A-gardening

As the weather gets warmer, I've been spending more and more time outdoors, working the garden. You know, preparing the ground for planting, turning the compost, and nurturing seedlings in the new serre that R built last Tuesday. This is the first year I'm germinating most of my plants from seed—so far, I have two kind of tomatoes, two kinds of basil, coriander, mesclun salad mix, two kinds of kale, kohlrabi, and scallions. The kohlrabi and kales are about an inch tall and the rest are just starting to emerge. The broccoli, chives, and mint I potted last year have survived the winter, mostly outside. I've been on broccoli watch the past two weeks—a tiny baby broccoli head sprouted and is getting bigger by the day. Just the other day the plant grew another teeny head below the main head. Exciting!


The ground is warming up and soon neighbor P will pass by with his rototiller. After that I can sow the rest of my seeds directly into the ground. I was waiting for the date past the last chance of frost which I think has passed because it's been so warm lately. Neighbor P is hesitant because you never know. Even so, I'll sow some of the hardier seeds into the ground, leaving the warm weather loving crops to germinate and grow in the serre.

I don't know about you, but I love the entire gardening process, from preparing the ground to planning the garden to buying the seeds. And then there's the germinating, the transplanting, the potting, the thinning, the weeding, and the harvest. I love every single step but especially the when I see my seeds emerge as thin green leaves, pushing through the ground. And then the harvest. I love that too.

This year I diversified, buying seeds for the cool season (early spring and fall through winter) and warm season (late spring through early fall). Here's what I hope to harvest come June through October and maybe beyond.

ASIAN VEGETABLES

• Basil, Chinese
• Bok choy
• Leek flower, or Chinese chives
• Kale, Chinese
• Bitter melon
• Daikon radish
• Edamame
• Fuzzy gourd
• Coriander
• Scallion, bunching onions

OTHER VEGETABLES

• Basil, Italian
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Broccoli rabe
• Charentais melon
• Ciboulette
• Kale, curly leaf
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Mesclun salad
• Mint 
• Scorsonère
• Snow pea
• Squash, acorn
• Tomatoes, Roma
• Tomatoes, Cherry
• Zucchini