It's been a little while since I last wrote anything about the garden, but it's not as though I haven't been busy. It's just that plain dirt doesn't make for the most engaging photos. Now, however, with greenery abounding, I can blather on once more.
Behold, the mighty deck planter:
It's actually one of two. Currently, this one holds French breakfast and easter egg radishes, hakurei turnips, broccoli raab, and two kinds of peas: a yellow edible-podded variety from India and a blue shelling variety from the Netherlands, I think. Seed Savers gives the name as Blauwschokker, and it's certainly a shocking sort of blue. I don't know how they taste, since the deer ate the plants last year, but the ornamental blue pods alone are worth the space.
This planter's big, by the way. The plantable area's six feet long, twenty-one inches wide, and eighteen inches deep.1 Big enough to plant just about anything short of a tree, which means I have options. Other than moving them, of course; they're heavy and unwieldy enough empty to require two people to maneuver.
Also visible here: Alpine strawberries, overwintered from last year, and quite vigorous; half of a pot of mint - the other half having moved out to the back garden to take over as much space as it likes; lavender about to flower; a miniature rose for Sharon; and lots of tomato and pepper seedlings.
I took the picture Saturday. Yesterday, the tomatoes moved outside (and into their protective structure, dubbed the "tomato cage"), and the peppers went today. All but for four of them, that is; the Fish and Red Thai chillis will stick around in containers on the deck. Fish, so that they can be seen; Red Thai so that I can ripen them indoors if the weather turns too early. They're hot, delicious, and dry well, and there were far too many sitting green on last year's plants when the frosts overwhelmed the plants.
Meanwhile, it's harvest time for salad greens and radishes, and I had my first ripe strawberry yesterday. (Full-size, not Alpine. Unbelievably good.) At this point, more than half of the season's planting is done, so it's down to trying to protect everything from the critters in the yard so there's enough to harvest. It's a progressive learning experience.
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1I got a little carried away, I suppose, but they're really quite nice to have.
3 comments:
Brian, would you consider doing a pickle tutorial post? Or is there a good pickle book that you can recommend? My 1975 canning book only has recipes for quick pickles, and they always turn mushy and gross after canning. How do you make pickles that stay crunchy, or ones that will last in the fridge without canning them?
Pickles? Sure. I'll need to do a little research, so it won't be in the immediate future, but I'll try to get something up before cucumbers start appearing. I've had pickle success, but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I'm planning on trying both fermented and quick pickles this year, so hopefully I'll have something to compare come autumn.
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