July sure did fly by! Of course, it didn't help that I was gone for most of it. We took off on July 4th for New England and didn't return until the 21st. Luckily there was some rain (and my helpful hubby) to keep the garden watered. The only bummer was all the weeds that seemed to have popped up.
I was quite surprised to find that quite a few of the "weeds" were actually tomato plants! They've sprouted up everywhere! Must have had some tomato seeds in the compost... Some I've left to their own devices and some I've pulled out. Below are two examples of "tomato weeds" growing next to my little blueberry stick.
The tomatoes I intentionally planted are still alive, too. The two Stupice have provided some small, but ripe, tomatoes. I think the plants were stunted due to the "hardening off" damage done in the spring. They are supposed to have an early 2-3 in fruit but are late and are producing 1.5 inch fruit. The Amish Paste tomatoes are huge and have some very large green tomatoes on the vine. Can't wait to try them out. I noticed some splits in the Stupice tomatoes, which I read is due to inconsistent watering. I have been pouring a small bucket of compost tea on them each evening in hopes to eliminate that issue.
Seeing as we were gone for so much of July, the birds got to the blueberries before we could. Next year I hope to have a bigger yield and will be prepared with some netting. (Notice another tomato weed to the right of the largest blueberry bush...)
Our zucchini plant is still alive, but hasn't produced yet. I am trying not to compare to last year's harvest... Next year will be better and I am still optimistic that I'll still get some squash in the next weeks.
Green beans have produced quite nicely and we've harvested about 5 lbs so far and counting (shown with harvested Stupice tomatoes):
Carrots look great:
Onions are starting to fall over and should be harvested soon:
Cucumbers are climbing the trellis and we even have some little babies forming. These are the white wonder cucumbers I got from Ray's free seed giveway and I'm very curious to see what they look like.
The pumpkin vines have been growing, but they really don't seem to want to climb our trellis. It's been a daily battle to pick up the wayward vines and attach them onto the trellis.
Watermelon is really pathetic looking, especially in-between the pumpkins. I've never grown them before, so I don't know what to have expected, but certainly hoped for more progress than this! Next year I'll start them earlier.
Bell peppers are pathetic. Only one has produced any fruit so far:
Basil is going like crazy, as is the dill:
The greens have done well, especially the kale:
The strawberry plants have been sending out runners:
The middle raspberry bush has totally outstripped the other two. The smaller one is still alive, but the third one that we finally saw some growth out of last month now looks quite dead again.
Where did the green leaves go? Bunnies?
How do you like the lovely wildflower patch I planted in May? Yeah, that was another garden FAIL. Next year I plan to put in a couple hydrangea bushes in this spot. It gets a lot of water from the slope and should make an ideal location for them.
The girls' zinnias and marigolds had about a 50% survival rate over vacation. My lavender plant is also still alive.
A mystery plant. Looks like it will flower soon and maybe I can identify it. It is clearly NOT a cucumber although planted as one, but also doesn't look like a weed, so I've left it alone for now.
Pretty little sunflower:
What else? Cilantro didn't make it. Will buy some starts next year.
Container garden update:
Tomatoes are kinda sickly looking, although tall. The serrano pepper plants look near death as well. So far, the the container garden is not a "win." But the point was to experiment, after all!
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