Salad Season

Our long and lovely spring has given us ideal conditions for growing salad greens... and strawberries!  This is the first year that I've had bountiful yields of both. 

One thing I changed this year was purchasing individual varieties of lettuce seeds instead of a mix. I alternated rows of colorful red and green leaf lettuces instead of planting a field of mixed greens.  Not only does this make for a pretty neat looking striped area in the garden bed, but it also makes it a little easier to see what's working and what isn't. And this year, everything is working!  I haven't bought salad greens in over a month and I've had greens to share too. 

This is also the first year that I've gotten a decent strawberry crop from my 6 plants. I know it takes a couple years for strawberries to get going, and the wait has finally paid off. On several occasions I've picked a big handful of red, juicy, sweet berry "candy" from Mother Nature. Last year I never got more than a berry a visit, so this is a triumph in my book. 

The garden is now off and running after a late start. Here's what it's looked like over the past month:

At the start of May, the lettuce in the foreground was just beginning, the strawberries in the top right were covered in white blooms, and that unstoppable kale in the upper left was already going strong. 

By mid May, the lettuce was ready for some thinning, I picked our first handful of berries, and the overwintered kale was flowering. 

Now I have loads of lettuce, the berries are slowing, and I seriously trimmed the runaway kale to make room for radicchio heads underneath. 

What else is growing? Carrots, leeks, garlic, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, dill, melon, and winter squash. Yes, I garden in a very small space. Yes, I make the most of it. 

Bloom Season: Brunswick St Community Garden

It's absolutely beautiful this time of year in the garden. Almost every bed has something in bloom and some beds are awash in color. Yesterday, under overcast skies, the colors really popped. 

Columbines easily naturalize in the garden. Seedlings grew unannounced in my plot last year and tend to sprout up all over the place if left unchecked. This year I counted four different varieties, including the ubiquitous purple kind seen above. 

After a very poor showing of roses last year and a tough winter, I was pleasantly surprised to see the bushes bouncing back. I chose a single bloom off this pink plant for a bud vase at home. 

I'm impressed with everyone's participation in their individual plots this year. We had at least 10 plots turn over to new members this year. I've never seen such weed-free, carefully planted beds in the garden in all the years that I've been a member. And so much mulch!

My own plot is on its way to being overtaken by sunflowers. I've moved several to neighboring shared beds and am using the rest to shade my lettuce crop. Otherwise, I would say this year's garden is my most unplanned effort. I've been sticking those pepper seedlings that I started indoors almost anywhere they will fit. I've reseeded inbetween lettuce with more lettuce. I've also randomly planted nasturtium and bush beans in empty spaces. Honestly I can't remember everything I planted and am only reminded when something sprouts. This week a nasturtium popped up and I think some lettuce leaf basil. 

Two strawberries and a bag of greens (kale and lettuce) were harvested on Wednesday this week so I'd say the plot is up and running. Next week I might throw an eggplant plant in if there's room...

Garden Break

A beautiful miniature orange rose bloomed last week.

I love the color of these iris in the Brunswick garden.

I grew a strawberry!