Just to be Different

I only had cool-weather seeds left and things were starting to bolt.  Plus, the middle celery never really grew tall enough to be useful.  Four fennel did sprout before it started to get warm, but I doubt I could get any carrots or beets started this far into spring.  Time to go shopping.

It's amazing how many vegetables I suddenly don't like when faced with a wall of seeds.  Something I might pick up once a year at the market isn't as appealing when I consider a small crop of it.  There was also space and planting depth to consider.

I got chives for a pot that I forgot to use on the last round of planting.  They're hard to start, but once they take root you have chives forever.  Then I got Roma tomatoes because, when I pulled out the watercress, I realized that the soil was still very rich and held moisture well.  I'm doing a second one in place of the lettuces, but plants in that spot never make it more than one season.  I don't expect it to last past November.

This year's gourd experiment is watermelon.  The variety I picked says the melons grow up to 35 pounds.  I did a little math on how big stuff I grow ends up in various locations, and mine should max out at 20 pounds.  The ones alongside the front yard tomato probably won't make it past 10.  Now I just hope that they grow in the same kind of vine system as pumpkins and cucumbers.  I passed up a variety that grows in a bush because there isn't space for it.

The boysenberry is doing extraordinarily well.  All that rain this winter did wonders for it.  I took this photo before it was in full bloom.  Imagine at least twice as many white blossoms.  I'm looking forward to eating more than one or two berries at a time.  Pretty soon.