Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Sunday, May 31, 2009








How Does Your Garden Grow ? ...

Of late, I've been eating, sleeping, breathing all things garden related. This year I've doubled the size of last year's garden ... and added a new separate section. I cheated a bit and ended up buying my tomato plants. With last year's poor production and short season, I got a head start with some nice four inch pots. In the photos you will notice the blue/green tents in the garden. These are my wall 'o water plant covers that help to get the plants growing quicker. Today, I was able to remove them as the plants have grown to the top. I replaced them with wire cages. We planted eight tomato plants this year. Several varieties.

Here's what is growing:

tomatoes
potatoes
red & Spanish onions
walla-walla onions
scallions
turnips
radishes
thyme, Italian parsley, basil, cilantro, tarragon
mint
carrots
sugar peas
rhubarb
strawberries
asparagus
blueberries
raspberries
corn
cabbage
peppers
garlic
watermelon
cantaloupe
cucumbers (two varieties)
zucchini & yellow crooked neck squash
pumpkins (two varieties)
green beans
lettuce
apples
sour cherries

later we will plant

rutabagas
winter squash

Most of my 'babies' have at least sprouted. The radishes are ready to eat ... but then, they are always the earliest to harvest.

Lest we have hail or pests, this year is off to a good start ... LORD WILLING AND AMEN!

4 comments:

Stella Jones said...

That is a very ambitious list! I shall be following your garden closely to see how things are coming along. I think you are an inventive gardener, with your metal cages and gorgeous turquoise buckets!
Blessings, Star

Pat said...

Sounds like it's going to be a great year, can't wait till the harvest. We increased the size of our garden too, we crowded the plants a little too much last year - live and learn!

Terry said...

every thing looks so nice and green mrs.mac.
it is finally green here too and sunny with cloudless skies but it is so chilly!
i like what you got growing in your garden....especially the turnips!
mom golden used to mix up left over mashed potatoes with left over mashed turnips, put a few onions in and fry it...it was so yummy!
well i better get off to bed before i start to raid the fridge!
love terry

Felisol said...

I'm so impressed. my wonderful mother had kitchen gardens similar to yours when I grew up.
It was a genuine joy to her and to us, the children.

She used to sow radishes every 14 days in the season. Similar procedure, only not that often with lettuce.

She didn't even have a freezer. Had to boil,conserve and make juice of most of it.
Not the radishes. We were allowed to eat the whole summer.

Good luck with your thrifty garden projects.
I'm looking forward to see the pictures of your crops in due time.
From Felisol