grab your binoculars (upside down seedling pots work well for this) and hang on for this week’s garden tour.
i think beans are miraculous. i’m just saying. scarlet emperor runner beans are the kind of plant you can literally watch growing. if i could sit and do nothing else, i would do just that.
the lowest level of the terraced garden has some yummy things coming along like this:
but the next three levels look about like this still:
at the permies forums, i learned that potatoes are a good thing to plant where ferns are trying their best to take over the world (the ones pictured were leveled a few short months ago). so the level two terrace is now dug, and thanks to a friend with extra seed potatoes, it has been planted.
higher up in the terraces, the jagged grapevines are finally showing signs that our drastic january pruning session did not kill them.
volunteers are still popping up everywhere. (some sort of cucumber/melon/squash hanging out with the peas.)
trays are getting emptier, beds are getting fuller, at least around the edges where i’ve been planting lots of kale, chard, lettuce, pac choi, chrysanthemum (should i have just said greens?). i’ve been fascinated with the variety coming out of the “wild garden” seed varieties of kale and lettuce i ordered. the seed company intended to sell these “mother gene pool” seed packets to those who are interested in saving seed themselves, so that you can select winners for your specific local conditions. i’ve got a soft spot for the purple hues in some of these babies, so i will be saving some seeds for sure! (purple greens- my favorite colors!)
old growth columbine stands are in full bloom, and it has been fun to get acquainted with what plants are already here on this pretty landscape. speaking of seed saving, i have my eye on the double-ruffled variety of columbine in the photo below (better photos coming in a month or so when i develop film!)
at our community garden plot, we spent some time yesterday clearing out last year’s brassicas (though i know the bees have been enjoying the blossoms, it was getting a bit crowded for the garlic crop!)
my intention was to leave a lot of vegetation to cover the soil over the winter, and i think i succeeded. this is the after photo, when the brussels, broccoli, kale, radish and mustard bolters had been removed, and it’s still pretty well covered.
we did find a few crevices to wedge in a few starts. a little of this and a little of that. this bed is still important to me even though i have endless space to garden now. there is that whole “community” aspect to a community garden. we had a nice picnic lunch there yesterday with our friend. also, it’s where my garlic is growing this year, and i won’t have that on “the farm” yet until next season since it needs to overwinter. in true law of attraction style, i planted my overwintering crops at the community garden (not at my home) because i knew i wanted to be moving on from that home by the time garlic will be harvestable in 2012. at the time, i had no idea how that was going to work. amazing what a little focused intention can do.
my helper getting his hands in the soil.
baby chard hiding in the shade of some towering garlic.
last but not least, the ornamental cherry that took a beating this spring is putting out new growth and carrying on with life. hurray!
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