Garden

Yellow Squash Seedling

We did our garden a bit differently this year.  Other that two tomato plants, one basil, and one cilantro, everything was planted from seed ~ the first weekend of June.  It was a late start but except for the stevia, everything appears to be coming up and doing well; especially the potatoes, onions, squash, and beans.  My focus this year were root cellar crops.  I wanted to plant as many foods that could be stored and used throughout the winter as possible.  Last year we had sweet potatoes in the basement as well as some canned pickles.  I'm hoping to expand that this year.  Baby steps, folks!  That's how it's done.  I have grand ideas for my gardens, I really do.  But can find myself quickly overwhelmed if I try to do it all at once.

I'm pretty proud of what we've planted this year.  We've a 4X8 plot of butternut squash as well as another of a variety of bush beans.  A third plot is split between red potatoes and yellow onions.  A fourth with jalapenos, broccoli, okra, eggplant (which I don't think is going to grow), and carrots.  A fifth with roma tomatoes, beets, and green onions.  And lastly a small strip planted with the basil, cilantro (one plant, the rest seeds), parsley, and stevia.  That's just the garden.  I also planted in a couple of large pots yellow squash and zucchini, and a half barrel of potatoes, and a small pumpkin patch next to my bleeding heart.  Just making the most of the space I have.  I still would like to put in some lettuce but I'm having a hard time keeping the  chickens out of the planter I want to grow them in.  I suppose I could fashion some kind of lid to start them off with.

In the mean time, the weeds have come in along with the sprouting seeds.  Mostly Lamb's Quarters (which I just recently found is edible) and some suspicious red-bottomed leafy plant.  I'm not sure what that one is just yet.  Perhaps it is edible as well.  All I can say is that they came from our compost as none of the 'compost-free' areas have it growing.  I don't mind the weeding that much though.