Three Sisters - Part 3 (and another thing or two)

As it's nearly the end of April, I decided it's time to do the final seeding for the Three Sisters Garden.  The squash component of the garden has already been seeded and a couple of zucchini are thrusting through the soil of their pots.

Black Beauty Zucchini Seedling

Today I planted the corn and bean components of the garden.  35 Peaches and Cream Corn seeds were planted in a tray of small pots.  Since corn develops strong roots quickly, they won't be living in their pots for long.  I'm aiming for 30 plants, so 5 extras should allow me to choose the strongest plants.  The beans will mainly be the Italian heritage beans (of no name!) from a friend of my husband's with a few extra Fortex beans to take care of any that fail to sprout.

Corn and Beans Seeded

The Three Sisters Garden bed is prepared and I rake it from time to time to eliminate any weeds.  I won't be planting it until the 24th of May weekend unless my impatience gets the better of me.  Once the seedlings are planted, they'll be protected by remay cloth until the weather's reliably warm and the plants are well established.

The first harvest of radishes

Three Sisters taken care of, what else is going on in the garden?  We've already had one meal of asparagus and I'll have to pick more today.  Radishes are ready to start picking as well and along with arugula they'll go into the salad for tomorrow night's dinner.

Wild Arugula

The mescalun mix I planted is proving to be a disappointment.  It's mostly arugula and is already starting to bolt.  I grew a variety of arugula last year with the same results.  I won't be planting it again.  I much prefer the wild arugula a friend gave me a few years ago.  It's a perennial in the garden, doesn't take up nearly the space these other ones need and is good at seeding itself if I need more.  We live and learn!  However, the snow peas the mescalun mix is planted with are doing wonderfully as is the lettuce.

Too much arugula, but the snow peas are great

Japanese maples around the pond are leafing out

Iris Caesar's Brother