Gardening Update

I planted my peas at the beginning of February. Peas are a great first veggie for the garden, because the grow quickly, and can handle cold weather. Even though we had several frosts and freezes while the peas were growing, they still grew nice and tall, and when the weather warmed up, produced ALOT of peas. In the past month, I have picked and shelled 4 quarts of peas, although since my girls like peas, most of them are gone.



I build a trelis for the peas to grow up, and they do not take up much room in the garden. I have been picking peas every three to four days, but in the past week, the yield has slowed down, and the vines are starting to yellow.



This weekend I will pick the last of my peas, and dig up the vines. I will re-set my trelis and plant some cucumbers. I am wondering if they will grow. Cukes are best if they are planted earlier in the season, because they start to wilt when the weather gets hot. I am going to give it a try.... plus I have some heirloom cucumber seeds that are native to Thailand that will grow in hot and humid weather. I hope they do well here.

The timing of the end of my peas is perfect. Yesterday I picked the first green beans of the season. I planted both pole and bush beans, so I should be inundated with green beans this year. I had a bunch last year, and they were a hit with the family. We usually eat them all while they are fresh.





Elsewhere in the garden, I still have a few radishes in the ground. They did well this spring, and some were the size of baseballs. I have never grown such large radishes. These were "watermelon" radishes and were green on the outside. When sliced the green fades to white, pink, then red. A nice looking addition to the salad with some zip.

My onions are starting to bulb as well. I picked one last week that was the same diameter as the green, but yesterday's onion looked like a real onion. My garlic is also starting to bulb. I am excited to get the onions and garlic out of the garden, because it is getting crowded in there. I planted the onions and garlic in November, and will be harvesting before June. I still have some lettuce left, but it is starting to get too tall. Basil is ready for the first cutting back. I get several rounds of basil per season and stock the freezer with pesto, which will last all winter.

My tomato plants are nice and tall, and some of them have small green tomatoes. In several weeks they will be ready to pick. I am also growing peppers, okra, carrots, eggplant and chick peas. I will be planting soy beans soon in the area vacated by the radishes.

I'll have more updates from the garden throughout the season!

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