January 28, 2016

Good morning, Due to the snow on Tuesday and Tuesday night it was way to wet to get into the garden to harvest. Because of this there will not be Friday deliveries. Sorry for this inconvenience but Mother nature does have the last say in these things. Barring another weather event we will be back to normal next week.

Most all the beds are prepared for spring planting. I have one bed that I need to add compost to but I also need to wait for my compost to finish this should be in the next week or two. This bed will complete spring prep for planting.

It is a good feeling that I have finally made a full swath through the garden hoeing down the mustard. If left to itself it would have taken over. I especially wanted to get all the plants that were beginning to bloom.

NOAA and the Farmers Almanac are saying February and March will be cool (and moist). It would be nice if it were rain and not snow (especially not ice). I so hope to out plant my first toms in February. Last year prudence delayed this until the second week of March. Time will tell.

Last year I harvested some mature scapes off of my garlic crop. I seeded some in a pot inside the house. I actually got some to sprout. Boy howdy if I were to have done this in a bed outside, I surely would have pulled them because they look just like grass. I went ahead and sowed the rest to see if I can increase my garlic crop. It takes 1 to 2 years from bulbets (scapes broken apart). My over wintered onion plants are looking real nice for the first of March transplanting. The garlic is 3 to 6 inches tall and ready for spring growth.

It is a hope of mine to have lettuce all year. I have gone from a whole plant harvest to a leaf harvest. If I can get a green onion bed established, I also plan to harvest the tops and let them regrow. It is much easier for a plant to regrow a leaf than to grow a whole new plant. This is especially true during the winter. I have done both of these crops on a small scale as a leaf harvest and have been very pleased. I am in the process of ramping both of these crops up a notch.

Knock on wood this years garden is beginning to shape up very nicely. Strange thoughts for it is only January.