Garden harvest & Tulip photography in April

Last week I posted pictures of covering my garden and fruit trees for frost protection. The good news is, the blueberry fruits are still growing, and veggies are very hardy; the bad news is, all the fruit trees are not so hardy. You can see small black fruit dangling from the pear trees, the grape vines are wilted, the mulberry leaves died, the pineapple sage died, the plums that speckled the sky all turned shriveled and black.

I'm not sure if any of the fruit from the peaches and nectarines survived, but I still see some hanging on for life.

Still, I harvest food everyday. I have so many radishes and little greens to prepare salads, vegan seaweed rolls, garnish for ramen, salad wraps, and other pasta dishes loaded with garden food.

I have also been delivering garden food to elders that are social distancing, and to coworkers as well.

Garden veg out for delivery

Spinach & arugula used for tomato pasta dish

Potatoes in grow bags

French breakfast radishes poking out from the soil

Yesterday I planted more pockets of seed around these strawberry plants and other bare spots in the garden beds. I sowed spinach and basil seed which are supposed to be companion plants to strawberries. I sowed the spinach and basil seed around additional bare spots in other garden beds.

Strawberry plants and lettuces

Cilantro bed

Arugula and spinach bed

And the tulips rise, regardless of the frost. However, as of tonight, there's not a petal in sight. The Irises will be taking their place in the upcoming weeks--once again brightening the landscape.

Aronia berry plant blossoms

Spring harvest & Frost protection for Food Forest

Before the frosty nights, I was sure to pick some garden greens and radishes. There was a lot of arugula so the salad was spicy eith the radishes.

During this pandemic, I am delivering some free garden food to the elders in my life as well.

As you may know, I'm here in zone 6-7 where it continues to have nights of frost up until May. I used towels, throw blankets, thin quilts and bedsheets, potato grow bags, tent covers, and tree covers, and tobacco canvas. You name it, I used it! I wanted to protect the many fruiting trees and bushes in the food forest. Besides the trees, I covered the 2 grapes, 10 blueberry bushes, 3 goji berries, 2 raspberries.

Grapes

 In the photo below, you can spot my dog rolling on her back and kicking the air.

Alberta peaches

Nectarines 

pear minimally covered

Pear

Plum and cherries 

Figs, cherry, and plum

Blueberries, goji, raspberries 

With this frost, I worry about the fruit trees and their fruits. I covered the majority of the fruiting bushes but barely covered the large fruit trees. I didnt cover the Tulip garden and I saw this morning that the petals have fallen, so they didn't make it. I ran out of covers for them plus anything weighing the tulips down would probably break them.

There's 3 figs, 3 peaches, 1 mulberry, 2 nectarines, 2 cherries, 2 plums, 2 pears, that are loaded with tiny fruits. I hope they survived the 28 degree night. I woke up this morning and there is frost blanketing the landscape. 

Pear fruits

Cherry fruits

Flowering aronia, which I ran out of covers to protect

Dogwood flowering

Cold April sunset

Tulip garden & veggie gardens

Tulips are an essential in the garden. They are a wondering eye, they speckle their charm, and wrinkle their noses. I claim my infatuation with them. Day by day, I relish the colors of the rainbow out my backdoor, something I created, planted, forged and carved onto this Earth. These flowers do not waver, they have no uncertainty, they know what they're supposed to do and when to do it, just as I know when and how to care for these darlings.

I lined up the grow bags against a garden bed. Every year I use these grow bags for planting potatoes. To prep, I cut the eyes of the potatoes and laid them on cardboard overnight to dry. I counted out how many potato eyes I need per bag for how many bags I had full of mulch and soil, then planted. 

Growing greens

Radishes, arugula, and lettuce

Cilantro 

Spinach

Veggies and flowers in April garden

Work is never done--especially, not mine! Not only am I transplanting and sewing veggies and flowers in my garden, but also in my grandparent's neck of the woods.

Yesterday I bought my grandparents 6 pansies, a gerbera, 3 tattoo black cherry petunias, a Vermillion rose begonia, and another type of pink rose geranium. I transplanted the pansies today in large pots at their house.

Additionally, I tilled and mulched a flower bed against their house where I also planted 65 gladiolus bulbs. Then I dug up a couple spots where their rose bushes are and planted over 10 Hollyhock roots.

Then, I also worked on the structure for my hardy kiwi plants. I have a male and female and need another female kiwi to plant with them. I hammered in 4 metal posts and tied 4 swing set poles to the posts and then tied fencing up as a support for the kiwis. Honestly though, the kiwis are growing in such a tangled mess, I'll have to full with them this fall by cutting them back completely. I have had them growing here for over 5 years and have yet to see blooms.

All these projects today drained all my energy, but yesterday I managed to buy some mulch and sheet mulch over the mint and oregano patch, including the Hibiscus and Phlox patch, and one of my garden beds. I mulched around the artichoke and okra seedlings and put mulch in 14 potato bags to prep for planting potatoes on Good Friday.

I'll take a break for the rest of the evening and start working in the morning to finish laying the mulch.

Mulched artichoke, okra, hibiscus, and phlox

Mulched mint and oregano bottle garden

The six garden beds are full of arugula, spinach, radish, lettuces, peas, and cilantro, and I have been picking them here and there to eat. I harvested some radishes to make room for the other radishes too. With these, it's important to keep them watered throughout the spring.

Onion and lettuce bed

Strawberry bed

Lettuces 

Compost pile of squashes!

cilantro bed and radish, arugula, spinach bed

Cilantro 

spianch and arugula 

Pineapple sage

Radishes and lettuces 

blueberry, raspberry, and goji berry patch
With plastic sheeting

You might say all these pictures of flowers are repetitive but I am in love! These flowers are my babies! Everyday there are new flowers, angles, the sun hits them a certain way--I can't help but take so many photos...

I transplanted Dahlias too with my mother today. It's the little things like planting flowers with your family and showing gratitude, making memories mean more to them than anything, so dont take that for granted and do something for someone everyday. That's what flowers have taught me in growing them.