Early spring photos

Despite thoroughly plowing under the garden, the onions have returned. I am not sad about this - I didn't really want to lose them...


I found some organic strawberries at the grocery store...2 of them are thriving, but the third doesn't look very happy. :(


Our pear tree, blossoming.

Ready... Set... Spring!

Yesterday, instead of indulging in green beer, I rented a gas-powered tiller and  plowed up my garden, adding several bags of compost to the mix.  Yes, I’m lame, but man, I have spring fever and it was too good of a day to pass up.  Temps in the upper 60’s, light breeze, no bugs yet…I love spring.  The whole garden smells like onions, too, from all the leftovers that got mixed in by the tiller…mmm…

What I don’t love is the mine field that is my backyard after a winter of the dog’s “business” going unchecked.  I need to dig out the pooper-scooper and fast!  That dog…I’m really tired of his crap.  Literally! J

 

Let’s see what we have on the garden menu this year:

-          Tomato and peppers, of course – the transplants will arrive mid-May

-          Broccoli seeds that I didn’t get to last year

-          Lettuce mix – yea, salad!

-          Pickling cucumbers – gotta have the cukes

-          Edamame – my new favorite snack; I figured I might as well try to grow it too…

-          Sunberries – just something different

-          Bee balm – I have my doubts, since I didn’t notice before ordering that this was an inside starter.  I didn’t start it inside!  I’m going to toss it in the ground and hope for the best

-          Cilantro – from a co-op transplant, coming in May

-          Basil – also from the co-op

 

What I’m not growing this year:

-          Radishes – the hubby got sick of them pretty quickly

-          Eggplant – I just don’t like it and am not sure why I bothered last year

-          Cantaloupe – I didn’t have much luck the past two summers, so it’s out

-          Beans – I got a ton from our CSA share last year – assuming it will happen this year too!

 

I’m sure there’s more on both lists.  I love zucchini, so that will get added, but probably from a farmer’s market transplant.  Same with butternut squash – I’ll have to get it somehow!  My goal this year is to make things as easy as possible, as I will be recovering from my jaw surgery for most of May, and I’m just lazy in general and kind of neglected the garden last summer.  We also signed up for a full CSA share this year, so regardless of what  comes out of my dirt, I’ll be eating well.

Shootin' 'em down

I bought a bottle of insecticidal soap last night and sprayed the hell out of my stink bugs and other nasty garden critters.  Hopefully that does the trick on the tomatoes and squash plants.  If not, this means war…

 

In less depressing news, I pulled up the first onion of the year.  It was approximately the size of an orange, which is a vast improvement over the ping-pong ball sized onions I had last summer. J

Ack!

Stupid bugs.  I looked out my kitchen window to see a big beautiful pink tomato…only to walk out to the garden and discover it had big gaping holes in it.  Can anyone recommend a natural insecticide?  I really hate to spray, but I don’t have the time to hand-pick 5 bazillion bugs out of my plants this summer… 

First Green Zebra

Pulled the first (of hopefully many) Green Zebra tomato off the vine this week, and added it to my lunchtime salad today.  I shared a slice with the two tomato “experts” in my office, who both declared it quite tasty.  I must agree – although yellow and green on the outside, and very green on the inside, it is nonetheless very ripe indeed and has a wonderful flavor.  Yea for heirloom tomatoes! 

 

Also did some extensive weeding this weekend.  The sweet pea vines had yellowed and dried, so those came out, along with piles and piles of grass and weeds.  Eek.  I need to be more vigilant on my weed-watching, I guess…

 

Sad, sad, sad

I knew those plums were too good to be true.  The vast majority of the ones the DH picked are infected with plum curculio larvae.  Yucky.  I was going to bake a pie last night, so I started washing, peeling, and pitting.  After 4-5 little white wormy-thingies, I gave up.

 

plums? already?

The DH brought in a large bowl of plums this week from our 3-year-old tree.  They’re small, but definitely ripe.  Weird, huh?  I swear it’s not time for plums.  Oh, well.  I think our are going to become a nice plum pie… Mmmm…