A Growing Challenge

I was reminded about A Growing Challenge recently -- what a great incentive to add new edibles to your garden. I just 'stuck' onion plants in the satellite garden - Stockton Red, Walla Walla Sweet, and another sweet onion. These were new to me - I grew onions last year for the first time, and surprised kids by pulling up lovely large red onions from the raised beds at the garden. What fun! Unfortunately, the woodchuck population is growing there, too, and the den below the former camellia greenhouse has been more than active. Hhrmph. At least they don't like onions!

And my potatoes hopefully will produce well in their nicely amended beds in the satellite garden. King Harry, supposedly pest-resistant, Canola Red, a favorite of home growers, All-Blue, just for fun, Red Dale, and Caribe were my selections this year.

I've sown a flat of Red Deer Tongue lettuce from Nichols Garden Nursery, and have lots more seeds to sow outside. My 'Spigarello' broccoli seedlings are doing well, although I'm sure they won't produce too much by the time hot weather arrives. But, they'll be tasty, nevertheless.

The corn salad (mache) in my old cold frame (I haven't had time to assemble my new one yet), has finally germinated, and hopefully will produce some excellent leaves before the heat does them in, too.

This morning was a perfect whisper of spring, warm, humid, with rain in the forecast. Hooray. The leaves are starting to emerge on Itea virginica (Virginia sweetspire), creating a glow of green above the reddish stems. The first Oconee bell flower was spotted in the Garden. Definitely, spring is on the way.