Veggies

Here's some pics I took of the growies this afternoon... First off, the early start of green kale is doing well. Small (and probably crowded), but who knows - there might be something worth harvesting here before too long! Unfortunately the red bore kale got slaughtered by bugs, and the new planting (to the right of the green kale) is only just starting to pop up. Oh well - I've never cooked kale before, so I don't know what I'm missing - just seemed like something that might be good for cool, autumn eats.


In the background are peas, and just in front of those is spinach. I think I'll be able to pick this second round of fall-planted spinach, which I direct-seeded, any day now. The first batch, which I started in seed trays in the basement while it was still real hot outside, has been pickable for the last couple weeks, but I only get to take a leaf or two per plant. They're still pretty small - seems like the direct-seeded ones are definitely growing faster! Oh, and in front of the spinach is swiss chard (different colors/varieties). Again, these were direct-seeded, and the transplants in the bed next door are real slow growers.


Yesterday I poked some branches in with the peas for them to climb. I don't know if we'll get anything from them before it gets too cold, but it'll be a nice try. Plus they just look so...rustic! There are two nights next week that are predicted to drop to 36F, so I might want to put row covers over these guys...


Here's the first raised bed with all the transplants. Things have really started taking off after a dousing of diluted fish/kelp fertilizer the other day, the two days of warm temps in the mid-70s, and then the 1.5+" of rain in the last 24 hours, along with a drastic temperature drop. These crops all prefer colder temps, but I'm afraid the warm days have caused the bok choy (pak choi) in the picture below (big lush crown of dark green leaves with slightly visible white ribbing) to bolt. I can see small clusters of flower buds forming down in the center. I should probably have cut these today and stashed them in the crisper drawer, to be eaten real soon. I don't want them going bitter on me! The good news is I have plenty more direct seeded in bed #2!


Other end of the 1st bed, with all the runty plants. I guess the reduced hours of daylight are also slowing down growth. What you see here is just SOME of the lettuce I'm growing and some, hm, broccoli or brussels sprouts (those that survived the cabbage worms!). We're getting good baby lettuce, spinach and other greens right now - doubt any of the lettuce heads will get very big, but at least they should bolt with the cooler temps now.


Bed #1, looking down the length of it. I need a better seat for picking greens - while the orange salt bucket (for the driveway) from Home Depot works great during dry weather, now that it's raining I'm not sitting down on it!


After all the rain the last 24 hrs, the pond out back has really risen. And gotten really murky looking! The pots and old straw bales are about where I think I'll be preparing beds in the next few weeks to plant asparagus, raspberries and/or more strawberries for next spring! Need to get some manure ASAP.


And here's two views from the backside of the initial 12x12 bed. I thought I would set up compost bins here earlier, but now I think I'll use this for corn, potatoes, maybe tomatoes, etc next spring - depends on how fast the raised beds fill up. I might have spare top soil, mulch and straw to also till in, so that added to all this lush green stuff should hopefully raise up the height of this bed a little - no more drowning veggies?!

Look at the pumpkin vines - they just don't know when to give up! I cut the pumpkin and rumbo squashes yesterday - need to till soon!


And in this picture you can see the stalled-out waterline/irrigation project. Got back to it the other afternoon, and realized I didn't have the smartest faucet for the job - so I need to get back out to a hardware store. Oh, and that's Tucker in the background, tromping through the companion-planted strawberries and garlic.