We’ve hit a lull in our garden chores. The time before stuff starts coming in or producing gives you a chance to catch your breath after all the heavy lifting of getting everything in the ground is over.
We finished off most of the spring veggies-there’s some onions, a little lettuce, and a few beets left to eat on. The potatoes are in full bloom-with no bugs so far. And the beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, and corn are all up and growing. Now we wait for the goodies and try our best to keep the weeds at bay.
How’s your garden growing?
Tipper
I’m picking gallons of strawberries and lots of Sugar Snap peas – first time for them and they are wonderful. I’ve always planted Wando (good in hot weather.) Why? Because my daddy always planted Wando. Old habits die hard.
There’s lots of lettuce and chard. The corn is a foot tall as well as the Royal Burgundy bush beans and scarlet runner beans. Just set out my watermelons. I start a lot of things from seed because they are more likely to survive. I’ll continue planting through August, counting down the days till frost and then planting for fall. I’m always looking for more space and have expanded the garden this year. I had to. I lost my mind and picked the wildest, most rampant squash for the squash trial. It’s all doing well.
No bug problems thankfully. Well there are slugs and grubs. Whenever I find one, I throw it in the pond. I hope the fish like those slimy creatures.
Tipper–I only read through the comments hurriedly–it has been a busy day with writing assignments due and garden chores galore crying out for immediate attention.
However, unless I missed it, I’m surprised no one mentioned removing potato blooms. I know that Daddy and Grandpa both swore it was important to remove them, feeling they took plant “energy” which needed to be directed to the growth of tubers.
I’d be curious if others are familiar with this approach. I know I’ve always done it.
Jim Casada
Some of our flowers are in, others are up, and they’re all doing great; I still have some petunias and sweet potato plants to plant though. We also still have to get tomatoes, peppers and herbs planted. Not sure why we keep dragging our feet on this. Just tired…darned tired. Not sure why. Maybe we need some vitamins or something.
God bless.
RB
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You’d never think I’d been born on a farm in Germany by all the years I’ve lived in the city when my parents came to the U.S. So, never had a garden myself, Tipper, and admire yours so!
I rely on the whole foods in order to get organic, but it can be costly. Obviously, having one’s own garden can be hard work, but the fruits borne! :))
That’s a fine photo of a potato blossom. Other vegetables that produce a beautiful flower are peas, okra, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and sguash. Thinking about what is to come makes the blooms look even better.
All squash is up,holding on. We are supposed to be 111 degrees today so I watered this morning and will water later today. I hope they can survive. They sure are pretty and green with blooms. The Thelma Sanders still have no blooms but leafy and green. I hope the heat does not drop the blooms I have. Wish me luck!!
We’ve got so much lettuce! At one point last week I had 5 big bags in the refrigerator to give away.
Our spinach is done for, the green and purple beans are blooming and look beautiful. I’m so glad you got us hooked on purple beans.
The radishes are finished but by weeks end we should have fresh peas.
The potatoes got bitten last week, a little dusting and took care of that. We did sneak one meal of the tasty morsels before the attackers hit.
The tomato plants look the best ever. We have usually put newspaper around the plants, but this year we mulched them. I think it’s holding the moisture much better.
That’s it for now.
Happy growing season to me and you!
Tipper,
Sounds like your fall spread is growing right up to the table!
I sure hope your garden does well, especially your corn, as I believe your corn crop wasn’t up to par last year due to weather, etc.
Roy’s tater experiment, (? the cardboard bed? lol) one of which is comin’ along purty good! The white potatoes in the bigger garden are doing good! The onions, lettuce are still good to go…we will have some onions to store…not many we will be eating them as they get bigger. My goodness they are so tender, sliced on a samwich! I kilt lettuce and onions twice or thrice, and tried the recipe listed with brown sugar, mustard and vinegar. A twist on the standard recipe I grew up eatin’ but shore was good. I tried to cut back on the hot bacon grease and opted for blending a smidgeon of hot water with the lettuce and let the greens wilt a bit longer to wilt out the water in them as well to cut down on the fat. I actually kilt my tall romaine lettuce with the rest of the lettuce, spinach too. Yummmm! My romaine (bought 6 plants early on) has done magnificant and will plant them again next year if I can find them.
We planted beans late, bush Blue Lake and Roma’s Italian bean, a flat bean. I love the old standby..white half runners but sometimes they are hard to pick and fall over eventhough they do great growing here. The plants of Bush Blue Lakes and Roma’s seem to stand up very well and strong to several pickin’s…Mostly all the winter squash seed we planted from the “test” seeds are doing well, even the bad day planting day! The okra is taking off in this hot weather as are all of hhis peppers..Can’t wait to roast some of those giant Marconi’s on the grill…We have a pretty good garden stand considering we had to replant some because of the late freeze. We do have some kind of little pesky critters eatin’ away at the two free cabbage plants we got, a free item based on another purchase…also they are in the Kale…Bugs just find a tender garden when this much heat and no rain set in this early. My Daylilys are starting their bloom late…usually May 15th thru June 15th they are in full bloom with rebloom on some thru the summer and fall.
I have a Appalachian (Female) Bluebird, she was just amazing!….Pleased to have someone ask me what that is, and since I am not too shy will tell you!
Thanks Tipper, soooo
PS…
Mary, Mary how does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row….
I have some beautiful and much loved flowers. More Azaleas are blooming which bloom after the regular ones. I love watching each and every variety show its beauty, but my Amaryllis flowers and Iris are by far my very favorite. Mother Nature has been good to me. With the rough winter here in Caldwell this past winter, I only suffered the loss of a couple of plants.
Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Does your rhyme book tell the origin of that rhyme? I’ve been so disappointed to learn that the rhyme origins are so mundane. I thought they would have been more romantic. Oh well, part of growing up is learning that life isn’t a fantasy, isn’t it?
I have no garden, however everything growing in the woods around my house is soooo green and lush looking. I know I say that every year but it’s true. Every year here in these beautiful mountains everything it so stunningly spring!