Annual Edible Experiments

I've got my garden basically completely planted, and have my fingers crossed for what looks like a really good year. 

My beets are well up and thinned already, and my onions, shallots, and potatoes are all looking strong. 

I planted my peppers and tomatoes literally THE first day the frost tables indicated I might be able to, and that gamble seems to have paid off. We got down to about 38 the night before last and it looked almost frosty in spots; but not enough to hurt, they looked fine when I checked them yesterday afternoon. So we should be well ahead of the curve for those. 

I'm going to have to use a nasty bug-killer this year after losing two years' worth of vine crops despite intense non-chemical efforts, but it's worth it to me to get all my cucumbers and butternut and zucchini and melons. Better a free abundance than buying a few at the store where they'll have pesticides on them too, or worse, not even getting any because they're so expensive. (I'm looking at you, butternut.) 

Also, corn, bush beans, peas, sunflowers, lettuce, and spinach. 

I'm attempting a few cole crops, but they're not sprouting yet like I had hoped they would -- we'll see if the cabbage, kale, and brussels sprouts show or not. 

A few carrots are in, as well as a litany of herbs, many of them volunteers from last year. 

It looks like I might not have to plant any fennel, parsely or cilantro, and though I already planted some dill I've since found a renegade patch that carried over. As long as my cucumbers are equally as vigorous, I don't mind extra dill at all, we've missed our homemade pickles... 

I have hopes for a good basil crop so I can make more pesto, and Lucy has planted a pot on our porch with a bunch of oregano. But I've decided to leave off swiss chard for a year, my family will probably be thrilled, they got awfully sick of it over the last 5 years.

I've even got my soaker hoses laid out to my satisfaction, and the lower half of my fence put back up. (I take it down during the winter so it's not an eyesore along the sort-of main road there.) I should put the top part on soon so that maybe I'll have one year where I beat the deer to it. 

Always an adventure!