Spring has Finally Sprung in Central Iowa

The trees are finally leafing out, now to find something to plant in my hanging pots.

The neighbors crabapple is stunning this year, mine has lost most of it's blossoms already.

John tilling the east garden, most of which will be planted with native prairie plants that are useful for my natural dye plants.

Lettuce, strawberries, chard, basil, tom thumb peas, and arugula in this raised bed.

Various herbs along with three cabbage plants that I"m thinking of moving elsewhere, so I can plant more dill in this bed.

Raised Vegetable Beds 042713

Perinneal Leek and Garlic bed getting more topsoil, next up is a layer of compost and worm castings.

Topsoil layer is finished.  The top round of wood is the cover for the bed, this week John will reinstall the pvc pipe hoops and I'll help with the bird netting. 

John loading the middle raised bed, otherwise known as my salad bed, with topsoil.

Just a couple wheelbarrows more and this bed will be ready for compost as well.

We saved money by purchasing the amended topsoil locally and by picking it up from KCI Landscaping, we save even more by not having it delivered.  So far we've purchased two yards of the amended topsoil. 

My herb and kale garden, still needs topsoil and then a final layer of compost.  I'll probably tuck some beets, parsnips, and carrots in between the rows of kale in this garden.  I'm dreaming of a fresh sun kissed salad!

Plant ID

Whatever it is it wintered over, I'm not sure if it's mustard greens or not, ideas???

If you click on the images a larger image will pop up.

When I picked off a part of a leaf it smelled like lettuce or grass not peppery.

Garden Update No. 0505

Lettuce and spinach is up, am anticipating my first salad!  The green sprouty stuff is Lambs Quarter which I hear is also edible, will be finding out soon enough.

Salad Garden Update

Lots of weeds popping up in the garden after a weekend of rain, the good news though is the lettuces are starting to emerge.

Salad Garden

Bird netting now attached to the hoop house portion of the raised bed and just in time for the baby lettuce sprouts that are now breaking through the soil.

Garden Update

My potato patch before round three of mulching - we mulched it just before it started pouring!

Greens patch: Lettuce, chard, beets, turnips, radishes, carrots, and parsnips.

The hail and tornados missed us! I'm so very grateful for this!!! At present I have no way to protect my tomatoes. John has an idea and we will set it up sometime this week.

Garden Update

Front potato patch which now has chicken wire around to keep the hay and potatoes confined.

Lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, parsnips (I hope), and turnips planted using the square foot method.

One lone potato plant in the big garden.

Garden Update

Up already: Radishes, Potatoes, Lettuce, and Chard!

Today's Plantings

Well today John and I managed to get the peas planted, he tilled the garden a third time. While he worked on that I planted radishes and lettuce in the cold frame. Later I hand dug the leek garden 8 x 8 foot area lets just say I'm really tired now!

Tomorrow I'll replant my garlic, dug it up so I could thin it out, plant leeks and onion seeds, I may pick up some onion sets as well to plant. I have yet to decide where I will put my strawberry plants - three varieties, Ozark, Sequioa and some ever bearing whose name I'm not able to remember.

Tonight's Menu - BLT's

A very happy BLT eater!!! Of course he's grinnin like this because he hates having a camera in his face all of the time but also because his pickles are almost done.

Two BLT's assembled and taste tested.

The assemblage begins, mustard, and mayo are required.

The birds ate my tomatoes so I had to purchase some from a local grower for tonights meal.