bed 6 today

i went by the community garden after work today to have a look around and see if it was time to plant pole beans...

don't let the wind-driven look of the photo fool you, the spud corner is booming along...and the pepper plant that is cohbiting with them is doing okay as well...

the celery, kohlrabi, and turnips are coming along...

and the peas are beginning to send out tendrils...a trellis will be needed directly...

the row of maize is looking well...

while none of the plants has reached the height needed to start the pole beans...

they are a group of sturdy, robust looking plants...

and as i was leaving i found a bee in the clover.

busy morning

the weather is warming and it is time to do some planting so early this morning i headed over to the portage community garden, where the spuds are doing well...the blues are even just coming into leaf...but they aren't in the photo because the leaves are so dark they are difficult to tell from the soil...they are there all the same...

i put heirloom maize seeds in to soak yesterday and today i took them out to the garden...

and planted them a foot apart in a low hill of compost along the north side of the bed...once they are a few inches tall i will plant pole beans to use the corn stalks as trellises and have two thirds of the three sisters...

i planted fifteen pea seeds in a fairly dense patch...they seem to like togetherness...by the spuds...

i also planted celery ( not a favorite but there was external pressure ) and some kohlrabi...the bed is filling...there will be a few more additions as the season moves along...perhaps some tomatoes and peppers...finished there i headed home...

where i dug these beds for the fifth time and added more compost...

and worm castings in specific areas even though i found a multitude of worms while i was turning the soil...

then i planted more peas, bush beans, borage ( to attract bees to the squash ), and zucchini...then i turned to more important matters...

many ( though not all ) of the tesointe seeds i soaked six days ago are more than ready to go in...

and this is where that "specific" comes in...i took a handful of worm castings,and a teosinte seedling and carefully planted them shoot side up...altogether today upwards of a hundred transplants, seedlings, and seeds went in for the season's start...there is more maize, teosinte, and transplants lurking in the near future...not to mention the cyclic spud planting...there are still seed potatoes to cut and callous...we have plans.

around the iuncg 7-3-2015

wandering around some of the rest of the garden you can see that ellen's radishes in the top photo are coming long as are harold's peas in the second...there are jerusalem artichokes in far more places in the garden than i had ever intended...the bed in the third photo is their proper place but they have escaped from that and the colony that was inadvertently transplanted from the old garden tot he corner box is proving stubborn...not out of control, but defiant...the kale that i found so lush and verdant four days ago in the fourth photo shows signs of harvesting today in the fifth...that's exactly why we grew it and i hope it's just fine...you can have my share...not a fan..haven't put up a shot of the arborvitae in a while...it is looking hale, hearty, and well established after a first season of intensive watering...the bottom photo is the iuncg about eight this morning...we have a season gooing on.

tubers and legumes

the winter vetch out back is beginning to bloom so it looks as if there will be seed for green manures in the gardens this coming autumn...and while we're on the subject of winter vetch, that wheat seed head that was snagged by some winter vetch tendrils two days ago ( second photo ) and distorted has been grabbed by yet another plant and is now in a horizontal position ( third photo ) who knows where it will end up before it ripens...the tuber part of this post is the spuds in the container in the fourth photo...and they are sharing the frame with the peas in the last...off to the community garden for some work and some maintenance in the morning...need to see if there's a need for some water...more on that later.

other backyard news

the rest of the backyard season is coming along..the ramps ( top photo ) are doing well and the potato plants i potted from out of the basement ( second photo ) have adjusted to their new surroundings...the third and fourth photos tell me peas are up and running and the fifth speaks of beets...the bottom photo shows that i am in possession of a fair stand of winter vetch and winter rye which i will probably allow to go to seed for a batch of seeds for fall green manures/cover crops for other gardens...the season never stops.

iu northwest community garden and my back yard

i went out to campus this morning and planted some oaxacan green dent and hopi blue maize in the garden and then i strolled over to the community garden behind lindenwood hall and had a fine time chatting with dr. szarleta and her group of gardeners as we worked on planting their new season...they have a slew of raised beds back there and planted, among other things, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and a cherry tree named george...when i got home i found that the garlic i had ordered had arrived ( just as ups said it would ) so i went out and worked in a garden...i found a spot that would get full sun most of the day..stripped off the sod...turned in some compost and ( hopefully ) started half a dozen more plants out there...i will be scouting spots and trimming limbs tomorrow to get the rest in the ground..the fourth photo is of turnips (in front) snow peas (with poles) and the potato patch in the rear...the bottom photo is the obligatory teosinte photo...northern tepehuan this time (in its anti-critter cage) growing like the "wild and weedy ancestor" it is...things just keep happening and the season just gets to be more enjoyable..still geeked...still having fun