Garden Update; bolting cilantro, strawberry care & more.

The Italian fig was taken out of the pot. It showed no signs of stress from the move. Figs do best when planted on a south facing wall planted very close, a fence will do.
The cilantro had a leaf change & that means it is almost ready to start pushing seeds.
All the lettuce transplants took well.
Strawberry sprawl at a very fast rate once established. Make sure you can let them spread out or you are going to spend a lot of time thinning and making new beds. Also, they are called strawberries as it is good to lay some straw under the berries after they start to develop. This will cut back on insect and mold damage. Like many fruits & veggies I find picking early morning is the best. They are hydrated & have recovered from the stress of the day time sun/heat. Some say to cover strawberries during the winter/cold weather. I have never done this, not even in North Eastern Pa. The berries made it through no problem. In fact they had been prolific producers & spread rapidly. So much that I was having a hard time finding new places to plant them on my property. I even gave plenty away. In Pennsylvania & South Carolina moles like to tunnel to the berry patch. Their tunneling is easy to spot but these rodents are not so easy to be rid of. A good "mouser" cat is great to have as a pet. Keep on Growing! Xo, A

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Organics
• gardening
• fruit
• vegetables
• growing from seed
• homesteading
• economic collapse
• do it your self
• gardens
• organic gardening
• sprouts
• food
• healthy
• healthy living
• food production

[CTOL1]

Thanks for the continued updates, still cold here and today we had an inch of hail in 10 minutes , sigh

Someday I'll be able to till the soil

[artnuwa11]

@CTOL1 Yikes, that is a lot of hail in a short time. Even though I am a heat lover I do miss home, sometimes. The winters give me a nice balance of the art and home projects. Just when I am sick of inside I am back to the garden & visa versa. It will be here before you know it!. LOL, when the back & muscles are sore you will be looking back fondly at the cool weather months. ;) Xo, A

[madeofyucca]

Wow! so inspiring! :)

How much time do you spend tending your garden this time of year?

[artnuwa11]

@madeofyucca Last year we hit many months straight of temps over 100, no rain. Plus I have a flock of chickens to tend & about 3/4 of an acre hand cultivated. I was at it 15-18 hours a day everyday trying to keep up. Between weeds, harvesting, planting and watering it was more than a full time job that lasted well into fall as I am all about seed production. I still have seeds to be sifted from last year. :) Thanks for coming by and commenting! Xo, A

[charkee1]

@artnuwa11 Hi Adrienne, Check out the gardening videos on Emile Hazelip. This is the way I garden and it is much much less work. I haven't tilled for 6 years now. The soils become more fertile with much less weeds. The only drawback are the snails and slugs. But I turn in silky chickens and they devour them without too much damage to mature plants.

[artnuwa11]

@charkee1 HI, Thanks. I only till when I am breaking new ground. After that I have added so much organic material & it is naturally loose/ sandy here there isn't any need for it. I would never cover the ground with any kind of weed barrier, not the landscape cloth or cardboard. I don't trust the chemicals they use in the manufacturing process. I actually have found a great respect for "weeds". After some study I have discovered many things I had once pulled are medicinal. Silky are wonderful.

[qualqui]

WOW,....your garden's lookin' great,...still chilly huh,...well, nothin' like country livin',...get tired of all this pavement and construction goin' on here,...most people tend to pave over what free ground space they have on account it looks neater,...i'd prefer to see at least a bunch of "weeds" growin' in their spaces,...verdolagas, quelites(don't know the translation)are great as greens, wild spinach, the first are kinda tart, the latter are kinda spinachy. Thumbs up to ya A!! =D

[artnuwa11]

@madeofyucca Hi, Thanks. NOt too much this year as I am new to the place and still working on many projects getting in. Mainly is is about the weather. If we are getting rain it cuts down on my work load A LOT! If I had to take a guess I would say under an hour a day right now. We have had plenty of rain and I only have about 20 or so pots that are taken in & out to "harden off". I have been transplanting a few things here & there and direct sowing a couple other varieties.

[artnuwa11]

@neacie71 Thank you thank you. Cleaned up a huge amount of trash this morning and tilled another bed. Some ppl would consider this bed a garden. It is about 20x30. I am going to be tilling up way more ground as spring is here! I am scouting today for more local wild blackberries. These plants came from near my old place about 15 miles. There has got to be some near me, always is! ;) How are you?

[artnuwa11]

@Helioforge Thanks, I am still patiently waiting for the truck & workers to show up to take the building down. We have over a week of rain. I also have to get my fencing & supplies from a friends place. I really need a work truck! Anyway, I will keep the berries in the pots until after they are done fruiting. By then the main garden spot/fencing should be done in order to protect them from the domestic & wild critters running about. Hope you are well! Xo, A