General notes

1) We started our seedlings a little later than last year, they are looking good. Probably transplanting tomatoes outside in the next week.

2) Bed of lettuce and peas has been out for three weeks. We had them covered by a cold frame, which saved them for last week's late frost. But now they are free and exposed.

3) Yesterday (May 1) we planted peas and sweet peas near the trellises on the side of the house; radishes, kale, carrots and beets in the regular garden; and turnips in the new raised bed (filled with compost) we can't get turnips to grow in the regular garden, so we're hoping the raised bed is the trick. Last night it rained steadily for several hours, so if it is warm this week, those seeds will be popping!

Low Hanging

Yum!

More Yum!

Spicy green yum!

Healthy and spicy green yum!

One of the amazing things about gardening on the Lake Michigan shoreline is that we have a little micro-climate that supports growth long after things have frozen just a few miles west of us. Our everbearing raspberries are still bearing up a lot of fruit--about 2 full cups on Saturday, and we only have about a dozen plants. They are situated between our house and the fence of the house next door, a distance of about 6 feet. So not only has it only frozen twice this fall, they get heat radiated off the house to keep them growing.

Likewise, the arugula is still doing well. The sawhorses are covered by our white cold frame fabric when necessary (which has only been two nights so far). We hope to have it well into December, for a crisp green salad when our bodies need it most.

December Salad Days

This is a photo of our final garden harvest, taken on DECEMBER 14! We just finished eating the lettuce pictured above, on DECEMBER 27! And we live in WISCONSIN! How is this possible?
See below:

Here is a picture of our lettuce, taken just before our final harvest on December 14.

And here is the secret: our cold frame that protected the lettuce, even through temperatures around 0 degrees F. There was a lot of snow and cold between November 28 and December 14, and we were sure that the lettuce had died. But it hadn't! Cold frames really work, and they work in cold, snowy climates. We recommend them.