How's your garden growing....

Raised beds full of herbs, & veggies.

 I've received some questions regarding just what can one grow in our area.  When we first broken ground, we had that hard, red clay to work with; adding lots of organic matter has made a world of difference.  Some of our garden produce still do best in raised beds, to help with drainage.

Aside from your standard annuals in the garden, perennials are half the fun.  So below I've listed various plants we grow as well as some quirks I found to help some more particular plants flourish.

Pretty much carefree perennials...
Asparagus,
Rhubarb,
Horseradish,
Jerusalem artichokes/sun-chokes,
Walking onions,
Multiplying onions,

Berry Patch and vineyard:
Blackberry,
Blueberry,
Raspberry,
Gooseberry*1,
Strawberry,

Red and White currants*2,
Cranberry*3,
Various grape varieties, 

Broken hose spraying the peas, beans, squashes, tomato, etc.,

Winter Hardy Herbs:
Crocus(saffron)*4,
Rosemary(Arp)
Oregano,
Parsely,
Thyme(German, English, Variegated, Lavender, Lemon)
Chamomile,
Comfrey,
Bee balm,
Bergamot,
Sage,
Chives(Garlic, Standard)
Tarragon,
Mint(Chocolate, Swiss, Moroccan, Mojito)

Banty hen with her Turkey brood

Planted in the ground but need protection at 15F and below....
Russian Pomegranate
Prickly Pear Cactus


My greenhouse potted plants....
Mandarin Orange
Persian Lime
Meyer Lemon
Kumquat
Lemon Verbena
Stevia
Marjoram


Some experimental plants I'm growing...
Salmonberry
Nanking/sand cherry

Almond fruit growing.

In the Orchard...
Almonds(sensitive to early frosts)
Walnuts,
Chestnut,
Pecan,
Hazelnut,
Hickory,
Pawpaw, 
Apples,
Peach,
Pear(Asian & European)
Plum,
Cherry(tart & sweet),
Jujube,
Flying Dragon Orange(hardy to 0F),
Fig,

Inside my greenhouse, aka chick room.

*1, &2: Prefers afternoon shade and moist soil.
*3:  Prefers peat well mixed throughout the soil, and is really annoying to keep weed free.  Needs light layer of straw over winter.
*4: Prefers a raised bed with some sand added.

What will I kill next?

Fresh from the garden...

It's that time of year again.  Spring is in the air, kids jumping about, the daffodils are blooming, and catalogs start rolling in.

I swore this year would be different.  This year, I will allow myself to be tempted.  Well, just a peek.  Flipping through those catalogs.  Just thinking of all those plants I could grow, or not.  Then just the idea pops in, what next, what weird plant can I grow, but most likely kill next.

Some plants are great, grow well, but then the berries or edible plant matter is something, well akin to dirt.  I would have to be half starved to eat.  Then there are the exotics that I used to love to grow in a more temperate region, and when I was childless.  But nowadays, I prefer to keep my plant babies more independent, no coddling.  So that cuts out all orchids or plants from zone 9 or higher.

Then some plants are a surprise, I heard they are impossible to grow in this zone, but just the right soil preparation or windbreak, or what not particular to that plant and it not only grows but thrives(like my cranberry bog).

So I'm off pondering what next, maybe apricot, or new herb...?

So here's what's growing now....
Under veggies, we have salads, kale, radishes(french and daikon), a few varieties of garlic, and onions, turnips, parsnips, carrots, chard, peas, and various brassica.

Perennial herbs are rosemary(arp), oregano, sage, various thyme plants, savory, mints(spear, Moroccon, Swiss, chocolate), parsley, bay, & cilantro.  It's still too cold for to break dormancy on my chives, tarrogon, bergamot, and other herbs.

Now if only I can keep our kitten from playing in our freshly planted beds, things will be good.   Don't let her girlish good looks fool you, in the garden she's a dirt rolling, digging, carrot-top eating heathen!

Fresh from the garden....

Freshly picked from the garden, we might have produced more if not for curious chicks pecking at the flowers.

On the left is a Meyer lemon, on the right a Persian lime.

How's your garden growing?

It's winter, but as long as there is light, I will grow.

Raised beds, and fallow beds

This year, I'm taking it easy with the kids so I'm growing spinach, kale, bok choy, beets, turnips, three types of radishes(standard, french, daikon), five varieties of garlic, carrots, and swiss chard.

Carrots

The winter's don't get too cold here.  About down to 5F, it's the summers which can be hard, with that dry, hard heat, it's all I can do to grow northern berries.  Anyway, back to winter.  It's wet, really wet, Hubby was nice enough to construct some really good raised beds for me, made of wood, I've been using anything I can scrounge together for my beds mostly, but these beds are picture worthy, plus they'll last for years!

Chard

The carrots are protected from the turkeys on the with my tiny fence.  Just ignore those huge weeds in the photos. The garden is surrounded by a 5- 6 foot high fence, another 3 foot fence, dog and cat, yet the light breed chickens and turkeys just gotta fly into my garden to eat those tender seedlings.

Salad greens

 Here is a picture of my salad greens.  Eating should be a feast for the eyes as well as for the stomach.

The last picture is of my elephant garlic, it takes two years to grow full sized.  These garlic plants are going to be ready to pick this spring. Yum!

Happy winter gardening!

Elephant garlic