Sunday, March 18, 2012

weekend gardening

this weekend felt more like may than march, and i got a whole lot of planting done. last year i called my local master gardeners and they said may 15th was my area's average last frost date. i listened to them, but felt like i could have planted many seeds much earlier. farmer's almanac lists april 6th as our average last frost date. i'm meeting somewhere in the middle with april 20th.


we have to cover many of our seeds or else the squirrels and birds will feast on them (even though i feed them bird seed). something was digging in the beds last night despite all the chicken wire cages. with some saved mesh from produce packaging, i covered the spinach cages. last year the birds pecked through the chicken wire and ate the sprouts! hopefully the mesh keeps them safe.

being a lazy gardener, i only cleaned up the area to be planted now in the 6x6 bed above. those two kale plants from last season are also still producing. i foresee lots of kale chips in our future...


the hyacinths are blooming a month sooner than last year, though they're not as full or fragrant.


below is our 40+ garlic plants at the community garden. next to the garlic are some broccoli plants and at the end of the bed some kale and collard still thriving from last fall. this week i'll be pulling the greens and planting more poppies, kale, arugula, escarole, cabbage, collard, and fennel seeds.


spring is here in full force. i love these pink blossoms - they remind me of walking home from the bus stop when i was a kid. i believe they're magnolias, but i'm not positive.


two of my african daisy seeds have sprouted, after just three days! the next time i post i hope to have some pea sprouts to show you! 

15 comments:

  1. Very nice, I am also having problems with birds or something picking my white acre pea seedlings from the ground. Unfortunately my planting area is more traditional row gardening and I can't really cover it with anything. I am really at their mercy now.

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    1. thanks kris. sorry to hear they're getting your seeds too!

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  2. Lovely flowering tree and hyacint! What are 'telephone peas'? and your garlic looks awesome :)

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    1. thanks jenny! they're an heirloom shelling pea that can grow up to 6 feet!

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  3. Very nice. It was cold and windy here today!

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    1. thanks liisa. hopefully things warm up around your way.

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  4. I want spring, too! We still have some snow and it's cold. I haven't seen any flowers yet. Hopefully soon!

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    1. we had a strange winter with hardly any snow. i'm not complaining though!=)

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  5. great to see you're starting! we took a huge step yesterday too, we made a short list of 5 places ranging from 3-27 acres for us to move to, in the country!!!!

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  6. We planted early too, first year doing seeds (we grew them indoors). So far, so good!

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    1. can't wait to see what you're growing! lots of kale too i bet!=)

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  7. wow that garden is going to be great! love those pink flowers in early spring. miss that.

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  8. Even though they say we can't grow anything now in SW Florida I still planted two pea plants, two zucchini, basil and more tomato plants and so far so good. Wonder if I'll actually harvest anything???
    Your garden and photos look spectacular.
    Peace and Raw Health,
    E

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  9. Love! And Magnolias are one of my faves! So beautiful! WTG Kelli! You're garden is looking great! I hope those pesky birds and squirrels mind their own business though.

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