Peas

This is it!  Pea season is officially over.  I pulled a number of peas off the vines today.  They taste great.  I got about 5 peas for each plant.  No fertilizer, just weeding and watering.

Cilantro

The cilantro bolted!  See the pictures of the pretty white “flowers” — that’s cilantro which went to seed.  I grew Slo-Bolt Cilantro.  So much for slow bolting.  Actually, it has been growing since the last frost.  It’s also from seeds that overwintered in that bed.

Tomatoes

Tomato season is almost here!  The first early tomatoes have started to fruit.  They are only a half inch in diameter.  In another 2 weeks, we should have some cherry tomatoes.

Lettuces

The lettuce looks great.  The Rocky Top is a strong grower.  The European Mesculan was a bust.  I cleared out the cilantro bed and planted arugula, salad greens, and mizuna.  In another 3 weeks, I’ll have more greens than I can deal with.

Cucumbers and Watermelon

Both went in the ground two weeks ago and the seedlings look great.  I’m going to try to grow these two up on stakes and trellis in the hopes of growing more in a smaller area.  I’ve never done it like this, so we’ll see what happens.

Chard

The chard which got water logged last week came back under the hot, hot sun.  It doesn’t like too much sun, but due to the flood of water, it’s doing ok.

Clean Up!

It’s not all growing.  Today was a big clean up day.  Planted sunflower seeds in an area next to the compost bin and cleaned up some of the beds.  In the next few weeks, I’ll have more clean up as the pea plants come out and something new comes in.

Related articles:

1. On the Farm, June 19, 2009
2. On the Farm, June 6, 2009
3. On the Farm, June 12, 2009

Bees! (and other beneficial insects)

I chased two bees around the farm today trying to take a picture proving that bees were already hunting the flowers and vegetables int he garden. (I failed. It’s really hard to get close to a flying bee — and he didn’t land on the flower while I was holding the camera.)

Garden Tulip, April 24, 2009

I try to attract as many beneficial insects to the farm as possible. The tulips and other bulb flowers are great for the early season. They blossomed in the past 10 days and provide the first pollen for bees. I also plant Good Bug Blend from Peaceful Valley to attract predatory mites and wasps, ladybugs, lacewings, syrphids, tachnids, predacious beetles and many others.

April 24, 2009

There are certainly many bugs you don’t want in your garden, but there are plenty of bugs you do want. Lady bugs eat everything! Find a lady bug in the house and throw it in your garden to eat up anything that walks.

I plant Good Bug Blend where ever I can’t grow vegetables, like around trees, bushes, and other odd spots. It’s a perfect filler.

Related articles:

1. Scenes from an Early Spring Farm
2. Happy Friday!

If you follow @GreenCityMarket on Twitter, you were notified that Cannon Drive was closed this morning for the Wrigley “Start Early Run” Race.  Walking through Lincoln Park, I was caught up in the action.

Caught at the Wrigley "Start Early Run" Race on the way to the market.

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the flowers.  In my case, I stopped to photograph ducks in the North Pond of Lincoln Park.  I walked all the way up to the edge the pond — about 2 feet from the ducks — and they just sat their while I took a picture.

Ducks of the North Pond, April 2009

Sorry about the side track, back to the market.  Luckily for us, Growing Power is able to start their vegetables in a greenhouse or cold frame (I should have asked) so they have a variety of greens ready to eat today.  I picked up both the arugula and salad greens.

Salad Greens and Arugula from Growing Power at the Green City Market

It’s rare to get scallions this early and they really smelled good (and strong — my entire bag smelled like scallions.  I also picked up mint and sorrel leaves from Nichols Farm, both of which looked great.

Mint Leaves from the Green City Market

Sorrel Leaves from the Green City Market

Scallions from the Green City Market

And finally to round out my Green City Market trip, I picked up Green Offerings bunch of tulips.  They’re very closed now (I purposely picked them like that) so hopefully I can watch them slowly open all week.

Tulips from Garden Offerings at the Green City Market

And since I was one of the first 200 to show up, I received a basil pot!  This one will go on my kitchen counter in a small pot.  Thanks Green City Market!

Basil Pot, a gift from the Green City Market

It’s far too nice to be inside today.  I’m back outside to enjoy the weather before it starts raining tomorrow.  Have a good day!

Related articles:

1. Friday Weeds – April 10, 2009
2. Friday Weeds – April 17, 2009
3. Friday Weeds – April 24, 2009