Paying attention to the Veggie Gardens

I've been so busy reworking my flower beds, that I've neglected the vegetable gardens a bit.  Tina (and Skeeter?)  from In the Garden host a vegetable garden update the third Wednesday of the month.  It used to be the 20th, so I went out the evening of the 19th, did some weeding, then took over a hundred photos of my 2 vegetable gardens.  I didn't get all of the weeding done, but look forward to getting back at it.

Here's the entrance to the home veggie garden.  I didn't plant the lemon balm that's growing to the right of the stone, but have been letting stay there, pulling some to keep it from spreading.  That looks like garlic next to it.   I'll have to look when I go back out.  Some perennial sweet peas are coming up on the left side of the entrance.  They have been getting a disease the last couple of years, so I'm going to try harder to keep them thinned out.  The violets that took over the butter and eggs need to be thinned, but are blooming.

I like to grow a variety of lettuces, both blends and individual types.  Radishes, bachelor buttons, and such are coming up, too.  This is facing east from the entrance of the garden.  There was a cover over these, but I didn't have time to look for my other 2, so I put it on my peas across the street because the rabbits were eating them.  I've found that 2 of rabbits' favorite foods are romaine lettuce and young pea plants.  They will eat any kind of lettuce and size of plant, but these 2 seem high on their list, and the peas don't usually recover, because they eat all of the plant.

This is facing west from the entrance.  The potatoes in the first section aren't up yet, but a few beets are.

These peas have been found by the rabbits, too, but there aren't as many, so I may have to replant or put something else there.  This is the third year for the kale.   It's loaded with flower buds.  I've been picking them and munching on them.  I've discovered they are sweeter than the rest of the plant.  Yum!  Oh, and this is the area I let some violets grow.

I grew asparagus for a number of years.  I didn't fertilize it much, and most or all of them were female, so the spears were quite thin.  We rarely had enough for a meal.  I bought some Jersey Hybrid plants to put across the street, but the soil was on the hard side, so I planted 10 there, and put 10 here. 

None across the street are up, but there are 2 coming up here.  I could not get a good photo, but wanted to include this little sweetie, anyway.  It will grow up into a nice plant that I'll enjoy until the bed is old enough to harvest from.

This lettuce reseeded from last year, I guess.  I don't let many plants go to seed, but seem to recall letting some on purpose last year.  Maybe I'll let a couple of these do that, too.

This is the wildish area in front of the compost.  Garlic, hollyhocks, larkspur, and weeds compete for space.  I have a stick pile for butterfly shelter in the corner.

I need some more green stuff for the compost piles.  The dug out grass is from our neighbor's yard.

In another wild spot, are rhubarb, more garlic and weeds, and to the right, not in the photo, a lily, Russian sage, and more sweet pea wrangle with each other next to the compost area.

When you turn around from the previous area, you see kale from last year, onions, lettuce, larkspur, and spinach.

Further to the east, are some volunteer cilantro plants I've used from a few times.  They are pretty tasty.  The weather has been cool enough that they aren't bolting, so far.

I have much of the space across the street planted already.

I put Tithonia seed heads all over this area.  I hope they come up.  The monarchs loved them last year.  There are also onions, parsley, and kale in the area to the right.  I have some perennials near the trees, and behind them, are strawberries.

I bought too many potatoes, and ended up planting some in one of the areas I had some last year.  I'll have to be more careful next year.  I did a better job leaving room to hill them, though.  This is facing south.

Here are the peas the rabbits were eating on under protection.  I posted last year about what this is called, but don't remember now.  There are spaces where the rabbits ate whole plants.

This is facing north.  It's hard to see the lettuce coming up.  There are onions coming up that had gotten shredded by the birds last year.  I'm assuming we need to use them as green onions, because they will bloom instead of forming a bulb.

Heading further east, are the 2 rows of potatoes that are not where any were last year, and the row of asparagus.  Larry tilled the area between the wheelbarrow and compost pile.  I usually only till an area once, then the soil stays workable after adding compost, and sometimes bags of composted manure or peat moss.  I think I'll plant tomatoes and peppers there.

The area by the neighbors' fence is where I planted some bushes and perennials.  I need to add more flowers to fill it up.

This is Chardonnay pearls deutzia getting ready to bloom.

I think this is snowball viburnum, but my memory isn't the best.  I love the crinkly leaves.  I better hurry up and find out how to prune these bushes.

I think this is the mock orange.

This is Mohawk viburnum.  I don't know if I should keep these blooms or not.  It's not shaped very nicely.  I suppose I should cut it back.

Maybe I'll wait until the blooms have opened a few days.  Maybe I'll look into it and find out what the best thing is for the bush.  If you know, and have the time, you can let me know in a comment.

I hope you are finding time for your veggie gardens!