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.
Roma tomato buds
Riesentraube tomato buds
There are buds on a couple of my peppers, too!
Green bell pepper buds
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!
Pepperoncini
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!
Purple artichoke seedling
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:
Tomatillo growing
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.
Red Creole onion flowers
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!
New growth on fingerling potatoes
And here’s a picture of all my potted potatoes. They’re huge!
Potted potatoes
All my cucurbits are growing secondary leaves and sprouting up. Here are some of them:
Russian pickling cucumber
Cream of Saskatchewan (white) watermelon
Zucchini
Spaghetti squash
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.
Snow peas
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!!
First snow pea harvest
I’m still harvesting kale. On a weekly basis, I fill up about three gallon-size zipper baggies with kale leaves.
Kale ~ end of April
So, what’s growing in your garden? Visit my Facebook page, and upload your pictures. I’d love to see them!
Sanctuary Gardener 