Garden Bounty ~ Week Ending 5/30/15

This past weekend, I had my first major harvest of the season. The raspberries are ripening, the radishes and onions got fully harvested, the snap beans and cucumbers are producing their first harvest, the lettuce is ripe for cutting, and a handful of peppers were ready to pick. In all, I harvested almost a half pound of raspberries, 2.7 pounds of radishes, 1.4 pounds of cucumbers, 1.3 pounds of lettuce, 2.2 pounds of snap beans (green and wax), 8.8 pounds of onions, and a handful of peppers. Not bad for the last weekend in May! Take a look.

Bringing in the Last of the Winter Crops

I took this week off to work in the garden, but I didn’t realize how much time it was going to take. Other than taking time off for the Sabbath and Passover, I have worked 8 to 10 hour days in the garden; and I still have yet to start spring planting! (That begins today, though.) However, my garden beds look beautiful and ready to plant now that I’ve harvested the last of my winter crops, weeded in and around the beds (filling TEN four-feet-tall lawn & leaf bags!), supplemented my soil with Azomite (rock dust) and compost, and top dressed the cypress mulch around my beds. (I’ll share pictures in my next Sanctuary Gardener Update post.) It’s been a lot of work, but I have everything ready for seed and seedlings, and a refrigerator full of root veggies and greens.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 4/6/15

It’s officially spring, and I took a week’s vacation from work to get the spring planting done! That includes harvesting the last of the winter crops, weeding and prepping the soil, and planting seed/transplanting seedlings. I’ve got my work cut out for me, for sure. Usually, at this time of year, I increase my blog posts from three times a week to five; but I’m going to change that this year. Because I’m working full time while working my “urban farm” AND running my own business, something had to give. So, until further notice, I’ll continue to post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. However, be assured, if I have something special to share, you’ll be getting a bonus post from Sanctuary Gardener. 😉 And now, on to this week’s garden update.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 2/23/15

This past weekend, we got a taste of spring. Saturday was 63 degrees, and I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of birds chirping outside my open window. Although it was cloudy, I was able to spend some time in the garden on Sunday in the 74 degree weather. Unfortunately, the cold will be returning this coming week, but the promise of spring is in the air.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 1/26/15

Good morning, everyone. To all my New England family and friends, stay warm and cozy tonight and tomorrow – and be safe in that Nor’easter blizzard heading your way. I miss winter snows, but I don’t miss blizzards! Weather reports like that make me a little less homesick and a little more grateful that I am able to grow and harvest some things in January. I’m happy to share a little bit of our warmer clime with you today.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 1/12/15

This past week, Charleston got a little taste of the winter the rest of the country usually gets. Of course, our temperatures weren’t near as low as many of you had to deal with. But the night of January 7, we got down to 18 degrees. In fact, we spent close to 48 hours below freezing! Needless to say, my hoop tunnels and key lime trees stayed covered for 4 days. The day time highs weren’t sufficient to uncover them and then have to recover them for the freezing temperatures at night. A couple days ago, the post-freeze garden inspection began.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 12/22/14

The weather has been fairly mild the past week, and I’ve been able to leave the plastic off my hoop tunnels at night. That’s been great as my plants need some direct sunlight – and the rain we’re now getting. I harvested a few things, and I noticed some seedlings finally germinated. A typical quiet week in my December garden.

Garden Bounty ~ Week Ending 6/8/14

I think I can now say that summer has arrived in my garden because I reaped a summer’s harvest in the past week! I harvested about 2.5 pounds of various greens, 3.5 pounds of sweet and hot peppers, 3 pounds of various snap beans, 116 heads of garlic, 3 onions, 63 radishes, 8 cucumbers, and my first tomato.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 4/7/14

It’s been a busy week in the garden. The temperature was in the mid-80’s, and there was much to do. I was hoping to get some of my seed in the ground this past weekend, but that didn’t happen. I spent twelve hours in the garden, and it was all spent preparing some of my raised beds. (I still have four more to do!) Why did it take me so long? See my post later this week, “The Good Idea that Wasn’t.” For now, let me share the good things from my garden.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 2/24/14

I think spring is just around the corner! This past week, we’ve had temperatures in the 70’s and low 80’s (about 10 degrees above average, but I’ll take it). Although we’re supposed to have two or three nights the end of this week dipping below freezing for a couple hours, I think we’ve seen the worst of the winter now. My tulips are blooming, and yesterday I noticed the clover is starting to bloom along with the henbit and chickweed. The bees are sure to come soon. My winter garden is actually growing (what survived the cold as well as two ice storms), and I’m actually seeing new seedlings coming up.