Volunteers

 Let's talk about volunteer plants.

When you have your garden in the same spot several years in the row you're likely to get volunteers, plants that have self-seeded where you did not plant them. Sometimes we treat them like weeds and pull them. This is especially true of vining plants. You don't want squash taking over your lettuce.

Sometimes it's beneficial. This year our kale and dill were hampered by frost and we lost some of the plants. But we lucked out and had volunteers elsewhere in the garden that added to the harvest.

But those aren't the volunteers that interest me the most.

This is Herb.

This pumpkin was one of the only things that grew in my herb garden. We have never grown pumpkins in that spot. We dumped a rotten pumpkin there two years ago. And Herb is the result.

I'm also amused by these tomatoes. I picked them from a plant that sprouted on the edge of my compost pile.

Do you have any volunteer plant stories?

Birdhouse gourds

 I decided to experiment in the garden this year and planted some birdhouse gourds. I'd hoped to harvest maybe a dozen of them. This is what we got:

There are two piles because they grew on either side of a fence.

Obviously, they won't all dry. Everything I've read says that some of them will rot before they can cure. But we got enough that I think we'll have some for crafting next year.

And so it begins

 Last year I grew kale for the first time. When the first leaves were big enough to pick I was equal parts thrilled and disappointed. Sure I was eating something I grew myself but it was a small handful. I couldn't imagine that we would be able to freeze any (which had been the plan). I didn't know how quickly kale grows. Or for how long. The rest of my summer was spent trying to keep ahead of the greens.

I planted kale again this year and it's starting to get big enough to pick.

New beds

 Our regular garden spot is pretty well planted and I still had herbs to put in so we worked up a new bed. The bulk of it will get planted with flowers but I claimed the bottom section for herbs. If all goes according to plan we'll have mint, catnip, lemon balm, summer savory, and two kinds of basil.

First harvest

 Here it is, the first harvest from this year's garden:

One sad strawberry. It's weird shaped and undersized because the plants are new and it has been very dry. But it's a strawberry and it was delicious. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come.
 

Getting ready for planting

 The risk of frost has nearly passed so we are in full garden prep mode here on the homestead. We'd had a small strip of our plot worked up for early crops (radishes, lettuces, and the like) but yesterday a friend came over and tilled the rest of the space so we can get started planting for real in the next week.

Things are happening

 Little things make me happy. Like checking my strawberry plants and finding that most of them are blossoming. Even better, the pollinators have found the plants and are happily buzzing around in there. I look at these plants and my dreams are filled with fresh strawberries.

Volunteer plants

 Now that it looks like spring might be around to stay we're starting the evaluation of the garden plot, figuring out what we'll be plating where and which areas need a little extra compost. During my last walk through I was surprised to find a little bok choy, kohlrabi, and a decent amount of kale growing from the roots of last years plants. It's not a lot and what's growing is pretty tough but it's exciting to have usable greens fresh from the garden this early.

Plant markers

 Since the weather has turned poor and we can't actually work outside, I've been putting extra time into planning. Last year I lost track of exactly where rows transitioned between plants so I resolved to be more organized this year. I'm trying out some garden markers for the first time. Since we're trying not to make unnecessary purchases I thought I'd reuse something we already had. And one thing we have in abundance is used canning jar lids. A little rubbing alcohol takes the permanent marker labels off of the lids and preps them for reuse.

I relabeled them for garden use with marker and a little paint pen for decoration.

 If I'm careful I can reuse these markers next year.

This is why we have a greenhouse

 For the past week we have been reveling in warm weather. We've opened up all of the animal barns, cleared out the winter clutter, and started the garden preparations in earnest. And then this happened:

The snow isn't supposed to last very long but it was a necessary reminder that this is Michigan and it's only halfway through April. The seedlings will have to wait a couple weeks longer.

First plants!

 It was surprisingly warm this Easter weekend so I spent some time outside doing yard work and getting a sense of what will need to be done to prepare the garden. And to my surprise I found this:

My garlic and my strawberries are not only sprouting, they are going strong.

Sprouts

 Last week I told you about the way we start seeds around here. It's a bit janky looking, but it works. And here is the proof:

Look at all of those little seedlings, just itching to turn into tomatoes and herbs and such things. Before long they'll move out to the greenhouse  to strengthen for a while and finally, sometime in May, they'll make it out to the garden proper.

Getting ready for gardening

 March is coming to an end which means that it's time to start thinking about starting seeds. Of course, it's still pretty cold here. We're getting snow a couple of times a week. That means that sees have to be started indoors. You can buy all kinds of kits for this purpose, mostly containing peet pellets and a greenhouse style cover for encouraging growth. I'm pretty sure we had one of those once upon a time but these days we're running full haphazard style. That means that our seeds get started in flats that once held annuals filled with potting soil. We achieve our greenhouse cover with plastic shopping bags. The seedlings will hang out in our living room until the weather turns and they move out to the actual greenhouse (maybe we'll take a tour on moving day...). Our set up isn't very pretty but it works.

 

Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants. There's another flat somewhere of herbs...