GardenBanter.co.uk - So far this year

The Cook wrote:

DH has finished replacing 4 of the 5 old planter boxes. The last one
will have to wait until the garlic and onions come out. The new boxes
are one plank higher than the old ones. A little easier to work
sitting on one of my rolling seats.

i can imagine in the future that there will
be a time when i garden by crawling. congrats
to DH for replacing those boxes. he gets to
enjoy the fruits of his labors indirectly.

Will take a picture when the sun
comes out. I moved my perennial herbs to the first box and have
spinach and a few romaine lettuce plants in the second one. Put a few
basil plants in 4th one. The rest of my annual herbs will complete
that box. Maybe I will plant some beans in the 2nd box when the
spinach and lettuce start to bolt.

:) you used the magic word (beans :) ).
are those the cannelini beans?

do you find that you grow some herbs
you don't even use? we have several
different ones that are mostly there
for bee food it seems. mints, thymes,
oreganoes, chives and some we don't
even know what they are any longer
because they were planted so long ago
the bees swarm them so heavily when they
do bloom i don't want to take all of
them out. in turning some more spaces
back into vegetable gardens i'm still
trying to leave some wilder or flowering
spaces nearby to keep a resevoir of bee
food and beneficial bugs handy.

As far as tomatoes go I have 24 Viva Italias and will put in 4 each of
Better Boy and Carmello. I also have 5 different colors of cherry
tomatoes. Red, yellow, green, black and white. They will get planted
in a few days. I am leaving them out or leaving the greenhouse door
open now. I got a late start with them but it doesn't seem to make
much difference when they start producing fruit.

i hope things go well for all of those.
in the realms of quantity it is roots and
leaves, in the realm of when is determined
by plant species. i've had plants flower
that are about as tiny as you can imagine.
two leaves past seedling stage, few mm leaves,
one small white flower (or blue -- both
of these are pesky once they get going)...
right now i'm trying to head off both of
these in different areas of the gardens,
mulch or pathways as they are so invasive
and the seeds are so tiny.

Right now we are harvesting spinach, rhubarb and asparagus. The fruit
trees have bloomed and it looks like we will get good crops.

the rhubarb here is just now poking up leaves.
not many trees are budded out yet -- some are
pollinating, i'm sneezing when the wind shifts
from the north where the maple trees live.

good luck with all of the gardens and trees. :)

just saw a letter in the local paper from a
person i know talking about how someone came
and girdled several of their trees including
fruit and nut trees. that's pretty viscious...

songbird