Season 2014 in the vegetable garden

February is a difficult month. I know I should be making plans and ordering seeds, but the garden looks rather barren and no matter how long I’ve been gardening, it is difficult to believe that with a bit of input it can be full and lush in just a few months time. Since my enthusiasm for gardening needs a little boost, I decided to copy Mark’s idea and do a little “look-back” on the 2014 season. Mostly to remind myself that things can only go uphill from here!

I tried to find one good overview image per month, preferably taken from more or less the same spot, but from some moths (namely April) the only images I had were taken in the opposite direction. This year I’ll try to choose one spot and take a picture at least once a month.

19th January

Because of the mild winter, many overwintered vegetables are still going strong. As are the weeds. The bed covered with fleece houses overwintered spinach.

9th March

There’s visible progress! Weeds have been weeded, paths mulched and we’ve put an edge along the perennial cut flower border on the right. The far right bed has been sown with early greens and radishes and covered with fleece for a bit of extra protection. The broad beans sown in February under the other fleece came up. Not really visible, but very important: we have put up a fence along the back of our plot to (hopefully) deter rabbits.The kale is starting to bolt.

18th April

We’ve added two new beds thus bringing the total to ten. Lots of sowing and planting out and the first harvests too (radishes and leaf mustard)

30th May

Peonies on the right are starting to flower and the peas on the left are climbing higher and higher

15th June

Almost Midsummer and everything’s still freshly green. For once, we did not forget to support the broad beans in time!

 20th July

Peas finished, endive and radicchio sown in their place. Tomatoes (on the left) never really took off.

24th August

Many second crops, such as the red beets front left and leeks in the bed behind them. Tomatoes on the right blighted.

14th September

We gave up on the tomatoes and let the nasturtiums have the bed on the left. Romaine lettuces (front center) are growing nicely and the flowering dahlias at the back add a nice splash of color.

19th October

Radicchios and endive thriving and providing many harvests. Radishes sown in the former tomato bed grew nicely too.

23rd November

Garlic planted and mulched with flax straw (the weird looking light stuff). Empty bed (second row, second from the right) mulched with manure and fall leaves (which mostly blew away). No frost yet, as visible from the lush nasturtium.

30th November

Things are winding down…

Ah, that made me feel somewhat better! I think I’ll go order some seeds now…