Update from the yarden...

So just like most places on the east coast, the weather here in Maryland has been very mild this spring. I started lettuce and spinach indoors and transplanted them into the garden sometime in late March. This year I grew Black Seeded Simpson and Red Sails lettuce and Tyee spinach. As of mid-April they are looking very nice in the garden and I've started cutting some for salads.



One of the new things I'm trying this year is potatoes. Just your run of the mill grocery store white and red potatoes. I let two potatoes grow eyes than cut off cubes each with one eye to plant. I planted a row with five pieces and within the past week or so they have all sprouted. Most information sources seem to recommend against using grocery store potatoes but we'll treat this as an experiment and hope for the best.



Another new thing I planted this year are raspberry bushes. I made a raised bed in the corner of my backyard to take up some unused space and planted 3 black raspberry plants. These are actually wild plants that I dug up from a local park. This park is teaming with these plants so I didn't feel like I would be negatively impacting the berry supply in this location. Besides, raspberries readily propagate via their tips so it should all work out. Here you can see the planter box I made along with the raspberry plants with some new green shoots.



I found this article which explains how to identify wild raspberry plants. I also visited this location last summer and was confident that these are indeed black raspberries. This one talks about how to care for wild blackberry plants planted in your garden. If you've never eaten wild raspberries before they truly are a treat. The berries are smaller than store bought berries but much more flavorful. I can't wait for these to start producing.