Still Growing

With all of the rain we've had recentley and without any new planting to do, the garden has mostly been on auto-pilot for the last week or two.  And for the most part things are looking really good.

I took some overhead pictures from the ladder that is supposed to be a trellis for my lab-lab vines, but right now just looks like a big white ladder in the middle of the garden.

Looking straight down you can see the butternut squash plants on the right of the main path, and the lettuce, and the new pepper plants on the left.

To the far left are the sunflowers, against the front fence are the tomatoes, and in the middle are the watermelons.

On the right are more tomatoes and melons, and also carrots against the far right fence.  You can also see the zucchini and beans in the foreground.

Here are the sunflowers again, which are really getting tall- and the watermelons which so far look great.

Hiding under the vines is the first little melon.

The is a Dhalia plant that looks like its getting ready to bloom at any second.

I finally have a Valencia tomato to try out.  Of all the varities planted I have been most excited to taste test these.   Mostly because the 2 'paste' varities are mainly for sauce, the 'Early Girl' are meant to be a steady supplier, and 'Sungold' I've grown before.

Here it is, fresh from the vine...

Cut open and looking good.  Good for slicing, and juicy but not too juicy.

Served up on a slice of toast with some olive oil, salt and pepper and a slice of cheese (which is the perfect way to enjoy a tomato.)  It was sweet with just a little bit of acidity, and nice and firm and easy to eat with a fork.  Delicious.

Mini Harvest

There have been more and more ripe tomatoes every day.  Today I picked a few 'Early Girl' which are the large ones,  'Juliet' and 'San Marzano' which are the plum size, and lots of 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes.

I also dug up some potatoes today.  The plants have slowly died off, which is supposed to mean that they are ready to dig.  When I dug them up there were potatoes, just not very many.

I don't know if anything went wrong.  The only thing I can think of is that the dirt about 6-8 inches down seemed pretty densely packed and potatoes are supposed to be in loose soil.  Maybe they would grow better in large tubs or pots.

Here they are before...

...and after being washed. 

Back to the Garden

After being away for the week we arrived home to find that the garden had just kept right on growing.

Here is a shot looking at the front of the garden where you can see some of the overall progress.

The tomatoes are getting ready to really come into there own.  Both of the smaller paste varieties "Juliet" and "San Marzano" are starting to ripen.  

And the "Sungold" cherry tomatoes are ripe and ready to eat.  We ate our first ones before we even unpacked our bags.

During the week I went to colonial nursery to pick up a few things and ended up leaving with these two bell pepper plants.  I don't remember the types but one is green and one is red.

  I planted them where one of the beds of peas was, mixed in with the lettuce and a couple pumpkin plants.

The watermelon vines are looking long and healthy.  Already lots of little blooms are visible along the length of the vines.

I also bought 2 new basil plants that I planted in the herb/ flower bed.

The Zinnias are practically exploding with color.  We've already cut lots to use in the house, but there are plenty more out there.

My favorite of the zinnias is this one that has lots of tightly packed white petals.  

July Updates

Over the weekend it was finally time for the peas to get ripped out.  Along with the peas was the strings that held them up, and all of the weeds that were tangled into them.  It was nice to have such a clean blank slate when I was done.  On this side I planted a type of Butternut Squash.

On the other side the lettuce looks kind of lonely all by itself.  I planted a few more pumpkins here though, so they'll fill in the space.

Lots and lots of ripening tomatoes.  With really no exception each and every plant is doing very well.  Still not much difference between the mulched and the unmulched.  I think when we get back from Maine in 2 weeks the cherry tomatoes will be ripe, with the others not far behind.

Sunflowers are getting taller.

The first blossoms have appeared on the Zucchini plants.  With the rate that these things grow, the full sized zucchinis can't be far off.

The watermelons are all growing slowly but surely.  I hope that they get enough rain while were away.  I really want them to do well this year.

The morning glories have climbed all the way up the trellis and are strarting to cover the top.  A few of the plants have blooms, but they were closed here because it was evening.

The zinnias are getting ready to explode with color any day now.

Sunnier Days

Last few days have finally brought some steady sunshine.  We left during the weekend for 2 days and everything kept growing pretty good while we were gone, the weeds especially.

One noticably new item in the garden is an old ladder that I am going to use as a trellis.  I painted it white (although don't look too closely because I ran out of paint towards the bottom.)  I planted Lab- Lab seeds at the base which will become a climbing vine with purple flowers.

The first tomatoes are appearing.  Interestingly enough the 2 plants that are the farthest along are both the "New Girl" hybrid.  The heirloom varities all look good, but are just developing a little more slowly.

The lone watermelon plant.  Hopefully the others will emerge soon.

The zucchini plants are all looking good and growing quickly.

The rows of carrots and potatoes continue to get taller and bushier.

I planted a basil plant today.  I've been hoping to get a whole bunch of basil plants to plant amidst the tomatoes, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

One of my favorite garden tools is also one of the simplest.  It's called a "Dibbler".

It's pretty basic.  You use it to poke holes in the ground to put seeds into.  A finger would work just as well, but the dibbler seems more efficient and keeps the hands clean.

Just pop the seeds in, cover them with a little soil and you're done.

The lilies are really blooming now.  They add some really nice color to the yard.

quick notes

- It's been rainy for the last week plus.  Everything is growing really well, and I can't remember the last time I had to get the watering can out, but I'm ready for some sunnier days.

- Only 1 of the sugar baby watermelon seeds had sprouted as of yesterday, and none of the other melons.  I looked closely and realized that all the rain had literaly washed all of the seeds away.  Yesterday I replanted everything.

-Dhalias, Zinnias and Morning Glories are all looking really good, and I'm looking forward to some blooms.  Also, the replanted sunflowers are hanging in there, and the Daylilies are in full bloom.

- I pulled up one of the flowering potato plants yesterday, but I realized it was still too early as not much had developed.  Have to be more patient.

- The zucchini and pumpkin plants are growing fast.  I almost forgot how vigorous those can be.  Hoping soon to be able to get the seed in for the winter squash.

-Still taking lots of lettuce almost daily.  The peas are maybe just past their peak and won't be around too much longer.  Once they're cleared out I'm going to use that area for the squash.

Some Early Blooms

Here is an overall shot of the garden as it stands now.  You can see the peas climbing up the strings on the side of the trellis.  The tomato stakes and plants are in the foreground.  And in the back are the bean teepees.

There are lots of peas ripe right now.

The beans have pretty much over-run their teepees, and some little blossoms are just starting to appear.  I don't know if the sunfowers are going to grow quickly enough for the beans to climb on.  If I try this next year I'll have to plant the sunflowers earlier.

These are the first flowers on the potato plants.  I think that usually you are supposed to wait until the plants die back in the fall to harvest the potatoes, but I think you can get a smaller, earlier crop by taking some when the flowers are blooming.  I'l have to try this soon.

The tomato plants are quickly getting taller, and I'm having to tie them up pretty regularly.

There are lots of flowers on the tomato plants.  I've stopped pinching them off now, and am just letting the plants go.

This is the lavander in the herb garden.  Very pretty.

The roses along the side of the yard still look nice.  I've decided that I need to prune them back much more severely next fall, as otherwise they can become kind of a tangled mess.

These are the Dhalia plants which had been suffering from some night nibbling by an unknown animal.  I put these 2 liter soda bottles over them for protection, which seems to be working.  An unexpected side effect is that the bottles seem to create a mini greenhouse over the plant, and they have really been growing quickly and look very healthy.