Gettin' The Garden In

It's not all done yet, but I'm gaining on it.  Makes me feel much better to go from "I'll never get it done!" to "I'm gaining on it."

I took some random pictures late yesterday thinking I'd get a post up last night, but it didn't happen.  Now it's 3 p.m. the next day and I'm in for a short break before going back out to get a little more done.

I'm trying a new trellising method for the snap peas this year.  In the past, they've grown so tall that they over-shoot the top of their trellis and end up flopping over making it very hard to find and pick the pods.  Don't know if you can see it clearly in the above picture, but Papa Pea helped me bend a 16' cattle panel over the eight foot length of one of our raised beds.  I planted a four foot row alongside each trellis end and am hoping the pea plants will climb up and over the hoop.  Stay tuned to see if this is a hit . . . or a miss.

Yesterday I set out a long row of cosmos plants I started inside.  This is along one end of the field garden and, with luck, they should put on quite a show of colorful blossoms.  Our weather is still a bit cool for them so I put a not-so-classy distilled water jug "cloche" over each one until our weather warms up a bit more. 

Lo and behold, two days ago I discovered some blossoms on my strawberry plants.  This means we should have ripe berries about two weeks early this year.  And this despite our unusually cooler weather.  Go figure!

If you look closely, you will see a chicken in each of the above two pictures.  She's a renegade hen that has been managing to sneak out of the poultry pasture with regularity lately.  One day Papa Pea finally saw her squeeze through a fence post and gate.  He promptly remedied that situation, and she didn't get out for a few days.  Yesterday, there she was, scratching away in the strawberries where she shouldn't be.  Now the search is on once again to find out how she's getting out.

One variety of my garlic (Siberian) is doing well.  The other (Blanak) is not.  Very poor germination on it.  I think I'm going to write to the company I got it from because when it arrive it looked a smidge bit "shriveled" and not in the best of shape.  Dang.

The broccoli I started inside and then set out isn't looking as robust as I'd like.  Still hoping it will shape up.  It was in a cold frame until today.  Now it's out in the elements and on its own.

The cauliflower also had its cold frame taken away today.  It looks better than the broccoli.

The chives are growing like weeds and even have some blossom buds on them.  I've been trying to cut and process for the freezer a good sized cutting of them each night at the kitchen table while watching episodes of "The Golden Girls" I recorded from the Hallmark Channel.  (Yes, my life is exciting, isn't it?)

Here's a shot looking down a row of blueberry bushes with the haskap bushes in front.  I finished weeding the area today and have all but four of the blueberry bushes pruned.

When we first put in the haskaps three years ago, we read they would bear mature fruit before the blueberries.  But they've ripened the same time as our blueberries . . . at least up until now.  

Perhaps the haskap bushes just had to reach a certain age because this year they are currently LOADED with blossoms and the blueberry bushes barely have buds forming.  Looks to be a bumper crop of the haskaps this year.  Good thing we've discovered they make great alcoholic beverages, huh?  Hey, maybe this year the fruit will start tasting sweet right off the bushes.  (Nah, no chance.)

We're still in a drought period.  Have had only 1/2" of rain since our last snowfall.  I'm having to water almost daily.  Today the forecast was for a 70% chance of rain mid-afternoon, but although it's been gray all day, no moisture has materialized.  We're keeping our fingers crossed for a good soaking . . . soon.  If you're in an area that has any extra rain, please send it our way!