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Spring Has Sprung!

With the equinox on Friday, Spring made its way into South Texas.
Yesterday, a delightful sunny--non-raining, for a change--day, I spotted the
first ruby-throated hummingbird of the season.  I harvested a bounty from my
square foot beds, too.  I picked and processed five kinds of lettuce,
spinach, Brussels sprouts, scallions, sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots,
strawberries and five pounds of Red Cranberry potatoes from two plants.  It
took three hours to clean, slice, blanche, freeze and wash all the stuff.
What a delight!  Before all you northerners have a jealous fit, please
remember that after June 15, the outdoors here in Zone 9b is inhospitable.
Temps run into the 100's and humidity is in the 90 percent range.  Nothing
grows in the garden except watermelons and okra.  And I hate okra!  BTW, the
strawberry crop has been tremendous.  I placed one Chandler plant in each
hole of the cinder blocks I use to edge beds.  I placed 3 tablespoons of
Osmocote under each plant==that's all!  We've had plenty of rain, of course,
and the concrete has warmed the plants, collected sunlight to add sugars to
the berries and kept them high and dry off the soil.  I recommend this way
of growing strawberries to all.  I've been harvesting a pint a day since the
end of Jan. from 94 plants.  Lately, I've been picking a quart a day.  We
are finally so sick of them that I'm freezing sugared and sliced berries for
winter.  That's the spring update from my square foot garden 50 miles south
of Houston, TX.
Doreen Howard

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