The Pond, Mid July

Garden Update, Early July

This year's garden is doing pretty well. The nasturtiums are taking over both the compost pile and the beehive next door.

 

I've harvested the regular size garlic already. 80 heads or so. I'll harvest the elephant garlic in a week or two. It's not ready yet.

 

Im drying the garlic on the back porch: garlic hanging everywhere. My bride thinks I'm warding off a legion of vampires. I now have the best smelling back porch on the planet.

 

 

Beets desperately need thinning, which is fine since beet greens are wonderful.

 

I'm wondering if it's normal for a pomegranite tree to have red and yellow leaves so early in the season. It seems healthy otherwise.

I have a sunflower in the middle of each bed. A few are beginning to flower.

 

I can't get enough of sunflowers.

In the greenhouse, I have some interesting things growing. This is a watermelon the size of a golf ball.

Hand pollenated, of course.

 

 

A friend gave me pepper starts. These are called Felicity.


















These are my own bell pepper starts. I've gotta start the peppers earlier next year.

 I'm air-drying herbs now. This is pineapple sage.

And these are bay leaves.

 

 

 

 

Back outside, I'm letting the chickens help with the beans this year. I do like the look of them growing here. And they seem to grow well.

Peas are almost done. I'll pull them out shortly, and make more room for the squashes at their feet.

 

June First Update

The Garden has been thriving this year. Warm days help that process.

 

We've been eating lettuce and Kale from this year's plantings for several weeks. I've already re-planted lettuce for a second crop.

 

Looks like broccoli and other brassicas (in the foreground) are doing real well too. All of this garden was started in the greenhouse and transplanted outside.

 

Big sunflower in the middle looks like it's strong, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course, the peas. Been eating them for a week. We put them on the front of the garden this year, to make grazing easier for guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked the first burpless cucumber today. Seems early, but I'm ok with that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First lemon cucumber. These are the very definition of summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year, we're growing three kind of tomatoes.

• Chocolate cherry for the cherry tomatoes.
• Brandywine for slicing tomatoes.
• San Marzano for cooking.

The Chocolate cherries are the first to get ready. These will be ready to eat in a week, and I'm just now getting flowers on the others.

 

The Chocolate cherries are all in hanging pots. The others are all in the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First zucchini. It's too small to pick today, but it'll be huge in a week. Hoping to pick it before that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And I'm growing watermelons again. They're earlier this year than the cantaloupes. We'll see how they turn out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid May Garden Status

 

The garden seems to be doing pretty well now. We're eating the lettuce and kale, and the leeks from last fall. Peas are flowering.

 

It's pretty well "in" now. Tomatoes are looking so much better than before.

 

I've decided that even when it's a warm spring and it's possible to put in the tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers early, it's probably not a good idea to. They benefit from the additional time in the greenhouse, and prefer to go into the bed mid May.

 

Mixing things up more than usual. Planting cucumbers and tomatoes and the occasional pepper in among the garlic (and to a lesser extent, among the leeks and onions). Looking to see how that goes.

 

Planted the second crop of carrots and lettuce today. Don't want to run out.

 

Set out a watermelon this week. That ought to be fun. Have another in a hanging pot. Will be fun to compare.

 

Also put out what I believe is a cantaloupe, but may be an Armenian cucumber. Fairly optimistic on these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Flower

 

The first flower of the vegetable garden this year is on a cucumber still in the greenhouse! (The ones outside aren't doing this well!)

 

Note that the apple trees blossomed a couple of weeks ago, but they're not in the veggie garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Planting (Mostly Done)

All of the tomatoes and pea beds were in the ground by 4/20 2016. Added a couple (brandywine) tomatoes to the herb garden 4/24.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beet seeds went in weeks ago. Beet sprouts going strong. Some uneven spots, so I transplanted some starts into the gaps. 4/22.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transplanted the Dill into the garden. 4/20. Next

to beets, next to garlic, between lettuce and carrots (which are actually starting to germinate!).

 

 

 

 

 

Lettuce and Kale starts went in the ground by 4/16 2016. As soon as the irrigation system was done. I'll add broccoli, kohlrabi and maybe some others later; sprouts aren't ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transplanted cucumbers into the garlic beds 4/22. Looks like there might be room for daylight between the garlic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transplanted zucchini to the peas bed 4/10; Carnival squash and Hokkaido (German) pumpkins 4/22.

 

 

 

 

 

Replaced a sage plant with a Rosemary start 4/24. Going to be a fine shrub.

 

 

I may put some shallots out next weekend (seeds started indoors a month ago); I have 8 shallots from sets (expensive!).

I expect I'll wait another couple of weeks before putting basil in the Basil Box. Or I may make a cold frame for it. I have 3 kinds of starts (mammoth sweet, Thai, lemon), but I'll probably load the box with mostly one: mammoth sweet.

 

 

 

 

Hanging Planter of Salsa (and other goodies)

 

I've got a hanging planter of salsa.

 

On top: cilantro and onions.

Coming out the sides: tomatoes (chocolate cherry), more cilantro, and a bell pepper.

 

Might be fun.

 



 

Other hanging pots (all still in the greenhouse, but they'll all go outside later):

• Lemon cucumbers (x3)
• Cantaloupes (x2)
• Watermelon
• Cherry tomatoes (x3)

And there will be more to come.