July's Garden (2023)

So far this month, the weather has cooperated well enough and there have been no major disasters in the garden. We are harvesting large amounts of produce as fast as possible at sunrise in an attempt to avoid the oppressive heat. Our time in the garden is getting shorter and shorter due to the temperature and humidity rising earlier. Afterward, I head to the kitchen to process the food until exhausted. Every day is like the previous one.

 After the onions in the strawberry bed were harvested last month, borer-resistant squash were planted and are already flowing over the edges.

The second raised bed has tomatoes with watermelons underneath and they too, are spreading over the sides and into the path between the beds. 

All of the watermelon, squash, sweet potato, and melon vines in this part of the garden are being trained (pulled) onto large tarps spread over the yard. This is to keep them from over-running the garden.

This self-planted squash appeared at the end of the green bean row and joined the others on the tarp. It appears to be some type of butternut.

This row of tomatoes with sweet potatoes below is a "don't do as I do but do as I say." I tried a new variety of tomatoes called "Red" which were fantastic according to the commentators on the seed site. Being gullible when it comes to new seeds, I couldn't resist. At first, they flourished, but then their leaves turned black with mold. I fertilized and treated them but nothing helped. 

Normally, something this diseased should immediately be ripped from the garden but instead I removed every leaf to force the tomatoes to ripen in hopes of saving some. When tomato seedling volunteers sprouted in the compost pile, I risked it and transplanted them right beside the diseased plants (another no-no.) There was no other place empty and more are needed to produce enough for winter meals. As of now, the transplants are healthy and blooming (a big surprise).  The "Reds" have not lived up to the hype.

Some of the chickpea/garbanzo beans have matured and are turning brown while others continue to grow. It is probably because the plantings were staggered due to low germination rates. All will be harvested this month.

Another new experiment is attempting to grow a few varieties of summer lettuce in the middle of the blazing hot summer. So far I have learned the seeds are hard to germinate in the heat, they don't transplant well at all, and they quickly bolt.

However, there have been a few successes like a handful of leaves which were made into a small salad. It is enough to encourage me to continue trying.

It is time for a report about the ongoing squash vine borer war. (Borers 1,000 wins to my 0 wins). 

So far this season, almost 20 squash plants have been killed even though I am trying all types of different remedies. This area has been replanted over and over.

Hubby built these PVC arches in the spring to hold the long squash vines because I just knew something I am trying would work to stop the destruction. They are sadly empty but will stay up in hopes of success. There is a solution somewhere - I will find it.

On the other side of the pepo and maxima squash varieties area, (they are susceptible to borers so are near the scent trap), are smaller recently transplanted yellow squash.  They are in the shade of the bell peppers, beside the walkway, and against the diseased tomatoes because I reasoned, if being nice to squash doesn't work, maybe I should mistreat them. I am trying everything - even being mean.

In the midst of death and carnage, one huge yellow squash has defied all odds and lives. It is flourishing and has produced enough squash for us to eat fresh and to add three quarts to my freezer for winter! I don't know which remedy worked or what happened and it may drop dead tomorrow but for now, I have yellow squash!!! I HAVE A LIVING YELLOW SQUASH!!! Does this count as a victory?

Last Month's June Garden (2023)

Last Year's July Garden (2022)

June's Garden (2023)

Summer is here. My days start in the garden just as the sun is rising and before the heat arrives. 

Everything is flourishing better than ever before and it is keeping me bustling.

My newest experimental crop is garbanzo beans. They are from a grocery store and not surprisingly, the germination rate was about one in ten. 

The leaves look like ferns and there is one bean per pod. I have been told you can squeeze the pod and it will pop so you can eat the bean fresh.  I can't wait to try it.

The Yukon Gold potatoes are finished. Now that the plants are dead, the green stakes surrounding the bed are visible. They were tied together with strings so the vines wouldn't spill over into the pathways. The garden rows are close together to not waste growing space. Anything that is a tripping hazard gets propped up - walking is much safer.

The large harvest was a surprise. They were planted later than the Red Pontiac and White Kennebec but grew faster. The others are still winding down.

Some of the onions have been dug and I discovered the amount of sunlight made a significant difference. The front half of my garden is full sun but it becomes progressively shadier toward the woods. The Super Sweet Onion slips which came from a local nursery were the earliest to be transplanted in the garden and were in an area of full sunlight. They matured first.

Generic bulbs were also purchased in bulk from a local nursery and were scattered all over the garden. It has been easy to compare the size difference since they are all the same variety.  The strawberry bed that was full of onions is almost empty since most have been dug. It is also in full sun.

Both the Super Sweet and the generic which grew in the strawberry bed are huge!

In the middle of the garden in what was originally the spinach bed are some of the generic onions. They were planted along the edge and at the sunniest end. Tiny okra seedlings were added to the middle of the row when the spinach finished. The okra didn't shade the onions until a few weeks ago but regardless, none of the bulbs are more than half the size of those grown in full sun.

Those in the back in the deeper shade are quite small. None performed well at all.

However, a huge unexpected success was the onions I started during the winter from seed. They were the size of hairs when transplanted into this full sun bed and I didn't expect them to live. They are still maturing and have matched the size of those from the strawberry bed.

These are storage varieties and will be tested to see how long they last. 

Next year, more will be started from seed but all must be planted in full sun.

Onions must be air-dried to cure before being stored. My wrought iron porch furniture makes a perfect drying rack. The dehydrator was set up outside because drying onions in the house is like breathing napalm.  All the activities on the porch have come to a screeching halt.

The back deck has a smelly problem too. An opossum moved into our neighborhood and has made a nuisance of himself (they smell like rotted garbage: just a fun fact for city dwellers). He is emptying out the birdfeeder and has invited his camera-shy raccoon friend to slurp the sugar syrup from the hummingbird feeder (sugar is expensive now!) They party all night long under my kitchen window. 

We have set up the motion detector alarm. The raccoon has the sense to bolt when we open the door but the opossum stands his ground.  He has become accustomed to us, the lights and the noise so refuses to budge. We have to shoo him away every night.

Bill has to go out all hours of the night when the alarm sounds to prod it off the deck with a stick. Since we don't have livestock that can be harmed, it has received grace. 

Possum poking is our latest pastime. Our lives are never dull.

Last Month's May Garden (2023)

Last Year's June Garden (2022)

Through the Garden Gate

May's Garden (2023)

May has been perfect. The mornings were unusually cool compared to past years so working in the garden has been pure bliss!

Everything has been planted.  All that is left is to wait for the plants to grow and to fill in any empty spaces caused by harvesting.

We have been busy.

Last month I said I could never have too many onions. Well, perhaps that was rash. It appears a wee bit too many onion bulbs were purchased and added to the strawberry bed. 

The strawberries have managed the crowding quite well. Next time I will be less enthusiastic (maybe). Comparing the flavor of four different varieties has been a surprise. One kind has failed miserably and is about to be ripped out. Another produced three strawberries that were candy sweet. I am eagerly awaiting the establishment of their roots for more rewards. 

The Red Pontiac potatoes finally figured out it was time to sprout like the other varieties.  It took them long enough to wake up. They seem to be producing enough tubers to push up above the soil so more leaves were raked and added.

Staggering the planting dates for the tomatoes in hopes of spreading the harvest workload seems to be working well. The first group of assorted seedlings was put beside the corral fence with carrots. 

The next group was placed beside Swiss Chard. The row appears crowded but that is only until the chard leaves are picked or the tomatoes grow taller. Either way, they're fine.

This row is next to the early spring beets and it is almost their harvest time.  A banana melon is lurking in the shadows to take their place.

Sweet potatoes are sharing this row with the tomatoes. 

This is my first time growing Six-week Purple Hull peas. They are supposed to be ready in six weeks, hence their name so I don't know if this combination will work. 

Another new crop growing this year is Iceberg Lettuce. It could always be bought for $.69 at the grocery store. However, after I saw the price skyrocket to $7.50 during the winter, seeds were quickly ordered and now they are sharing this row with tomatoes. 

The Golden Napa Cabbages are long gone leaving the garlic behind in this bed. These were the grocery store-purchased late-planted tossed-out-in-winter ones. Nothing was expected to survive so anything produced will be a blessing. Sugar beets for the fall will be put in the empty space.

It has always been difficult for me to grow broccoli because the stems rot. An old farmer told me it was caused by a boron deficiency in the soil. He said if I sprinkled a little Borax laundry detergent around the roots, it would solve the problem.  That old wive's tale is now officially declared a success. 

The broccoli growth surprised me and spread over the beets shading them from sunlight. Decent size broccoli has never been something my garden produced.

To give the beets sunlight, every broccoli leaf but one on each plant was stripped away, shredded into a huge broccoli coleslaw salad, and served to company.  I fed a hungry gaggle of guys, the beets had a sudden growth spurt, and...

...hidden florets were discovered! It was a win-win-win!

Once again, I will try to grow yellow squash. Never before have I succeeded. Never. Yet again, I will valiantly ride out to battle the twice-in-a-season hatchings of hungry squash vine borers which swarm in from the field beside my garden. For me, squash has been impossible.

This year's battle plan will be to put the vulnerable varieties (C. pepo, C. maxima) together close to the scent trap and to run them up support poles so inspection and treatment of the vines will be easier.  With so much planted, hopefully, I will get at least something.

Those with long vines (Spaghetti, Honeyboat Delicata, Georgia Candy Roaster) will go up the corral fence.

The bush yellow squash will be supported by stakes from junk found hidden in the back of the shed. 

The borer-resistant varieties will be planted in other areas (c. moschata). The scent trap is up and ready with TWO scent bombs and sticky paper strong enough to hold a mouse. This is not overkill. 

We have worked hard this month and are ready for feasting. Let the canning, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting, pickling, and jelly-making begin!

Last Month's April Garden (2023)

Last Year's May Garden (2022)

Through the Garden Gate