Wow! In the past week we had temperatures reach the mid eighties! I was away on business but convinced my wife to water the spring crops on my behalf. (She does support the garden, she's just busy with two little kids)
When I came back the lettuce had seemingly doubled in size and my arugula was ready to harvest. We quickly adjusted the weeks meal plans and took my square foot of arugula from garden to table within thirty minutes, talk about fresh! Some of my lettuce was also starting to think about bolting, so I harvested from an inch up and what a bowl of greens I got! We washed and stored so we can eat this over the next week or so. By the time we finish it I expect to have more. I'll pretend that I did that on purpose. :-). It was largely a blend of mesclun greens and a gourmet leaf blend. I do have some head varieties in the garden but they aren't ready for harvest yet. If my plans go as I hope I should be getting one to two salads from the garden each week through Spring and early summer. I do plan on attempting to grow a "Heatwave" Blend in July and August in the shadiest spot of my garden as well to see if it is possible to provide salad greens all season long
In other gardening news, my peppers, eggplants and tomatoes are all being hardened off this week. Temperature highs are in the seventies all week and I plan on planting the seedlings on Mother's Day. They are desperate to get out of their solo cup homes! I had enough extra tomato plants to give a few away to coworkers and to my children's preschool teachers. Hopefully they do well in their new homes. It's always hard to give them away, not because I don't like sharing, but I wonder if they will receive the care they deserve lol.
As far as direct sowing, my bush beans, pole beans, and squash have sprouted from the ground. Basil, cilantro and dill seedlings have also popped up as I planted them as border crops (one per side) of various beds. Beets and carrots are establishing themselves, and my kale and spinach is really taking off.
It seems like I waited forever, and now I finally get to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor, and its only May! The weather has certainly been a challenge, but getting to watch crops grow through most of April has been a pleasure.
Apart from the lettuce and radishes, I will have to patiently wait through May before I can start adding some variety to my vegetable diet. Kale, Peas, Swiss Chard, Beets Cauliflower should all become part of the menu in early June. I feel like this insanely cold spring has pushed back "what could have been" by about two weeks.
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