Our garden: so far, so good

We got a relatively early start on our garden this year, thanks to record-breaking heat. Rick and Brian got our plot weeded and tilled, and by May 1st we had lettuce starts and Yukon Gold potatoes in the ground. On May 8, we planted snap peas, onion sets, and carrots (I used my Kerrits seeds once I found the fine print that said they are Nantes, my favorite variety). On Wednesday afternoon, to take advantage of the wet forecast, I planted the rest of the seeds we had on hand: saved Royal Burgundy bush beans, White Egg Turnips, Marketmore 98 cucumbers, and saved Delicata squash. The minimum still to acquire and plant: zucchini seeds, tomato starts, pepper starts, basil starts, and eggplant starts. I'd like to do that on Sunday, but we'll see.

I labeled a panoramic photo to help me remember what went where (oops; the onions are between the peas and beans):

Peas are up!

The following photo was taken from the opposite corner, showing the garden's position relative to our house. The photo after that was taken from our front door.

Yes, our garden is that little pocket-sized space tucked amidst the trees.

As you can see, the garden's location is far from ideal, surrounded by trees we are unwilling to remove, which have gotten considerably bigger since we chose this space many years ago. On top of that, Rick has put in more and more berries and grapes (on the left, behind the ornamental cherry and oak trees), leaving less room for annuals. If I had my druthers, I'd let him take over that whole space for his "babies" and move the vegetable garden to a more open spot with all-day sun (in raised beds!), but I'd need to find a whole lotta help – or money to hire someone....

Still, the garden as it stands does provide food for our table. I've been harvesting rhubarb for weeks, and yesterday I got my first taste of these:

Thankful for what we have at . . .