Garden pictures

Things are happening in the yard! I'll do a complete inventory update at the bottom of this post.

My first spinach sprouts are coming up!

The broccoli seedlings have been planted. There are about 50 of them, so when they get bigger and more hardy, I may have to move a few to another spot!


Here's a closeup of a few broccoli starts.


My peas are doing well. These are the sugar snaps. They are, by far, the most robust when it comes to growth. I am FINE with that, because I LOVE sugar snap peas. They were also the pea type I planted the most of!


Then we have the snow peas. They are doing pretty well. Not as vigorous growers as the sugars, but pretty close.


Last but not least, we have the green arrow peas. They are doing ok, but they have issues. They can't seem to figure out how to grow. They will grab onto the trellis, but then give up and flop back down. SO frustrating.


In the orchard, I made a few happy discoveries. I wasn't expecting much fruit to show on the trees this year, since a) they are young, and b) they were transplanted this year.

But, on the apricot tree, we have at least one apricot:


The cornelian cherries are showing little green cherries.
And the peach tree is covered with 20+ little fuzzy baby peaches!


The flower bed by the chicken is looking pretty nice. The garlic (in the background by the chicken pen) are also getting really thick stalks, making me think that hopefully, there are large bulbs of garlic underneath.


In the flower bed, the gladiolas are beginning to come up.


Another section of the bed showing more gladiolas. I think B planted around 100.


The volunteer comfrey (we have it all over our yard; I moved this one to this bed) is doing well too. Comfrey is supposedly great as a topical salve and scar-reducer. It's not recommended to eat the plant, but the flowers do have a sweet-tasting nectar that you can put on your tongue.
The strawberries are also coming into season in full force. We have about 15 of these buckets, as well as a 6'x3' bed of strawberries.
Close up of a little, forming strawberry.

So here's the plant update:

Orchard:

• Cherries: bloomed, but no sign of cherries yet.
• Shiro plum: bloomed, but no sign of plums yet.
• Peach: Bloomed, 20+ baby peaches.
• Asian pear: needs to be planted and babied, as it's looking shabby.Apricot: Bloomed, at least 1 apricot.
• Cornelian Cherries: Bloomed, and many baby cherries.
• Dwarf apricots: Bloomed, but need to investigate further to see if apricots are forming.
• Dwarf peach: Needs treatment; has curly leaf. Bloomed, but need to see if there are babies.
• Fig: Not mine, but shared with another tenant: many figs forming.
  

Berries:

• Raspberries: About to bloom. Good growth. Need to do some wiring on the trellis for additional support.
• Blueberries: blooms galore. Some blooms are beginning to fall off, showing baby blueberries beginning to form. The two pink lemonade blueberries are not doing well, and I may call the nursery to complain.
• Black currants: Doing very well. Much greenery, and that sort of hides a lot of their blooms. It will be interesting to see how many of them form currants. Very leafy and bright green. Love it.
• Red currant: Ha, still hasn't been planted! It has been in a bucket with dirt. It's doing really well! I will eventually build a planter for it and plant it properly.
• Gogi berries: Eeh. Very small and spindly. I may complain about the quality of plant I received.
• Blackberries: These are wild in our yard, though my neighbor and I are trying to trellis them in one spot. Of COURSE they came in with a vengeance. So, we'll have blackberries come July.
• Gooseberry: Not really doing much. Has green leaves, but that's about it. I need to review any special nutrients they like.
• Strawberries: Doing really well. Lots of blooms and small strawberries forming.
  

Root & Bulb Plants:

• Garlic: Doing very well. About 45 plants, and the stalks are getting thick. Harvest will probably be in June or early July.
• Potatoes: Planted 1.5 weeks ago. No signs of sprouting yet. I may cover them up once this rain passes; I need to read up on what soil temperature potatoes like,what sort of nutrients, and how long until the sprouts are supposed to show.
  
• Sweet potatoes: Arrived yesterday in the mail. I suspect their desired soil temp is about 10 degrees warmer than what we have right now. So, I'm going to plant them once this rain passes, and I'll likely cover them with white plastic for insulation. Right now, their root tips are in water at home. They will be trellised to help control the vines.
• Parsnip: To be planted late May.
• Carrots: To be planted asap!!!
• Parsley root: To be planted asap.
• Onion: I need to start limiting their sunlight once this rain ends. I don't want bulb growth to start now.
• Leek: I need to figure out where to put the winter leeks, as they need to be started soon.
• Horseradish: I have three roots that need to be planted asap. They need a controlled box, otherwise they'll supposedly spread like crazy!
  

Trellised Plants:

• Peas: all three varieties doing well, though the green arrow can't seem to stay upright.
• Beans: to be planted mid-May. Pole variety only, I think.
• Sweet potatoes: see above.
• Cucumbers: To be planted mid-May. I think only yellow cucumbers, but we'll see.
  

Melons and Squash:

• Patty pan yellow squash: To be planted mid-May
• Patty pan yellow & green squash: To be planted mid-May
• Zucchini: to be planted mid-May.
• Magda squash: to be planted mid-May.
• Crooked neck yellow squash: To be planted mid-May
• Butternut: Need to review when to plant.
• Pumpkin: Need to review when to plant.
• Turbin: need to review when to plant.
• Melons: need to determine what varieties and plant early June (I think-- I need to confirm)
  

Leafy vegetables:

• Spinach: Beginning to sprout!
• Basil: Nothing yet. I will begin to cover the bed once this rain lets up.
• Arugula and other leafy vegetables: I need to determine what else (and where at) I want to plant, includes Kale.
  

Tomatoes, Tomatillos and Ground Cherries:

• Tomatoes: about 80% are planted. I want to do another flat of plain-type tomatoes for sauces.
• Tomatillos: Planted, but no sign of life yet. I last checked yesterday morning.
• Ground cherries: Planted, but no sign of life yet. I have another 2 packets to plant. I really want these to come up!
  

Other Vegetables:

• Broccoli: Seedlings planted and in the ground. May need to think and transplant if they do well and begin to crowd.
• Cauliflower: Seedings ready to be planted in the ground. Will need to start a few more too (only have about 10 seedlings). May do more in pots-- need to research if they do well in pot habitat.
• Eggplant: Need to start seedlings asap in the laundry room.
• Okra: Need to start seedlings asap in the laundry room.
• Gypsy peppers: Seeds planted in the laundry room, no sign of life yet; planted 1.5 weeks ago.
• Other peppers: waiting for seeds to arrive.
• Edamame: I may need to start over. I had to move them outside, and they are NOT liking it. But, they grow fast, so perhaps I will have plants grow this summer. This is why these were my "experimental" crop!!
  

I think that's it! Well, no mention of flowers... that's a whole other subject.