February in the Garden

The weather is continuing to be amazing here in sunny L.A. as it has been the last few weeks.  It's starting to make up for the summer we didn't have last year.  It's also making me feel like I should be starting my summer crops much earlier!  I'll still wait till March, but it sure is tempting to get some tomatoes going.

I did start about 16 yukon gold potato chunks this last week. 

I planted them in a slight ditch down the middle of one of my beds and lined one side with three rows of peas and a few cosmo seedlings.  I pruned my nectarine trees the week before and kept some of the larger branches to use as pea trellises.  Once the potatoes grow up a few inches above the straw, I'll be evening out the dirt on once side to build the ditch back up in the middle.  I'll be planting green beans on the other side once the potatoes get going. 

I never got around to planting more lettuce and beet seeds last month, but my current bed of beets and greens is still growing well.  The beets have slowed way down, but I still have plenty of chard, lettuce, and spinach. 

apple blossoms

Two of my apple trees are covered in blooms, the Anna apple and the Dorsett Golden, while the Fuji apple is growing much more slowly than the others.  They have only been in the ground for a year and a half, so I'm happy with the progress anyway.

blueberries

I'm currently fighting with the chickens over the blueberry bushes.  They're loaded with flowers and green berries, but it's the first thing the girls run to when I let them out of the coop in the mornings.  I'm considering moving the blueberry pots to the front yard while the fruit is ripening, then moving them to the back yard once they change color. 

Oh - this is my carrot harvest from the seeds I planted back in October:

Yup, that's all of it.  I think it's the pill bugs in the front yard that eat up all my carrot seeds and seedlings.  All of my clover and alfalfa sprouts disappeared as well.  Even a couple of the cosmo seedlings I transplanted have been eaten down to the stem.  Some day, I'll have a fence in my front yard so I can let my chickens out to help me with the bug population! 

leeks and celery

My onion/leek/shallot/celery bed is coming along nicely.  They should be ready to harvest once the days get longer in May or June. 

My spicy greens circle is providing me with plenty of treats for the chickens.  They get some of the wheat grass and the weeds from the front yard as well. 

nectarines and nasturtium

The second of my three nectarine trees is just beginning to bloom, while the first is already finished blooming and has begun to fill in with leaves.  The nasturtium is taking over and spilling out of the boxes beneath the nectarines.  No flowers yet on most of the nasturtium, but that should change soon!

One more month till I get to start my peppers and tomatoes for this summer!  I'm skipping eggplant this year after last year's crop failure, but adding more varieties of green beans, potatoes, and peppers.  What are you planning for your summer garden this year?  Any new varieties?  Anything you aren't planting again this year?