Weekend Snapshot: Number 5

My first weekend snapshot post was about a trip to the garden center to pick up seeds for a fall/winter garden in my protected boxes. Today, I thought I'd post pictures of my first salad greens. I am thinning the lettuce almost daily now for salads.I think the thinned lettuce is the tastiest treat and a prelude to the mature larger leaves to come. It won't be too long before the spinach can be thinned to add a few baby spinach leaves in the mix. The lettuce and spinach are in my square boxes in front of the greenhouse. I'm glad I decided to plant a fall/winter garden. I've missed that the past two years. I'm so enthusiastic at the moment that I've started to tackle the swing set boxes (built around my daughter's play equipment when she outgrew it). I used to grow snow peas in those rectangular boxes in late winter through spring and about the time the peas were done, I would plant summer peas, cucumbers, and beans. Clotheslines are strung up vertically for the climbing plants to grow on. When the swing set seedlings are small and it's cold I can put the tops on them for protection. About the time they are ready to climb, if I time the plant date correctly, it will be past the last frost date which is April 14 where I live. I need to clean them up some and replenish the soil, but I did get the Virginia Creeper off the lines. I had let that take over and it was pretty but the drought has taken it's toll and I'd rather go back to having vegetables in the boxes. I have until late winter to worry about getting it ready. Lots of weekends between now and then and no doubt more WS snapshots will be shot as it progresses.Below is a picture of my asparagus that I didn't cut for the table. I have a mature bed and usually the spears start popping up late winter or early spring and continue into the summer. I cut the spears for meals but leave a few to grow to maturity and they form the ferny heads which provides the food and nutrients for the next year's crop. Once these ferny looking tops of the asparagus turn brown later in the fall; I cut them back to the ground
I am very excited about the first signs of fall and will end this rambling weekend snapshot, gardening post with the dogwood tree which is changing daily.
The shot above shows the dogwood's changing leaves and the one below shows the first berries which are maturing.
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