I've complained a lot about the poor production last year. Summer lasted about two weeks. This winter was very mild too. Although earlier this year it seemed spring would never reach us, we finally made the switch. Temperatures are at least in the 50's now and we are having sun breaks nearly everyday. Even yesterday, which had a terrible bike ride in steady rain and gusty winds in the morning, resulted in a pleasant ride home with light sun and scattered clouds. It's getting nicer and the garden knows it.
There were a lot of plants I just left at the end of last year out of frustration. I didn't even want to deal with them and they could die slowly over the winter and do what they do. Turns out, they didn't die over the winter and we are already harvesting! Let's have a look around:
Little broccolis that never made it over a couple inches last year have revealed themselves as purple sprouting. The heads aren't large, but for being ignored and unweeded for the winter, I'm pretty happy with that.
The chard survived with flying colors. The red chard last year never got very large and we didn't harvest much, but they have suddenly swelled this spring. I gave them a nice thinning last weekend and it looks like we could start harvesting more leaves already.
I bought this rosemary back when I lived in big house with a bunch of roommates and I started my first real garden on my own. I kept the rosemary in a pot on the back porch and it moved here with me. The pot broke and half the root system of the rosemary was exposed. It sat like that for an entire season because I didn't know where to put it (and I was lazy). We finally settled with a spot on the corner of the house and it did well in the ground for a bit. We aren't sure what happened, but half the plant died. Perhaps it got waterlogged over a wet winter, I'm not sure. Rosemary is a very hardy bush and grows well here. People all around have four foot and more diameter rosemary bushes in their yards. I'm hoping the flowering is a good sign and it will grow big and strong and odorous this year.
Speaking of perennial herbs, the oregano is returning. I also bought this oregano when I lived in the big house with roommates and it has traveled with me and received equally poor treatment as the rosemary, but it keeps coming back. I put it in the ground last year, but it had been potted its whole life prior. It seems to like the extra room.
There is hope yet that I will successfully grow a cabbage. These should have been harvested last fall, but they never grew more than a few inches. Looking good so far for a late spring harvest.
We might even get a harvest from our cover crop. I put out clover and fava beans as a nitrogen fix to cover the bare areas at the end of summer last year. The fava beans took hold well and they are now flowering. It would be a nice surprise to be able to get a small harvest from something unintended.
There were a lot of plants I just left at the end of last year out of frustration. I didn't even want to deal with them and they could die slowly over the winter and do what they do. Turns out, they didn't die over the winter and we are already harvesting! Let's have a look around:
Little broccolis that never made it over a couple inches last year have revealed themselves as purple sprouting. The heads aren't large, but for being ignored and unweeded for the winter, I'm pretty happy with that.
The chard survived with flying colors. The red chard last year never got very large and we didn't harvest much, but they have suddenly swelled this spring. I gave them a nice thinning last weekend and it looks like we could start harvesting more leaves already.
I bought this rosemary back when I lived in big house with a bunch of roommates and I started my first real garden on my own. I kept the rosemary in a pot on the back porch and it moved here with me. The pot broke and half the root system of the rosemary was exposed. It sat like that for an entire season because I didn't know where to put it (and I was lazy). We finally settled with a spot on the corner of the house and it did well in the ground for a bit. We aren't sure what happened, but half the plant died. Perhaps it got waterlogged over a wet winter, I'm not sure. Rosemary is a very hardy bush and grows well here. People all around have four foot and more diameter rosemary bushes in their yards. I'm hoping the flowering is a good sign and it will grow big and strong and odorous this year.
Speaking of perennial herbs, the oregano is returning. I also bought this oregano when I lived in the big house with roommates and it has traveled with me and received equally poor treatment as the rosemary, but it keeps coming back. I put it in the ground last year, but it had been potted its whole life prior. It seems to like the extra room.
There is hope yet that I will successfully grow a cabbage. These should have been harvested last fall, but they never grew more than a few inches. Looking good so far for a late spring harvest.
We might even get a harvest from our cover crop. I put out clover and fava beans as a nitrogen fix to cover the bare areas at the end of summer last year. The fava beans took hold well and they are now flowering. It would be a nice surprise to be able to get a small harvest from something unintended.
Moving back to Texas, I'm really curious about the possibilities for overwintering... it seems like a great way to have food ready and waiting for you when spring starts.
ReplyDelete