May Garden Update (Finally!!!)

Here we are in mid-May, and I’m just now posting my first update!  I know, it’s bad, but, we got of to a not-so-great start….we were pretty enthusiastic about planting early, and things were coming up okay, but then I think April’s cold snaps and dryness delayed growth (and almost kill some potatoes).  But our main problem  was that something was eating everything!  I’m thinking some type of bug rather than bunnies.  The tiniest little sprouts were gnawed off.  This means we only have a handful of stunted radishes now.  Also, many of the beets never germinated, or if they did, they died back before we could see.  And some of those got chewed off, too.

HOWEVER….
Things seem to be doing very well now!!  With the heat  and the rains, things are looking beautiful.  The few beets we have left seem to be thriving…

And–almost to my surprise–my carrots are coming up!  Shown here with some dill, and tiny lambsquarters…

Yep, this is clover.  Not part of the garden, but I like to take time to smell the roses….and clover….

Fava beans flowers!  Only a handful of these came up.  I resowed, and none came up. Kind of disappointing, but at least I’ll be able to  try them.  (I’ve never had them before.)

Yarrow and some other pretty “weeds”…

The onions seem to be doing very well!  We planted a whole mess of them together. I don’t know if this was a good idea now, but after mulching, they seem to be doing even better.  (By the way, we still have a lot of mulching to do…) 

Peas!  Again, maybe we’ll get just enough for a taste.

The potatoes are all thriving.  We should have lots….

And the spinach has been pretty good to us.  Not to mention, the lambsquarters!  Yes, they’re a “weed,” but also super yummy and nutritious.  They do contain some oxalic acid, though, so if you’re eating it raw, small quantities are recommended.  We almost always cook it, just so we don’t have to worry about that.

And, we planted about 12 tomato plants….a considerably smaller number than in previous years.  I’m very excited about my Lucid Gem tomatoes (pictured below).  We finally put them in the garden a  few days ago, and they are looking great.

This guy below is borage.  I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be doing with it yet…but I hear it’s good for a tea.  And in salads.  It tastes like cucumber and bees love it, so that’s all I needed to know.What’s coming up in your garden?!

Save the Bees (by saving these…)

It’s just about that time of year!!  

Soil: Cover Crops

Cover crops are plants generally sown in fall or late summer, but also sometimes in spring if you’re not using that bit of land for other crops.  Popular cover crops include rye and buckwheat, oats and peas, and clovers.

These low-maintenance crops work in a number of ways to improve soil; first, they prevent soil erosion.  Also, crops like legumes fix nitrogen into the soil, which is important for plants to grow.  Their roots penetrate the soil, helping with aeration.  Cover crops are killed before they go to seed, and then they decompose, leaving lots of organic matter that enriches the soil with nutrients.  All this organic matter also attracts earthworms and other beneficial organisms.

Cover crops should be killed before going to seed,  and 2 to 3 weeks before your plant your vegetables or next crop.  

This past fall, we planted a lot of winter rye, but also some medium red clover, and Austrian winter peas.  (The photo at the bottom shows everything when it was just starting to come up!)   Next year, I think I would like to try buckwheat and maybe a couple other things.

One more benefit of a winter cover crop: it’s sure nice to see some green out there when everything else is brown and dead.

If you’re in Wichita, you can purchase any of these locally at Valley Feed & Seed or Hillside Feed & Seed.  You can also buy online from Baker Creek.

On Treating Our Soil Like Dirt

The more I learn, the less I realize I know…have I mentioned this already?

If you had asked me as a child about the soil, I would have figured it was just some dead, inert substance made for walking on.  Of course, as a child, I don’t think I gave dirt a second thought.  I imagine a lot of people, particularly those who have no interest or cause to investigate, still operate this way.  But as someone who wants to grow things in the ground, I’ve had the incentive to do a little studying (and I mean a little!!)  But I’ve been learning enough to realize just how mistaken I’ve been.

Our soil–healthy soil, anyway–is absolutely bursting with life, nutrients, and all the good stuff that is crucial to growing healthy plants.

For a long time we’ve been tilling our garden to rid it of weeds and keep it “tidy” and because, well, that’s what people do, right?  This year, things will be done differently.  We planted cover crop where we could in the fall, and we’ll till that under soon so that it can begin to decompose in the ground, but after this, we’ll be utilizing mulching and interplanting to grow our crops.

It’s one of those things where, having been enlightened, it all makes perfect sense, and I ask myself why I don’t realize these things sooner.  Instead of feeling bad or embarrassed, I remind myself that we don’t know until we learn, and we’re all still learning.

There are so many things to discuss when it comes to soil health, that I plan on doing a series of posts, so be sure to follow if you’re not already!

The first wave of seeds…

I recently placed an order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I don’t know why I bought them so early.  It was just all happening so quickly…but they will keep, so it’s okay!  I will surely be placing another order before winter is through.  It’s inevitable, really…

Included in this batch were: Lucid Gem Tomatoes, Corsican Basil, Purslane, Country Gentleman Sweet Corn,  America Sweet Pea,  Anise Hyssop, Oxheart Carrot, Borage,  Pink Senorita Zinnias, Purple Dragon Carrots, Cupani Original Sweet Pea,  Mazurkia Zinnias,   Siam Queen Thai Basil, Broad Winsor Fava Beans, and two packs of free/surprise seeds: Black Vernisssage Tomato and cabbage (I honestly forgot what kind and don’t have the seeds with me right now!  But I will report on them later…)

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Even though I can’t even remember the name of it, I’m pretty excited that they threw in the cabbage!  I thought about ordering some but doubted I would get around to planting it.  Now I will have to do it!

Are you looking at seed catalogs?  Have you gotten any for next year yet?  What are some of your favorite places to get seeds?