Moving Forward

The weather has been atypical for New England and for here in Mansfield.  We have had some really nice days with temps in the mid to high 70º's and other times we had a touch of frost May 9th.  Luckily we had just come home from our trip to Asheville, NC and I was given a heads up by a friend, so I covered all, but one tomato plant (just missed it).  All survived and as the photos will show, things are moving along very nicely.

Today was a pretty tough day, as I dug up 8 blueberry bushes that my dad had planted 15 years ago, but were never very productive.  In the last 4-5 years, the winter moths, which turn into nasty green little worms have eaten the flowers off most of the blueberries, so production is even worse.  So, I decided to dig up the blueberries and move them to a new location back by the raspberries in some decent soil, but away from where the moths have done their destructive work over the years.  I was originally going to put the blueberries in the front forest area, but with temperatures supposed to get up into the mid 80º's tomorrow, and the ground being very hard to dig in, I thought better of the idea.

So, without much more discussion, I will post some photos I took today.

Garlic with some potato shoots from last year's garden.  On the right, peppers.

Some of the tomato plants that did not fit in the main garden found a place in some old flower pots.

Cucumbers waiting to be transplanted.

Spinach in front, lettuce and basil near the end, with carrots filling in between the two.
This is inside the first greenhouse.

Tomatoes inside the greenhouse starting to flower.

Cherry tomatoes already on the vine.  These are Matts Wild Cherry, small but very tangy.

Peas outside in Jack's Garden beginning to flower.

Broccoli with heads starting, Cilantro to the right and spinach and lettuce in the back.
This is part of Jack's garden

Kale and Broccoli in the bed, with some of the blueberries dug out earlier today on the left.
On the far left are potatoes and on the far right are Jack's pole beans.
He now knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Some new lettuce I planted that is similar to bib (in the back), but has a lot of red in it.

Two rows of tomatoes growing very nicely

A row of peas, planted a bit later than the other peas.  Potatoes on the left and some broccoli on the right.  I have installed drip lines for each of the row.

Strawberries in the back and some chives, onions and parsley in the front.

Two rows of potatoes, one Pontiac red and the other Yukon Gold

Two more rows of tomatoes that will grow up on the cow panel wiring.

Another pea patch with some of the new lettuce getting in some unused space.

Onions down the center with broccoli on the left and tomatoes on the right.

A row of onions on the left side with a mixed row of tomato, squash and broccoli on the right.

These are peas in the second greenhouse that have some very colorful blossoms.

Different varieties of lettuces in the third greenhouse along with some parsley and tomatoes.

Another Matts Wild Cherry with tomatoes showing

A Bloody Butcher tomato that is an earlier producer and has great tomatoes.  This one is in the greenhouse.

We all love lilacs, this is one we planted when my mom came to live with us.  We are going to do some more landscape work in this area, known as Gertie's Garden.

Nancy has been very busy cleaning up some of our many gardens.  I think she has been inspired by our trip to Asheville and seeing the Biltmore Mansion Gardens.  Mulching is next.

Another garden on the other side of the driveway, with a new knockout rose plant we hope will take.

This is one of the lilacs that my dad had planted when we moved to Mansfield.  It has grown into a beautiful bush.  Nancy does a great job trimming it back so it is always full of blooms.

One of my mom's favorite flowers, a Columbine in full bloom.

Nancy's witch hazel bush that she loves and trims so nicely.