Still Going

     My wife and I just got back on Sunday morning from a week's vacation to Panama.  Day temperatures around 90, some quite unusual rain for the dry season, and beautiful beach walks.  What a change to come home to a dreary two inches of rain on Sunday.  But home looked good, as I had missed my new veg starts and gardening activities.

Porch 3-8-11

     Many thanks to my next door neighbor, Darla Smith, who watered all of my little charges while I was gone.  Nary a single loss!  They look as though I could have stayed another week without dire results.

Porch 3-8-11

      The flat above has Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce on the left, with Red Sails Lettuce next.  Then Mizuna Mustard and Arugula on the right.  The Red Sails and Arugula are from my own seed gathered last year, quite exciting for me.  These seedlings were started on 1/30 or 1/31, and are nearly ready to go into some cold frame in the ground.

Bellevue Community Gardens 3-8-11

 

     The gardens out at Bellevue are still pretty desolate.  And muddy.  Really muddy.  But the cold frames protected my stuff over the winter, even yielding the second salad of the season on Sunday, 3/6.

My Cold Frames 3-8-11

 

Flats in Cold Frame 3-8-11

     I took some flats from the porch over to the park to put them in a cold frame.  They will get much more sun over at the park.

Park Cold Frame 3-8-11

     The onions in this frame should be Egyptian Walking Onions.  They were lucky to be in this spot when I put the frame over them.  They are much more lush and enticing than onions that had to fight for their lives in the open garden.  The onion like plant in the lower left corner appears to be one of two Leek plants that have volunteered from last year.  And I never have grown Leeks at this garden!  Should I eat these, or let them go to seed for next year?  I think I will eat them, as there are new Leek seedlings started on the porch.

Artichokes or cardoon?

     These two plants are either Artichokes or Cardoon that have overwintered on the porch.  They will probably go outside in another month.  I have seedlings of both started.  That will make the ID easy as the season progresses.
     It was fun to be away, but it is fun to be home.  And there is really, really a lot to do!   George