing all summer long and is now at the peak of vegetation growth.                 

I did an investigative poke down into the soil to see how they were coming on and found that they are sizing up well.   I won’t be harvesting any of these for a while yet as I prefer them after the weather has turned really chill.        

The fall broccoli patch is growing right next to the jungle of squash vines and are creating a bit of a jungle all their own.                

The heads are formed and are getting larger with each passing day. We won’t have to wait much longer to have fresh broccoli back on the menu again.                     

The bush beans are winding down but still producing.   The extremely late pole beans are finally starting to produce - just in time to start filling the gap created by the decreasing bush bean production.                     

All in all, the summer garden is still producing well and if we are fortunate enough to have a reasonably dry and warmish fall season they will continue to command center stage, but warming up just behind the curtain are the fall cast of characters, poised to take their turn in the spotlight for a while.        

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

It’s not exactly “hot” with high temperatures of mid to upper 70’s, but it is warm and dry and I’ll take it!   The forecast for the next many days is for more of the same.   The change in the garden that has resulted from this modest warm up is rather impressive.   It’s truly amazing what just a little heat can do for the summer garden.   It’s hard to realize how important it is until you go for long periods of time at record setting cool temperatures and see first hand how plants generally just stop growing.   Luckily, we are catching a break and the zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins are finally putting some growth on.   The melons and the butternut squash are too, but I fear they are just too little and this recent growth is too late to have any hope of producing anything before the cold rains of fall arrive.   The pumpkins are questionable but possible since they are running well and setting fruit.   The zucchini and cucumbers are not a problem as they will start producing and just keep going for weeks to come.   The zucchini plants in particular have really woken up over the past few days.   There are a couple of squash forming on the plants and I should be able to pick the first ones of the season in just a day or so.   Here is one of the zucchini plants.                            

Reaching out to it from the front right is some of the sugar pie pumpkin vines.                       

While the warm and dry spell is appreciated, it does mean I have to work harder at keeping the garden beds and container grown plants all properly hydrated.   Since returning from my trip to Pennsylvania, I have been cycling through the garden zones on a daily basis - watering.   I use a variety of watering methods in my garden.   Some areas are hand watered using a water wand connected to a garden hose or a large watering can that has been filled from our rain barrels.   I use the hand watering method for all the container grown plants, newly planted seed beds, and small bed areas where any other form of irrigation would just be overkill.   I use soaker hoses for the tomato patch and for several of the planting areas that have bush fruits and berries.   The last method I employ is to use overhead sprinklers.   I am careful not to use overhead sprinkling on plants that are best not wetted (like tomatoes).   My personal preference is for spray style sprinklers that provide a more thorough soaking.   I have a very nice copper and brass sprinkler mounted on a tall post that places the spray head well above the plant foliage and covers a rather substantial amount of area.   In addition, I have assembled my own spray style sprinkler for use in my narrow garden beds (2 feet wide).   I found that the rectangular sprinklers available for sale just covered too broad of an area rather than a narrow strip of garden.   I built this from a few purchased parts several years ago and it has given me great utility.                           

The sprinkler itself is just a hand watering sprayer attachment that I affixed to a “push in” base for sprinklers.   If I cannot find something that does the job I need doing, I will create what I need using items that are readily available.   This particular configuration provides a narrow and long spray pattern which is perfect for my long and narrow vertical grow beds.                        

About a month ago, my husband moved two half-whiskey barrels planted up with strawberries from a shady area in our front landscaping area to the garden.   They were not thriving in their old location and these container-grown strawberries have really perked up with the good sun exposure they now enjoy and the warm up in temperatures.    We have been picking a few odds and ends berries from these plants for about a week now.   They never make it into the harvest totals because they get eaten before we ever reach the house.                               

This little warm up in the garden is much-needed this year even though it means more work for me ultimately – both in watering chores, and in increased harvesting demands.   Bring it on!                              

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

We finally warmed up to “normal” temps for a few days.   In fact, we finally got above 80 degrees - for two whole days even!   It was short lived though, because today we are back to gloomy, misting rain, and below normal temps.   (sigh)   One can only hope that this is just a slow wind up to some actual summer weather for the remainder of July and August.   The good news is, is that the plants took advantage of this brief arrival of summer to do some serious growing over the course of just a few days.   The squash plants in particular did a wake up from their doldrums and noticeably improved in a relatively brief period of time.   The pumpkins are running and starting to flower.                             

And the zucchini is actually getting big enough now to see the formation of immature flowers developing.                    

This is really behind the normal stage of growth for these plants for this time of year, but at this point I am just glad they are still alive and perking up.   The butternut squash, melons, and cucumbers similarly are much improved for having enjoyed a few days of reasonably warm weather.   The question though is whether they can catch up sufficiently, set fruit, and then mature them to harvest stage before the approach of fall and even cooler weather.   I am not concerned about the cucumbers and the zucchini as they are relatively fast producers and are harvested at “immature” stages for best eating quality.   However, the pumpkins, winter squash, and melons all require a relatively long growing period and need the fruit to ripen on the vine.   Those are the crops I am getting increasingly concerned about being able to get to the finish line in time.                                                    

Also behind schedule due to our record setting cool year (so far) are the peas and the potatoes.   Thankfully, both of those crops are coming along just fine, and while late, are setting up to produce a fine harvest for us.   The potato patch has finally filled out.                      

The pea patch is doing splendidly.   The pea vines are over 4 feet tall now – the tops have blooms and the bottom portions have pea pods growing fat with peas.                                 

I think I am about one and half weeks away from the big shelling pea harvest.   It really depends on the weather though.   In another section of garden the sugar snap peas are blooming heavily and this morning I noticed the first pods are forming.

The cool weather crops continue to rejoice in the damp and chill weather.   The Ruby Ball cabbages in particular are getting very large and at this point are starting to form the beginnings of what will later be a dense head of red cabbage (purple actually).   This is one of my all time favorite cabbage varieties because it is not only tasty but really beautiful too.

The spring planted broccoli is winding down but I am still getting a nice harvest of side shoots from them periodically.   If it ever warms up and stays there, the broccoli plants will be ready to be removed.   In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy the side shoots.   In the house, I have a big flat of cabbages and broccoli seedlings growing under lights.   They are waiting for the pea patch to be harvested so that I can plant them there for a fall/winter harvest.   In preparation for fall, I also recently direct seeded some bunching onions in an area where the early spring greens previously resided.   These will provide some fresh eating onions during the fall and early winter months.   I am also planning to direct seed some storage onions in the garden (probably next weekend) that hopefully will over winter to produce a larger sized storage onion for 2012.   I have tried this before without much success, but my previous efforts were with transplanted starts.   This time around, I am going to try a mid-summer direct seeding and see if that makes a difference.                                     

Keep your fingers crossed for me that the misting rain and cool temps that have returned do not result in a disastrous fungal infection for the tomato patch.   It’s a very real possibility with this kind of weather, particularly when it is sandwiched in between warmer spells.   I have been keeping the plants well pruned for good air circulation and will probably spray with an anti-fungal (such as Serenade) this coming weekend.   I had actually intended to do that last weekend but just did not get to it.   I hope I don’t come to regret that fact in the future.                               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Harvest Monday

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what people are producing from gardens in so many different regions.   Check it out and join in!                              

On Wednesday I harvested a very large colander full of lettuce, a head of Gonzales cabbage, some garlic scapes, broccoli side shoots, and the first turnips to be harvested for 2011.                    

The lettuce was washed, spun dried, torn into bite size pieces, and then placed in a large bowl in the fridge for use throughout the next several days for dinner salads and lunches.    The rest of the vegetables were used in a stir fry of thinly sliced pork strips, garlic, broccoli, turnip, and cabbage with a spicy shanghai orange sauce (purchased item) and served with cooked rice.   

On Saturday another couple heads of the Gonzales cabbage and several more turnips were harvested.             

These were used to make a delicious coleslaw by peeling/coring and then dicing up an apple and adding it to the turnips (peeled and diced) and the cabbage (chopped up) and then dressing it with my favorite creamy coleslaw dressing:                   

My Favorite Creamy Coleslaw Dressing

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg

The last harvest this week was some more broccoli side shoots, romaine lettuce, and two savoy cabbages.                       

The romaine lettuce was washed, spun dried, cut into chunks, and then made into a large Caesar salad.   The broccoli and cabbage was cut into small pieces and then steamed until just tender – then sautéed with lots of garlic until really tender.   To this, some cooked and drained orzo pasta was added along with some raisins and vegetable broth and allowed to simmer until the vegetable broth was largely evaporated – salted to taste and grated Parmesan cheese was stirred in just before being placed on the table.    Dinner on Sunday was small steaks – seared and seasoned with a white wine sauce, Caesar salad, and the parmesan/vegetable orzo pasta dish.        

Harvest totals for the week of June 20th through June 26th (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).

• Broccoli 0.50 lbs
• Cabbage 2.50 lbs
• Garlic 0.25 lbs
• Lettuce 1.50 lbs
• Turnips 1.75 lbs

Total For Week 6.50 lbs

Total Year To Date 74.75 lbs                        

Eggs collected this week – 25                                       

Garden Overview

It has been a while since I have done a garden overview so I thought it might be a good time to do one.   Our garden is in an “L” shape that runs along one side of and then behind the house.   It is impossible to get a single picture that captures the entire garden – even if I were brave enough to climb up on the roof and try and do an aerial photo (which I am not!).   Instead I decided to just take a series of photos from our deck that (like the garden) wraps around the back and side of the house. Hopefully this will give you a sense of how the garden is laid out.        

Starting at back of the house and to the far left is the chicken coop and covered runs.                                    

The hens free range in the entire back area during the day but we bring them in to the secure yard and close the gate on them about an hour before it starts getting dark.   This gives them time to eat some layer crumbles and scratch before retiring ultimately into the coop for the night.   We always shut the hen door on the coop after they are in for the night, to keep them secure from predators.   We reverse that process in the morning, opening the hen door to the coop first and giving them about an hour to eat the purchased feed while the day light increases, and then ultimately the run gate is opened up around 7:30 am and they are allowed free access to the entire fenced back portion of the property.   They come back into the coop and run periodically during the of their own accord to eat, drink, and to lay eggs in the coop nest boxes.  The run has a clear plastic cover over it to keep the area dry for the hens, which is important in our climate since it is prone to heavy rains in the fall and winter.   Behind the hen house and protected with some chicken netting, is the raspberry patch.   The rest of the bushes you see behind the hen house are rhododendrens and other landscape plantings.   

A fence separates the garden from the back area that the hens run in regularly.   Immediately on the other side of the cross fencing is the next section of garden.                    

I think you can tell from this picture that the whole back section of the garden slopes down from the house.   The beds are terraced to make use of the space despite this.   In the front bed, you can see the bush beans. They are lying down a bit when I took this photo as I had just watered them and they had not popped back up quite yet from their soaking.   Behind the beans are the determinate and semi-determinate tomatoes.   Next to them are some onions and carrots.    Further back is part of the larger tomato bed that has the taller varieties growing in it.   Behind the tomatoes and hard to see in this photo, there are three large pots against the fence in the corner – which has the large artichoke plants in them.   In that same back area is the long and narrow vertical grow bed.   The portion of that bed visible in this picture has cucumbers growing in it and a recently planted carrot patch.                

Moving still further to the right is the rest of the back section of the garden.        

In the front bed is the corn patch.   I weeded; side dressed with organic balanced fertilizer; and lightly cultivated them Sunday before giving them a good watering.   Considering how cool our spring was this year, the corn plants are actually good sized and growing very well.   Here’s a closer look at the corn.                     

Behind the corn is the onions and carrots that were visible in the previous photo and the slanted grow support structure which has sugar snap peas in the front growing up the trellis support, and underneath the support is a large patch of turnips.   The third lower bed is the rest of the main tomato bed.   Behind the tomatoes is the narrow vertical support bed that has cucumbers and melons intended to run up the supports and in front are some recently planted carrots, young lettuces, and some radishes.   Here’s a closer look at the cucumbers and the newly planted carrot patch.                

As you can tell from this picture, the cucumbers had quite a few failures that I had to reseed and many are quite small as a consequence.   The closest plants visible under the trellis are two of the melons.   Many of those also failed and had to be reseeded, and it is a question mark as to whether they will have enough time to grow and produce given their late start.                

The backside of the greenhouse and the bed located behind it are next up.       

The greenhouse has large containers in it with the bell peppers plants growing in them.   During the summer, the greenhouse windows and doors are all kept wide open because it gets very hot and humid in there and the cross ventilation is necessary.   The bed behind it has the two ultra dwarf apple trees I planted this spring.   They broke dormancy well and are now sporting lots of new leaf growth.   I initially planted this bed with lettuces and various greens this spring.   Most of those have since been used and removed, leaving a section of lettuces that are still going strong.   Sunday, I planted the middle portion of this bed with some salad/bunching onion seeds (two varieties) to provide me with more onion options this fall and early winter since I am expecting my main onion harvest to be rather light this year.   Here’s a closer look at this bed.                          

Notice I have the newly planted area covered with some wire fencing and wire panels.   This is to keep my cat from using the freshly worked up bed to take a tinkle in.   He just cannot seem to resist a freshly worked up bed.   Later once the plants are up and growing well, I will remove the protective covers.               

The bend of the “L” shaped garden is the next view.                    

The first bed is the pea patch growing on the second-generation horizontal pea trellis support.   The peas have been flowering profusely and have the first big pod set on the lower portion of the plants.   In a few weeks it will be time to do the annual big pea harvest.   I have a large flat of broccoli and cabbage seedlings going in the house under lights, which will be planted into this bed after the peas are harvested and removed.   The middle bed has leeks, onions, and garlic in it.   The garlic has been really beautiful this year and is starting to dry out on the outer leaves, which means it will not be long now before it will be ready to be pulled and cured.   The leeks also are growing well and are starting to size up.   The onions on the other hand are not much to get excited about.   The last bed that is visible is the large retaining wall bed.   As you can see the ground slopes away quite steeply in this section and in order to use that area we had to create a retaining wall that levels the growing area.   In that bed is some dill (tall plants in front), zucchini in the front and in the back is some pumpkins and some butternut squash.   All of these plants are very small for this time of year – a function of our very cool spring.   Hopefully they will catch up.   At the very back of this section running cross wise to these beds is another bed that has the bush pie cherries and the rhubarb growing in it.   That bed is just not visible in the photo due to it's lower elevation.                          

This next picture is moving into the side garden area.                 

The bed in front of the railing is the big potato patch.   The second bed behind it has the broccoli patch, the green and red cabbages, and the dwarf kale.   The third bed behind that has the strawberry patch and some dill.   The adjacent bed is the first of the blueberry bush beds.   At the back of all of this is the narrow vertical grow bed.   Pole beans and half runner pinto beans are planted under the grow supports and in front of those are some carrots and parsnips.                                 

Moving still further right.                             

More of the potato patch is in the front bed.   Behind that is the red cabbages, dwarf kale, swiss chard, Tronchuda cabbage, dinosaur kale (looking a bit skeleton like since I harvested them hard last week!), savoy cabbages, and some more swiss chard.   In the bed behind that is the four large blueberry bushes with some cranberry plants growing underneath them as a ground cover.   Again, you can see the vertical grow bed behind it all and in the shadows so not very visible – is the compost piles.                   

Finally, here’s the view at the top end of the side garden.                  

In the first bed in front of the deck railing is the last portion of the potato patch, some carrots that did not germinate well, and the beet patch.   Behind that is a stub out on the second bed that is only 2 feet wide by 8 feet long – that has the cranberries growing in it.   Behind that is a bed that has the tree kale growing in it and the celery.    That bed is in partial shade when this photo was taken but was in full sun about a half hour later.   That bed is the most shaded part of the garden and works well for crops like celery and leafy greens that can tolerate lower sun availability.   Not visible in this picture but immediately to the right is the side of our shop.   Behind it is the rain barrels which catch run off from the roof of the shop building and our stack of wood for the wood stove.   I will leave you with these closer views of the beet patch and the potato patch, which were largely hidden in the prior photos by the railing of the deck.                                   

There you have it – the overview of our Modern Victory Garden – summer 2011.                           

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

It was gloomy, misting rain, and rather chilly today.   The high temperature barely crawled up to 60 degrees and did not hover there long before falling back to the upper 50’s.   My cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumpkins are seriously pouting.   They really need a dry and warm spell soon or I am not going to get any harvest from them to speak of.   The rest of the garden is doing fine though despite the weather.   In fact, there are a few items that were truly bright spots in the garden on this overcast, damp, and cold Saturday afternoon.                         

The raspberry patch is a wall of vegetation at this point.   I have some chicken fencing surrounding the base of the raspberry patch to keep my hens from eating the young leaves or low hanging fruit.   The hens free range in this back area so the patch needs the protective barrier around it.   As you can see in the pictures below, the short fence has done a great job, as the raspberries are growing thick and lush.                        

There are lots of flowers and developing berries on the canes and I saw quite a few bees working them this afternoon.   Hopefully we will start enjoying some raspberries soon.              

Close by the raspberries on the other side of the garden fence are three big black pots that have my artichokes in them.   I have never tried to grow artichokes before, so this is a new adventure for me.   I grew these out from seed and then exposed them to cold conditions earlier this spring before they were finally transplanted into these pots.   I am hoping the cold treatment was sufficiently long enough and cold enough to cause them to produce buds in this their first year.   I am feeling optimistic though, based on the size of these plants at this point.                     

Another bright spot in the garden this year has been the Lady Bell peppers.   These were some of the fastest germinating and vigorous growing pepper seedlings I have ever started.   So far, I am totally impressed with this variety.   They are growing in large containers in the unheated greenhouse.   The plants have quite a few peppers on and I can easily start harvesting some of the green peppers soon.                 

The pea patch is a mass of pea blossoms right now and it is really beautiful to look at.              

Even more encouraging is that these pea blossoms are quickly moving to pod formation.                       

All of the cabbages are doing really well as would be expected given it has been a cool and damp year so far.   The Alcosa (savoy type) and Gonzales cabbages both have nice heads formed now.   I have already started harvesting and using the Alcosa and will start using the smaller headed Gonzales cabbages soon.              

The Bright Lights swiss chard is thriving in this gloomy cool weather too.   I love this variety because it is excellent tasting, a vigorous grower, and is just beautiful to look at.   I have pink, red, orange, yellow, and white stalked plants all growing together and the colors really pop on a dark, cloudy, and rainy day.                 

 I did do some work in the garden despite the misting rain today.   All the container plants were watered and I gave the artichokes a drench of kelp emulsion tea.   The peppers got that same treatment yesterday.   I also watered the pea patch and the bed of kale, cabbages, swiss chard, and broccoli.   Although it has been raining off and on for the past several days there has actually not been any significant amount and the soil is drying out below the immediate surface.   I also did some harvesting today, but I will save that for the Harvest Monday post.   As usual, I had my garden companion Sid at my side as I puttered about in the garden this afternoon.   He was standing guard over the harvest items when I took this picture.     

Sid is always a bright spot in my garden (and my life).           

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Last year I planted a lot less cabbages and kale than I have in prior years.   I honestly have no idea why that happened really, it just did.   It must have been a function of trying to make room for other items I wanted to plant, but it was not a conscious decision on my part.   I came to really regret that so few cabbages and kales were planted last year (of all years!) because it turned out to be a “cabbage year” – a term Steve Solomon uses in his book “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades” for those really damp, cloudy summers that can occur here in the maritime pacific northwest.   Brassica family plants (also known as cole crops) thrive in cool weather, are very frost hardy, and reliably produce high yields per square foot of garden space used - even in the wettest and coolest of conditions.   If you can keep the slugs under control, these are the perfect plant for the coastal pacific northwest vegetable garden.            

I was determined not to make the same mistake again, so the cabbage patch for 2011 is fairly good sized and includes several varieties to keep things interesting.   As it turns out, this spring has been shaping up to be quite cloudy and damp and if it keeps going on this trend, may indeed end up being yet another “cabbage year”.   Tonight after work, I ventured out into the rain to take a few pictures of the cabbage patch.   First up is a cabbage variety that I have not grown before called “Alcosa”. It is a savoy type of cabbage.   Savoy types have curly, ruffled, or deeply ridged leaves that are typically less tightly packed than red or green headed cabbages.   Savoy cabbages can be really pretty plants and have good utility because they can be thinly sliced for use in salads or used in any manner you would with a head of red or green cabbage.                      

Growing beside the Alcosa cabbages is Toscano kale, a Lacinato or dinosaur type of kale, which have savoyed leaves.   I love the ruffled, really dark green, long and narrow leaves of these plants.                   

Next to the dinosaur kale is a patch of Beira kale.   These plants are also known as Beira Tronchuda cabbage, portugese kale, sea kale, or loose leaf cabbage.   I grew these for the first time several years ago and was totally won over by this plant.   They give you the best qualities of both cabbage and kale.   The leaves are much like a cabbage leaf in texture and size, but you can harvest individual leaves - leaving the growing center to keep producing more leaves (similar to how you harvest kale).   The fleshy ribbed leaves are similar to cabbage or collards but sweeter, more tender, and more kale like in taste.           

Moving on down the cabbage patch bed, there are several of my favorite red (purple really) cabbage – “Ruby Ball”.   I have grown other red cabbages periodically but I keep returning to Ruby Ball.   The plants are just gorgeous growing in the garden with their large purple veined leaves and heads (once they form up) that are a beautiful deep purple.   They taste very good too!   My plants are just starting to form what will later be large round dense heads.            

The last of the cabbages growing this year is a small-headed (softball sized) variety called “Gonzales”.   I have not grown this variety before but I thought the smaller size would be more useful since there is only two of us now (since my daughter went away to college).   These plants are also beginning the process of forming the start of the central head.        

There is one more type of kale growing in this bed (my favorite variety) Improved Dwarf Siberian kale.   I harvested it quite hard recently so I did not take pictures of it, as the plants are looking a bit naked at the moment.   They are already growing lots of new leaves though, which is one of the great qualities about this variety – light sweet tasting leaves, lots of production, and very hardy.               

So that is the 2011 cabbage patch. If it turns out to be another cabbage year after all, I will at least be eating well from the cole crops.           

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

HARVEST MONDAY

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what people are producing from gardens in so many different regions.    Check it out and join in!                     

In addition to the chinese cabbage, kale, and lettuce that made it into the harvest tally this week, I also harvested several stalks of celery and some green onions, but there was not enough of them to make the minimum weight for inclusion in the harvest tally and it seems I did not manage to get those items into a photo either.   I have radishes ready for harvest and will probably start picking some of those this coming week.             

Harvest totals for the week of May 16th through May 22nd (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).

• Chinese Cabbage 2.50 lbs
• Kale 0.75 lbs
• Lettuce 0.50 lbs

Total For Week 3.75 lbs

Total Year To Date 25.25 lbs                       

Eggs harvested this week – 35                        

THE GARDEN IN LATE MAY

The garden in late May rewards the gardener for all the initial work to get the plants into the ground and seeds planted.  It’s a pleasure to see things emerge or transform from spindly seedlings into robust plants.   I recently did a garden update that focused on the various greens, so I am going to largely ignore them today and provide a late May garden update on many of the other things growing in the garden right now.   Here’s a view of the back portion of the garden as seen from our back deck.  Notice our rhodies blooming in the background?    

The front bed has the bush beans (Royal Burgundy) and the corn patch (Precocious and Bodacious).   The second bed has sugar snap peas (Cascadia) growing with a slanted trellis support and underneath the trellis are turnips (Purple Top White Globe).   In that same bed are also carrots just newly emerged and too small to see (Mokum), some onions (sets), and 6 of the tomatoes which are growing under cover (4 Siletz and 2 Legend).   The lowest of the three beds has tomatoes in it also (Market Miracle, Defiant, and Sun Gold).                     

The bush beans are just emerged and getting their first true leaves.     

The corn patch (next to the beans) has not grown significant due to the cool weather we have been having, but is healthy and poised to take off as soon as the weather warms up just a bit.                

The sugar snap peas (Cascadia) have really gotten some growth on them the past two weeks.   They are still growing upright and have not leaned over to grab the support structure yet, but it won’t be much longer before that happens.   I recently thinned the turnips growing under the vertical support and they responded well to that and are getting a lot more top growth.         

The vertical grow bed at the lowest part of this back garden area has the spring planted spinach patch.   The spinach took forever to get going this year but have just recently started putting on a lot of good-sized leaves.             

Growing in containers against the back fence are my three artichoke plants.   These plants are really getting sturdy and tall.   I hope they produce buds for me this year.               

The tomatoes are doing good under the grow tunnel covers.   They would be happier if they were in warmer conditions, but for now they keep growing and are staying dry under the cover.   There is quite a bit of new growth on them despite the cooler temps.                 

The Sun Gold tomatoes have already set some fruit.   If you look at this picture carefully, you can see several tomato fruits in this cluster.      

In the greenhouse, the Lady Bell peppers are getting quite a lot of fruit set on them already.   I have five of these pepper plants growing there in large pots and they continue to flower and set fruit.           

Next to the greenhouse is the pea patch.   The peas have grown large enough to reach the first horizontal trellis and are latching on and growing on through.                     

Next to the pea patch is a bed that has onions, leeks, and garlic. I weeded and cultivated the garlic patch Sunday and I am amazed at how big the regular hard neck garlic (Music) is.   They are almost the same size as the Elephant garlic growing right next to them.              

In other beds I have lots of newly emerged carrots and beets, some zucchini, pumpkins, and butternut squash, and the potato patch has lots of potato plants emerging.   I also have two plantings of dill that are doing well.   Now if only we could get a significant warm up in temperatures and dry out just a bit - I am sure the garden would explode with growth.      

Is your late May garden rewarding you with lots of growth?               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

If you happen to be a listener of the National Public Radio program "A Prairie Home Companion", you will be familiar with their fictitious radio show program sponsors, one of which is Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie.               

(Sung to the tune of "Shortnin' Bread")

"One little thing can revive a guy, and that is a piece of rhubarb pie

Serve it up, nice and hot

Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought.

Momma's little baby loves rhubarb rhubarb, Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Rhubarb Pie"             

This is usually sung following a dramatic and sound-effect-enhanced tale of woe and immediately followed by "Wouldn't this be a great time for a piece of rhubarb pie?   Yes, nothing gets the taste of shame and humiliation out of your mouth quite like Bebop-A-Reebop Rhubarb Pie."                   

It makes me laugh every time I hear that and I can’t help humming that tune when I am in the garden looking at my rhubarb plants!   Last evening when I was looking (and humming that diddy) I noticed that the rhubarb plants are ready for the first harvesting to begin.   

Up until just recently the stalks were too short and too thin yet, but now that we have had a bit of a warm up in the daily temperatures (still cool but not cold!) they have stretched and fattened up.               

There are several nice sized stalks and many more coming along.   I am going to wait until this coming weekend to do the first harvest from them though, as I want to have a little more free time to use them in a recipe and a few more days will provide even more stalks to choose from for harvest.   

Rhubarb is actually an amazing plant. It is one of the few perennial plants in the food production garden and (along with asparagus) is one of the first to provide food in the spring.   At a time when the garden is producing leafy greens almost exclusively, along come the mysterious red stalks with the umbrella like leathery leaves, holding the promise of some tart and sweet goodness.                      

I found an interesting site that is a compendium of all things rhubarb.     Just about anything you could ever want to know about this interesting plant from it’s history, how to grow it, it’s medical uses, and even what plants look like rhubarb but are not!   A sister site is a recipe collection – featuring (of course) – rhubarb!   If you want to learn more about this interesting, tasty, and often forgotten plant, then check out these two links.                 

Now everyone sing along with me….                         

"One little thing can revive a guy, and that is a piece of rhubarb pie

Serve it up, nice and hot

Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought.

Momma's little baby loves rhubarb rhubarb, Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Rhubarb Pie"                      

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

April is coming to a close and I am well into the spring planting up process in the garden.   Most beds are now planted up with the spring and summer crops, with the exception that I have yet to do the cucurbit family plants, beans (pole and bush), corn, peppers, basil, parsnips, and the last big summer patch of carrots.   The peppers, cucurbit plants, and the basil are already started and well grown, so they are just waiting for the right time to go into the ground.   The squash, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins just recently moved out to the unheated greenhouse to begin the hardening off process.                                      

The peppers are still in the house under the grow lights.   I have to say these are some of the nicest pepper starts I have ever grown. They are just wicked big and believe it or not they are loaded with flowers ….          

…and peppers are forming already!                         

These will end up in the greenhouse planted in containers ultimately - where they will enjoy a warmer more protected environment than the outdoor beds can provide.                          

The tomatoes were planted up last Saturday and a grow tunnel cover was placed over them to provide warmth and protection during this early spring period.   They settled right in, but I was a little worried the past two nights as temps dipped down to 38 and 39 degrees. This evening I did a check on them and they are doing just fine (amazingly enough!).   They were well prepared and hardened off before I planted them out, which is a critical part of why they were fine, plus the tunnel’s passive solar and insulated air space provides just enough protection that the plants can weather through less than ideal conditions.   The plants will be happier when the temps warm back up to normal levels again in the next day or so (forecasted to occur anyway) but they look good.                          

The turnips are up and so are the radishes and the pea patch is getting positively green.                                  

The greens got a shot of energy from the one-day of glorious sunshine we got last Saturday.   Its amazing what just a little warmth and sunshine will do for fast growing greens.   The lettuces are now ready for some harvesting and I am looking forward to more frequent lettuce based salads.   Not to be outshone, the chinese cabbages and pac choi are getting good sized too.                              

Almost immediately after taking that last picture, I harvested some of those pac choi plants for the evening meal prep.                    

My good friend and garden helper (Sidney) is standing guard over the harvest in case some rogue birds or other evil greens stealing demons should storm us for the harvest bounty.   He’s always helping out in his own cat fashion - good fellow that he is!                    

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener