Planting

Winter was LONG and EXTREMELY HARD this year, but seems to have gone out like a light.  We had only three frost days after the snow stopped, about 2 weeks of spring, then jumped into summer.  It's been hot, but I've been enjoying it.  A few days of rain have brought the blackflies out in droves.  Even that has not yet deterred my eagerness to be done with winter.

I planted the greenhouses over the weekend.

Greenhouse #1 got the brassicas this year.  Cucumbers and sunflowers down the centre again (pickling).  Onion seed scattered through the rows on the side.  Apparently I forgot to start cabbage inside, so I bought a little 4 pack, and put in a row of cabbage seed.  I'll have to see how it works out with a late start.The albino (sugar) beets went in as seed.

 
The tomato seedlings that survived were small, so I bought some jetstars and beefsteaks.  I bought seedling trays with those moss/weeve trays in it.  Total pain to keep watered.  I bought Sweet banana peppers, cherry bombs, and long slim peppers.  What can I say?  I was in the garden centre and I couldn't help myself.  Straight Eights in the centre, onions and radishes scattered on the sides.  I bought two pots of dill and planted one in each greenhouse, along with almost all of my remaining seed.  The dill hasn't done well the past few years, so I thought I might as well dump the seed.  If it doesn't grow I might as well buy new next year.

The garden is mostly planted, and the peas are up about three inches now. 

Peas
Peas

Mangels
Mangels

Carrots, radishes
Beans-vanderpol 6 weeks, radish

Lettuce
Swiss chard, lettuce

Spinach
Romaine, sunflower, green beans

Green beans
Green beans

Green beans
Green beans

Green beans
Green beans 

Of course, the weeds are up before the veggies...  #4 planted the green beans, and I honestly didn't think I had that much seed left, so I guess we'll see how it works out once they come up.  The rototiller broke before #1 finished tilling, so I'm a bit behind schedule.  It's fixed now, but not tilled yet.  Beets, corn, another tray of kohlrabi (what was I thinking?!), and a few odds and ends to go in yet.  I don't plan to plant any potatoes this year.  At this point anyway.  I'll see how much space I have left.

I haven't planted anything in the hugelkultur bed yet.  It needs about 8 inches of soil dumped on top of it.  Like a fool, I did not leave myself enough space to drive around it, so I'll have to wheelbarrow it in. 

Greenhouse #3 is under construction.  Barely started, really, but started none the less, which is good, since I still have pumpkins, melons, and watermelons to transplant.

Manure from the barn/pasture clean out is going around the original greenhouses.  I'm pretty much out of space in the perennial bed, and since that space is generally wasted, I figure it'll be a good spot to add more perennials next year.