GARDEN UPDATE 4/20/2017

HI FRIENDS!!!!

I'm hoping this spring season is finding you well and your gardens flourishing.

Here's what's happening in mine:

Seedlings are beautiful and mostly ready for transplanting.  

Of the 72 plants I started, very few didn't make it. My onions were from old seed and mostly an experiment that just never germinated, I killed my one okra seedling in potting up, and my Aji Dulce peppers are not growing as well as I'd like but overall I'm really really happy with my seedlings this year. I didn't forget about any of them! The curcubits (squash, zucchini) and herbs will get transplanted out this weekend and the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant will stay on the porch a bit longer.

Flowers go in next
I'm trying something new this year! I'm going to be starting some flower seeds for my front beds in addition to my veggies. Can't eat them and they're not anything useful but they'll be pretty! I have zinnias, impatiens and snapdragons.

Pretty sure my dang apple tree is dead
Georgia said it's just growing sticks. The one that is still alive is BEAUTIFUL though. Probably won't get any apples off of her for another year but the blooms are just gorgeous. I've since cleared all the weeds, fertilized and conditioned with neem oil and fish emulsion, and laid fresh mulch since these pictures were taken. Sadly, the tree is just as dead.

Direct seeded plants are popping off nicely!
Cruciferous bed of broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, and cabbage is growing well. I have some radishes and beets mixed in there too. I'm hoping to get something out of it before it all bolts. The weather in Maryland changes so quickly. Winter drags on forever and then suddenly it's summer. I did an earlier planting that all washed away before it germinated so I fear I didn't get anything in early enough for cool weather. I've also planted a few rows of cucumber and okra that is coming along nicely.

pickles loading...

My strawberry bed is my moon and stars
FINALLY I get to enjoy strawberries. Last year I reluctantly pinched off flowers, knowing that doing so would force the plants to put out more runners and lead to larger yields later. I enjoyed the few berries that I missed. This year by strawberry bed is huge is popping off and I can't wait to dig in! It's full of pretty white flowers that will turn into tasty strawberries!
I'll soon top the bed off with more compost and plant my beans along the edges. They'll share nitrogen love with the strawberries and provide shade, possibly prolonging their growth in the hot hot heat.

My chickens are still dumb

not pictured is the dummy that flew over the fence

I currently have 3 and I'm getting an egg a day from each girl that they typically hide under the deck. It seems to be either feast or famine around here on the eggs. Either we have none or we have dozen or so just hanging out. I want to have more to be able to barter/give away to friends so we're adding 3-4 more to our flock.

I'm thrilled with what this season has to hold for us.
What's going on for you??