The wonders of March. 03-11-2012

Spring is just around the corner even though Summer seems to have arrived a couple weeks ago. Things are starting to grow a little quicker with the longer days and the birds are beginning to build nests in my trees. Let's head on out to the garden and see how things are growing right  now.

First a couple of the veggies we have been enjoying lately. Some Beef Master tomatoes, Big Bertha bell peppers and Black Beauty eggplant .

I decided to buy some seed potatoes and see if I could grow them. They came in and the instructions said to cut the large one into a size about the same as a large ice cube with a few eyes on each piece. Then let them sit over night to scab over where it was cut but don't let them shrivel up. These are Colorado Rose red potatoes.

I worked in some acid mix organic fertilizer in a bed and then dug 3 furrows to plant the spuds in.

I placed them about 6-8 inches apart and then worked them down to about 1-2 inches below the soil. As they grow up I will then fill in the furrows around the plants eventually hilling up around each row. The little seed potatoes that didn't need cutting got planted in large pots like the ones I grew last year.
 

My sweet onions are growing nicely and some are beginning to develop a bulb.

 Here the Tribute strawberries are really pumping out the berries. The problem is a lot of them touch the ground and then bugs chew on them or they begin to rot before totally ripening. I think when they begin to put out runners I will start several new plants like last year from the runners and dig up the bed discarding the older crowns. Then I want to build some strawberry towers which will keep the berries off the ground by letting them hang freely in the air. I think that will solve a lot of my problem with them.

Here are different flower seedling I started from seed. Most of these will get planted in the front yard and on the side of the house where Carambola, Avocado, and Papayas are growing. The flowers are mainly different varieties of Calendula, Sunflower, and Marigolds.

I decided when it was hot out to begin deploying the shade cloth. My Pac Choi and Butterhead Lettuce was really taking a beating in the afternoon. So far it has really helped them out.

Some of the Celebrity tomatoes I had left over from seed starting  earlier last month. Also here are some of the strawberry plants that were started from runners.

Another pineapple coming up.

My fourth crop of  Pack Man broccoli coming along nicely.

Green beans in the front and the Royalty Purple bush beans just germinating behind them.

This bed has more Celebrity tomatoes and Nutri Red carrots.

My third planting of Pack Man broccoli. These should begin to form heads soon.

Zucchini in the front with the pepper and eggplant bed in the back. The zucchini are beginning to bloom.

More pics of the eggplants and peppers. All of them are beginning to fruit like crazy. I fertilized all of them and the tomatoes today with Fox Farm tomato and vegetable fertilizer. It seems to give good results.

My second attempt this year with cucumbers from seed. The first ones all died that were direct seeded here. It was pretty cool out when they germinated and they looked like they got damping off disease. These were started in pots and transplanted. Two of them died from what appeared to be damping off also but now they look like they are going to make it. We shall see.

Behind the cucumbers are another planting of Nutri Red carrots.
 

Here the Butternut squash has germinated. Soon I will attach the trellises to the poles of the frame.

A few peaches are beginning to form on my Florida King peach tree. This one is the largest so far. It is right in the middle of the picture. The tree did not put out near as many flowers as last year. I am thinking it is probably because our winter was practically nonexistent. 

Finally my Emerald blue berry plant has several berries ripening up on it. Maybe I can grow some blueberries after all.