It’s been only three weeks since I planted my spring crops, and the fight has already begun. I’m battling slugs, fire ants, and flea beetles! Plus, I’m already seeing some signs of a nutrient deficiency in several of my plants. I’m unsure if it’s a problem with magnesium or iron. Looks like I need to call Clemson University’s co-op for more insight. However, there is a bright side! Plants are growing and buds are opening in my garden – like the Black Krim tomato flower in the picture above.
I now have buds on my Roma and Riesentraube tomatoes.
There are buds on a couple of my peppers, too!
And all my peppers are growing new leaves and branches from the stems. I was worried my seedlings might not survive the transplanting process, but they’re all doing great!
Remember when I lost one of my purple artichoke seedlings after transplant? I direct sowed a new seed in its place and was just beginning to think nothing would happen. Yesterday, I noticed the seed has germinated!
The coolest thing in my garden so far are my tomatillo plants. I’ve never grown them before, and I have flowers all over them! Look inside one of the spent flowers:
My Red Creole onions are in full bloom now. It doesn’t seem to be hurting the onions themselves, so I’m still harvesting as I need onions.
A week or so ago, several of my fingerling potato stems in one of my pots were broken. My theory is that a squirrel jumped from the roof of my house and hit the potato pot. I was so upset! However, yesterday I noticed that new leaves are growing from the broken stems!
And here’s a picture of all my potted potatoes. They’re huge!
All my cucurbits are growing secondary leaves and sprouting up. Here are some of them:
My beans are fighting the onslaught of slugs, but some of the “eaten” stems are growing new leaves. Good news! More good news: I harvested my first snow peas this week.
I waited a little too long to harvest them, so the pods were a little waxy. But the raw peas inside were so very sweet!!
I’m still harvesting kale. On a weekly basis, I fill up about three gallon-size zipper baggies with kale leaves.
So, what’s growing in your garden? Visit my Facebook page, and upload your pictures. I’d love to see them!