Sprouts in my garden, by Kira

We have been busy in the garden.

Every year I grow nasturtiums. The flowers are beautiful and both leaf and flower are great in a salad.

Mixed lettuce starting to sprout.

Malabar spinach has sprouted. This one is a perennial. Not a true spinach. The leaves taste like spinach. This plant grows like a vine.

Tomato, tomato, tomato. I have 45 tomato plants all are doing well. I hope to be up to my elbows in tomatoes come fall. I would like enough to can, to get us through the winter.

I have at least 6 different varieties of tomatoes this year. In the fall I will let you now how each made out here.

Siberian Kale

Red Kuri squash. I started 12 inside, gave 6 away and planted 6. I am now down to 3. The chickens were digging them up so I cut the bottoms out of a few planters and put them over the plants for protection. So far this is working.

Golden sweet peas are doing well, this is my first year trying this variety.

The calendula is doing well. Actually the plants I started in the garden are further along then the ones I started inside. I will only plant these directly into garden from now on.

Lemon cucumber.

Cilantro, one of my favourite herbs. I will share a few recipes throughout the season.

Dragon tongue bush beans.

Fern and I picked up a few annuals for a little early colour.

Russian kale.

Beets.

This is very sad. My poor ground cherries. The ones I started from seed. Not exactly sure what went wrong here. But its looking pretty grim for these little fellas. Until I'm properly set up I will not start tomatoes,ground cherries,tomatillos or peppers myself. I think you need the right set up not just a brightly lit room.

This is what a ground cherry plant should look like. My mistake of only getting one of these from Dave.

This is lemon thyme, my favorite thyme. Very tasty on salad or in a dressing. Also good with roasted potatoes.

All of my plants and seeds are in the ground, except for the potatoes and possibly a few more ground cherries. Borage is sprouted and grows quickly. I will post pictures when it blooms. Basil, carrots and green onions are in the ground but have not sprouted yet.

My garden now needs to be weeded, I have a thick carpet of green between all my rows. Last year when this happened I put shavings over them. The weeds died off , it held the moisture in the ground and it looked great.