The ample rain our area has received has the garden thriving. Last week I took a photo of our bean rows and today I took another one. The plants have grown a good six inches if not more in between the two.
Most all of the pole beans have started climbing and the bush beans are looking really good too.
Our early spring plantings didn’t do as good as usual. Our beets are pitiful as is our lettuce. Radishes, onions, cabbage, and potatoes are all doing well. Most of the radishes are gone.
I’ve noticed a few blooms on the potatoes and the cabbage is beginning to head up. I’m a little worried all the moisture might cause the cabbage to rot if we don’t get some hot sunny days to dry it out.
Corn and tomatoes are looking good. We haven’t checked to see if our second planting of corn is up yet, but I’m guessing it is or will be soon.
Winter and summer squash as well as cucumbers are up and growing. My early plantings of squash and zucchini are about to bloom as is the volunteer pumpkin growing in the middle of the cucumber bed.
We have tiny peppers growing, although the plants don’t look that great. The hail storm we had a few weeks back damaged them and the wet weather has encouraged the scourge of snails and slugs to feast on many things including our peppers.
Many of the tomato plants have blooms on them so that’s a good sign. They’ve grown so fast some are flopping over. Clipping them up is on our must do list.
Flowers are blooming here and there and many of the summer ones are budded out so I’m looking forward to seeing their beauty.
It appears both wild and tame fruits will produce heavy this year, but they could use some drier weather.
The mountains are clothed in their summer garments and the green is just breathtaking! The rain has brought the lushness of summer in Appalachia on early and it’s kept the pesky pollen washed off for the most part.
I reckon every year is different.
This spring has been wet and cool. I’m thankful for the rain after last year’s dry season, but am already hoping it doesn’t stay this wet all summer long.
Last night’s video: Traditional Appalachian Supper & Matt Shows How To Use Old Pressure Pot.
Tipper
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Beautiful!
Garden is really growing! Looks great!
I always enjoy seeing your garden and it looks like it’s doing great! I know you can’t wait for the wonderful bounty coming your way. Living in town, we don’t have much space for gardening, but we were able to plant three varieties of tomatoes. They are doing well, and we can’t wait to have our first tomato sandwich of the season!!
Tipper your garden looks so good. We’re having another rainy day here, we’re a couple hours from you so I don’t know if you are. We’re supposed to get more tomorrow. Then it’s supposed to be sunny for a while. I hope things go great for your garden this year.
Aw shucks, I meant to say too I knew exactly what that pot was that Matt used to cook pinto beans in as I have one just like it that was my Mother’s. When he started to say the name of it, I said the name just as he said it. I loved it because it was Mother’s but I was sorta afraid of it too as I had been warned I could not just set it and walk away. You did a good job of explaining how it worked and your supper looked great!
Your garden looks so good!! Our youngest son bought me yellow squash, zucchini, bush bean, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, tommy toes, and gave me a $50.00 gift card to a local nursery for Mother’s Day. He also brought me a hanging basket of Ever-bearing Strawberries. They produce all summer long and I just walk out on the patio where I have them hanging from a shepherd’s hook and have been eating a plenty sweet strawberries already. He had given me seed for lettuce and it has been producing for some time now:) All the plants are in and really doing well in the tall planters he gave me years ago. They stand about to my waist so I don’t even have to bend to pick from them and the plants have produced so well for me in the past years. I can’t get down on the ground any more so I love these large planters right by the patio. Such a blessing! I bought some flowers too and when I went out to plant them in pots, I was a little over-whelmed. It used to be a breeze for me to plant annual flowers and I still love to do it but this time I realized next year I am cutting back on the amount of annual flowers I plant. I have a lot of perennials and as I age I can see how wonderful they are – they keep coming back without any work on my part:)
It seems like it’s been raining for weeks here in our part of WV. I was so excited to walk out on my porch this morning and see the sun and feel its warmth. Our garden looks pretty good too. We have planted tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. We replanted onions to have some green ones to eat on. Our lettuce is still growing like crazy and giving us plenty for salads every day—this makes my husband extremely happy. Our two long rows of garlic are doing their thing and getting ready for harvest in a few weeks. We always grow plenty to cook with all year and to give to family and friends. This year we planted a small pumpkin patch outside of our garden area. I am so excited to see how that grows. Our grape arbor is loaded—if we can just keep the Japanese beetles away. We also have a long row of sunflowers growing on the side of our garden and I replanted a row of marigold seeds. The first ones didn’t come up. I am planting lots of extra flowers for our honeybees. I hope everyone’s gardens grow and grow. Have a super day.
oops, (394), not (394j!
i have a pressure pot just like matt’s (model 394j and i’ve always been afraid to use it! now i’ll try some pinto beans, i have some nice rancho gordos…thanks, matt!
Your garden looks great, and it’s way ahead of mine. I planted the day before Derby. It rained for several days after that, accompanied by much cooler temperatures. Needless to say, nothing came up. I replanted everything, except for the rare banana muskmelon seeds I had a hard time finding. It is supposed to rain heavily again tomorrow. I wish it would stop so my garden can dry out and I can stop taking Zertec every day.
Hi Tipper. I’m glad to see that your garden is doing so well. Hopefully there won’t be too much rain for you. The picture of your early garden is just lovely! You and Matt have done a stellar job!
This year I’m finally able to grow cabbage and Brussels sprouts. I have had such disappointing results growing them because of the cabbage moths. Last year I put in a dozen plants and was unable to get more than 3 tiny heads (after cutting away all the damage from the larvae). So this year I put a plastic hut around them. It’s similar to the one you got several months ago. I bought early heirloom plants and they are doing very well thus far. I made a very rudimentary but effective screen shield to cover the opening of the hut. It’s been quite cool-even cold- here in Southern Wisconsin, with only spotty warm days, which seems to have killed the couple of moths I’ve seen flying around so far. So all I can do is pray for success with the Brussels sprouts when they get too big for the hut and I have to remove it. Maybe the sprouts will be too big by then and the moths won’t be interested. A friend suggested I put a tuelle cloche around each plant. What we all do to have a successful garden!
The garden looks wonderful! Hoping and praying you and other folks get the right combination of rain and drying out periods so the gardens flourish and produce bountiful harvests.
This is a reply to Mary Bratton’s comment to me yesterday. All of my life I have been blessed to have been around many fine Christian men that have influenced my life, my Daddy and Father in Law quickly come to mind, but I would have to put my Grandaddy Kirby at the top of the list. It was common in my area when in times of sickness or death for the family to want the Preacher to come and be with them, I have told by many if the Preacher couldn’t come, they would have wanted my Grandaddy Kirby to come. No boy ever had a better Granddaddy than I had in him. I could write and tell many stories about him.
Beautiful garden! I decided to give mine a sabbatical this year and try to rebuild the dirt. As soon as school is out I’m going to have hubby turn it over and sow buckwheat and red clover on it for the summer; hopefully they will feed the bees as well as the dirt!
I agree. It does seem every year is different. Your garden looks so neat, clean and organized; mine not so much. I’m more kinda rough and ready. Overall it is showing decent potential but I’m on pins and needles about the various pesk attacks yet to come. I have about as much trouble from them as I do from weather. Speaking of which, does my memory serve that you plant Carolina Wonder peppers? I have looked for them for several years because they are nematode resistant per Clemson. There is also a hot pepper that is nematode resistant, “Charleston” something. But I cannot find either in Georgia. Seems they don’t make it across the river. If you can point me toward a source of either seed or plants I’d appreciate it.
Ron, Corie is growing some this year. She started them from seed. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has some seeds 🙂
Ron, I looked and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has a listing for The Carolina Wonder and the Charleston Hot Pepper. When I googled it I saw a few other places that may also have it. There is also another hot pepper named the Carolina Reaper that is suppose to be the hottest in the world. The same man that developed this pepper has came up with another one that is suppose to be even hotter, I think some people have died from trying to eat it, I think it will almost stop you from breathing. I don’t remember the name for it.
I planted too early, had to replant a couple things due to weather…hot one day then coat and hat the next up here in “Frostbite Falls”…Im gonna try growing a Cherokee Purple again, making sure it is in direct sun light all day.
Tipper, your garden is as neat as can be! All your rows look perfect! It’s rained and been cold here for several weeks. My cucumber, squash and acorn squash crossed with mini pumpkins are all doing fine and reaching. Cherokee purple tomatoes coming on nicely. I learned a lot about peppers this year and I guess slugs are trying to eat mine too-the sticky, nasty devils! Slugs would make fantastic adhesive so why don’t they make some use of these scourgeful critters. I personally like to get a knee way up high and then smash them for all I’m worth. It’s a pretty good feeling and sometimes I put salt on them. Corey’s slug bait will TCB if it ain’t raining. I learned begonias are difficult to grow and my flowers are coming be it slow from seed. Next year I’ll start flowers sooner. My beans have sprouted up and the cabbage likes it cool for sure!!! I’m a hobby gardener and for me it’s something to do… ordered the roof and waiting on delivery of the metal. Guess I go to court next week to get my 7500$ back from a fat neighbor who’s turned out to be a fat liar and thief. Why is 9 out of 10 everybody’s you run into these days a sorry lowdown sack of dog dung? I bet I get my money back… I saw a pack of 3 wild dogs (German shepherds) the other day with a deer leg for a toy. I hate they got no people. I wonder just how many wild dogs are out there roaming these hills??? Oh well have an excellent day ! If I need a nap, I’ve got so I take one…
Looks great Tipper I like the way the porch over looks the garden there reminds me of a house we lived in my my kids were born.
Mike
Beautiful!! I love to see other’s gardens. So perdy!!
Tipper, I stopped planting cabbage because of the worms. (I buy it at the farmer’s market) It looks like yours is covered so I want to ask if that works really good? Where do you find it? I will be making more of your canned slaw. That’s so good!!
Our weather has been cool and very wet too. We haven’t even planted yet. Im hoping this weekend. The weatherman says next week it’s gonna turn off real hot and humid.
We always plant by the signs, but we’re gonna have to do it regardless.
We’ve cut our garden in half this year as I have put up so much in the last few. Our children have their own and we don’t need as much for just two of us now.
Debbie, it works great to prevent the worms. You can find it at garden supply stores and on Amazon.
I’m so glad your garden is doing well Tipper. Up here in Massachusetts, we’ve been getting a lot of rain too! I’ve got to send you a picture of my Japanese Maple tree, it’s glorious this year. I’m pretty sure June will dry out so your veggies won’t rot. At least I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Lots of love.
This is one of the worst years I can remember for trying to get things to come up in a garden in my area because of the weather. I know of several neighbors and friends that have not planted anything this year. I haven’t talk to my “sweet potato friend” but I expect he has at least 25 thousand sweet potato slips to set out if it will dry up long enough for him to set them out. He tries to set them out around Memorial Day. I have noticed he has not planted the other things he usually plants. I read last night that an above average hot summer is being predicted. I have managed to get a few tomato plants out that are looking good but even had some to them to die. It does not matter, I am no longer longer able to work in my garden like I would need too.
i have another 25 thousand sweet potato slips i haven’t out out, either. but we’re in drought here in tampa so i have no excuse except 95°!