May 8, 2014
I finally had my first real harvest this week. After a winter of picking a little here and a little there, there was suddenly this abundant basket of veggies. Kohlrabi, Blue Dwarf kale (which makes the best chips), Monet Salad Bowl (a butter head lettuce with pink tips), sugar snap peas, green chard and even a white pumpkin growing out of the compost!
Kohlrabi
Fava beans
This haul felt particularly exciting because it was the direct result of a change-up in the water source. We realized the water we were feeding the beds was somehow tied to the house water osmosis system, which is no-bueno in the plant nutrition department. Now the garden is booming and dinner planning is suddenly easy and even fun.
I’m happy with how my trellises for summer planting turned out — it’s always a search to find designs that are functional, but still pretty. My gardeners helped me put these trellises together. At 5’1 you need a little help when building something 6′ high. After drilling holes in 4 x 2 wood planks we wove garden twine to create a trellis wall.
Vines can get pretty wild and crazy so trellising the tomatoes helps to not squander valuable space. I’ve been diligently snapping off the sucker growth and pruning non-flowering branches, encouraging them to grow up and not out.
This back area, formerly known as the “junk garden” is where I had been planting in tree boxes last year. We rototilled the soil and surrounded it with chicken wire. It’s the showdown with those rascally rabbits that make me feel like a true farmer. So far, everything is growing beautifully.
What’s showing-off in your garden these days?
