How sad to have to call something a failure so early in the growing season. So let's just get it over with, okay? Spinach. It is so ugly that I'm not even gonna show you a photo. It's 5 inches tall with flowers and leaves that are only about 2 inches big. I think I have to face the fact that the bed I'm now using for my lettuces and other greens is having a serious sun crisis. Or maybe the soil is not so great - I need to have it tested again. Truthfully, nothing growing here looks the way it should and the lettuces that were sown in March look okay but are tasting pretty bitter. So it's time to rip out and re-sow. What should I use this bed for now?
The cabbage...
....These are radishes....
(I decided to let them bolt and flower so that I could harvest the pods.)
Just about the only thing doing okay in this bed is the Swiss chard. I grew the "Bright Lights" variety and it's coming up in yellow, red, white and pink.
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In other news, the tomatoes are all staked or caged.
The most promising clump seems to be some San Marzanos I purchased from Hook Mountain Growers. Everything is flowering and setting fruit.
I've already harvested some garlic and the cucumbers and squash are beginning to flower. I'm growing Goldy, Sweet Dumpling, Delicata, Black Zucchini and a pumpkin mix.
A couple of peppers are almost ready.
I've got two kinds of arugula growing and have harvested it twice in recent weeks.
Up on the deck, it looks like I may get more figs than last year on my little fig tree ("Brown Turkey"). It had to be taken into the garage over the winter, and watered periodically, but it came back in full force.
I decided I wanted some of my most favorite and frequently-used herbs handy on the deck and planted a few containers. This whiskey barrel has cauliflower, okra, sunflowers and violas, and the blue one has zinnia, basil, spearmint and chamomile.
The sugar snap peas yield a nice handful or two every day. They're not as pretty as they were a month ago, but lots of flowers are still coming. These are Miss B's favorite.
The kale continues...
I don't know about you, but I'm anxious for that first tomato. Have you had one yet? And if so, what kind and where did it come from?
My tomatoes grew unexpectedly in my garden because I did not sow or plant them, but still it grew & bore the fruit on its own.... I had even posted about them.... :-) Your green chilli & peas look so tempting... But it becomes difficult for me to look after them, because of my ill health.... May God Bless u & your lovely garden, which u nurture as your children..... Hugs )))
ReplyDeleteAsh...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)
Picked my first tomato this past weekend. It was so good! I think you should use the bed for some beans maybe? Don't worry about the lettuce and kale, they need cool weather. I think your soil must be okay since the chard is doing well.
ReplyDeleteAsh, volunteer tomatoes usually do well- you know they are strong if they survived the season. I'm off to visit your blog to see what you're cooking! Hope you're feeling better soon....
ReplyDeleteTina, I'm not a big fan of beans but I do like the haricot vert and the ornamentals like purple hyacinth and Red Runners. I may try some!
No tomatoes yet! They're on the vine though, but still green. With the type of heat and humidity we're having this summer, it won't be long now. All mine are Jet Stars. We did buy our first native corn on the cob today from a local farmstand. Yippee!
ReplyDeleteNo tomatoes yet. I'm still waiting for my friends gardens to produce. Yep, I'm an overflow gardner. They bring what the have to much of but it's woth the wait.
ReplyDeleteWhat a prolific garden! That kale is beautiful. Some of my San Marzano's are starting to flower. My garlic is about the same as yours. Keep growing!
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I saw some Jet Stars at a nursery and thought of you :-) Next year I'll make it a point to plant some. How was the corn? I love the early corn the best.
ReplyDeleteRonda, I wish I had enough to share with my neighbors now. I'm hopeful mine will get some squash and cucumbers this year. If only you lived closer...
Sophie, isn't garlic fun? This is my first year growing it, but I like it so much that I may plant two varieties next year. What variety do you have?
Our tomatoes are just beginning to flower. There's been so much rain - torrential - that everything needs some sun and some drying-out time.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Swiss Chard and yours look delicious, Jen! Your peppers are looking good too.
It's great that the fig tree over-wintered so well! Neat!
Could you shade that lettuce bed? Just a cheesecloth awning might be enough. And Yay! scarlet runner beans!
ReplyDeleteWe're in a 6-year-drought up here, but since I volunteered to work in a garden, it's rained almost daily. I think I deserve an award.
I like your slate name tags! :)
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about spinach - it's useless to grow in the summer. What you do is plant them in the fall, overwinter it under some straw or without and under a small tunnel of agribon and the next March you will have the best tasting spinach of your life! I don't really grow lettuces in the summer just the spring, fall and winter. They just taste the best then. I also see you're growing wild arugula - my favorite and the most resistant to bolting. Everything is looking spectacular in your garden!
Hi JGH,
ReplyDeleteJust popped over to see how things were on your patch. Sorry about the spinach. Miss B is a beauty, and brainy as well considering how she handled your run away chickens.
Are you still reading with VBC?
Hey, Talon - sounds like you're gonna get a great crop of tomatoes and I know I can expect a great photo and poem about them :-)
ReplyDeletek, the bed is already pretty shady, but I have a row cover and will definitely be experimenting more with it. How do you like your new garden gig?
Pam, I like the slate nametags too and the cool people who gave them to me! I'm gonna try that spinach trick for sure. Arugula is a great success for me this year - one of the few so far.
e, thanks for stopping by! I'll be by the VBC again soon. I need some new books for my summer reading list.
My tomatoes look about like yours right now, too. A few peppers are getting close as well. I haven't checked my garlic yet, but maybe I will today. All the stalks seem to be falling over. Kind of strange. My peas are long gone already, unfortunately, but there's already summer squash ready to pick every day.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it's any consolation - there's a reason I've never mentioned my spinach either. It just looks really lame:)