plant the seeds and they will grow

I have been away since last Friday.  I got back late last night and was so excited to see how the garden was doing, I went outside with a flashlight to check it out.  And my oh my has the garden grown!!!

Our seeds of simpson elite lettuce have really grown:

 

We basically cannot eat the lettuce as fast as it is grow.  Every day I give packages to friends and eat salads and the garden virtually replenishes itself overnight.

Our snap peas have started growing.  I was really hopeful when I left because the snap peas had started to flower….now they are peas!

 

The cucumbers are finally starting to look alive.  It might just be that this variety has weird looking stalks.

As a whole, the garden looks beautiful:

 

And look at the gorgeous rainbow I saw yesterday:

 

Read Full Post »

the lettuce is thriving

So I have officially moved and after not seeing my beautiful lettuce for seven whole days, I am glad to say it looks wonderful!  The startings we planted have definitely grown, the seeds are starting to sprout, all plants are a go!

Boston Butterhead:

 

Red Sails:

Snap Pea starter:

 

Snap Pea seed sprouting:

 

 

I am planning to shop around on Thursday or Friday and plant the rest this weekend.  Yippee!!!

 

Read Full Post »

the CT garden

I have been trying to decide if I am going to blog this summer.  I do not like to commit to an idea and then not follow through.  I also feel like, what else can I say?  Fred and I have built a garden and we are going to try to grow things.  But I am teaching from home this summer and I am already feeling very restless and bored.  So here goes.

About three weeks ago, Fred and I built this fabulous raised bed:

We were lucky enough to get lumber from Fred’s parents at Happy Landings Farm.  The bed is 8’X 8′ and 16″ high.  We screwed the boards into 4x4s and instead of cutting down the top of the 4×4, we decided to plant tomatoes on each corner so they can have pole support.

Fred’s brother, Mike, got us the dirt from a local mum farm (we’re pretty sure mums will just start sprouting up in the fall!!) and we filled the bed with 4 cubic yards of soil.

It is still a little chilly in New London so we have only put lettuce and snap peas in.  We planted 8 little plants we got from Burnett’s in Salem – which I highly recommend!!  They are a red loose leaf and a buttercrunch head variety.

Then we also planted some seeds – romaine and simpson elite (Thanks Beaves and Andy!!)

The snap peas are growing in a different section of the garden on some stakes where we are also planning to put the green beans.

We are both pretty pumped for the garden and are getting everything else in the ground Memorial Day weekend!!!  I’m moving on Sunday so this time my garden will have my undivided attention!!

Read Full Post »

When should seedlings start??

I live in Massachusetts and am trying to decide when to start my seedling endeavor.  Last year I thought I did not let my seedlings get big enough before I planted them and they all immediately died.

Garden gurus:  When is the best time to start seedlings?  How long should I let them grow?

 

 

Read Full Post »