Garden On Steroids

Don't really know where to begin talking about the garden this year, it's been proceding at ludicrous speed!

Here are the highlights;

Already harvested bulb onions (though I confess I started them in six packs a couple weeks before going into the ground).

My Bhut Jolokias are three foot tall, three foot diameter, and already outgrew a five gallon bucket--they're in a ten gallon now.

Harvested my bucket grown Yukon Gold potatoes already.

Four kinds of mint--chocolate, pineapple, apple, and spearmint.

Stevia--for the first time, going to try and use some to make juice. Thought about wine, but don't know if it will work, has anyone tried by chance?

Everything is at least two weeks ahead this year too, I'm going to try a second crop of super sugar snap peas, radishes, and mayber even new potatoes.....we'll see.

Try and get some new pics up soon.

Garden on!

Spring Gardening

Think this is the earliest I've gotten the garden uncovered. Raked off/out all the leaves and dead plants from last year. Looks much nicer now. Air got into the soil and dried it out a bit.

Have to add some amendments and get it rototilled. Some sand/decomposed seaweed mix, and some compost. Last year it was peat moss that was added. Heay clay soil is fun to work with. Be awhile still before I can plant. Lake Chanplain is still around 36-39 degrees. Still a chance of a killing frost for a month.

Could probably get away with putting some rutabaga seeds in the ground now, but don't want to push it. Don't care that much about having rutabagas sooner than fall anyways.

Here's What I've Got Growing On....

....In the garden.

Actually I've got two veggie gardens going on. One traditionally planted in rows at my grandfathers house, the other is raised beds intensively planted at my house.

Tomatoes; Golden Jubilee, Dr. Wyche's, Free Tibet's, Black Prince, Sungold, Strawberry Husk
Hot Peppers; Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, Habanero, Red Savina Habanero, Bhut Jolokia (first try)
Italia and Black Beauty for Sweet Peppers. String beans in yellow, green and purple. Sweet, Lime and Lemon Basils. Okra, Dill, Sage, Lavender, and Mammoth Sunflower. Super sugar snap peas.
Turnips, Radishes (almost gone by), Nantes Coreless carrots, Parsnips, Three types of heirloom Zucchini, Swiss Chard, Bunching onions, Red, White, and Yellow Onions. Black seeded simpson lettuce, and two salad mixes, Italian and French. A couple of sugar baby watermelons, and a vine peach for good measure.
Lastly I have some horseradish and yukon gold potatoes in five gallon buckets. These have done amazingly well.

Been super busy staying on top of the weeding, top-dressing with fresh compost, and keeping the soil turned up. The work is paying off though. The Tomato plants are knee high and flowering, the sunflowers are waist high. In spite of the almost two inches above average of rain for the month of June, things are proceeding well. Looks to be a lot of freezing, canning, and dehydrating coming up soon!

Spring Is Here, Busy, Busy!!

Wow, this month flew by! Been hunting Wild leeks and fiddleheads, in addition to trying to get a garden going. Tried some trout fishing (no luck), did a bunch of Bullhead fishing (lots of luck).

Spring has sprung! The grass has turned green, the bloodroot are blooming, the trillium are almost there. The crabapples outside the office at work have leafed out, and are about a week from blooming, and tomorrow a bunch of camoflaged hunters take to the woods in search of turkeys.

I love spring. I'll write more soon, got some interesting stuff going in the garden this year (a sneak preview; the two hottest peppers in the world!!).