This is our garden today. It’s unbelievably huge, beyond any expectation.
This is what we’re getting from the garden. It’s awesome stuff.
Those beans on the left are called Scarlet Runner. They were fun to grow because the vines are around 10 feet tall with pretty red flowers… but the beans are full of strings with a plastic-like lining around the seeds. I can’t even cook with them. Bummer. I won’t be planting them again.
Look, look!
Sorry, that’s all I have energy to say today… zzzzzzzz
We are about to leave on a 10-day vacation. I’m having some remorse over scheduling this trip for the middle of summer, when I’m most enjoying watching my garden grow. We have arranged for a family member to water things if needed. Why do I feel like I’m leaving my baby with the sitter for the first time!? Yikes!
Left (front) to right (back): wax bush beans, scarlet runner pole beans, Kentucky Wonder pole beans.
Yellow summer squash.
Winter squash patch (pumpkin, buttercup, butternut, acorn) in front of tomatoes.
Have I mentioned how huge things are getting? It’s so much fun to take a “garden walk” every day when I get home. It’s amazing how things change so quickly! The beans & peas are blooming now, and the Scarlet Runners have found the top of the fence already.
Here are shots of the tomatoes & winter squash.
Today’s shot:
Today’s shot:
Okay, wow. The tomatoes are to the tops of their cages already! I am delighted to see all the yellow blooms. I guess a little compost and rain go a long way!
This photo is from June 12:
I admit I’m not much of a photographer, but I managed to catch this dragonfly posing in my peas.
Click on the photo to see a neat close-up! =)
(See red onions in background.)
Well, I am happy to report I am very pleased with the garden’s progress so far. The almost-daily rain and hot days have really started things growing!
Here you will see the scarlet runner beans are about to latch onto the fencing, and the tomatoes are nearly to their 2nd rung on the cages.
I’m sure anyone that planted tomatoes this spring is thankful that they did, in light of the recent salmonella outbreak announced on Sunday. Hmmm… kinda glad we took the time to remove all that raw manure from the garden!
I have to share my amazement at learning hands-on that seed planted early does not necessarily beat seed planted on time. The rationale for seed-planting guidelines is so painfully obvious when you yourself observe the large % of seeds that do not sprout with cool evenings and cold ground.
My advice is to definitely wait for warmth. Your seeds then magically sprout instead of rot, and produce volumes of plants instead of only around 30% of what you expect.
I suppose the opposite view is that seeds are cheap and if you get some early plants, it’s nice to have early vegetables. I guess you would then have to weigh the value of your time to the value of the earlier harvest. I can say it was fairly easy for me to re-seed the bare areas of my planted rows with fresh seed.
All I know is that next year, I’m not going to bother trying to out-perform my planting zone. =)
(Update: See photo – I originally planted 7 seeds in this cucumber mound, of which only 1 sprouted. After warmer weather arrived, I added 4 seeds… which you see ALL grew!)
