Spring Garden Update at 2 Months

It has been exactly two months (2/9 and 2/10) since I planted the first of the veggies in the garden this spring: lettuce, spinach, carrots, onions, broccoli, and kale.  The beans were planted a month ago (3/8).  The cucumber seeds and the tomato and pepper plants were planted three weeks ago (3/18 and 3/19). 

Plan for Spring 2017 garden using the square foot gardening approach

 


With the possible exception of the cucumber (which is growing, but very small) and some of the spinach, everything is doing great.  I have more salad greens than I can possibly eat, even with salads every day. (Note to self, plant less lettuce next time.)

Garden on 4-9-17

There are plenty of other things to enjoy besides lettuce and spinach.  I keep making kale chips, but the kale plants are still going strong.  The broccoli may be ready to be picked.  This spring's carrots and onions are still too small, but I am harvesting both carrots and onions from last fall's plantings.  

I am not the only one enjoying the garden goodies.  Bun, our not-so-wild Eastern cottontail, is enjoying castoff carrot tops, kale leaves, and broccoli leaves.  I always pile them in the same place on the patio near the chaise lounge, so he now checks that spot every time he goes in and out of the yard. 

4-3-17  Bun posing for a picture while eating carrot greens

Hopefully these sacrificial offerings will fill him up before he attacks other foliage in the backyard that we do not want him eating. 

4-11-17  Broccoli heads are looking promising.  Tomatoes and peppers are growing.  Kale is taking over the world.

Even the tomato and pepper plants, both very much warm weather plants, are flowering and beginning to set fruit.  In fact, one banana pepper that just appeared this week is already several inches long.

4-11-17  Banana pepper on the plant that was decapitated by hail on March 26

 
However, the current big story of the day centers on the beans. Both the bush beans and the pole beans are growing like mad. 

3-25-17  --  The beans, planted on 3/8, are just beginning to grow.

 

4-10-17 --  Two of the pole beans have made it to the top of the trellis.  The bush beans are happily bushing.

After just starting to grow onto the trellis about a week ago, the pole beans have been racing to the top.  Sunday afternoon there were two pole bean plants approaching the top bar, with the one near the center clearly in the lead.

Sunday afternoon, 4-9-17, a race to the top

When I looked out the window Monday morning the plant near the center had made it to the top. Surprisingly, when I went out a few hours later to take pictures, BOTH of them had made it to the top.  These two had climbed more than 4 feet in a week.  It is easy to see how the bean part of "Jack and the Beanstalk" got started.

4-10-17  Photo-finish to the top

4-11-17  The lettuce was beaten down somewhat by hail and rain overnight, but the beans look no worse for wear.

Despite the hail storm of nearly biblical proportions on March 26 and yet another (although much smaller!) hail storm last night, the garden is super lush and doing great.  Fortunately I did not heed the advice of several of the local gardeners I follow on Facebook.  A common question posed to that group several months ago was "When should I plant to avoid frost/freeze?".  A common response was "Wait until after Easter", which was supposed to be a general rule of thumb for planting every year.

I don't understand this advice, given how variable the date for Easter is from year to year.  I guess it is true that I would have avoided any frost/freeze if I had waited to plant everything until NEXT week, i.e. after April 16, since the latest freeze ever at DFW is April 13.  I am glad I took the chance and planted when I did.  Although a touch early for several of the plantings and especially the beans, which are a warm weather crop that cannot tolerate frost, I planted most things at about the time suggested for this area by North Haven Gardens  nursery. 

Of course, that gamble was especially well suited to the weather this year.  Even though the average last freeze in DFW is about March 18, the last official freeze this year was January 8, a new record.

I hope this doesn't mean we will have record heat this coming summer.