1st of June

Its the first of June and still chilly out.  But the sky is blue and the sun is shining and its not snowing.  So we'll take it.  In the garden I've been making use of frost covers over night because it is still getting down into the 40s and tomatoes don't like that.

My Cauliflowers (and Brussels Sprouts and fill-in Broccoli) are doing great.  For comparison, here is a picture of my crop last May 28th.  Photo Link  This weekend I weeded them well and fertilized them for the first time and buttoned them back up.

So far I am happy with the mesh mostly because it does not float and therefore is easier to keep secured.  I have only the top clips fastened, and the ends gathered and clipped but not pinned down. 

 

The beans have begun to sprout.  These are the Lima Beans below. The very first sprout broke off, and I couldn't really tell if it was just the weight of the large cotyledons or bird activity, so I've covered them until they develop their first leaves.  Birds just love bean sprouts.  They can't leave them alone.  I have enough extra seeds to fill in Pole Beans, but these are all of my Limas and I want to keep them all!

Lima Bean sprouts

I have these heavy plastic coated wire coat hangers that I cut the hooks out of and bent to form rafters to keep the row cover up off my sprouts.

It makes for a tidy little greenhouse.

Pole Beans and Lettuce

The Pole Beans are sprouting and the transplanted lettuce in the middle all survived and took root.  

The direct seeded lettuce I took them from is now thick enough to cut for micro-greens.

The first bed of Sweet Corn came up all at once.  I double planted so soon I will have to get down and snip off the smaller sprouts to keep from crowding the stronger ones.

The Cucumbers are sprouting in the cold frame and by next weekend should be ready to set out in the beds I have waiting for them.

My peas are back in the game.  The bed above was showing a couple of buds this morning so I expect that by the time I get home this evening they will have begun to flower.  But they haven't grown as well as I would have hoped because of the cold weather.  This is a photo of the same variety (Garden Sweet) last June 7th, over 4 feet tall.  I really don't expect them to double in size this week but we'll see.

All four of the Penelope Peas staged plantings are doing well.

The lettuce I direct seeded along the edge of the
bed to the left are now ready to harvest as micro-greens.

The Barbarella Eggplants are doing the best of all.

The next door neighbor reports that the flea beetles have found her Eggplants, but so far they have not made it to my patio pots.

Below is my Summer Squash bed with my "weed potatoes".  These are sprouting from forgotten spuds from last year's harvest.  I always leave these, unkempt as they may look, because they produce really nice new potatoes which I can dig before the Summer Squash plants get too big. (Here is a photo of the same bed with potatoes and squash 06-14-2013)  Right now the summer squash are still in the cotyledon stage so it will be about 10 days before I even think of transplanting them into this bed.  This year the potatoes are going into grow bags.

And last but not least, the Carrots.  They are also a little sluggish, but starting to come in nicely now.  The container I seeded two weeks ago is going to catch up pretty quick.

Bed #1: Sweet Corn came up in 4 days with excellent germination rate

Bed #2: Pole Beans sprouting, transplanted Lettuce growing

Bed #3: Prepared for Cucumbers and Lettuce transplanted

Bed #4: Prepared for Cucumbers, Lettuce growing

Bed #5: Peas growing - Bush Beans later

Bed #6: Peas growing - Bush Beans later

Bed #7: Cauliflowers and Broccoli growing

Bed #8: Cauliflowers Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts growing

Bed #9: Peas growing - Buckwheat to follow

Bed #10: Sweet Corn seeded 05/30

Bed #11:Peas and Lettuce growing

Bed #12:Cabbages transplanted, Lima Beans sprouting

Bed #13: Strawberries blooming and sending out runners

Bed #14: Prepared for Summer Squash

Containers: Carrots, Tomatoes and Sweet Potatoes planted

Cold Frame: Cucumbers and Summer Squash sprouting

Basement: Herbs and Okra under grow lights

Potatoes chitting for Grow Bags

Herbs transplanted