We're in the middle of Spring, and getting more normal weather here, so my garden in Northwestern BC Canada is finally taking off! Here's a whole bunch of photos of the plants I've been showing recently, and a few new ones.
I'm eating food from the garden! I picked this bowl of greens for salad this evening. Green lettuce, red lettuce, and young pea shoots!
Those snow peas are lush, but in dire need of a trellis for support. I will build them something as soon as I have time and materials.
Here's the green lettuce, which I planted in March:
And the red lettuce, which I have less of, but plan to get seeds from:
The spinach isn't doing too well, though. Same problem as last year - an early heat wave (over 20 Celsius several times in April) sent all my little spinach seedlings into flowering mode. That means they've stopped growing, and gone to seed. Which is ridiculous, because they're only a few weeks old and very tiny, but they've gone and had babies anyway.
To counter the weird weather (like late frosts just the other day, and early heat waves) I'm planting some resistant crops, like orache ("mountain spinach"):
Gorgeous purple colour! That one's holding a raindrop. Orache is a very heat-resistant plant, which produces a lettuce/spinach-like leaf that is tasty and nutritious. It should produce food for me, even if my green spinach has already finished up for the year before even getting started. Here's another orache seedling, also next to a potato plant.
I've planted a handful of scarlet runner beans:
I hear they do well in containers, so I put them in these pots, which I placed under the deck stairs. My hope is they grow using the handrail as support.
Also planted some green and yellow wax bush beans:
Up come the sunflowers!
The pumpkin seedlings I transplanted into the garden recently turned white, probably because the direct sunlight was too intense for their leaves which had only ever experienced gentle indoor lighting. But they're alive, and sending out healthy new growth, so I think we'll have pumpkins this year.
I don't have as many garlics as I'd like, but they're doing quite well:
And the lilacs are still really pretty. They smell great.
Here are the latest apple updates... LOL
A closeup of the extension, with the original stick from last year at the bottom, and new growth at top:
Looks like a branch is forming:
At the back of the yard, I'm going to clear a spot for my Reclining Buddha medicine plants to live out their flowering stage. It'll go here, in the trees, where it will get quite a lot of sunlight coming in from the South.
Right now, there are ferns growing, and a bunch of unwanted wood, but I'll clear it. I already cut down a tree to make room for the secret garden.
Inside on my spare washing machine, the plants were getting too big for their little cups the other day...
The roots were doing well:
Into new pots with fresh soil they went.
A few days later, look how well they've taken to their new digs:
All they've had is plain soil, tap water, and the light from 2 small bulbs. Any success achieved is due to good genetics and proper technique... if I don't mind saying so myself.
In a couple weeks, they'll be ready for outside. Hopefully, outside will be ready for them!
Speaking of outside, here are the last several daily yard update shots:
Working in the garden doesn't feel like work, especially at this time of year. Thank you for visiting!
Grow in peace.
DRutter
