Vegetable Garden Update

Both in the greenhouse and in the garden beds, Lady Spring is making progress in spite of our chilly weather. Where shall we begin? Let's go in the greenhouse. Here's my "work table" - my soil table.

 Adam sifts his cured compost and it's my potting soil for most things. See it at the back of the table? I use that little black square thing to sift it more. The most important tool right now for transplanting delicate seedlings is that old chisel. It's the perfect size for digging out a little seedling and placing it gingerly in a new pot. 
Regarding watering: I did use a mason jar (above) with holes punched in the lid. But it was so slow, and not big enough. The juice bottle it better. I punched holes in its lid with a knife. It's perfect. When the plants are bigger, I graduate to using the watering can (above also).

Here are some dill (left) and basil (right), newly moved into square pots.

 

I already have dill and basil in the ground in the herb garden, so I'll probably sell all these.
Here are tomato seedlings (left) in bigger pots, and loofah seedlings (right). I'll have more loofah plants than last year, and might sell a few.

 

Sadly, during our recent windstorm, the greenhouse door Adam made was ripped open and bent out of shape. What a wind!

 

Above is the smallest of my tomato plants that overwintered. It's looking rather happy ... considering.
Our lettuce/greens bed is great! I'm quite pleased. I sold some kale and spinach at the market Saturday, and will do so again.

 Asparagus is coming right along. Not a massive cloud of stalks yet, but well-established.

 Some unexpected radishes erupted recently (left). And a couple of stout kale plants too. I have difficulty telling the difference between a big kale plant and a collard.

 

This is where some of those tomato seedlings will go when they are older and bigger. The weeds encroach so fast!

 Now ... Rabbits!!! Oh, naughty rabbits. They come through the fence (you can't see it) over there along the trees (below). They started nibbling the tops off our pea plants -- the tender growth shoot! This was not to be tolerated.

 Adam had heard that rabbits are rather stupid. He didn't have enough fencing to enclose the entire pea bed (see above, the long bed with the posts). So he erected a line of fencing between the peas and the pasture fence where they creep in. Sure enough ... they never thought to go around the fence! Our peas have remained unmolested for a while and are now growing up the trellis. Soon they will be safe.

I have a few onions sending up seed heads (left) and some that aren't (right). I must continue reading up on onion habits.

 

Below is the carrot bed. Well, the front part is carrots, tiny seedlings just come up. The rest of the bed shows you there are plenty of spots we have neglected still. I don't know what will go in the rest of that overgrown bed, and I'm not digging it out until I have a plan.

 Potato bed:

Adam found some purple potatoes in the barn office that he'd forgotten last year. They had long rubbery roots growing on them, so he stuck them in the ground too.

I videoed (that's a word!) my chickens being crazy this morning. Sylvie (broody mother) got off her eggs. Other chickens were pecking and pestering her to get back on her eggs. Lots of squawking and dancing and fluffed feathers, wings outspread. Finally she and her sister decided to sit on them together. Later, the newest chicken (sex as yet undetermined), who two days ago began sporting a rakishly dashing tail feather, let out a pitiful but discernible CROW. I think he's out of the closet as a roo! Two seconds later, Arthur (the resident roo in that flock) came careening over to fight him! How dare Cassie-now-named-Cassanova to crow around him! We will have to work on this dilemma. Cassanova will move away to another farm where roosters go for a lovely but short life :(
I meant to say -- that video was too big to load here, so you'll have to imagine the ruckus and fun. 

Oh, and one last thing ... look what survived our horrible winter and has new, little sprouts?

It's my eucalyptus! It survived 8 degree nights (brrr!) -- Adam did put a make-shift tent over it, which caved in under the winds.

You can see the history of this eucalyptus. We've lived here 3 winters. The tree survived the first winter and sent up a tall trunk in the following summer. The second winter the trunk died and Adam cut it off, but that summer new side shoots grew (in the photo). Those in turn died this past (third) winter. However ... new shoots again! I hope the root system is deep enough, strong enough now to survive nearly any winter. I don't care if it's tall, scruffy, spindly -- I just want to cut eucalyptus branches. Actually, shorter might be better! Anna wants eucalyptus in her bridal bouquet, so perhaps I'll be able to oblige her with some from my own tree!