Garden Update

Here's a short update on my 2019 garden progress.  We had a very long, wet, cold, damp, chilly, moisture-laden, unseasonably frigid spring.  Did I mention that it was also long, cold and wet?  So, everything in the garden is waaaaay behind normal, even in our very short season climate.  This makes for a particularly difficult gardening season for 2019.  I don't hold out much hope that it will bring harvests like last year (although last year was pretty cold and wet too), but at least there is some progress.

The first raised bed that I got planted this year was with transplants from seed I'd started under plant lights - Amazing Cauliflower, Violaceo di Verona Cabbage, Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli, Scarlet Kale, and Russian Red Kale.  Most of those seeds came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I've had it under row cover all season because of the cabbage white butterflies.  I still had some slugs under there, but in general the plants are in good shape.

The broccoli is just starting to make heads.  Here's one next to a toonie ($2 Canadian coin) for size comparison.

 This bed is beets on the right hand side (mixed varieties and then some touchstone gold), some onions in the middle, and some carrots on the left.  Carrots had poor germination so I've re-seeded some parsnip in there a few days ago.  In the background you'll see a little page-wire fence circle with potatoes growing in it.  This year I'm growing Violet Queen, Amarosa, and another variety whose name I've forgotten, but it might be Prince of Orange.

This bed has some squash and cucumber in it that are not making very good progress yet. Also a random tomato plant in the corner given to me by a friend, with the intriguing name of Banana.  I planted some parsnip in this bed also but it's not germinating terribly well.

This bed is one of the better ones - my Golden Sweet peas have just started to come out and I picked and ate a few on the weekend.  There are some runner beans on frame in the back as well.  In the front there are loads of mixed onions, and my kiwi vines are on the left.  I have somebody building me an arbour for those soon, so they will be transplanted into a permanent location.

This bed has some interesting bush peas that I am trying with the fascinating name (part of which I may be pronouncing incorrectly) of Desiree Dwarf Blauwschokkers.  They are from Holland.  They have flowered but there are no pods yet.  The rest of the bed is carrots, and another random tomato.  The carrots are Pusahira Red, which did well last year, Purple Dragon and Black Nebula. 

This is the tomato bed.  Soon I need to construct some supports.  I have quite a few different varieties going this year:  Arkansas Traveller, Nebraska Wedding,  Sun Gold (my fave!), Sweet Million, Dark Galaxy, Green Vernissage, Black Vernissage, Black Krim, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Jaune Flammee, and Clementine.

My grape vines are putting on some good growth - they went in last fall, so I'm pleased with their progress so far given the poor spring.

Unfortunately, despite some blossoms, none of my fruit trees have any fruit this year.  The apple and plum flowered, but nothing made it - probably the poor weather and possibly lack of pollinators.  I planted some new apples with my Dad this spring, as well as a pear and a cherry.  My 'fruit salad' tree from last year had some flowers but again no fruit.  One of my blackcurrant bushes has some fruit on it, but the gooseberry died over the winter and the other currants are looking a bit sad.  The bush cherries didn't flower.  It really was a miserable spring.  There were quite a few reported bird deaths due to starvation from birds that migrated in the usual time frame but came back to no bugs or other food sources and subsequently died.  Very sad.  I'm hoping we have a long season with no early frosts, but that may be too much to hope for.

I did see some flowers on the blackberry bushes on the edge of the woods, so I may have some of those if I'm lucky!