Sunday 15 June 2008

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...

4 comments:

Crunchy Chicken said...

What a cute little piggie!

hmd said...

Sounds like you have an amazing garden. It must be so exciting to pick your own veggies, right out of your yard and make a meal from them. We're not quite there yet - hopefully start a small one next year, but we're working that way.

Hippie Girl said...

I love how you wrote what you planted on that rock. That is a super cool idea!! I'll have to give that a try.

Theresa said...

Thanks Crunchy - Scooter is a hilarious little furball who looks a bit like a lion sometimes with his fuzzy mane!

Heather, yes, it is quite a treat to walk around the yard picking stuff from here and there and then eating it. It takes some getting used to though - I find myself looking in the fridge for dinner possibilities, and then suddenly remembering that I'm not limited to what's in my fridge!

Thanks Hippie G! I ended up doing that because I lost my re-purposed plant tags (strips of white pvc blinds cut with a point on one end) - I like the rock tags much better! Unfortunately I forgot to write 'leeks' on the rock by that patch of the garden, because I planted them on a later date and didn't have my permanent marker with me at the time. Another lesson learned!