Tuesday, May 24, 2016

How does our garden grow

Standing in Rob's plot
I just went out to water my garden plot and saw that several other people had just done the same. It's cloudy but dry today, perfect conditions for our plants to soak up some moisture. There are five plots here, bottom to top: as I said, I'm standing in Rob's for the picture, with my plot the one with the purple flamingo just beside his. Then Lynn's, which is finally beginning to look quite nice. Nathan's is next, with the chair strategically placed for him to sit and admire his veggies. And last of all is Keith's, which just got planted this last weekend.
Keith's newly planted plot
Keith likes to start most of his from seed, and I notice with a bit of envy that he's also got two raised beds this year. I almost always get my plants from purchased garden starts, because I'm just not that handy with plants and like to have someone else start them. Plus, slugs seem to decimate those little tender shoots that come out of the ground.
My strawberries
And look! My strawberries are already starting to ripen! I've ordered some copper tape from Amazon to put around the patch so I won't come out to find that the slugs beat me to them. My slug bait (just add beer!) container is catching plenty of them, but there are still so many more.
Harvested kale plus garnet kale
I harvested my first kale from the garden yesterday, with Russian kale and black kale (on the right and in the middle) steamed and absolutely delicious. I let the garnet kale (on the left) alone so it can continue to get a bit more robust before I harvest it. The good thing about kale is that you cut all the leaves off and they grow back even more abundantly. In the upper left you can see the collards that I will harvest next.

So, as you can see, our gardens are growing wonderfully! The other side is doing well, too, except there are only three planted plots and the center section. We've got one dormant, and one that is just too wet for much success until much later in the season. I'll show you those other plots soon.
:-)

20 comments:

  1. Isn't gardening wonderful? And edible gardening is an extra bonus. A big bonus.

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  2. Your strawberries look great! I just picked a whole bunch last weekend at one of our local farms. Yummy!

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  3. Well done, Jan. Such a great hobby, edible and you know how it was grown. I love my little plot too.

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  4. Five garden plots in one location must mean that there is a lot of conversation about gardening. Different areas call for completely different methods of gardening. I grow some chard but I'm not that fond of it.

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  5. Your garden looks great. What a great harvest to look forward to all season.

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  6. Good looking garden plots! And I love your purple flamingo.

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  7. Yum! Now I want to buy some strawberries. I know fresh is always 100% better than store bought!

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  8. Oh my! This is so wonderful. I can imagine how much more delicious it must be to know that you grew them yourself.

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  9. It's poking great Djan. Lots of delicious meals to come

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    1. Darn that auto correct! I meant 'looking great of course

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  10. I don't think I've ever eaten Kale before...don't think I will, but the strawberries...yum.

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  11. You have to water your garden in Washington? Who knew!?! But whatever you're doing ... it looks great!

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  12. Yes--looking good. Leah built raised garden beds last year and I forgot to ask her what she's planting this year. Those strawberries! I hope you win the race! :)

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  13. Those strawberries look great, and so does the kale. Yummy.

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  14. Looking good Djan. Your berries are looking close to ready. I'm glad to see the Kale, my favorite veggie. Those raised beds of Keith's are really nice. Kind of a one time labor investment. Happy eating.

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  15. good for you! the raised beds do look 'smart.' :)

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  16. Your picture of the garden plot really makes me wish I had one myself. There are several in the area that I think belong to the churches. Perhaps I will check into it. And have you ever thought about planting mustard greens? Young mustard greens are delicious in salad!

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  17. Your garden looks great!! You have a green thumb and your strawberries look wonderful! :)

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  18. I see you had one of your famous watery hikes below. I guess that's what makes your garden grow! We just got ours planted. Gotta love summer.

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