April 26, 2009

The star of the winter garden: Japanese Long White bunch onions. (beer can for sizing)

I planted a pack of bunch onions from the grocery store and was amazed at how well they grew on some very poor soil, 2 harvests in 2008 and now they're back and about to set seed. You bet I'm saving the seed. I planted many more packs from the store and you can see some of them in this picture. Not even half the size of the first planting. I thought it might be different varieties and Googled: Allium fistulosum. There are several varieties and JLW is the largest and looks like my plant. This is the first Allium to like my garden, I'm so happy.

I just got back from 3 days at the garden and I am sore. Got my main planting done and the rain is coming. I also planted Jim and Jan blackberries from the University of Arkansas. They are the first primo cane fruiting blackberries (they have a second crop in the fall). I planted my seed grown goji berry next to an earlier goji planting from a cutting. The Golden Seal came up! The New Zealand Spinach is coming back. This will be the third season since I planted the seed. My kind of plant: 'It grows like a weed.' Very nutritious; lots of Vitamin C. My Tribute and Pretty-n-Pink strawberries are setting fruit.The wild, lowbush blueberries that I let stay in my garden are rewarding me with a nice fruit set.

Sleeping in my dome cabin is so much nicer than sleeping in a tent. So much work to be done in the garden and with the cabin but so nice being there, nice neighbors but none in sight, most of the noise is from birds, crickets, and frogs, the foxes and pileated woodpeckers accept me, the air is so clean. I'll return soon