What's Up Wednesday!

It's a little late, but here's what's up this week in my garden!! Lots of the Fall plantings are doing really well- I'm excited to see how they perform in the colder weather when it gets here. In the mean time, I am still enjoying lots of tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and the occasional onion!

Swiss chard! It's so pretty, and I don't like to eat it. I'll have to do a neighborhood trade, I suppose!

      A second round of sugar snap peas is establishing nicely
 

I'm now able to pick late-summer lettuce! :)

Will the pumpkins and zucchini grow big enough in time?

Last of the chamomile is blooming. 

This summer I've harvested about 2 half-pints for tea this winter!

 The mystery squash thing that I couldn't identify is a cantaloupe- What an awesome surprise!

The canning pantry is quickly filling. I've spent 5 or 6 evenings in the last month 

filling it up with goodies- canned corn and canned peaches just recently- yum! Time to set some canning and local eating goals for the season, I think!

What's up in your Garden this week? 

Planting in Late Summer for Fall & Spring Harvests

This is the year that I'm going to do it, guys- make the leap and do some serious Fall planting! I think I'm usually tuckered out by the time the end of the summer rolls around. Before I know it, the time to plant for fall has passed me by. Not this year!

I'm been direct seeding Fall veggies in my garden for the past 3 weeks now, and I will finish up the last bit of planting tomorrow. If you're in S.E. Michigan, Northern Ohio, or a place with a similar last frost date (Oct 7th), you still have a few days to hop to it!


Fall Planting list:
Super Sugar Snap Pea
Prize Choy
De Cicco Broccoli
St. Valery Carrot
Grandpa's Admire Lettuce
Winter Density Lettuce
Parade bunching Onion
Rhubarb Red Swiss Chard

I've tried to seed most everything in the new, larger bed (pictured on the left)- it's closest to the side door of our home so if I need to dash out during the winter I'm one or two steps closer, and it already has crazy, thriving Kale there.

I'm planning to put up some quick hoops over the first 8 feet of the bed, enough distance to cover up the Kale, fall onions, and sugar snaps. I might want to do another 8 feet of hoop down at the other end (by the lovely garbage bins), because there are broccoli, a few carrots, and some speckles lettuce down there!

I'll be sure to share pictures of the quick hoops once I get them put together, as well as some guidance and assembly photos. I've been wanting to do serious season extension for a long time, and it will finally happen this year! One step closer to that ideal Badass Garden that's always floating in my mind...

What are you planning on planting this Fall?

What's Up Wednesday!

Peppers are blushing and slowly turning Red!

Ah Speckles, my old lettuce friend :)

If anyone knows what this is, input is appreciated. 

This is what I get for not labeling things until July. A squash of some kind?

Cukes! These are on the top of my list of "Things that I don't like from restaurants 

or big groceries but are delicious when grown at home". 

Garden Peach tomatoes are so pretty, and just the right amount of acidic!

What's up in your Garden this week?

What's Up Wednesday

I re-seeded more Speckles lettuce. Not sure how it will do in the heat but its growing nicely so far! 

My backyard raspberries are ripening, right on schedule! 

First green tomatoes- Sungold cherry tomatoes, of course. Can't wait for these guys to ripen up! 

Kidney bush beans and Provider green beans are going wild!

It's like a jungle every time I step outside! Potato plants that are 3ft tall, tomatoes growing bigger every day, tall crazy cilantro that's gone to flower.

Each day I enjoy it and each day I'm thankful for it.




What's Up in your Garden this week? Share some pics!

Springing into Summer

Almost everything I started indoors under lights has been transplanted outside to the garden. One of the last things to go out, yesterday, was little German Chamomile starts (on Left). I hope they do well- this is my first year growing lots of herbs so we'll have to wait and see! Harvesting chamomile blossoms and drying them to make tea is definitely on my list of Self-sufficiency Nerd goals.

The garden is growing GREAT- there's so many tones of green out there! We're just about at the point here of planting summer crops in S.E. Michigan; tomatoes, peppers, cukes, squash, and more.

I've been consistently harvesting lettuce and kale from the garden, as well as a few spinach leaves, chives, and green onions from the plants my neighbors gave me. The beans and peas are doing nicely, and the potato plants are shooting up- it's about time that I mound up the soil around them, now that they're getting taller. Leeks seem to be fairing well- the jury's out on whether or not my toilet paper roll blanching method is truly working. The lettuces are starting to bolt and get a bit bitter, so we'll be having lots of salads for dinner this week!

I've started to plant a few tomatoes and peppers outdoors. All the ones I started from seed indoors didn't do very well, but I put them in the mudroom to get some natural sunlight and they've been perking up. If you didn't start any seeds of your own this season, head out to your local nursery and buy some locally-grown transplants :) 

How's your Garden Growing?

Silent Sunday

Kale

Lettuce

The onions I started from seed indoors- looking great!

 Happy Sunday, friends :)

Friday Favorites

Sugar Snap Peas climbing up the trellises in the garden

 Kidney and Provider Bush Beans are coming up!

I just can't help it- I like the look of organized rows in the garden!

What are your favorites this Friday?

Friday Favorites

My favorite things goin' on this Friday afternoon!

Just can't get over my asparagus-induced excitement- pretty amazing veggie! 

 Every week you get so see a variation on this picture, folks, I know- sorry. 

Speckles lettuce is a work of art!

 This tulip is a bit behind the curve on blooming time :)

Chives are about to bloom! Love the pop of color they add to the garden.

 If you're anywhere where these are sold: get them, ASAP! The Chili Lime ones, specifically. 

Best. Chips. Ever.

Silent Sunday



 Chives!

    

'Speckles' Lettuces looking beautiful in the garden



Kale and onions in the side yard bed

 

If I can get my hands dirty in the garden, it's a good day.

Happy Sunday :)

     

Silent Sunday

Newest backyard bed- Speckles Lettuce and Leeks

Sugar Snap Peas

Mountain Rose Potatoes curing before they are planted

Salad- Spinach from the farm at work, lettuce from at the garden at home!

Happy Sunday :)

Friday Favorites

My favorite things this Friday:

I really appreciate that at our local food co-operative, the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, I can purchase produce from the Farm I work with- it makes me happy. Spinach and Carrots from Growing Hope Urban Farm!

First harvest of my lettuce of choice from the garden this season- Speckles variety. Isn't it pretty? I harvested several leaves off of each plant, and made a small, delicious salad yesterday. 

This week I had to take a dead neighborhood cat that had been hit by a car to the humane society. It was sad, and I am really appreciating our little guys. I've been sending them silent subliminal messages: "Stay inside! It's not even that awesome outside anyway!"

What are your favorites this Friday?

What's Up Wednesday

This is what's "up" in my urban garden today!

Monday I transplanted the first of the Valencia onions I grew indoors- they seem to be thriving in the garden, despite the cold temps.

I direct seeded some carrots 2 weeks ago, and they are coming up quite well. So nice to see their little green shoots lining the garden beds in rows.

The mystery spinach I started indoors has taken off well outside too! Anyone have any thoughts on what type it is?

Apple trees are blossoming- so pretty!

The 9 Speckles Lettuces in the garden are getting bigger each day- right now they're about 8 inches across! Lots of delicious salads in our future.

What's Up in your garden today?

Transplanting leeks, lettuce, and kale

It's so nice that I couldn't resist transplanting some of my little seedlings today! Planted some peas that will grow along the trellises. My parents and I visited each other in Bowling Green this weekend, and she brought up some leeks from her garden, as well as sugar snap peas and some red onion sets to plant. I set out most of the kale today, 6 plants, as well as l0 speckled lettuce plants. I separated the leeks out and planted them as well- I've never grown them so we'll see how it goes!

I've been planting things in the new bed, since it has the best soil. Next up on the seed starting list: Tomatoes, and direct seeding Carrots! Last week I started peppers, more onions, and globe basil. I ordered the seed potatoes as well, and some asparagus, and those will come in soon- can't believe its time to plant all these things already.

Have you planted anything in your garden yet?