Horseradish and Other Vegetable Progress

I was gone last week at a conference for work, and I feel like the garden is getting away from me! There is weeding, thinning, planting and other work to do as soon as possible. It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks here.

Horseradish Root

I love horseradish sauce on my meat sandwiches, and decided that it would be a good perennial addition to the garden. Caroline picked up a horseradish root at the grocery store, and the boys helped me plant it in the garden the next day.  I forgot to take pictures before and during planting. The root was about 1 foot tall and already had some small green buds on top. as can be seen in the picture.

Horseradish Root

Beans

We planted the same Purple King pole beans as in previous years. The boys helped me take back the bean patch from the creeping charlie and cover that had popped up this spring. We only finished planting this one little strip so far. I’ll get to the rest this week.

One patch of pole beans

Garlic

The garlic I planted last week is now 3 or 4 inches tall. Hopefully it will get along well with the rhubarb.

Garlic Sprouts

Sunflowers

These sunflowers sprouted from the seeds I collected from the sunflowers we grew last year. The seeds seemed so small I wasn’t sure if I had collected them too soon, so I planted extras in hopes that some would sprout. I’ll need to thin these out this week so they’re not competing with each other.

Sunflowers to be thinned

Spinach and Peas

The spinach and peas are both coming along. The spinach is coming in nice and thick.

Spinach Growing

Not all of the peas sprouted (possibly due to squirrels?) so I’ll sow some more pea seeds in the bare spots this week.

Growing Peas

Flowering Rhubarb

One of our rhubarb plants is flowering. This fall I’ll collect its seeds and start them inside next spring. Most rhubarb related websites seem to discourage planting rhubarb from seed saying that most rhubarb these days are hybrids and that the seeds won’t be true to type. That may be the case but I’m willing to see what will sprout.  I’m not picky about the color or size of the rhubarb, as long as it tastes good. This rhubarb plant was grown from seed and the stalks are good. Hopefully its seeds will also produce something good.

If your rhubarb is flowering and you aren’t collecting seeds, you should cut the flowering stalk so that it doesn’t waste energy on flowers and seeds. Cutting the flowering stalk will give you more edible stalks.

For the curious, the rhubarb flowers smell like some kind of unpleasant industrial soap.

Flowering Rhubarb

Tomatoes and Peppers

The tomatoes and peppers are still under lights in the basement. The tomatoes are starting to reach the lights.  I need to start hardening them off so they can live outside, or raise the lights some more. 4 of the 18 tomatoes didn’t sprout.

Tomatoes under lights

6 of the 18 peppers are coming up. This week I will replant in the cups where they didn’t come up yet.

Peppers