Gardening update

I told you that I would keep you updated on my spring garden. I am pleased to tell you that much of what I planted has grown very well. These pictures were taken about 3 weeks ago, after about 5-6 weeks in the ground...so you can do the math and imagine where the growth is up to now...suffice it to say that it took reaching the final seminary lesson to get the pictures off my phone and onto a blog. :)




The tomatoes are very large, and fairly healthy looking. The first crop is about half-way to ripe. I caged the tomatoes just after taking the picture, and they are starting to grow out of the cages. The peppers got a slow start, mostly (I think) because I planted them so small.




The plant in the foreground is sage. I put some in some black beans and rice the other night (together with some thyme, cumin and the holy trinity of seasonings - garlic, onion and chili) ...yum! The onion-y looking patch is a patch of leeks...not sure what we'll do with them, but at worst we can use the leaves like chives.




Here's the surprise, at least to many that I talk to...the spinach has produced a huge crop already. I hear that it may peter out in the heat of summer, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I got my first harvest a few days after this picture. It filled a bread bowl with leaves. About a week ago, I took another harvest of a little more than the first. We have a third ready to go, just waiting to use up the previous stuff before I go cut it. It looks to be even larger than the first two...savings to date. = $15 on spinach. Cost to date = $250 in supplies and dirt, plus maybe a little more for the plants... OK, maybe not a cost savings right now, but its certainly more fresh!




I thought I'd be smart and only plant 2 hills each of zucchini and crookneck. OK...good plan, but I can see where they might overwhelm us once they get going. They're about triple this size already, and each hill has 4-5 blooms going. the first squash is about 2 inches long. Can't wait!


So, there you have it...a good year for a garden. Shona was reading that home gardening is up about 40% this year, with people trying to save their grocery budget. I don't really expect to save any money, but if past experience holds true, the taste premium cannot be bought. As the song says: "only two things that money can't buy, and that's true love and home-grown tomatoes." A fascinating side-effect is that the kids are eating more veggies and are appreciating the seasoning of our meals a lot more, now that we grow them. That really makes it worth it, to me.