With consistent overnight lows over 50 degrees, things are really starting to look up! At this point, all of the seeds are in the ground and the last transplants went in this past week. The last to go in was the peppers, because they grow slowly and need nice warm weather. In addition to some promising young plants, Small Holdings Farm welcomes the premier Dos Manos furniture project, two handmade dovetailed benches. They are a great place to sit and admire the plants, as well as recover from the backbreaking work of belt sanding them.The same old low-tech water retention bucket is still hanging around in the foreground for lack of funds for something tidier and more high tech.
Beyond the water bucket is a bed of perennial herbs with fennel and peas mixed in this time around. I screwed some eye hooks into the house and strung fishing line through them to create a trellis for the peas in order to capitalize on vertical space where there is a shortage of square footage on the horizontal. The huge green bush in the middle of the top is All Blue and Corolla potatoes. They are in flower right now so I'm just waiting for the plants to start looking really tired, which is their signal that it's time to start digging. It shouldn't be long now.
Along the fence are tomatoes and radishes. I ate the first radish last week and it was crisp and spicy just as I expected. A few have fallen prey to bugs and I'm in the process of identifying the culprits. In anticipation of pulling a row of radishes, I planted a new one behind it and the replacements are just starting to pop up now.The tomatoes are growing fast and it's just about time for stakes. The Hillbilly potato leaf in the corner is tall and leggy, while the Green Sausages in the middle are much more bushy and squat. The variety visible across the species in the foliage alone is amazing, not to mention the fruit!
Along the back wall are more peas, which are climbing the fence quite well. Amongst the peas are cucumbers, melons, that have yet to make an appearance above ground, and Golden Zucchini. On the right we have Brussels Sprouts and Romanesco Broccoli. In the middle are dwarf varieties of tomatoes, bell and hot peppers, husk cherries, one Buttercup squash plant, and a bit of spinach. I had tomatoes and squashes in this bed last year and planned to rotate them out this season but there was simply no other place to put them. I pitched the idea of veggies in the front yard to our downstairs neighbors and was rebuffed, so I am applying a bacterial supplement to prevent mold and crossing all fingers and toes that my plants don't get sick. The only residents of this bed that are ready for eating are the pea greens and tiny baby peas. In case you didn't already know, you can eat the leaves, vines and flowers of the pea plants. Just pick off the curly, wiry parts that they use to grab onto things as they climb (because they grab onto your throat as you swallow!).
Along the fence we have a cabinet rescued from one of the ubiquitous June 1st-in-Somerville piles, which is a real champ at holding fire wood, watering cans and seedling trays. Beyond is the strawberry patch, which is ripening as we speak, and the lone, gigantic rhubarb plant. I boiled some rhubarb with spearmint and a little sugar for a tasty juice/tea last weekend and it was a hit.
Look, strawberries! They're starting off slow with just a couple ripe each day but I'm sensing a deluge in the near future and readying my pie dough for the occasion.
The arugula is really going crazy in the shady patch by the back door. I was a little concerned about this patch initially but luckily, as is often the case, my worry was unwarranted. I'm about to cut most of the greens down to make room for the row of seeds I sowed last week and to let a little more sun get to the surrounding head lettuces, spinach and chards... and because I have a hankering for a salad right about now.
Leaving arugula in the ground until you have the salad bowl out is the best way to keep them fresh. I works better than any tupperware contraption you can buy. If you must pick before you are ready to eat, take a cue from my mom and wash your greens then wrap them very loosely in a linen towel then put the towel in a plastic shopping bag and put the bag in the crisper drawer... if your fridge is anything like mine (jam-packed with 4 roommates' worth of food), you'll just leave them in the ground until the minute you're ready to eat.
