the garden is planted

[mellowtigger]

Some plants naturalize to Minnesota quite well. Others, not so much. I got all the weeding and planting done for this spring, at least. My sinuses are protesting, though. I think allergies have prompted a sinus infection. I noted a 99.4F fever this afternoon.

Rutabaga did not survive the winter. I was disappointed. I'm trying to find a large root vegetable that naturalizes to Minnesota. I haven't resorted to potatoes yet, but I may have to.

Two carrots are growing already, so I thought maybe 2 of them had miraculously survived the winter. It could be the start of a new cold-tolerant variety! But, sadly, when I dug into the soil around them I discovered that the roots were quite small. Apparently they are just 2 seeds that failed to sprout last year but decided to wake from slumber after this year's thaw.

I don't know what's growing around the rutabaga corpses (in the photo, near the top). It's only in that location, so obviously I planted seeds for something there. I haven't been able to find my notes from last year, though.

Salsify is doing quite well in its second year. It's actually starting to bloom, so I should get seeds of my own this year.

Bok Choi is the big winner, though. It multiplies each year. It can easily take over an area if you let it. That's fine by me, since I like eating it.

Some of the fast multipliers are not as welcome, though. I tore up a lot of Dill to make room for other seeds. I left a small patch of Catmint (I think it is) but tore up everything else. If the catmint advances so quickly this year, I may just tear up all of it to avoid the frustration of combating it. I also tore up a lot of Canadian Violet elsewhere in the yard because it was killing off other plants that I preferred.