how all my plants are doing-

My beets are looking nice- healthier than ever I think. Some of the leaves get pale, bleached-looking patches I've read this is probably leaf miner and the best thing to do is just remove those leaves, throwing away the bugs on them in the process. I've been doing that and the incidents of bleach-patched leaves is reducing.

Carrots are also nice and thick now. Added more straw mulch and there's few weeds. Those bits I had pulled up earlier thinking they were carrots, turns out is a sedge. Still pulling some.

Tomatoes are planted out, around the tokyo bekana. About twice a week I cut all the tokyo bek (it grows back quickly) and we eat it sauteed in butter and salt. After cutting out the worst bits with slug holes, it's just enough for one side dish. I ought to set a slug trap again- the coffee grounds doesn't seem to be much deterrent.

Some of my tomato plants had yellowing leaves (see just lower left of center) at the end of their time in pots. But the new leaves are growing in a healthier green- as you can see on the upper part of this plant- so I think they'll be okay. There are some flowers appearing (top right)!

We have begun eating the chard:

Lettuces and tatsoi are starting to bolt, we're having a few days in the eighties now. The last cutting I took of lettuce was a bit bitter, blanched that out in cold water all day to make it edible, but now they're at end. On the right in bed 5, lavender on the near side of it is awfully scraggly- it suffered this past winter- but after flowering I will cut it back and hope it regrows nicer. 

On the far end, sorrel is overwhelming the bit of lemon balm. Which is okay, I never really use the lemon balm. Sorrel is sending up flower stalks which I regularly cut off. I will probably have to divide this plant soon, it's getting too big! There's green onions there in the middle and some sculpit, but too small to see from the overhead shot.

and the lower center plant is purple clematis climbing the deck post- just at the end of its bloom time

Turnips are doing okay here in bed 9, but collards remain small. I think it is because I made the mistake of putting layer sticks and wood bits over the cardboard when I started this bed years ago- nothing has done well in 8 or 9 since. Why do people recommend that so much? It definitely hasn't work for me. Other sources tell me that wood buried in the garden bed can tie up nitrogen for five to seven years! I am not positive of course, that's the reason my plants falter in this bed (tomatos did poorly here several years ago) but I'm not repeating the experiment.

In that round repurposed planter in the corner, I've put out the hyssop.

More later

brick edges

I've been doing a lot of work the past few weeks to replace old rotting wooden edges (railroad ties and fence posts) from beds 7 and 8 with concrete bricks to match the rest of the garden. First was all the work to waterproof seal and paint the bricks- two layers each on all sides, with time to dry between and periodic shifting into the house to avoid rain. Then waiting days for another dry spell to do more painting. Finally was able to set them in place. Here's a few work-in-progress pictures.

Bed 7 on the right is already redone, bed 8 on the left kinda out of picture has the old edges pulled off (long sides- the short ends previously had bricks)- and in the corner here you can see my pretty purple clematis!

Bed 8 with the sides removed and the mulch heaped up out of the way-

and complete!

7 done and 8 incomplete-

7 and 8 both done-

Here's bed 8 with lettuces and peas in the foreground (of bed 6)

I finished the job on a morning sprinkling rain but due to thunderstorm heavy in the afternoon- didn't want the raised built-up-with-riches soil to start washing away so I worked in the mud. Thus the bricks got dirty.

7 and 8 redone in the background, 9 in the foreground with young collard greens, leeks and turnips- and rosemary right up front. (It's the only one survived the winter- my other rosemary plant on the opposite end of the garden died).

So nice to have the beds all finally matching! And solid, and will last for decades. They are not perfectly straight, but much tidier than the old bricks- as you can see in some of the photos where the wobbly edge of bed 6 is across the way from bed 8- but that's merely asthetic, not a functional issue and it's easy enough to level them out when I care enough to find time.

Next structural project for the garden is to actually put the fence in- hence the red flags marking where an underground wire lies.

tiny fronds and green

Got a photo of my tiny baby asparagus plant.

Lettuces from the garden!

progress in the garden

Tokyo bekana is big enough to eat now.

Same with the lettuces- 

and tatsoi- which is getting bitten however- probably flea beetles

I had sowed more beet seeds in the gaps and some are coming up now- smaller plants on either side of these larger ones

I really like sitting on the garden bench and looking at the light through the young beet leaves- with the red veins

Have mulched the turnips- though they probably don't need it - but it keeps the beds looking tidy and uniform.

Seems like just a week ago my peas were barely emerging-

and now they're climbing up

planting out

My biological marker is blooming in the landscape: forsythia. 

So it's time to plant lettuces and the other cold-happy ones. 

As you can see in the photo above, half of my lettuce trays did not germinate. I didn't get any crisp mint, grand rapids, ceasar/romaine cross or 'leaf' lettuce (saved seed from I didn't really know which plant). So those packets will be getting tossed. Most of the other trays grew plenty of each, though my chards have been looking rather sad- collapsing stems- 

I think really they do better planted straight in the ground. I pricked them out first, swiss chard in bed 2

and leaf beet chard in bed 3.

Lettuces (they look so small!)

and tatsoi in bed 6,

collards 

blue 

and yellow, in bed 10.

Then realized I hadn't any spot for the tokyo bekana. I cleared straw out of bed 4 where the tomatoes are going to go, used the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket to mark rough circles where the tomato cages will be, and planted the chinese cabbage around them:

It's a good new start.

seedling progress

Two days ago my beets started sprouting 

along with something I wish wasn't growing- the sticks of virburnum I used as pea supports. Well, that tells me I could just shove trimmings in the ground to extend the hedge!

Tatsoi and tokyo bekana have grown their first true leaves- I'll probably plant them straight out into the garden (skipping potting up)

My collards,

chard

and lettuces all have first true leaves also. (Lettuces are not doing so well as the others).

Had a few mishaps already- I accidentally dropped two seedling trays facedown on the floor. Rescued these tomato seedlings and they seem okay after a few days- although now I can't tell which are the sweetie 100's and which are the black cherry tomatoes!

The other tray I faceplanted had chives and dill- they didn't fare so well. (But these I can tell apart).

So I made some mistakes, but here's something that's gone well: that patch of grass I sowed in the backyard where there's a sunken spot (in the fall). It's greener than anything! (see the surrounding "lawn").

I am honestly quite surprised. All these years I thought I had done well to mix grass seed with compost and ashes, or to scatter just compost and ashes to feed the lawn. This grew far better, and stayed way greener, and looks much healthier. Forget saving ashes for the lawn anymore. Pro mix and a handful of compost, on top of bare clay soil seemed to work!