Of Guinea Pigs, Kale and Leeks....

This weekend I learned a few things about the garden. First, don't lose your garden map, or you won't know where you've planted your leeks. Second, don't let your weeds get so big that you can't see where you've planted your leeks. Third, leeks are probably better started in a greenhouse rather than direct seeded, because then I would be able to see where they are once I plant them in the garden. I think I have unwittingly weeded out several of of my leeks, because of the foregoing. As you can see, these supposedly "Giant Winter Leeks" are quite teeny tiny yet, the ones I haven't plucked out yet, that is! Well, lesson learned.

I also learned that when you give your guinea pigs succulent spinach, kale, lettuce, celtuce, and oatgrass from the garden, ordinary grocery store veggies just won't do! Scooter and Sophie go a little bit crazy for their local veggies, standing up on their hind legs to beg for more, and scarfing down the tender leaves as fast as they can chew!

Things are going pretty well in the Little Garden - I can harvest greens almost every day, and we even had a whole salad from the greens a few days ago. When we start getting our CSA shares, (which starts this week!) the little garden will mainly be used to feed the pigs, which will please them I'm sure!
And the Big Garden is going quite well too, despite the odd accidental leek-weeding. The corn is about 8 inches high, and the squash and beans are really starting to take off. I harvested a couple small radishes today, and they were quite tasty and spicy! And not at all woody, which is what happened to them last year. I did plant a few different varieties this year, and harvesting them earlier seems to make a difference as well. The cucumbers, potatoes, cantaloupe and garbanzo beans are also coming along reasonably well, although not all of these germinated, at least not so far. I have a lot of carrots, and will have to thin those pretty soon.

I've got my watering system worked out now too, with the addition of a watering timer that will ensure the garden gets the water it needs even if I'm away at Tai Chi or somewhere else in the evenings.

And now, I'm in from the garden and finished the day's housework, so I'm going to treat myself to a cup of tea, a cookie or two and bury my head in a book for a half hour or so before bed...