What a difference a month makes! Especially when it's the month of June. We've had fabulous weather - not too hot, with a generous amount of rain. The garden has done well and I am so pleased.
Here are my bush beans on June 5th and again on June 23rd:
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I saw some little flowers today. Green beans are on the way:
Container peppers are doing better than the ones in the garden! I may switch some of them out soon:
Tomatoes and serrano growing well in their buckets:
The sole remaining watermelon "start." If I had known they would come so small (this is 3 weeks of growth after purchase) I would have just started my own from seed again! I want it to get big before planting in the garden. It's 4 companions didn't last long out there. Lesson learned is to start watermelon early, indoors next year and not transplant it until it is of a significant size.
The cilantro "start" which died shortly after planting. Doesn't look like I'll get cilantro this year. :(
Basil looks like it's gonna make it after all. This variety seems to grow very tall. Not what I'm used to, but it works!
I dutifully picked off every little white flower from the strawberries and the green plants seem to be growing well. Hopefully we'll see a nice harvest of strawberries next year.
Apple trees are hanging in there. The one on the left has some brown spots and looks like something has been nibbling on some leaves:
Raspberry bushes - what a surprise! The third "stick" has finally sprouted! I had all but given up on him, but there was a spark of life in there somewhere. It just took it's time to show up. I'm so happy! The other two are growing like crazy:
Pumpkins - they are just getting long enough where I'm training them to climb up the trellis. That is when the true experiment will begin. How will the vines support the squash? Will they produce anything? Will the birds/bugs find them up there? Stay tuned...
On a sad note, this is my only remaining zucchini. I had three of this size, that had grown from direct seed. The other two fell victim to bunny attacks. I put this make-shift wire cage around the third until I had time to move it into the fenced garden area. That is where it is now, in the middle of the "new" bed. It was an experiment to plant the zucchini by the north side of the house. I think I proved that the sun was enough, but it really needs to be protected from the rabbits. Live and learn!
Blueberry update:
Little blueberry looks better than it has in over a year. It must like it's pot. Maybe next spring I'll plant him next to the other three in the garden.
The blueberries. We may actually get some to eat this year! I am researching bird netting for when they get closer to picking time:
A promising cluster of berries:
A view of the carrot/onion/tomato bed:
There are a few green/reddish tomatoes starting to grow on the Stupice plants. All the plants are getting tall, but spindly. I'm picking off suckers this year. That combined with the new varieties and shaky "hardening off" period may be causing an issue. We'll see:
My onions look good - this one has a flower! I thought they only did that if left in the ground for two years. Maybe it was an old start?
A view of the peppers/lettuce/cucs/beans/garlic/herb bed:
White cucumbers - didn't have 100% germination, but these ones seem to have "taken." I hope they take to my handy-dandy trellis:
The greens under the trellis are doing well. This mesclun has been great. I love it! It's cut-and-come-again at it's best.
The kale is doing great, now. I learned something about kale. It's a brassica. Know what that means? Loopers. Yucky little green cabbage worms that are the reason I decided NOT to plant broccoli this year. Turns out they like kale, too! After a few fruitless days of hand-picking, I realized they had me beat, so I dusted with BT and that did the trick. Next time I will dust at the first sign of those suckers. As you can see, the kale has made a nice recovery and I've been enjoying it in my green smoothies.
The spinach bolted and we really didn't get much out of it. I will try to plant again for a fall harvest. Maybe it will do well into the cold months under my cold frame.
I harvested the garlic today, July 1. I was somewhat disappointed in the harvest. I got a few "big" heads, but most were medium to small. This was my first year planting leftover cloves from my harvest last year. It's been rainy and cool here, so it will be drying off in the garage for now.
The dill is growing like crazy! I've cut it back several times. I hope I will still have some left when the cucs are ready for pickling. The thyme never really came back, but the basil is growing now. In a couple weeks it should be plentiful and ready for pesto:
Here's a parting shot of the garden at the end of June:
