I've been a bad blogger, but I do have something to show for it!

I know I have been really bad at blogging, but I've been busy -- really! And I do have something to show for it:

Ali Baba Watermelon! That's Jonah's foot next to it for comparison.

This is delicious! We got 4 big ones this year -- one I picked before it was quite mature -- it was light pink inside with white seeds but still good -- my nieces, nephew and son loved it anyway. One we gave away today, one is still growing, and the other one is this -- so yummy!

I cannot wait to weigh the one still in the garden, it is HUGE!

We have 2 little ones growing too, but I don't think there is enough frost and cold-free time left for them to make it to maturity. If I have the space, I will definitely grow this again next year.

And seriously, the seeds are half the fun -- we were cracking Jonah up today as we practiced spitting them across the yard. We're not very good at this skill...yet.

Garden update

I went out to take some pics of the garden this morning and didn't even notice Thumper sitting right in front of me, enjoying the view as well.The zucchini plants are getting HUGE - no fruit yet, thought.

Delicious!Corn not looking too bad, but way smaller than that of the "real" farms around here.
Sungold cherry tomato ready to eat!
Garlic just harvested -- I waited a bit too long for some of them, but there are lots more in the ground, not quite ready to be picked.

A little bit of payoff

We got some very early love from our garden today -- radishes! This little baby practically jumped into my hand, it was so ready for harvesting.

These are Saxa II radishes that I bought from Baker Creek. There are a bunch more out there just about ready -- I'd been doing many successive radish seedings throughout the early spring.

My little garden helper even ate one...except that he spit it out after chewing it for about 20 seconds proclaiming, "It's spicy! It's spicy!"

Speaking of harvesting, apparently it's morel season around here.

Jonah and I found this one on a walk the other day. It was delicious! I'm going to try to find some more tomorrow to share with Dave, now that I survived eating a wild edible.

Other stuff is happening, too. The parnips are getting big, it's about time to thin them out. Can you see the big bushy green thing at the end of the parsnip row? That's the sage I planted last year, it is getting HUGE and starting to flower. I'm not sure if I should let it or not, because it might affect the quality of the leaves...but I think I will because I want to see what it looks like and we don't really use all that much sage around here.Blueberry bushes are blooming.

Potatoes are sprouting!

Asparagus is getting taller.

We planted 4 short rows of Rainbow Inca Sweet Corn today. It's still about a week too early to put in the tomato seedlings, however this one took a major beating in a surprise windstorm a few days ago so I just put it in the ground to see what would happen. It's a Dr. Wychee's.

Pretty stuff

Daffodils and tulips make good partners.I seem to have succeeded at planting the bulbs in some sort of a straight-ish line along the driveway last Fall!
Garlic getting bigger with peas to the right of them. I don't really like peas but for some reason they are exciting me -- I don't think I've ever had them right off the vine and that is rumored to be a real treat. And they are something green to grow in April!I think some spinach is coming up, too, but I'm not sure if it's actually spinach or just grass. They look similar. And are so small. I've never been able to grow spinach before.

There are so many little asparagus shoots begging me to eat them, but I won't, I won't! Next year!!!
The giant sunflower I grew last year seems to be extremely proficient at multiplying.

It's happening!

The asparagus are showing their faces! I know I can't cut them until next year to make the plant stronger, but it's tempting...And here come the pea shoots, finally! You can also see how tall the garlic is getting in the background, and if you look carefully you'll spy some daffodils blooming!Strawberry patch is looking good, too.Raspberries are gathering strength to bombard us with their yummy goodness!
And radishes are working their way up, too!

I love this weather!

A lot of the pansies I planted last spring came back this year. Also blooming in my yard are crocuses! Hyacinths with be next, with daffodils not far behind, and some tulips as well. Spring has definitely sprung, and the forsythia are blooming everywhere on my street!
The garlic is getting taller.
I planted some more tall telephone peas peas, parsnips, cilantro and Saxa II radishes in the garden today, as well as transplanting some Sanguine Ameliore lettuce I had started inside from seed. We'll see how it does. It's too early to move anything else outside and I am finding that I am not really following the garden plan I had laid out in the winter. I can only plant the early crops at the fringes of the garden, since I didn't till it yet and have to do it by hand. I didn't want to plant right in the middle of the untilled garden where the plants will be difficult to till around when the time comes. So things are going in a kind of mish-mosh row. I've got to stop now though because the next row back is for summer squash and watermelons, and that's the best place for them!
I moved my "greenhouse" outside for a bit of sun today.

Garden update and buttery goodness

We spent this beautiful day outside. I gave the compost bin a big turn, and then spread some of the good stuff from the bottom over the garden. When it's tilled, the compost will mix into the soil and make good things happen.The strawberry patch looks pretty good, and the plants are starting to produce new leaves. We should have fruit in 2 months -- if the creatures don't eat them first!
Dave had the brilliant idea of moving this portable greenhouse into our "screen room." It keeps the seedlings warm and collects lots of light. I was so happy to discover how warm this unheated screen room gets in the sun, it is the ideal place for growing seedlings and it has given me hope for starting my plants from seeds!
You can see some lettuce sprouts here. The basil is coming up, too.
This pine tree is huge and old but it's going to be leaving us. Goodbye, pine needles, hello sunshine!
On another topic, after a day of gardening I made butter out of some of the raw milk I brought back from Uppingil Farm. At least I think it's butter. It tastes like butter! It took a lot of shaking to get there!