Update

Weather was nice this last weekend, so I got out and did a little work at the garden plots.

Finally got my carrots in. I have a few varieties I want to try, so I'll be sowing a row or patch of each every few weeks. I am hoping I have timed it so they will have time to size up before it gets too cold (but not so much that they split open) and I can use them through the winter. Bed preparation is critical in order to allow the carrots to germinate well, grow quickly, and size up before cooler weather slows them. To facilitate rapid growth the carrot bed was deeply dug to 12", heavily amended with light, sandier soil and some well-rotted compost, and fluffed up to a loose and light texture before sowing seed.

I also sowed a thick patch of bunching onions (green onions or scallions), which I'll also use this fall and through the winter.

- Sowed 8 row feet Red Samurai Carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus)
- Sowed 4 sq feet Evergreen White Bunching Onion (scallions)

The garden is coming along nicely. I finally staked up the tomatoes. It would have been much easier to put in the bamboo stakes when I transplanted the tomatoes, but somehow I failed to think of it. Despite the cold weather, they have done quite well inside their tunnel cloche and have doubled in size since transplanting.

The tunnel has survived 40 mpg gusts and a few very windy days common to spring in Bellingham with no signs of weakening.

Stupice tomato was the first to flower and naturally has the largest developing fruit at about 1" diameter. I pinched off about half of the flowers on this truss just after they started to form fruit and will probably do the same on every plant this year. Less fruit per truss means more nutrition per tomato (less water content), larger fruit, faster ripening, and better tasting tomatoes!

Lots of peas starting to pod up. As soon as they begin to ripen, regular harvesting of mature pods will encourage a longer production time of new flowers and pods. If the pod matures and holds on the vine, the plant thinks it has done its' reproductive job and will stop producing new flowers and fruit.

Spiders are out and hatching everywhere.