Plant babies
It's exciting to watch the garden emerge and take shape!
I seeded more of my Homesteaders Kaleidoscopic Perennial kale Grex (Experimental Farm Network) - always fun to see the variety of plants which emerge.
I sketched various plans for each bed, then, go out to the garden and fine tune with the Devas, for the layout! We still don't have fences to the N or S, so the deer roam through.... tulle and binder clips provide night time protection!
I enjoy planting a mix of old favorites and less standard greens - orach, new Zealand spinach, doucette (summer relative of corn salad/ maché) red celery, Alexanders, Magentaspreen, shiso ... and purslane transplanted from the lot.
Varieties of beans include Dragons Tongue, Red Swan, Edamame, runner beans, and Trail of Tears. There are Dragons egg and Persian cucumbers, bitter melon and okra ... a box divided into 4 sections for burdock...
It's a lot for a new garden, I know! But I've gardened for decades, and it's a delight to begin to meet the new plants! I'm working on filibuster the new silver bed - just needs compost, and will have a cattle panel trellis.
I'm excited by the Sochan - it's beginning to sprout! It needed to be stratified (I set a pot with moist sandy soil in the fridge for a week or so, then moved the plant to my back stoop). I've been reading more about it - they enjoy standing together in a clump, so when they're bigger, I'll plant the lot together. The seed came from Everwilde.
I also want to grow our native smaller sunflower, Wythia (or Balsamorhiza ~ 3') that my friends at Eloheh have on offer as Mules Ears. I was first introduced on the road into the cemetery on the West side of town. Roots and shoots have been staples of our NW tribes, along with camas and Wapato.
And I planted sea kale seed - they're also tucked into a pot, after soaking in salt water, and peeling off the corky outer seed coat. I sprinkled the soil surface with seaweed to help them feel at home.
On the coast, there's a beautiful lighthouse population that's over 100 years old, (and I've known it for over 50!) - I'm hoping to get starts or seed again to have both the cultivate 'white' and wilder red.... I'm preparing a bed by the rhubarb which I think it will like!
Granddaughter Alyssa at 10My now grown up granddaughter Alyssa is getting closer to having a garden this year as well! She planted the artichokes in the Garden when in High School, and often helped me plant out.
How does your garden grow?
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