My Garden Update for May 2010

Wow, how quick a month can go by. That’s especially true this time of year when things are growing and the sun is shining. (Just the opposite of the wintertime when the days seem to drag on forever).  The rains this month have been plentiful at over six and a half inches and the combination of warm days and cool nights have just been perfect for my lettuce crops! I’ve had fresh salads all spring with only a few trips to the market for iceberg lettuce that has been costing $1.50 a head! Likewise my radish sowings have been prolific as was a parsley plant left over from the previous season. So, I am very thankful.

Now, in the waning days of the month, I have a good number of other plants coming on. Most notably were the Great Northern Beans I wrote about in earlier blogs. These now have little bean pods on them and I’m not sure if I am supposed to eat them at this stage or let them mature into the dry variety I am familiar with. Hmm, think I’ll pick a few and find out for myself.

I also have a really nice crop of carrots coming up at this time (picture about right). They have been a ‘surprise’ crop ever since last year when I found that they are quite happy to stay in the ground until I need them. And so, I had a source of the most wonderful veggie all fall and on into winter. They truly are a sow and forget crop.

My onions have now begun to bulb up and while they never get all that big, they sure are a welcome addition to my kitchen as I use onions in salads, sandwiches and soups all year long. I think I have about fifty plants right now which may not sound like much, but that will be more than enough to satisfy my needs for the summer and even into part of the fall.

The tomato plants of which I have planted two varieties (Brandywine and Better Boy) are just now getting to be about a foot tall. The Brandywines were purchased as starts while the Better Boys were grown from seed. Like wise I have a good selection of mild and hot green peppers including Long Red Cayenne and California Wonder peppers. The starts are all doing nicely while those grown by me from seed are pretty small at this stage. I’ve found, however, that by the time August and September arrive they have generally caught up. Now the only thing I have to worry about (other than insects) will be the deer who also love to munch on the peppers and tomatoes. To that end, I have planted some of each in different locations in an effort to fool them. Time will tell.