Vegetable Gardening

[smilingcat]

Watermellon vine finally gave up so brought in the watermellon. Looks yummy. It cracked open when I was cutting.

I think I would like to try the orange kind next year and this yellow tasted shweeeettt. Bit small but that's okay.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Nice looking watermelon!
Of course here we are going into winter...only some hardy things left from the veggie garden- a few turnips, scallions, some mesclun, a few small beets...and LOTS of lovely little carrots! I pulled a nice large bunch for my daughter today and still have plenty left. The early frosts don't bother them much since they are underground. Carrots are a winner.

[bambu101]

+1 on the carrots. This was the first year I tried growing them, as I always thought they were these tiny, finicky little things that were hard to get started outdoors-wrong! I grew an heirloom variety called Purple Dragon, and they have a lovely outer purple layer and deep orange inside. They are small, and got to be about 3 inches long. But they are very sweet.

I still have some in the ground, and have been pulling them up every few days. They will last until the ground freezes (or I eat them all).

[OakLeaf]

I always thought they were these tiny, finicky little things that were hard to get started outdoors-wrong!

I've had years where my carrots did very poorly just because they take so long to germinate. There's only so much watering you can do if you're in a drought.

And it took four or five years of pulling successively smaller rocks out of my plot before the soil was clean enough to grow carrots. Remembering just how long it took to build the soil, is a big reason why I'm hesitating to move my patch out of the shade of that cherry tree that's grown so tall...

All I've got left now is carrots and kale and parsley. And plenty in the freezer and jars.

[smilingcat]

Carrots and Parsnips will be sweeter in the cold. And same with spinach in a cold frame. As long as it doesn't freeze, spinach will be much sweeter in the winter time. We are adding more spinach and adding sorrel again. And yes we do have parsnips and carrots growing. Also we have turnips.

today my partner decided that she can no longer wait for her beets.

[tulip]

Here are some photos of my garden from today (March 17, 2010).

Veggies that somehow managed to overwinter despite our three rather large snowstorms and very cold winter are mustard greens, collards, Swiss chard, leeks, garlic, and some volunteer onions from last year's patch.

My herbs and strawberries have pulled through nicely.

Today I planted lettuce, more collards, kale, spinach seeds, and mesclun mix (seeds). Tomorrow I'll plant potatoes (Red Pontiac and Yukon Gold) in separate wire bins with compost. I need to plant peas and broccoli, but I'm running out of room! I may have to build a few more beds this year.

And carrots!! Where am I going to plant carrots? Need more room...

It's Spring!!

[kmehrzad]

Tulip, you've got quite a garden going there - it's very nice. What's even better is the reward you get in the summer when the harvest comes in.