Time to thin the beets as the lettuce bolts

This is one crop that I don't mind thinning. Don't throw those beet tops away! Toss them into a salad. You won't regret it …

Salad Turnips

Crunchy, sweet, turnip roots … eat out-of-hand, or in a salad, or roasted, or sautéed in butter.

Delicious green tops … cook as you would any of your favorite greens!

Regarding Row Covers

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/plasticulture/technologies/row-covers

Unexpected time available to work in the garden this morning

My yoga class was cancelled this morning. Our teacher's newest grandchild was born yesterday. So I headed out to the garden. I guess I stayed a little too long … 11:15am and my brain is baked. I need water! It's going to be a hot one today.

I harvested the last bit of kale this morning, just beating the BUGS. Evidence shows that they are moving into the neighborhood: insect eggs, leaf damage, and worm poo.

I thought I was finished with row covers, but I covered the savor melon and little leaf cucumbers in an effort to keep these plants consistently warm - which they love - and safe from the cucumber beetles -  which we all hate.

I planted one of the few moonflowers that actually germinated. I sure do hope it survives and thrives.

Descriptions and growing instructions from Johnny's Selected Seeds, regarding transplants set into the garden today ...

Savor Melon:
Good soil moisture is important in early stages of growth and during pollination when fruits are setting. After this point do not water unless the soil is very dry and leaves begin to show signs of wilting in midday.

Since melons like consistently warm conditions, plastic mulch and row covers (refer to Index) will make for earlier crops and better yields, especially in the North. Remove covers when plants have female flowers (tiny fruit at base of blossom).

To determine ripeness, examine the smallish, long-stemmed leaf attached to the vine at the same point as the fruit. At ripeness, this leaf is pale, and the fruit has a slight yellow tinge. Orange fruit rind color indicates overripeness.

Little Leaf Cucumber: 
Blocky, medium-length (3-5") fruits are good for fresh eating. They pickle well, and have a distinctive, bright emerald green color. Vines are compact, multi-branching and yield well even under stress. Half normal-sized leaves provide easy visibility and harvesting.

Cucumbers are very sensitive to cold. Make sure both soil and air temperatures have warmed prior to planting. The use of poly mulch and row covers will greatly enhance the vigor and potential yields of cucumbers by providing warmth and insect protection.

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." ~ Margaret Atwood

This Week in the Garden

I've been taking advantage of the shade in early morning and late afternoon to accomplish some work in the garden this week. I put away the row-cover structures from the winter garden, removed over-wintered plants that had bolted, cut lots of good greens, pulled the first radishes, weeded the beds, and got seeds in the ground for what's next.

Buttercrunch, red leaf, oak leaf … these lettuces are still tasting delicious. Believe it or not, the oak leaf variety had begun to taste bitter, but seems to have fixed itself. It's totally edible now. Go figure! We also have good spinach, arugula and peppery mizuna mustard to toss into the salad bowl. We're eating the last bit of kale. I'm happy recent temperatures have been on the cool side. Hot weather will mean the end of these tasty greens.

Aren't these "Garden of Eden" pole beans beautiful? I planted one packet of these seeds, filling out about one-and-a-half raised-bed rows. Finished the second row with "Rattlesnake" pole beans left over from last year. I hope they germinate.

In addition to the pole beans, I planted a bed of "Jade" bush beans and a bed of edamame. Also, three more rows of radishes - one row each of good old red radishes, mixed-color Easter Egg radishes, and a semi-long specialty radish called "Shunkyo". Tossed out a few extra salad turnip seeds, plus (looking ahead) sowed two rows of heat-loving okra.

Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, "Savor" charentais melon seedlings … plus a few moon flower plants. I must prepare beds and get these in the ground soon.

Chickens

Aaahhhh … the chicken spa! Our chickens love to take a good old dust bath. This is their latest preferred spot … what's left of a heap of composted chicken manure. It must smell like home!

Real live chickens are not allowed in the garden, but of course there's plenty of room for garden art inspired by poultry. The crimson clover sets off this rusty old rooster.

Three Garden Structures You Can Build

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/4447/three-garden-structures-you-can-build