This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.
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| Honey bee visiting some inaptly named dead nettle |
The purple topped dead nettle seen above is a winter annual that seems to be everywhere right now. Despite its name, it is not a nettle and does not have any stinging parts. It's in the mint family and the whole plant is quite edible, making an interesting seasonal addition to salads. As with harvesting any wild edible, make sure you know what you're picking and only harvest it from areas that you know have not been treated with chemicals. Click
HERE for further reading.
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| Newly planted strawberry plant in cinder block |
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| Newly transplanted strawberry plants in blocks |
Late last year, I quit picking off the runners on my strawberry plants and allowed them to infiltrate the main garden area and root new daughter plants. This past weekend, I transplanted about 50 of these into the blocks that form my raised beds. It's hard to beat the price (free!!!).
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| Transplanted volunteer cilantro seedlings |
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| Mint emerging in a cinder block |
While transplanting the strawberry plants, I saw some seedlings with familiar leaf shapes. I tasted one of the leaves and confirmed that I had some volunteer cilantro seedlings coming up! I transplanted them into a suitable location.
The mint comes back every year, as seen to the right. It is very hardy and invasive, so never plant it in your main garden. Always make sure it is segregated as in my cinder blocks. Also, don't buy mint. Find someone that has some and get a cutting. My mint was established by cutting a piece from my in-law's plant and sticking the cutting into soil. A little water over a couple of days and it rooted and took off!
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| Freshly harvested green onion |
The green onions persisted all winter and are now growing rapidly. They add a great flavor to many dishes.
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| Garlic showing some freeze damage, but putting on new leaves |
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| Asparagus emerging in mid-March |
The asparagus is beginning to emerge from the bed we helped a customer plant last year. The owner could harvest a few spears right now, but they decided to give the bed a second year to become well established.
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| Sand plum tree budding out |
My old sand plum tree and the six Nanking cherry bushes that I planted last year are budding out and will soon be covered in leaves. The plums aren't very good for eating fresh as they have large pits and thin flesh, but I do make jelly from them every year though. The cherry bushes should produce fruit this year and I'm very excited to see how they taste. Look for a report on that later in the year.
Chicken and Egg Report:
We are averaging four eggs a day now. After transplanting the strawberry plants and covering the cilantro seedlings, I allowed the chickens into the garden. They very efficiently scratch up the soil and dispose of any weeds or grubs and other insects they can find.
Weather Outlook:
-Highs in the 70's, with overnight lows in the 50's. A slight chance of rain on Saturday. Absolutely perfect weather to be out in the garden.
What's being harvested:
-Green onions
-I should have already planted lettuces, but procrastinated. Get it in the ground if you haven't already.
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