Happy May, everyone!!! It sure doesn't feel like spring is here - the weather has been very cool lately with the very occasional warmer day. This is making our tiny plants in the Covenhoven House garden to creep in growth after sprouting.
See those tiny leaves in that picture up there? That is our flax plants slowly growing in our very cool spring. That's about 2 weeks of growth. Here's how our pea plants are doing....
The pea plants are a tiny bit bigger, but still just creeping along, establishing roots in the rock hard soil that we have at the Covenhoven House. The hard soil that you can see in the photograph show you the real need for compost and other soil amendments to lighten and enrich our garden soil. We aren't looking for great crops this year - it's the year to get the soil enriched and the perennials established.
The asparagus crowns have been planted as of yesterday. Not much to see yet, but as the plant grows this year, we backfill dirt onto it until there is a mound around the stalks. No harvesting this year! Next year, we can harvest a few stalks for a week and then subsequent years, we can harvest for a longer period.
The first two years are really to establish the root system, not to grow spears. So we have to be patient with this crop!
Oh! The artichoke plants were also planted by our long-time volunteer, Joe. He's been with us forever and has been a wonderful resource with the garden. He has a background in forestry which we will talk about another time. Yes, that's our authentic 18th century Ye Ol' Scoop-Away compost bucket. Everyone had them back then........
The area that we will be planting the sweet potatoes in was turned over again to help keep the soil loose and mix in that great compost for our friendly worms to get to work on it. We have found so many earth worms every time we have turned over the soil that we know our garden will get the help it needs! And this area has been just chock full of worms!
So our garden growth and planting is creeping along...but we have grown something already! While we were weeding and planting the other day, we found three plastic babies. They weren't there when the soil was originally turned over. So they add to the creepy-ness of our garden right now.
How is it in your neighborhood? Have your neighbors - or your own family - planted a garden this year? What are you growing in it?
I promise - soon the photographs will be more interesting and exciting! Warmer weather is coming, which means the plants will finally go from creeping to leaping!
See you all soon at the Covenhoven House!
-- Pati