Friday, May 15, 2009

Weekly Update 5 13 2009

No pictures, just words this time.

The re-tagging project is finished.

I took a half day Wednesday so I could work on the last of the new beds: got two beds done and planted nine peppers and three tomatoes. Four beds to go. I’m down to 16 tomatoes and only four peppers that need homes.

And the squash. Melons. Okra. Oh, and the sweet potato slips that haven’t even arrived yet. Sweet potatoes are going on a terrace, nine tomatoes are going in hangers, so I THINK we’ll have enough space. I think. Fingers crossed.

Broccoli has broccled, but it looks weird so I don’t know if a cold or heat wave has gotten to it or not. Lettuce (heading) is doing beautifully, some were large enough that I had to replace the milk jug cloches with row cover.

The only things I’ve been harvesting is asparagus and spinach. I picked from the new asparagus bed for 2 weeks this year because they were so huge. I’m letting them branch out now, though. Spinach I’ve been picking at a bit, the babies are growing very quickly so I hope to have an actual meal from them this week.

The wee itty bitty fringy carrot and parsnip leaves are finally making an appearance. I see little baby leaf lettuces coming up, and the radishes are growing fast.

Peanuts are planted, and I went to look at them yesterday and it looked like someone had bitten them off. I took a closer look. No, there is new growth at the top, and the ‘branches’ have taken a nose-dive for the ground, which is what threw me. It just looked so strange as most things reach for the sun. Peanut branches dive. And YES, I DO KNOW that peanuts grow underground. I have known this since I was a child, as my father is from Atlanta. My husband felt the need to explain this to me yesterday, though, which earned him a wifely glare. Ahem.

In two weeks we are going to Virginia to visit a friend, and the three of us are going to be visiting Edible Landscapes, a nursery that specializes in, you guessed it, trees and bushes that produce food. We are going to pick up a few things, we are thinking about a couple Hazelnuts (aka Filberts; you need two to pollinate) and possibly one of the varieties of Trifoliate Orange, which is hardy in our area {insert shock and awe}.

In other news, I have dug and separated the saffron crocus. I planted 8 a couple years ago, and I must have dug 10 times that many. Several friends and coworkers have received some and I had plenty to put about 10 different places around the house.

And finally, there may be a guest post by the Garden Ninja sometime. Possibly. Not sure, but worth mentioning.

4 comments:

Little Ant said...

Looks like you've been quite busy this last week. Hope you find what you are looking for on your trip to Edible Landscapes. Sounds very interesting. Do you have family to take care of your gardens while you're gone? I went away for 10 days at Christmas and it was hard getting someone to take care of the animals while we were away. Now with the garden in full swing I think anything more than a day trip is out of the question for me at least until winter.

Jody M said...

We'll only be gone for 2 days, so I'm not too worried about anything (although they are calling for frost tonight and tomorrow!!) Our neighbors will dogsit for us, and I am expecting the sweet potatoes to be shipped any time now, I'll alert same neighbors to be on the lookout for them and give them the care they might need. Later in the summer if we were to go anywhere (and if/when we get chickens), then it'd be more of a concern.

YD, sometimes with ♥June and ♥Angel Samantha said...

You've been a busy bee!
I hope you guys have a nice trip to Edible Landscapes. I want to get some dwarf cherry trees and some blueberry bushes.
Did you get frost at all? I woke up this morning to frost on the ground. Good thing I haven't planted any of the warm weather crops yet.

Jody M said...

We had two frost warnings last week and we did get a frost one day. One of the peppers wasn't happy and didn't make it, but it didn't actually get frost. I may replace it.