The rain we’ve had this past week has made my spring veggies flourish. Its amazing what a good soaking rain and some sunshine will do for your garden. I’ve been so very pleased with the germination and growth pattern of my Sow True Seeds (the company who is sponsoring my garden this year).
This is the first year I’ve grown this variety of radish-its an heirloom called French Breakfast. Somehow I got it in my mind that the radishes would be white-but actually only the bottoms of them are white.
Once I seen they really do grow up to 3 inches-I was afraid they would be tough or pithy-but even the large ones are great. This variety does have more of a bite than the Sparklers I usually grow-but that’s o.k. with me.
Another Sow True Seed variety that I’m excited about is their Dwarf Grey Sugar Snap Pea. The peas are supposed to be a bush type-in other words they don’t need anything to grow up-like a trellis. At first I was worried they were just going to run all over the ground-but since the rain-they have stood up straight and sturdy.
We love Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce-and the heirloom seeds provided by Sow True Seeds are growing like crazy!
Even the plants in the greenhouse seem to have benefited from the rain somehow-and are growing by leaps and bounds. All the heirloom tomatoes are coming along nicely. The puniest one out of the bunch is a variety called Arkansas Traveler-if you’ve grown them before-let me know how they do for you.
In between all the rain we’ve been able to get our new raised beds filled.
While I was out checking out the new growth brought on by the rain, I discovered the most wonderful thing-my blueberries survived the frost!
How does your garden grow?
Tipper
Our roses are going great and are easily the clearest in our little enclave, but we haven’t planted the vegies first for two reasons: (1)-I never plant before May 1st due to the possibility of frost, and (2)-The farms adjoining ours haven’t planted their fields yet, and until they do, there’s a risk of them spraying with weed killer which will kill our plants too if they spray on a day with any wind at all, so we’re in a holding pattern here until May 1st and then until the other farmers plant their fields.
Last year we planted all of our vegetables before the farmers planted, and then they sprayed their property, and it killed everything we had planted. Not sure what the other farmers are waiting for, but we just have to wait until they’re done.
God bless.
RB
<><
Well, now we know why you’ve been so busy!! Looks like the results are great!
I must have a different variety of blueberries. Mine has not bloomed yet. I need to do a little research on them cause they don’t seem to be doing well where I have them planted. Maybe I just need to add a little something to the soil.
You know I am jealous of that greenhouse, right?! LOL
I’ve never seen those kind of radishes before and I love lettuce..Don’t have any planted this year but making up for it in other stuff.. sure hope it don’t hurt things to night
Guess I’m gonna have to do it myself this year. I will be out digging as soon as the sun returns! Yours is looking great!
Covered my raised bed last night, have tomatos, bush beans and cataloupes have come up nice using gurneys seed.I brought in container lettuce and spinach though. I’m in Murphy but close to the TN line. Will cover the plants again tonight. Great site.
You are way ahead of us — but we may be having snow tonight– blackberry winter.
Nice garden. I sure hope you can cover some of it and save it from the damaging winds and cold. Lots of interesting comments.
We planted white hail stone radishes. This is our first try with them and so far they have proved excellent!
We lost most of our blueberries, and with this cold coming again, I am afraid they will all be lost! Hope your crops survive:)
Right now my garden area is probably the talk of our neighborhood. Everyone here, except me, keeps their yards perfectly manicured and landscaped and mulched and probably cuss me as my tiny little dandelion parachutes carry their seeds into those magazine-like yards. Oh, I mow and trim the lawn proper but my garden area is left from last year and unpretentious. In late May or the first week of June I’ll till it up and maybe soon after that I can take pictures like yours, except I don’t have your photography skills.
Tipper,
Thou hast cast a “spell of ode” upon me…with thine spring garden pictures..
Ode To Yon Garden
Radishes and Peas
Pray, Lettuce have bees
Maters and Raised Beds
Up to town I must head
Frosty white sugar to bine
Fer thou Blueberry Wine
B. Ruth …….(Shakespit)
(bine meaning hops brewing)
Nothing planted yet. Our friend who tills for us lost a whole patch of beans to frost.
Your stuff is beautiful–especially that lettuce. My son & I love it in spring with chopped onions & blazing hot bacon grease. Plus cornbread! My husband will not touch it–I believe he must secretly be a yankee!! (No offense–some of my dear friends & family are yankees)
Looks as if tonight and tomorrow might bring some really cold weather. Hope your garden isn’t affected.
I rushed to get everything done so I could devote my entire weekend to planting my garden. It started raining Friday night and was hasn’t made it to 60 degrees since. This area has had several nights of frost and freezing temps over the past few weeks. When I look at the damage it caused to other plants, makes me glad I waited.
My mom used to ‘look’ each lettuce leaf , front and back before she washed it. Then she cut up green onions in it and killed it with hot bacon grease. It was always served with soup (pinto) beans and corn bread. YUM!
Wow– what beautiful plants! For some reason, I just don’t enjoy gardening, but I do enjoy what my hubby grows! We also grow lots of veggies for our hens. They eat well.
Didn’t plant radishes but my broccoli, cabbage, peas, lettuce, mustard, onion and potatoes all seem to be flourishing. Like you we have had freezing temperatures and a patchy frost but so far everything has done well : )
I don’t have much in my garden as of yet but I started eating my fresh green onions the other day and my sugar snap peas are up and growing and my cabbage seem to be growing better than ever, not bad for the Ohio Valley where we might get frost again tonight. We carried all of our seedlings in last night to protect them.
Tipper, everything looks so good. Wish I was there to help you eat the radishes, you know I love them like you do!
Glad to see those blueberries survived. The frost got Saleh’s blueberries as well as his grapes, apricots, and potatoes.
The deer Hunter told me you found mushroom compost for those raised beds. That means everything will grow like crazy.
I see wilted lettuce and onions coming along with a big cake of cornbread…yum yum!
I tried to grow radishes; I had tops but nothing eatible on the bottom. Your garden growth and veggies look wonderful. Yummy, if I may say so myself!
I bought Arkansas Travelers last year and was excited to be growing a tomato I remembered from growing up. They just did ok compared to the other plants, but no one grew great tomatoes in west Tn last year until very late in the season. I don’t have any this year, but do have some heirloom plants. I hope they do well for you this year.
that lettuce is beautiful to behold. and the radish i have seen only in the store. i love radishes. but the round ones are hot enough for me. glad the blueberries made it through.
Beautiful radishes! Love them with a little butter and salt.
I am impressed with your garden Tipper. You definitely have a green thumb.
The Arkansas Traveler was developed by the University of Arkansas to be a “shipper” pink tomato that would travel well and to replace the Bradley County Pink Tomato. I grew up in Bradley County and the Bradley tomatoes were fabulous and full of flavor, but did not hold up when shipped. To my taste, the Traveler never had the depth of flavor the Bradley had. Let me know what you think of it. I haven’t tasted an Arkansas tomato in years, but my memory is still strong about how delicious they were.
Sam