Gardening In March

We've had so much rain that I haven't been able to get in to the garden much this month. I ought to be planting my spring cool weather vegetables. However, the driest the garden has looked this month has been this....

The ground is slow to dry

We managed to get the annual rye tilled in, but can't do anything else until the ground dries out. Even so, I have some garden goings on.

I told you about transplanting my strawberries and am happy to report that they seem pretty happy with their new home, as you can see by the photo on the left. My companion group garden plan called for putting the asparagus in with the strawberries, and I finally had to plant roots because they were starting to look not so good. I'm not very hopeful about these because the ground was still too wet. Time, I suppose, will tell.

Romaine lettuces with volunteer daffodil leaves

From my fall garden, I'm still getting lettuce, broccoli, beets, Swiss chard, cabbage, and carrots. In fact, it looks like I'm going to have cabbage seed to collect this year...

Cabbage sending up flower stalks

The turnips were starting to bolt too, so I pulled all except the ones I'm letting go to seed. I imagine I'll be needing to do the same with the beets and carrots soon.

In the turnip bed, I planted English peas...

2 rows of Wando peas

... which seem happy there. I'm using tomato cages as trellises.

garlic in front, lettuce blooming in back

My garlic (above front) is doing fine, but the radishes and some of the mesclun is going to seed. All the rain and then a bout of warm weather caused quite a growth spurt.

All this has me wondering about spring planting. My fall garden did so well this winter, even with nights plummeting into the teens, that I wonder if I really need to plant cool weather veggies in the spring. I mean, the spring planted ones seem to take so long to grow.

Cabbage seedlings after a CAT-astrophe and only fair germination

Too long really, before hot weather sets in and either stunts their growth or causes them to bolt. I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off with large fall plantings and good row covers for the greens. With good thick mulch, my root crops were available all winter and spring. I'm thinking I don't really need to plant these in the spring as well, that I should just focus on an early start to my summer vegetables.

Brandywine tomato seedlings

My sweet potato slips are coming along....

Growing slips from my last 2
Porto Rico sweet potatoes

This is the first time I've sprouted my own, so I'm not entirely sure about the timing. Because of the problem I had last year with black rot, I ordered another variety to try as well.

March has brought some spring color, with both my almond...

"All-in-One" almond blossoms

... and my peach trees in flower.

One of my 2 peach trees, can't remember the varieties at the moment.

My rhubarb is starting to grow as well

My 3 rhubarb plants

I'm just waiting for some longer stalks!

Also doing well is my experimental pancake patch...

Growing winter wheat. Cat included for size.

My raspberries are starting to leaf out ...

One of 4 (out of 6) surviving red raspberries

These were pretty stunted last year and I lost two, so I'm hopeful they will do well this year.

I didn't think I had much to show you, but it actually turned out to be quite a bit, didn't it? I have to admit that March has been a difficult month for gardening. I've been so anxious to be working in the garden, but have had to be patient and wait. The middle of April is our average last expected frost, so planting and transplanting will start in earnest then. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Gardening In March © March 2011 by
Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/