Its May 1st. How does your garden grow?

This is my 2nd year of SFG. I started last May so got a late start. This year I promised myself I'd start early with heavy row covers, hoops made of wire hangers and even blankets if need be.
My garden with its cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, lettuce, basil, lemon balm, sugar snap peas, spinach, and radishes up and growing is doing just fine. I even started 3 Oregon Spring tomato plants I had shilpped from Territorial Seed to see how they get on here. You can plant them outdoors a month before last frost date they claim. How great is that! I have my 3 planted so I'll let you know how it works out.


I've already harvested radishes from my A-frame, easily made from 6' 1x2s wired together in the shape of a tent and covered with med-gauge vinyl plastic which I can lift and clip out of the way with xtra large binder clips. I started 2 rows of squares weeks ago with radishes, spinach, chives, carrots, spinach, All lettuce mix, and scallions. So far some rads have been harvested from that plot.


This SGQing is great. If I hadn't read Mel's book, I'd not have a veggie garden right now and that would be a shame. The crops are the tastiest and freshest and its soooo easy compared to straight row gardening.
How are your other New Englanders doing with your gardens?

Well, your garden looks lovely for how early it is in the season!! Yesterday on May 1, I harvested my first spinach and chard! This is unbelievably early for no cold frame. Hooray! Today I finally was able to plant my Brussels Sprout starts as well as carrots, and mesculin mix. My compost is coming along quite nicely and should be ready to build more boxes next week. Hooray again! Started another hot pile today. Cheers to all gardeners in New England and the north.

yup, I'm jealous!

Mine is doing good - not great. I have flowers on my peas, which is exciting, because it has been so much warmer than they like.

My watermelon radishes are growing slowly, as they did last year, which doesn't bode well for their flavor.

My lettuces and scallions are sprouting slowly but surely, as are my spinach and New Zealand spinach.

My tomato starts are looking pretty happy and healthy - first for me!

And I won't whine here because I have another post in the off-topic forum for that!

This is my first year as a SFG'r so who knows if I am even doing it right LOL I know I over planted a few plants as a "just in case". But so far as I can tell it is coming along ok. I planted most things the beginning of April I think in the rear box and just got the front one started. I have a few trellis type experiments going on to see what my sugar snap peas like most, and have to string up the last few lines on my conduit trellis but all in all things look good. Let me see if I can remember what is planted LOL we have spinach, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas, pole beas, cukes, summer squash, wala wala onions, radishes (around a couple brussels) gourmet lettuce mix, carrots, tomatoes, sage, oregano, parsley, marigolds, and supposedly iceburg lettuce but I think they are wrong. The designer paving bricks are my high tech plastic cover holders when the temps got to low.



This front box didn't get finished until recently so almost everything is from seed. I planted losts of different lettuces and spinach. I am going to attempt to grow butternut along our fence (i do love experimenting) also have summer squash, zucchini, dill, kohlrabi, radishes, sugar snap peas. I know I may have over done it but I learn from screwing up and tweaking (ask my mom about the stereo alarm clock I made in 6th grade, she's still a little jumpy all these years later). Oh yeah I made a make shift wind screen because we have had some serious winds swirling through our yard lately. It has been very weird weather here in Rhode Island.

Aunti....your garden is looking very good. Its well packed with lots of good food and is doing well. I envy you. I'm behind in weather and warming so its nice to see what will be coming in my neck of the woods soon.
Experimenting is fun especially when we are doing this on a small scale. We learn lots of things from our little experiments.
Right now I'm experimenting with my own planting mix. I hope it works out.
So far things seem to be doing well but only time will tell.
Keep up the good work and the experiments.
Enjoy!

I planted my carrots, lettuce & beets May 2. beets came up in 5 days, lettuce in 6 days and carrots just poked through yesterday, 12 days. So far so good.

My beets, second round of lettuces, spinach and radishes are all popping up in my front box! I am so excited! Now the trick is going to be to be patient, not one of my virtues.

Quiltbea and Auntij, your gardens are so lovely. How go the gardens? (But gently please. Although I am having a lot of success, I also have several things taking way too long, which really means I should pull them up, but I am no ready to accept the truth. )

My garden is growing pretty well, other than the little hiccup with my spinach. Which I am being optimistic in saying didn't totally die. A few are starting to bolt I think, but that is much better than the alternative (wilt or another type of disease). All I have harvested so far is some lettuce, but I know much more will be coming. I am trying to decide what to put in the spinach squares. Does anyone know how pak Choi does through summer? I think I'll also do some broccoli for fall. Boy I love my garden being the last thing I think about at night. It makes for good dreams!