Get Me To The Country: June 2021

June's garden is finally, finally, finally out. It feels like it has taken us forever but it is done. Some areas are sprouting and others are finished. The potato vines have begun dying so they are almost ready. Putting them in a big pile of horse manure worked great. After they are dug, butternut squash will be allowed to run wild in this bed.

Growing yellow squash in the horse manure with the potatoes didn't work at all. They produced huge green leaves but the fruit developed blossom end rot.

After I amended the soil around the roots, they improved and have just now started producing. Blossom end rot is common in my garden so I automatically amend the soil when I plant. The squash didn't get any extra nutrients since this was an experiment.

Sitting beside the potato bed are five big pots. Four are full of sweet potatoes and one has sugar beets. Supposedly, it is easier to dig them out of the pots than the ground. I'm all for less work.

The right half of the garden was planted early and most of it is doing well.

The first row beside the lawn has two rows of peppers side by side with all of their lower leaves removed. In the open area below, a row of melons are spreading.

The row closest to the lawn is tied to the short chicken wire fence for support since they become top-heavy as they get tall.

In the tiny space between the peppers and the fence are cucumbers. They will go through the fence and hang on the outside of the fence where they can get the morning sun.

The next row has been planted about three times. It has been difficult to get anything to sprout because I keep forgetting to water. Now that we are into the heat of summer, if you don't water seeds twice a day, they will dry out and die quickly. I'll just keep trying.

Next is the first row of tomatoes. All but one are new varieties to me.

The lower leaves have been removed which opens up the area for a watermelon. It tries to spread out into the walkway but I kick it back in line as I walk past - zero tolerance for wayward fruit.

At the beginning of the second row of tomatoes are Super Beef Steak; however, I think they should have been called "short and bushy" beef steak. They are only halfway up the fence.

So instead of running cantaloupe and watermelon underneath, they are being trained to go up the fence to be above the tomatoes. No space will be wasted this year. After the vines get up high, I will trim back their leaves so the first tomato plant in the row can breathe.

At the far end of this same row, the other tomatoes are tall. They have their lower leaves stripped so cantaloupes, beets, and lettuce can grow below.

In the middle of the garden are two triple rows of corn. I am not expecting much from them because I have never had success with corn. The row on the right was planted first and then a few weeks later the left row was planted. It is just now sprouting.

The field side of the garden was planted late because we were waiting for the horse manure to decompose a bit.

This is a big addition to the garden. It was an unused corral in our field. It will be here permanently to support plants. I have discovered it is easier to rotate plants rather than put up new supports every season.

This bed is also new. It was the old compost pile for years but isn't used anymore. Assorted squash will be trained to go down the field fence. My fear is that they will take over the backyard when their roots reach the rich compost deep down.

The back of the garden close to the woods and the shed is in deep shade now.

The buckets at the end of the rows are placed in these spots to keep the garden hose from smashing plants as it is drug around.

The cucumbers going up the support fence in the back corner by the shed are happy but the okra does not like this dark corner. They are hardly growing. It is too late to plant more so this experiment has been a failure. However, the assorted cabbages and beets have been a success. Trying all different kinds has been fun.

The Chinese vegetables, cabbages, and some of the broccoli are all gone. Growing different kinds of broccoli has been educational. Some developed diseases and died immediately, others are healthy and thriving and a few even had different shaped heads - all things I didn't expect. So far, all have tasted the same. The empty spaces have been seeded with Swiss Chard and pumpkins.

In the onion and leek bed, we planted three different kinds of leeks and discovered we don't like them...who knew?! With so many new things we are trying this year, it makes sense we wouldn't like some of them.

The onions will be finished soon and since their tops are wilting, it is easy to see the stepping stones once again. It has been difficult trying to walk on the path without crushing anything but after realizing we don't care for leeks, walking got easier.