2015 Garden Pictures

Well, finally, the snow melted and the earth is greening up!  I went out today and got a bunch of pictures, so I thought I'd share! 

Actually, the first two pictures I got last week; the crocuses are done here, and the daffodils are just opening.







Lettuce, coleus, petunias, and catnip growing in my basement.



My other grow light, with tomatoes, peppers, onions, kale, and cabbage (hasn't come up yet).



The toms are so big and bushy!  I'm going to try putting them in wall-o-waters this year, so I started them 4 weeks early.  I figure if they don't make it, I learned something and I can always buy starts somewhere.



Peppers!  They're also doing very well.



My side garden, with strawberry bed and an unplanted veggie bed.  I just mulched the strawberries with chopped leaves.



The main garden; looks pretty sparse so far.  I added two new in ground blueberris in the front right.



The blueberry buds; starting to open!



The garlic is coming up!



My super dwarf apple trees.  I'm pretty sure they made it through our tough winter. 



A view of the main garden from the back.



My chives are coming up!



And lupins, too!

Such beautiful flowers!!

Here's an updated look!  Sorry for the photo spamming.  I just like pictures


Wall-o-water tomatoes; started them 5 weeks early.  They're doing good!

Cherry tomato inside the wall.

Raspberry leaves coming out!


Strawberry bed doing pretty well.


Blueberry buds about to open!


Got my onions planted last weekend.


Put my lettuce out under a cover (that's the material we used as an aisle at my wedding, lol). 

They're doing pretty well under there.


Garlic is going good!


Coleus, petunias and catnip under lights.


My other lights, with peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, zinnias and marigolds.

A better look at my peppers.


Hyacinths!  I just have the one, but it's sure pretty.


And one of my many many daffodils.

Oh, I love pics, too!  Everything looks amazing, Julie.  Your lettuce under the wedding aisle is gorgeous!  So big already. 

I can only dream about blueberries since they won't grow for me.  Tried 7 plants and they all passed away quietly.   

Are your raspberries in a box of MM?  I'm thinking about trying raspberries but don't want them to end up like the blueberries, which were not in MM.
Hmm... ...maybe that's the solution.

Please keep us updated on your Wall-o-Water experiment.  I've often wondered about them and can't figure how that would work with the top open like that.  I guess the daytime warmed water has to be enough?  What if there's no sun?

Also, what do you use for your seed planting medium?  Rocket fuel?

CC

CC, thanks for the comments!  I'm glad you enjoyed my pictures   I like to share.

I'm sorry about your blueberries   I know the feeling, actually.  I planted my blueberries in half barrels, and in the winter of 2013-2014, we had a cold open winter, and they died.  So I pulled them out and planted new ones in the fall.  This winter, I kept them in our unheated garage where it stays about 10-20 degrees warmer, and they seemed to have made it!  I also bought a couple cheapy plants at Homedepot and planted them in the ground to act as pollinators.  We'll see how they do.

The raspberries aren't in MM, they're just in the ground (I just threw some compost into the hole and called it good.  They don't seem to mind my heavy clay soil much).  Here's a better pic:



They have done pretty well since I got them....maybe four years ago?  They're summer bearing raspberries, meaning they grow new canes in the summer and those canes produce the following year.  However, the same winter that killed off my blueberries also killed my raspberries to the ground.  They grew new canes though!  And so I'll get raspberries this year, thankfully.  It was rough not having any last year.  I'm thinking about growing some everbearer raspberries, which produce two sets of canes a year; last year's canes produce berries in the spring, and then this year's canes produce berries in the fall.  If you lose last year's canes due to a bad winter, you'll still get a fall crop.  That sounds awesome to me.

However, I have heard of people doing raspberries in raised beds, and they even say that's a good way to keep them well fed and to also keep them from spreading ,which they like to do!

The wall-o-water experiment is doing great so far!  I should write about it.  They've been up for a week and a half, and managed to survive a cold snap with snow and three 20 degree nights.  The key is to tie the top closed.  The water keeps the plants from getting any damage.



Lol, no, I don't use rocket fuel!  But I will admit that I may have been a little heavy handed with the fish emulsion this year (oops).  I was being cheap this year, so I used some leftover potting mix that's low in nutrients to start everything, then gave a weekly feeding of fish emulsion.  I meant to give them a weak feeding, but later realized I was actually giving them a full dose....  but so I've been up potting a lot more than usual!  The peppers are already getting buds

Love all the pictures especially the Wall-O-Water ones. 
I've heard the term but never saw them in use. 
I guess they are for insulation and not watering?

Unmitigated joy!  Great photos, I'm surprised your New York spring is so far along already, after the harsh winter you had this year.

I've heard nothing but good reviews for the walls-of-water things from the gardeners I know who have used them.  My neighbor down the street usually has 2-foot tomato plants in his row garden by the time I'm first putting mine out the first week of May.  I guess, personally, I'd rather just wait until the weather is okay for them.  But if you really want to get them out there a couple weeks early, this will let you do that.

littlesapphire, Thank you for sharing your photos. Looking good.

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!  I'm glad you all enjoyed the pictures

Ralitaco, yes, the wall-o-waters are for insulation.  They're like a cloche, only they're much more effective because the water takes up the cold air before it ever gets to the plant.  I don't know how to explain it better than that; I just know that my walls started to freeze a few days after I put them out, and the tomatoes were great despite it.

Kate, I'm actually surprised by our good spring, too!  It's been very nice, aside from the one snow storm we had last week.  Plus, I've been trying my best to use season extenders this year.  I decided that if I could get an extra month of harvest out of my tomatoes if I put them in wall-o-waters, that would increase my yields by 50%.  We'll see how it goes, though.  That might just be wishful thinking!

littlesapphire wrote:...I just know that my walls started to freeze a few days after I put them out, and the tomatoes were great despite it.

Ooohhh, a plant's personal IGLOO