Six on Saturday – Spring is in the Air

Spring is definitely in the air, even literally, with pollinators being spotted buzzing all over my garden, as seen in the photo above. Small plants, bushes and trees are turning green and starting to show their colours; this valiant bumble bee is busy collecting nectar from early black currant blossoms.

I always include my cherry tree in my spring posts, so this year could not be the exception. Last year I had a fabulous harvest, and the tree is blooming very beautifully right now, so hopefully I am not being misled hoping that is a sign of another nice crop:

Late last summer, I tried growing kohlrabi as a fall crop; it was relatively successful, although a few plants did not develop enough and I just left them in the soil to overwinter. This spring, the veggie parts did not grow any further, but since the plants are biennial, they bolted and their buds are starting to open:

I will wait until they go to seed, and try growing a new crop from them.

In my previous post, I mentioned asparagus as one of my earliest crops; one way to take advantage of the fresh harvest, is to make a contemporary soup with the also early and cool-weather-loving cilantro (coriander). In the photo below, two cilantro sprouts have already developed true leaves, growing next to some asparagus spears:

After the allium family members have sprouted (multiplier onions, chives, garlic, etc.), oregano is one of the first aromatics to show new growth in my garden:

And last, but not least, my first planting of this season was a couple of roots leftover from store-bought Bibb lettuces (photo below, left). First, I removed the wrapping around the roots (sometimes plastic, this time compostable), and placed them in a trench (photo below, centre). I covered the roots with soil, and patted gently down, then quench their thirst with plenty of water (photo below, right):

I have done this before many times, and I usually get at least one more head from each root. This is a great way to re-use an otherwise waste plant material, and to celebrate spring and the environment.

Happy Earth Day, April 22, 2024!

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