Photo Op

I decided today was a good day to take some photos of the garden to show the progress the veggies and seedling are making, so here goes.

These are tulips my Dad planted just before going back to Germany.  We have had problems with tulips over the years, as deer seem to appreciate them.  This group was planted on the strip near the sunroom, where the deer aren't too interested in coming.

These are the last of the daffodils, a late variety that have multiplied greatly over the years.  We started with 3 in each group.

This is the 4 year old Stark peach tree in bloom.  It has been producing excellent peaches for 3 years already.  It is a dwarf variety, but seems closer to standard size.  I had to do a lot of trimming back in February.

These are Nancy's snap dragons.  They have been in the ground for two weeks now, covered at night and during cold days.  Not much growth, but look very healthy and ready to go.

The white and yellow onions are finally starting to grow.  That is netting over them, to protect them from our neighbor's cat, who loves to come over and then is chased back by Forrest, our 13 year old pup.... In the background is a raised bed of Yukon Gold potatoes, planted on Patriots Day.

This is the back row of the garden, tilled yesterday to get ready to put in some of my tomatoes.  You can see some of the tomatoes on the right side.

In the foreground are broccoli plants that have been covered daily and overnights.  In the background are two broccoli plants that have been left out without cover.  You can see what a difference the portable greenhouse has on the growth of the plants.

This is a bed with chives, broccoli (in the wall of water), garlic and strawberries.  A nice mix for sure.  In the foreground are dianthanus plants transplanted from last year.  All are growing nicely.

This is my cold frame that has been used exclusively for greens.  Not sure why they haven't grown larger, but I am thinking it might be the soil.  I added some fertilizer yesterday to augment the compost and horse manure that are the main ingredients of this area.  Spinach leaves will be part of tonight's dinner.

The first partially red tomato to make it's appearance.  I was surprised by this, as I am counting on the tomatoes not turning red until the middle to late May.

These are all of my early tomatoes at different stages of growth.  In the background are mainly 4th of July plants I started in February.  In the foreground are beefsteak tomatoes I started in mid March.  All are doing well.

Some of my seedlings that are patiently waiting to be transplanted.  In the front are onions, snapdragons and a few tomatoes (cherry and plump).  In the back are a variety of flower seedlings.

This is the first of my tomato cages.  Instead of using reinforced concrete wiring, which is heavy, gets rusty and is expensive, I used some five foot high wire fencing.  The problem with this is that it is fairly light and the openings are small.  So I figured out that by keeping the front open (about one foot) and supporting the ends with some electric piping, I will be able to get into the cage when tomatoes become ripe.  The next few photos show closeups and finally how I protect the tomatoes with plastic.