So, I'm at the spot when I think t he garden is going to be fabulous, because everything's planted and thriving, except for the weeds. And not just because I keep forgetting to swap my reading/computer glasses for my distance glasses, so I can't really see the smallest weeds.
Also, my arm seems to have finished healing in the last two or three weeks, so I'm able to use the hoe with abandon. Sort of.
Garlic has been forming scapes for the last week or so. I counted the Russian garlic today, and then went to see how many cloves I'd planted, and it's a perfect match: 33. Of course, it was an incredibly mild winter, but sometimes that can be harder on over-wintering crops. That number isn't including the rounds I transplanted last fall and this spring, which will be next year's crop. I also have maybe 4 to 6 Russian garlics that were somehow missed last year, so they're growing in the old spot for the second year and are looking fabulous, at least in terms of the stalk's size. I haven't counted the German variety, which looks puny compared to the Russian. I'll definitely be phasing out the German, or phasing down, because we do like the smaller size of the bulblets of that variety for eating raw, so we'll want at least some of that variety. The Russian bulblets are just a bit too much.
Had the first snap peas yesterday -- one for me and one for my co-gardener. Green beans are looking good. Tomatoes are starting to bulk up. Peppers are a bit puny, probably due to drought. Onions are a mixed bag -- some are bulking up, some are a bit small. Overall, though, the onions look better than any of the last few years' crops. Definitely fewer weeds. And I just got composted manure today to toss around everything, so that should perk up the runts.
The most recent rhubarb acquisition (Crimson Red) is doing great. I'm thinking of moving the others (Victoria and Chipman) and seeing if planting them in compost will give them enough of a boost to make it worth keeping them.
