Garden-fresh produce a welcome change

Earlier in the spring, some of the grandchildren came over and helped me plant carrots, potatoes, a variety of greens, plus a couple of bunches of onions. I guess we chose the best day to plant because everything came up quickly and grew well. The grandchildren were surprised to see how fast the carrot seeds, etc., sprouted and grew. It wasn't long before Linda and I were eating spinach, kale, turnips, radishes, onions and lettuce. We have enjoyed many salads this spring and also have eaten enough asparagus to get tired of it. Now, I mostly eat it raw, right in the garden.

We planted potatoes on March 18th and, even though it froze a few times after the plants came up, I never covered them or any other plants for that matter. We never saw any frost damage in the garden. I have often seen potatoes that had some freeze damage that didn't kill the plants.

For the last couple of weeks, we have been eating new potatoes with purple hull peas and cornbread. Fresh onions and a little pepper sauce and you have a wonderful meal in front of you. Some of these potatoes are big, which augurs well for the eventual harvest.

Since it has gotten warmer the greens have begun to go to seed, so I asked the grands to come over to help pull the turnip plants. I cut the tops off and we fed those to the goats and sheep. They love anything from the garden. The bottoms were taken into Linda so she could put them in the fridge. I also pulled all the spinach plants and fed those to the livestock as well. I learned later that Linda was still using the spinach, so I had to ask forgiveness for that.

We can't seem to eat the onions fast enough to keep up with their production. I guess we will have plenty of onions to put into storage later in the summer. I love eating the tender young plants with boiled greens and cornbread or with peas or beans.

The tomato plants are looking really good. I finally got cages around most of them. I have been working in the shop so much that I have been neglecting the garden. I have two more cages to build for a couple of volunteer Cherokee Stripe plants Linda found growing in last year's tomato bed. We transplanted those to this year's bed with the other tomato plants. I try not to plant the same plants in the same bed two years in a row.

The elephant garlic is set to break some records size-wise. I will be digging those bulbs sometime this month. The plants are already beginning to slowly turn brown. I couldn't be more pleased with how they look. Garlic is one of my favorite plants to grow because it is so fool-proof. If you can't grow garlic successfully, then you probably shouldn't be trying to garden.

One thing that has stood out in the garden this spring has been the abundance of crabgrass. I have never seen so much crabgrass as we have had this year. I suppose it has something to do with all the rain. Speaking of which, it is nice to be able to plant and work in the garden at almost any time, rain or shine, because of the raised beds. It simply doesn't get too wet for us to find something to do in the garden, thanks to the raised beds. These beds are a bit of work to put in, but after that they pay dividends for many years. I think they are well worth the investment of time and money.

Now I need to go dig some potatoes. Happy gardening!

Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

General News on 06/07/2017