Spring Summer Gardening

Last spring/summer we tried to put in a garden like normal and it did so poorly because we had such massive amounts of rainfall for days on end. Its tough to get a good crop if they are over watered. This year we have had some rain, but not quite so bad. We are also trying new crops like cilantro. We use quite a bit of cilantro, so I would really like to perfect this one.

Radishes are a plant that we grow every year, a little selfishly I might add. I am the only one that likes them. One issue we had this year is that it rained so close to planting the seeds that they are not quite deep enough to get the big full radish that I typically see. I hope to purchase some more seeds for a second and third batch. They grow pretty well here.

Cabbage is another new one. I haven't quite figured this one out yet. I saw that a friend from church was growing this last year so I wanted to give it a try. It seems to take quite a while to create the center cabbage head that you purchase at the store.

Potatoes are doing amazing. I want to try these outside of the garden in some bin type areas. It seems they love to grow really tall and we keep mulching part way up, one issue with having them in the garden is they provide too much shade to crops near by.  It is a good lesson.

Spinach hasn't done as well as I would have hoped, it is another new crop. We typically don't do too much in the spring time. I find that it keeps having issue with yellowing leaves, from too much rain fall. Next time we might have to add more sand so the soil drains more.

We eat a lot of Kale in soup. I am excited to see it really taking off. We have two varieties. The seed that we planted is not quite as big as these plants we purchased. It also has a purple leaf compared to this.

I am not a big fan of brussel sprouts. I do admit I have not had them as an adult. I do like cabbage so we are trying these out. My husband loves them. 

I absolutely love broccoli. We have two varieties this year. I love that I can finally see the flower part of it starting. I need to research and see if anything can be done with their enormous leaves. I know with the radish leaves we use them as rabbit food. They love them.

Of course I can't help but plant peppers and tomatoes. We planted quite a few varieties of each this year. I purchased Paul a few helpful items between Christmas, Anniversary and Valentines Day. We now have a newer canning system, dehydrator and I am working on a vacuum seal machine. I want to start making our own salsas to can and freeze, as well as things like spaghetti sauce etc. We are learning that our younger two do much better health wise when I cook more of our meals from scratch.

Squash is always something we start from seed. We have done really well in the past. This year we planted four different types. It is my favorite lunch during the summer. It is awesome to go out to the garden and pick a squash, some peppers and a tomato to cook up and eat over some rice or pasta.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts