Friday, June 26, 2009

First Harvests and Edibles Update

Here are a few photos of some of my first harvests and vegetable garden.

These are radishes (French Breakfast) and sugar snap peas (Sugar Ann). I know I really should wait until these are a little bigger, but they’re so yummy when they’re tiny, too. I figure as long as I always have a few in the ground or on the vine left to ripen, it’s okay. I’ve put in more radishes, even though they bolt so quickly after June because I love the crunchy seed pods that they make after flowering. I also harvested a few daikon radishes. They look like little white carrots. Much sharper than I thought they’d be, though.

My “Gourmet Blend” of lettuce from Burpee didn’t germinate nearly as well as the two red varieties I got from Johnny’s. (Red Rosie and Mascara- shown here at the front of the bed.) I haven’t bought lettuce in weeks – there’s always enough for a salad now.
Did you know that red lettuce is considered an organic slug control solution? They recommend that you plant them as a border around your other crops. So far, mine are untouched by slugs.



Spinach was very sparse, but I always get a few leaves to add to the salad.

Tricolor Bush beans have produced a few handfuls of yellow and purple pods. More on the way.



The herbs are probably more successful than anything else I’m growing.
I love the Purple Opal basil, and have used lots of the lemon thyme, cilantro and mint (chocolate). I had to cut the lemon verbena back.


Tomatoes and peppers are flowering but not producing much fruit yet – I’m thinking maybe because we’ve had so much rain and not enough sun yet?
The cucumber are still not even big enough to climb, but I do see a few little cukes emerging. I’ve lost a lot of male zucchini flowers to slugs, but I can see that the females are coming along with tiny squash attached.


So far it looks like only two edamame have formed. No broccoli florets – again, could be a sun (or maybe a slug) problem. Here's the deck, where I used to plant tomatoes in pots. Now I'm using it for more ornamental plants.



We've had so much rain! and it's in the forecast for the next 8 days, too! Has it been raining where you are?

8 comments:

Lzyjo said...

I had no idea red lettuce is immune to slugs! Amazing! Your deck is looking fab! The bottle garden is really filling in. Everything looks great, especially the yummy salad! I hope you get some sun, I'd take some of the rain/ I might have to connect the hose and give the garden a good watering, if these days in the 90s continue! Have a great weekend.

tina said...

Your lettuce garden looks SO good. I love it. I did not know red lettuce was an organic slug control. Too cool. No rain here, though we could use it. I'll trade you sunshine for some rain:)

our friend Ben said...

I think your gardens look great and your deck looks amazing, Jen! And I love the composite photos of the harvest. Yum!!!

Kate Hanley said...

Came by the check out TT which was a great summer post by the way. The blog is wonderful. I'm so impressed with your garden. We started on this year and we have lettuce for days. It's so nice to have fresh salad for dinner isn't it?

Lorilee said...

OH my everyone seems to be talking about getting rain. We are SO dry. We've been under a burn ban off and on for the last 12 months. Your veggies look yummy. I am about to give up on the garden. It is so hot (high 90s to 100s) and no rain. That is interesting about red lettuce.
re: comment on CC- I bet only cloggers know those lyrics these days!
Blessings,
Lorilee

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Great first harvest, something to be happy with.... Good tips about red lettuce chasing out the slugs.

I have never grown lettuce before here... may give it a try!

Have a nice weekend
~bangchik

Brian Miller said...

lots of rain this summer. our garden is starting getting tall, flowering, but yet to produce any real crop yet. grapes are plump just not turned. can't wait. nothing like eating food you played a part in...

JGH said...

Liz and Tina, I'd love to trade weather for a few days!

Thanks, Ben - I hope to have more color in the harvest photos soon.

Kate, this is my first time growing lettuce too- so easy to grow, isn't it!

Lorilee, I'm sure I'll feel like you in a couple of months. I always get garden burnout in Sept.

Bangchik, definitely try lettuce. So easy - it can even grow in part shade.

Brian, I'm so jealous that you have grapes - and at least your flowers are promising a good future harvest.