Mid July

The garden is lush and green, as is the hedge behind and it can be hard to distinguish the two in the photos. Recent harvests include both heads of broccoli, zucchini, sugar snap peas, and lettuce. We left the second head of broccoli a day or two too long and it wasn't quite as tasty as the first. I can't decide if I'm going to let the broccoli plants sprout side shoots, or if I need to pull them and plant more broccoli or Brussels sprouts in their place.

The paste tomatoes are taller than me (though they do have a head start with the raised bed). The smaller jalapeno pepper has fruited first. The larger one looks as though it will have many more blossoms.

The beginning of a jalapeno.

Green tomatoes. I'm not sure of the variety because I got the seedlings from a friend.

I have one huge beet that needs to be pulled, the rest are still small. I took the photos yesterday, and today I decide to pull the peas. There were just a handful left on the vines and I needed the space to plant for fall. I planted another set of bush beans in their place. I also planted carrots, dill, and beets. I'm a little concerned about how things sprout since they are sometimes or often shaded by larger plants around, especially the beans which are on the other side of the peas.

My buttercup squash is doing well with one vine climbing up the tepee. The first three female blossoms didn't fruit even though I pollinated them with a Q-Tip. The 4th blossom has set and the squash is developing. Some of the very small female blossoms on another part of the vine have yellowed and look like they will drop instead of blooming. The latest female zucchini blossom seems to have browned instead of blooming. I'm wondering what they need. I fertilized with compost tea today. I hope that will help

I transplanted two of my 4 Brussels Sprouts seedlings. The other two will have to wait until there is more room.
I found today as I planned for fall that I don't have enough space as I'd like and that I planted many things that will take the whole summer. The carrots, beets, and dill made it in, but it was between another set of peas or another set of beans and the beans won out. More lettuce or spinach will have to wait until I pull something else and there is a free square. Right now, every single one is full, even ones under the squash tepee. I planted a few carrots there when the squash were small to see what would happen.

Beginning

I'm beginning a new blog here. My purpose it two-fold: to share garden progress (greens) and share craft projects (jeans).

I've transferred some old posts from a xanga site that seem relevant to this blog to provide some background for the road ahead.

Garden Update

The garden is looking lush and full.
Lettuce with Swissh Chard behind, beets, mesclun, peas.
The peas developing and we'll probably eat some next week.
The zucchini is getting huge!
The mystery plant has yet to bloom, it just continues to send out new shoot after new shoot. It's quite a bush now. I'm no longer sure we're going to get anything out of it.
Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts are doing well!
The first head of broccoli is developing. We've been eating the chard a lot already.

Everything is so green and full. It's hard to believe just two months ago how bare it was. I forgot to include pictures of the tomato plants, but they are doing well also, just blossoming. Zucchini and Buttercup squash have put out their first blossoms. I did some research last night on squash blossom recipes because there will be a lot that won't form fruit. (Squash have male and female blossoms).

With waves of heat, summer is here. It's amazing to compare photos now from photos just a few weeks ago. We've been enjoying spinach, mesclun and oak leaf lettuce from the garden, as well as radishes. I've also started getting food from the CSA I joined this year. So we're awash in green vegetables right now.
Here's the Garlic, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts.

Lettuce, beets, mesclun, spinach, dill, peas and beans in the background.
Some of the tomatoes have outgrown the walls of water and are in cages now. Peppers are still in the red walls.

Here is my mystery squash which was just about 5 inches tall at the beginning of May and has now reached the top of the tepee. It's survived large ants and striped yellow bugs and continues to send out new vine shoots from almost every leaf junction. We just don't have any idea what it is going to be.
I'm a little worried because I spaced 3 different kind of squash pretty close together in the other bed, and I'm not sure that they are going to vine up the trellis. If they don't I may have to pull them before they flower because their leaves will get too big and short out the electric fence.

Progress

Some progress in the garden. Not many of my peas sprouted, so I re-seeded. None of the 2nd seeding sprouted, so I'm trying to sprout them inside in a wet paper towel, and then plant them when I see the sprouts forming.Lettuce, Spinach and Mesclun are coming along. The walls of water are basically warming the soil for tomatoes and peppers that won't go in until June
Some of the squash under the glass is beginning to sprout. Radishes are coming long and the Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts have transplanted well.

All my onions have sprouted and I've also planted leeks and shallots.

Also today I got a very large box in the mail. I received an early birthday present of a composter :) I'm excited. It's an Envirocycle Rotating Composter. Ever since I asked for it I've been bemoaning all the kitchen scraps that have gone in the trash. Now it's finally here and we can start making compost.

Garden In May

A view of the garden in early May. In the foreground a tepee structure that Matt built for me so that the mystery squash that are growing can go up. My mom and I found the mystery squash in late April. They had seed leaves just like a squash or cucumber so we decided to transplant them and see what they become. All the holes dug around it are filled with onion seedlings.
In the next bed the red walls of water protect Brussels Sprouts and broccoli seedling. Garlic is growing behind that as well as carrots, radishes, shallots and some other squash that I hope will sprout.

In the third bed you can see we have lettuce, beets, mesclun (under jars), spinach, dill(under jars), and peas. The peas had a horrible germination rate. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I'll fill the other half of the bed with tomatoes and beans when the frost date is past.