What's happening in the mid May edible garden

Herbs and lettuce in the garden

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Everything is lush and green this time of year.  The edibles are growing quickly.   Salad fixings are in their prime with the summer edibles just getting started.  Herbs are filling out nicely.  By this time of year, we no longer need to purchase produce from the grocery store and can get fresh herbs to add to dishes that make them taste wonderful.

The greens we are eating-French sorrel, chard, spinach, dandelion greens, cress, arugula, chick weed, sweet clover, green onions, Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Giant Red mustard, sprouting broccoli leaves, Chinese multicolor amaranth, many varieties of lettuce and snow pea greens.  All are either overwintered or volunteers from last year.  I did plant a few varieties of lettuce to supplement those that sprouted from last year's seeds.

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-garlic chives, regular chives, rosemary, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, young garlic.  All are perennials so they come back year after year.

The fruits and veggies-wild strawberries, cultivated strawberries and carrots.  Strawberries are perennial and carrots overwintered and came up from last year's seed.

The flowers that are blooming-irises, coreopsis, spiderwort, and roses.  The herbs and veggies going to seed-yellow flowers of the sprouting broccoli, mustard and cress, white flowers on the arugula.  Soon, the beautiful purple flowers of sage, the white flowers of thyme, and lavender chive flowers.  All veggie and herb flowers are edible.  A fun way to add flavor and beauty to salads or other dishes.

The lettuce is beginning to bolt so soon there will be the white, yellow and blue flowers from the different kinds of lettuce.  Several carrots are starting to bolt, too.  If not pulled, they have beautiful white flowers resembling Queen Ann's Lace, which they are from the same family, that bees love.

The pink peonies and lilacs have already come and gone.  The white peony has buds on it.  

Potted lettuce

This week end, I weeded in the garden and pots.  I planted out broccoli, Brussels sprouts, 3 tomatoes and some petunias.  I have tomato seedlings going outside that I planted about a month ago.  A couple of weeks ago, I started nasturtium, eggplant and peppers from seeds outdoors in pots.  These have sprouted but are tiny.  I just started basil, cucumber, squash and beans a few days ago in outside pots.  They have not yet sprouted.

It is a good idea to wait 10 days after planting new plants before you give them much fertilizer.  I'll add a diluted liquid fertilizer to all that have their first set of true leaves in the next week.  When I transplant them, I will add char, worm castings and starter to each planting hole.

I am going at a much slower pace than usual this year with the work going on at the house.  That's okay, though.  You can plant a summer garden into June and still have a nice harvest.

 

I have also have very enterprising voles in the garden.  The good part of this is that they do a great job of loosening up the soil.  The bad part is that if there tunnels go under your plant, there is a good chance, the plant will die.  My vole deterrents that I use all quit.  I tried ones that you put batteries in and they give out a vibration that is supposed to deter them.  Not sure how much they actually helped.

Volunteer Red Malabar spinach and Chinese Multicolor amaranth

I have been harvesting the greens by taking only the outer leaves so that the plants will continue to grow.  By harvesting, it stimulates the plant to grow even more leaves.  If you have extra greens, besides lettuce, you can blanch and freeze them.  I still have plenty left in the freezer.  Preservation garden

I do need to start more lettuce seeds.  If you start seeds every 2-3 weeks, it keeps you in lettuce all the way until winter.  This time of year, start the heat tolerant varieties.   I have also moved to using greens that stay sweet during the dog days of summer.  The greens I have found so far that are great lettuce and spinach substitutes in salads are Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Perpetual Spinach chard, Chinese Multicolored amaranth, all colors of orach, Chinese Hilton cabbage (doubles as a great wrap, too), sprouting broccoli.  Keep salads going all summer long.