Broccoli harvest

It's been unusually cold and wet today, so there is not much happening as far as garden work getting done. I planted most of our annuals yesterday. We put in several varieties of zinnia in the front bed and sprinkled them in the street garden as well. The side garden got some vincas and pink torenias. The pool bed got blue torenias and white zinnias.

 I also had to replace a hosta that was in a pot under the back deck patio. For some reason the dogs tore every leaf of the plant. I suspect a lizard was hiding in the foliage and my hosta came out on the short end of that. I transplanted it out into the garden, in a nice shady spot and gave it a dose of high nitrogen fertilizer to try to stimulate some new growth. I dug up another hosta that was in a spot with too much sun (I had a tree die and removed it) so I potted it up and moved it under the patio cover.

 I have a head of Atlantic broccoli ready for harvest and we'll be having that with dinner tonight.

I see from my notes that I transplanted the broccoli into the garden on February 18th, on seeds which were sown indoors on January 21st, which would mean it was just over 60 days from transplant to first harvest. I see no signs of heads forming on any of the other plants though. 

 I also have numerous heads of lettuce which are forming heads. One of which is ready now.

 And the Golden Acre cabbage is starting to head up as well. I'll be making some coleslaw, fried cabbage and sauerkraut soon!

 It is also peak bloom time for most of the iris in my gardens. I have too many to list them all, but here are some pictures of some of my favorites.

This is a Siberian Iris Caesar's Brother

This one is an unnamed deep purple one that I got in a trade with another local gardener.

The white ones in the foreground are a reblooming iris named Immortality. If you keep it watered and feed through the summer, you will be rewarded with more blooms in the late summer.

Tomato planting day

Yesterday was tomato (and pepper) planting day here. I got out in the garden early and mowed the grass/weeds in the garden and got started by stretching my first level of sting on my posts (which I had beaten into the ground a couple weeks ago). Then it was on hands and knees to start planting all 72 tomato plants. This year I am growing Black from Tula, Early Girl, German Johnson, Better Boy, Dixie Golden Giant, Celebrity and Mortgage Lifter.
 I have a somewhat simple method for planting my tomatoes. First I brush back the mulch, then I place about a half cup of Gardentone (from Espoma) on the spot where I dig the hole. I mix the fertilizer in with the soil as I remove it from the hole. I dig deep enough to plant the entire rootball a few inches below the soil line. Then I add a handful of worm castings to the bottom of the whole ( I feed my worms all sorts of things and include crushed egg shells for the calcium it gives to both the worms and my tomatoes) and put the plant in on top of the castings and then backfill the hole. After each tray gets planted I stop and give myself a break from being on all fours and water the transplants in.

 I started at 8:30am and finished at around 2:00pm and here are the results.

 Other than planting sweet potatoes and watermelons, I think I have everything in the garden planted. The beans I planted a couple weeks ago sprouted, and some of them got nipped by the late frost. I pulled those out and gave them to the chickens, and popped some new seeds in the empty holes.

 The garlic bed is growing well, and I should have a good crop this year.
The potatoes got a little damage from the frost, but the lettuce came through unscathed. And the Early Sprouting broccoli is starting to form heads.

Potatoes are sprouting.

Sorry the picture is sideways, I don't know how to correct that, so it will just have to be. It is a picture of the first potato plants to break the surface. I planted them back on February 18th, so it took about six weeks to see any results. 

We have been harvesting about two meals per week of asparagus since the weekend of the 5th of March. This is from a raised bed 5'x10' with 24 crowns (four rows of 6 each). We will probably harvest for a couple more weeks (usually right around the time the strawberries ripen) and then let them grow on. This patch is now 5 years old (if my memory serves me). We tend to get tired of eating asparagus after three weeks and will give some to the neighbors before we stop the harvest.

Speaking of strawberries, here are a couple shots of the bed of Chandler strawberries. These are also in a raised, 5'x10' bed. I have another planting of Chandlers next to the driveway, right where I park my truck. So when I get home each day, I will be able to stop and pick some for the way in to the house. I have a third bed of strawberries of a variety that escapes me at the moment. They were traded for with my brother. I gave him some Chandlers and he gave me some of his, so we can compare. My Mr Margaretta machine is just waiting to make some strawberry daquiris!

As you can see, the black seeded Simpson lettuce is up, and we have begun using it in our salads. I add some of it, some spinach, some Romaine, and some of the Iceberg together for my salad. My DW likes the store bought lettuce more, but she will add some of the garden types to her salads as well.