To the garden for a moment – I pulled up all of the radishes today and brought them in before they become too mature. Check out the size of some of these:
Category: garden
Garden, and a Waste Reduction Challenge
It seems to be springtime here in Montréal. The snow is pretty much melted, bulbs and some perennials are up, grass is getting greener, and most of the stuff that was hidden under the snow has been swept away. That means it’s time to garden!
I started early this year. Last week I started a bunch of different seeds, mostly herbs & flowers, (tomatoes will be bought), and I already have some cinnamon basil and marigold seedlings. The plan is to produce as much as possible! I’ll also try to write about it sometimes with photos as I have previously.
With the spring thaw I am once again able to access my composter, so starting today on Earth Day I am starting the Waste Reduction Eco-Challenge: a challenge to reduce the amount of garbage I throw out as much as possible. This won’t be as formal a challenge as the electricity eco-challenge, (update soon), it is more of a personal challenge without charts & stuff, but it is a challenge! The plan is to compost and recycle as much as possible, and to try not to bring as much stuff that needs to be thrown out into the house.
Garden Update
It’s been almost two months since I provided a garden update and several things have happened.
First, just before I went out west, (more on that another day), a groundhog or something got into the garden and started eating leaves. By the time I left a cucumber plant was missing most of its leaves, the carrots only had stems — no leaved, and most of the snow peas had been eaten. However by the time I got back ten days later most things had recovered. The peas, however, are no longer.
Since then I’ve been eating turnips, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, (and more beans and more beans), and basil, (planted near the tomatoes after the radishes finished. It’s been a good harvest so far and it’s just getting started.
About the photos: The first is the groundhog, or whatever it is, that ate my garden. The second is the garden after being eaten, and the third is the garden the day before yesterday. Clicking each photo will bring you to that photo’s flickr page.
Garden Updates & More
It’s been some time since I have written about my garden and quite a bit has changed. This isn’t a full update but more of a teaser. The radishes are finished, (I may plant more), and most of the plants are getting pretty big. I posted a few more images over at flickr, and will take some more soon.
P.S. I took a video of some squirrels playing the other day. Enjoy!
The Turnips and Radishes were Crowded
Almost three weeks after planting my garden the young turnip and radish plants were looking a little crowded, so I thinned them out today. This heartbreaking task consisted of killing off a good half, often more, of my young plants to make room for the ones I spared to thrive. It’s sad, I know, but had I not done it they would have fought amongst themselves for air, light, and space in the ground. Now, hopefully the remaining plants will thrive.
The turnips will likely have to be thinned again — I want to make sure the strongest survive and I don’t have any holes in the row — but that is a task for another day.