Root Vegetables Growing!

Finally! A sign that my root vegetables are starting to form! The radishes and turnip have produced lush and beautiful greens but there was no sign of the root vegetable till today. 

The purple top turnip starting to grow! 

A red radish sticking above the soil line! 

The lush rows of radish greens! 

What Does a Turnip Flower Look Like?

What does a turnip flower look like? See the photo below. One of my turnip plants has bolted in my square foot garden this year. I surmise why it happened here. 

It has finally flowered and although it looks somewhat like a weed, it's actually pretty cool. The flower is bright yellow with four petals and multiple flowers on the one plant. 

Bolting Turnip is Going to Seed

It looks like one of my many turnip plants has decided to bolt! No, it's not running away from the confines of my raised bed. This turnip plant has decided to grow really tall and skip producing a turnip in order to flower and produce seeds. 

It doesn't happen all the time but plants will do this if they are stressed. Unfortunately, it means I won't get a turnip from this one plant (don't worry I still have plent more!).  

When plants start to go to seed (usually when you notice flower buds forming), the plant focuses its energy on the seeds of the next generation. Sometimes, this can be delayed by clipping off the flower buds (you can do this to most herbs) however, it won't help with turnip. 

From my research online, turnip usually bolts to seed when it's stressed by one or two things. The first is poor soil. Considering I added healthy compost and soil to my raised garden this year, as well as the fact that other plants are fine, I don't suspect it's the soil. 

The other reason is stress due to too many hot days. Bingo! It's actually been a pretty warm May for southern Connecticut, especially after coming off a record cold start to the year! Turnip is a cool weather crop and therefore doesn't do well in the hot weather. 

I'm guessing this one plant thought it was just too hot to do the work of producing a turnip and decided to go to seed and let the next generation do the work! 

The rest of my turnip should be ready in ages more weeks! I can't wait! 

Garden Filling In! 5-18-15

Finally, after 23 days with no measurable rain here in Connecticut, we got about .33 inches of rain on Saturday morning. Not a lot but enough to give my garden a boost. Add in some sunshine and warm temps on Sunday and my garden is starting to fill in nicely! 

I love the way my garden looks! 

Radishes all lined up! 

Turnip getting bigger! 

Kale is getting big!!! 

The vegetable garden isn't the only area doing well. My blackberry plant is taking off as well! 

Even the flower buds are forming, which will eventually turn into delicious blackberries! 

Spring Heat Means Growth!

Boy have we turned a corner! From a record cold start this year to the now summer temperatures in early May, Mother Nature decided to give us New Englanders a nice break! 

This break is also doing my garden well! Below is my turnip plants, which are really starting to establish themselves. I just thinned them out a week ago! 

Next are the radishes! One of the fastest growing vegetables you can grow. These were planted using seed tape (which I LOVE so far) and were planted a week ago but should be ready to harvest by the end of the month (only 22 days!) 

My Swiss chard is also starting to establish itself and is beginning to look less like a sprout and more like a plant! 

Note* all the white petals in the photos are from the Cleveland pear trees that grow in my yard and my neighbors yard. Unfortunately, they're just ornamental and not actual edible fruit trees. I wish they were though!