Garden Update

Spring has come early this year.  For example, I can't believe that I'm already getting two (although the picture above only depicts one) barely ripe Mara des Bois strawberries.  I'm excited and I'm really hoping that the neighborhood animals have not yet noticed the ripe berries.  I'm even thinking about plucking the fruit, even if it is a bit unripe, just so I can get a taste of it before any other animal does.  I'm willing to share all of my other fruit, but I have been patiently waiting for my strawberries to ripen, even foregoing the strawberries from the store. 

Moving along, the picture right above shows little blackberry buds, poised to bloom.  I've waited two years for my blackberry bush to bloom.  This year I thought it was a bust, but I'm so glad I was wrong.  I'm noticing lots of little buds ready to flower.  I can't wait to see if these blackberries are worth the wait.  Once more, these are cultivated blackberries and the plants don't have thorns, unlike the wild blackberries found in other parts of the country that are thorny and grow like a weed.

My raspberry bushes are also flowering like crazy.  I'm hoping for a bumper summer and fall harvest. Maybe I'll have enough to make my own jam this year, instead of going to "you pick" farms. 

As you can see in the picture above, there are lots of leaves from the garlic plants. I'm a bit concerned that there is no garlic scape coming out of each plant, but I guess it's okay if there aren't.  I still have about a month left before I can begin harvesting the garlic bulbs, so there might still be a chance that I could still get garlic scapes.  To the right, in the picture above, you can see how well the "stray" strawberry plants are doing.  I think I really need to thin it out because I know I didn't plant that many strawberry plants in the raised bed.  There are also a lot of flowers too, but I think the strawberries might be a bit small due to the competition for space and nutrients.  That's why I know I need to thin out the plants.

Lastly, my potatoes are growing wonderfully.  I never thought that the spuds would sprout so well and so big.  I'm so amazed at what a little spud (some were the size of my thumb before planting) is capable of producing.  Anyhow, I need to "hill" up my potatoes plants a bit more.  I'm running out of dirt, but I my research indicates that I can use dried leaves and grass to cover up the potato plants.  I'm so excited.

So, how is your garden doing?