Indeed!
Too dark for pics but I got all my microirrigation finished today. Three big beds that I don’t have to handwater. I’ll still take care of the orchids and other potted plants on the porch with a watering can, but the big stuff will now all get watered with sprinklers controlled off of two spigots
That is quite a useful endeavor!
Corn transplanted. ![]()
Tomatoes transplanted. ![]()
Peppers, cukes, zuccs and pumpkins up-potted. ![]()
Cherry hand-pie filling prepped.
(Ooops - wrong thread.)
Today’s tasks were harvest oriented:
Picked 2 pounds of spinach (and turned it into creamed spinach and onions for the freezer).
Harvested 1 pound of kale (which I rough chopped, sauteed, and packed in 1/2-cup portions for the freezer).
Picked all the basil I could (and processed into a total of 1 1/3 c. pesto for the freezer).
Picked salad greens for tonight’s dinner, and found a few more asparagus spears for Friday’s dinner.
For the record, I baked off the sour cherry hand pies. I love this time of year!!!
Wow! Sounds like a great day!
Very satisfying. I’m beat.
Absolutely not to rub it in, but rather to marvel at how crazy the weather is this spring…my colleagues in Illinois and Wisconsin are still nurturing seedlings because they are still wearing sweaters and waming up to frost every morning!
My pigeon pea bed…these were chaos planted to see what happens. Looks like I’ll have peas and rice aplenty come fall.
My toms - i have had a half dozen cherry and two beefsteak that I unwillingly shared with a bird…my share qas absolutely delicious. Loads more fruit setting, so will be a good year if I can keep the critters off them.
And the potatoes and sweet potatoes
The main beds (and theres okra and roselle against the house in the back…those will get BIG, and Seminole pumpkin to the far right)
And for dessert a sweet little pink calla lily… I love calla lilies but didnt think theyd grow here, so I was excited to try when I found out they do well here.
ETA: the microirrigation system waa running when I took these. Im really happy with how this system works.
My initial plantings are done! Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and Brandywine are repeats from last year; Japanese Black Trifele, Mr. Stripey, Pineapple, Stripe German, German Johnson and Costoluto Genovese are new for me this year. Peppers: Poblano, Big Chili, Purple Bell, Caribbean Red, Cherry Bomb and Dragon Roll.
I also planted a tomatillo start and seeded carrots, cavolo nero, arugula and a couple types of lettuce. Will start snap peas in August for a fall crop.
My first BLT can’t come soon enough!
my first 2 asparagus spears ever popped up this week
i hope you ate them (or plan to). ![]()
My veg garden is mostly planted; this is definitely the earliest I’ve ever finished. Usually Mother’s Day is the first planting day.
I have my usual tomatoes (two purple Cherokee and one black cherry), about twice as many bell and poblano peppers as previous years, two cucumbers, one string bean (new), two kinds of beets (new) and a bunch of lettuces and some spinach on the patio, away from the rabbits. All that’s left to get in the ground are my lemon verbena seedlings.
Congratulations! I think it is my latest! I am happy to be able to take some time because April has been so cool. 90’s next week, which is much more typical.
Eagerly awaiting this one! I am picking through some dried ones now!
I tried to add this to my other response but keep getting that weird error message about a url ![]()
I am realizing I haven’t started my okra yet, which I was planning to try for the first time…in a container! It’s supposedly a small one. Am I too late? We have a long, hot, dry growing season.
I was inspired after trying roselle last year.
Not at all… I’m here in 9b/10a (depending on who’s drawing the line) and my groups are all planting okra from seed right now. It’s dry as a bone here, so you should be good. They’ll need a little more moisture to germinate but they flourish in our heat.
Be patient with the pigeon peas, or give them a good soak. They take a minute to germinate unless you scarify them by soaking or scoring. I bought a bag of dried at the Latin supermarket and the germination rate is high.
I’m totally in awe of your beautiful outdoor space! I live at the top of a windy, rocky hill so the difference could not be more extreme…














