What a Difference a Rain Makes

(Fair warning: This post turned out to be very long.  It is mostly a bunch of garden notes to myself.  If you could care less about the minutia, and I wouldn't blame you if that were the case, and just want the point, scroll down to "Lessons Learned So Far This Year.")

Time for a garden update!  What a difference all this rain is making!  I can't get over how plump and juicy everything looks.  I've had plenty of fresh salads by now, and even greens that I didn't expect to pop back after I cut them have done just that.  It's wonderful.  And more than anything, I'm looking forward to the savings on my next grocery bill!  We've also harvested our first strawberry, having lost only a couple to birds before I knew the berries were getting red!  I have put up the netting, and that should keep them at bay.  Now that we are getting nights consistently above 50 degrees, everything is really going to take off.  

Chores that I've already had to do in the garden:

1.  The aforementioned strawberry net has been put up.

2.  I've weeded, probably for a total of three hours, the one patch where I STUPIDLY let the rotten Sungold tomatoes fall off the vine last year.  Well, Sungolds have about a gazillion seeds in each little marble-sized orb of deliciousness.  And all of those seeds, from the hundreds of tomatoes that fell off the plant  have decided to RE-sprout in the garden.  I'm not kidding when I tell you I've pulled up hundreds of tiny tomato seedlings.  (Our Sungold plant last year was ridiculously prolific, to the point where by October, we just couldn't eat any more, and it was STILL producing.  That's why we just left a lot of them to rot...)  I am letting about two of these volunteer seedlings grow, and if they get big enough and survive, I will transplant them to a big pot and see if they produce fruit this year too.  Not sure, but like I said, this was the superman of tomato plants, and if there's any chance I can get another one this year, I'm taking it.  It was an organic plant, so I'm thinking it wasn't GMO'd to be sterile in the second year.  

3.  Compost has been continued in earnest.  We don't tend to do as much composting in the winter once the stack really gets cold and freezes together.  But we're back.  And now our coffee grinds, used tea leaves, and veggie/fruit matter of all sorts have a purpose in life.  Ah, reincarnation.

4.  Have done massive amounts of general weeding.  I completely failed to put the garden to sleep properly last year.  What I should've done in late fall, but before it got too too cold, was pull out all the dead plants, (everything that doesn't overwinter), cover the soil with black plastic, and say, "nighty night" to the garden.  This is VITAL for two reasons.  First, you don't have tons of "prep work" in the spring when you want to get planting.  You lift the black plastic, add some compost, and insert seeds or plants.  (Instead, we had to spend hours doing what should've already been done.)  Second, you don't have an entire fall and winter of weedy things falling in the beds.  Weedy things that will eventually sprout when it gets nice and warm.  

Enough about garden regrets (for now!)  Here is the updated garden plot document.  Some stuff didn't come up, so I've revised and edited things, along with adding the details of my second round of planting.

Garden Plan Round Two Early Season 2011

In case you can't tell the difference, and also to keep track of my own progress, here are my notes on what's been happening since I first planted.

-Tons of volunteer dill has erupted.  Everywhere.  I'm glad I like it, but wish the cucumbers had worked so I could have pickles.

-The cucumbers didn't so much as sprout one little measly seedling.  What a bummer.  I love cucumbers in my salad.  I think I might try to plant them one more time and see what happens.  (Abundance of dill also makes this sad!)

-My butternut squash seeds really didn't sprout either.  Normally they do well for me, but I bought cheapie seeds this year, not my usual organic ones.  I was trying not to be snobby about things, but I think I'm learning a lesson.  (Better to be a seed snob?)  I found seedlings at a local farm (thanks Lex!) and so they have been planted in the place where I had planted the seeds.

-The stringless snap bush beans and the yellow wax beans all really struggled to get started and the seed leaves of both plants were very "holey" when they came through.  I forgot to inoculate the seeds this year (okay, I was just too lazy to search the Stinkbug infested shed for the inoculant) and I wonder if this isn't why.  I hope the final crops are not affected, but if so, I kick myself again for being lazy and stupid.  

-The cantaloupe plant is struggling.  Not a shocker.  Apparently melons are hard to grow, which is such a shame because the girls LOVE melon.  I'd love to get just ONE this year.  Please???!!!

-The direct-seeded celery never came up, so a butternut squash seedling went in its place.  I have celery also planted as seedlings, so no big loss there.

-Mesculun was replanted.

-New variety of lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson) planted.

Pictures!

This is the "Before" shot of the garden as it looked in April.  I think this is the same picture as the one in my first garden post.  But I put it here so the next picture will be like, "WOW!"  Get ready...

I told you the rain makes a difference!  And the higher temps do too, of course!

 Greens!!!!

Check out that beautiful broccoli and cauliflower in the back box.  Not getting excited though.  As I said before, it happens every year.  I get gorgeous LEAVES.  No vegetables.  Just leaves.  Stay tuned.   

In the front box the chard is coming in nicely.  I was worried because they were ugly little seedlings, but they are making a come-back.  Maybe I will call it my NKOTB Chard.

My cut-flower bed is going crazy.  Sunflowers, Cosmos, Zinnias, etc.  I can't wait to beautify the house all summer with flowers.

Lessons learned so far this year:

-Don't be lazy and stupid.  Gardening isn't for lazy and stupid people.  If you are lazy NOW, you will pay later.  (Remember to inoculate, pick up the rotting veggies, and put the garden to sleep properly in the fall!  

-Maybe it's okay to be a seed snob.  Go ahead, buy organic seeds.  Even if it means you have to order online or that your selection in real life will be more limited.  It might not seem like a huge deal, but in previous years, I've NEVER had a plant not come up at all, and to have the celery and cucumbers not even make a single appearance makes me wonder if it is due to seed quality.  I'm not a master gardener, of course, but simply based on my experience, seed quality seems to matter.  (Note: I have had plants not do well once established, of course, but I've always had stuff at least SPROUT.)

Okay, there's a break in the rain.  I think I will go weed.