Get Ready for Spring Gardening

Gardening Quote by Helen Hayes

Hi and welcome to the Garden for Eatin' blog.

The folks digging out from the snow and bundling up in coats and boots are ready to see a few signs of spring. This long, cold winter makes us long for the warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and spring flowers. Hang in there, it will be here. 

Grab those seed catalogs and dream of fresh veggies and tasty meals. It may be too early to actually start your seeds, depending on what plant hardiness zone you are in, but you can check out what you have in stock and get what you need ordered now. Also clean out containers and check on your supply of seed starting soil.

Green pepper seedlings.

You don't have to start seeds for your tomato, peppers, lettuce, or cole crops such as cabbage and broccoli, but you will save a few bucks  by starting your own. If you prefer to purchase plants this spring, they will be available at stores. Be sure to pick up healthy ones. Check on the underside of the leaves and stems for bugs, black spots, and yellowing leaves.

Taking some time now assures that you'll be ready to hit the ground running when the sun shines and spring arrives.!

Looking forward to sharing this 2015 gardening season with you!

Please take a minute and leave a comment to tell us what you are planning to grow in your vegetable garden. Do you have a garden plot, containers, raised beds, vertical beds for growing? Thank you.

Be sure to subscribe to the Garden for Eatin' blog for blog post updates. It's going to be a great garden this year!!

Warning--Late Blight Detected

We received an email from Harris Seed Co. warning gardeners to check their potatoes and tomato plants for late blight. The article said Late blight has already been reported in NY, PA, NJ, VA, NC, FL and CA according to USAblight.org. 

Late blight brought on by wet weather ravaged the crops in 2009. Unfortunately once it takes hold of your plants, it is too late to do anything about it.

Read the article for information on late blight that I posted in September 2009.

Keep a watchful eye on your garden and be prepared to wage war on diseases and pests all summer long.

Drowning in Strawberries

I'm not complaining about having too many strawberries..nope. I love them. Today we put a tray of the June bearing berries in the freezer, then when frozen, we'll bag them for use later in the summer. I've made strawberry pies and topped ice cream with the delicious sweet berries. Next I guess I'll have to try baking a strawberry cake. If it's good I'll share the recipe. I've never done that, have you?

Cutting gorgeous heads of broccoli now. Fresh broccoli is so much better right from the garden. I have a friend who says "fresh is best." So true.

Garden Change

Our early spring garden.

This photo was taken on April 19 of our backyard vegetable garden. Things have changed in just a little over 6 weeks. Take a look!

Look how the letuce has grown!! And it is delicious. Big red leaf is Red Derby, Caretaker (head lettuce), green bibb, speckled bibb, and green romaine are the different kinds of lettuces in the plantings.

Strawberries blooming on May 14.

Amazing how just eleven days after taking the picture above, I had berries for breakfast! On May 25, my birthday, my hubby surprised me with strawberries from the garden for my morning cereal. A very special treat since the JUNE-bearing are about two weeks early.  So far my DH has picked nine pounds of the sweet berries...soooooooooo good!

Memorial Day--Take Time to Remember

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to honor and remember those who served in our Military. 

Take time today to say a prayer for those who serve today in our armed forces 

and recognize those who gave their lives for our country.

Onion Maggots--yewwwwww

                                                            

Is there anything more disgusting than maggots? Hate those pests. And this year, we have problems with them in our onions. It's been cold and wet, ideal conditions for them. We probably should have rotated the onion crops, but we didn't. It is impossible to get rid of them now. 

The Weekend Gardener has an extensive discussion on these nasty critters. Check out the site. This photo is from that e-mag and there are more good images of the disgusting creatures.

My DH has decided to grow onions in a container for this year instead of planting them in our ground. He will have to do some work on the soil to get rid of the maggots.

Growing Tomatoes Vertically

Growing tomatoes with no tomato cages

My DH is growing tomatoes this year with no tomato cages. He's decided to plant the tomatoes and then weave the plants through the re-enforcement wire. You can see the plants just set out next to the wire.

In fact he is planning to grow a lot of vegetables this year and attaching them to the wire. He calls it vertical gardening. It saves space and just think how easy it will be to pick the green beans standing up!


He is planning on growing Crista, Early Girl, and Sweet 100 tomatoes, cucumbers, honeydew, muskmelon, green and yellow pole beans, and peas on the wire. Stay tuned for how he will hold up the melons..I want to see that for sure....

Beans just set out next to wire wall. Corn plants on the right of the picture.

Anticipating Strawberry Season

Strawberries in blossom

Just looking at these strawberries in bloom makes my mouth water for strawberry cake or pie or a bowl of Cheerios topped with the delicious beauties. But I'll have to anticipate those treats making the sweet taste all the better.

These are June bearing strawberries. We gave up on Ever bearing berries because the production was low. However I see there are some new varieties out which are supposed to be improved. They call these Day Neutral strawberries and promise to bloom spring, summer, and fall. Let me know if you have tried these strawberries and how you liked them.

Waiting for this season's tasty berries. Yum!