Heriz-Smith

This is the time when there are weeks weeds everywhere: weeds in the paths, weed in the beds, weeds in the borders. Weeds everywhere. At the same time though, lots of plants look really good. The leeks look great, the potatoes are doing well, the beets look really good. The French beans are about ready for the first picking, we picked our first cherry tomatoes two days ago, and so on. A lot of lettuce has bolted, I do need to pull it all up and put it on the compost. And I need to buy some BT for the brassicas. They started out looking so good under the row covers but once they grew too big for that, the moths found them. I picked the first Kohlrabi this morning, it’s beautiful.

I hoed all the paths yesterday, and thinned the rutabagas and turnips. I thinned a few more beets too - they are actually getting small beets at the end now, pretty neat! I also removed the row cover from the brassicas - it was holding them down - I need to put it back on more loosely today or the dreaded worms will be back. Some of the kohlrabi are as big as tennis balls - I’m not sure how big they are when they’re ready.

Things aren’t looking that bad. I do need to put up trellises for the tomatoes - I think by next weekend that’ll have to be done. There’s no sign yet of potato bugs, that’s a relief.

Here’s a photos of the bed with the beets (and the few Swiss Chard plants that made it from the first sowing - I’ve since planted a few more that are just coming up).

A few more seeds in the cold frame.

Triple Purple Orach
Mispoona Salad Select Gene Pool
Bull’s Blood Beet
Red Ace Hybrid Beet
Catlogna Radichetta

And two honey bees were checking out things as I started weeding the bed I’m going to plant peas in soon. Nothing much for them to do yet but gather water. That should change pretty soon I hope - when the red maples start blooming.