May 30, 2013 - The End of May Garden

It's the end of May, but it feels and looks like the end of April.  The weather has been 15-20 degrees below our normal for most of this month, and we've had a lot of wind.  These past couple of days we've also had quite a bit of rain, but the wind dries the soil out quickly.  The garden is growing, albeit slowly.  Potatoes, lettuce, spinach and strawberries have been the stars of the May garden, along with lilies, Sweet Williams and Johnny Jump-ups.  Surprisingly, the tomato plants have been growing quite well, and most are blossoming.  Several even have little tomatoes on them.  Same with the peppers.  The plants haven't grown much, but there are a lot of small peppers on them now.  Two beds of corn have suffered in the cold weather, but the third, an early variety, is growing well.  The beans aren't growing well at all, and they are plagued with insect damage. I keep planting bean seeds, thinking it has to warm up so they can grow quickly, but I'm not having much luck with them yet.

Random Garden Photos





















39 comments:

  1. Amy FMay 29, 2013 at 10:39 PM

    Wow, I'm so impressed!

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  2. SueMay 29, 2013 at 11:57 PM

    Perfect!!
    I love seeing the progress....and it keeps me hopeful that SOME YEAR I'll be able to plant my garden. Sheesh-they're STILL calling for frosts here as late as the 5th. I don't think I'll ever get stuff in..........

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:09 AM

      Sue, the weather is just terrible! Yours more than mine, at least I don't have to worry about frost. I am getting so sick of wind though, and my front yard is once more covered in pine tree mess :-(

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    2. SueMay 30, 2013 at 10:52 AM

      Time to go back to that fancy hotel and forget about the mess. Maybe the wind will blow it away---haha!

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    3. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 11:32 AM

      That fancy hotel blew the $$ away. I'd be better off contending with the wind at home, LOL!

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  3. RachyMay 30, 2013 at 12:40 AM

    What a great garden, everything's looking lovely :) x

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:10 AM

      Thank you, Rachy. If I could just get the beans growing in high gear!

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  4. Kirsty @ Bowerbird BlueMay 30, 2013 at 4:00 AM

    so many beautiful vegies, despite less than ideal conditions. We've had a warmer Autumn here so Australia must be getting some of your heat. The bush beans did the best at our house last spring, they were the first and longest producing and coped better with a dryer summer.

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:13 AM

      Kirsty, most years beans (both bush and pole) are my best and most productive crop. I usually don't even have much problem with growing them in the cooler spring months, but it's the insects that are getting them this year. It looks to be either pill bugs or earwigs.

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  5. --Ana--May 30, 2013 at 5:31 AM

    OMG your lily looks amazing! I'm a big sucker for lilies I just love them.
    Actually your whole garden looks really great. All vegetables are big and healthy(jealous now)
    When planting beans try soaking them in bucket of water the night before planting(like before cooking). If it's warm they will grow sooner than dry ones. :)

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:15 AM

      Leanan, getting the beans to sprout isn't the problem, it's getting the bugs to stop eating them once they do!

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  6. langelaMay 30, 2013 at 5:37 AM

    Look at all your berries! Your canes are loaded. And your lilies are gorgeously full. Beautiful gardens, Granny!

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:16 AM

      Langela, it sure is a good year for berries, with my strawberries bearing a month early and the raspberries being absolutely loaded. I've never seen so many raspberries as I'm getting this year! I wonder what I did right ;-)

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  7. Judy Sall Fiber ArtMay 30, 2013 at 5:38 AM

    I love the cages you have constructed for your lettuce! I was thinking of trying to grow some in a cold frame I have in the yard, but we are in the middle of a Prairie dog colony, and we also have visits from Elk, so I would definitely need to protect anything I grow in the cold frame. Thanks for the idea. BTW, do you use wall o'waters on any of your cold-sensitive plants? I have a friend who swears by them!

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:20 AM

      Tiedyejudy, the cage is a must for the lettuce, as the sparrows won't leave it alone. The other (tulle covered) cage is a must for the spinach and beets, because otherwise they get ravaged by leaf miners. The strawberries are covered with netting to keep the squirrels from eating them all. Some days I feel like I'm running a wildlife buffet out there!

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  8. Daphne GouldMay 30, 2013 at 7:27 AM

    And you call this not growing? I want my garden to not grow just like yours. I spent the morning pulling out my baby Asian greens and planting up the sweet potatoes. I just had to as the weather is going to be in the 90s for the next four days. And last weekend we had a night in the 30s. I figured all my greens would bolt in the heat.

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 7:38 AM

      Daphne, next week we're actually supposed to get into the 90s, so I'll probably be ripping out spinach and complaining about the heat! I'm sure the tomatoes, peppers and beans will love it though. I'm going to be replacing my spinach with carrots, although the last planting did germinate better than those earlier ones.

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  9. AnonymousMay 30, 2013 at 11:39 AM

    Everything looks beautiful, Granny! Especially those lilies! They must be huge in person, they almost reach the top of the fence. And that photo with the raspberries against the sky is just picture-perfect; could easily be made into postcards!

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 12:04 PM

      Thanks, Mrs. R. Yes, the fence is 6' high, so the tallest lilies are about 5 1/2'. I'd say the entire cluster is about 6' wide. Three years ago (spring 2010) there were maybe a half dozen little plants there!

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  10. UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 12:17 PM

    Gorgeous!
    Thanks for the pic of the strawberries. You said you have TWO 4ft X 8ft beds? WOW. Your garden must be much larger than it appears in these photos.

    I'm gonna copy your berry beds-next year. Hope I do as well. :) Thanks, Teacher, for the info.

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 12:36 PM

      Barbee, I only have one 4x8 strawberry bed. The other 4x8 is the raspberries. Well, I actually have a third one inside that kennel where the spinach and beets are planted. I used to have most of my garden in raised bed boxes, but as the wood began rotting I just removed it and went to wide rows instead.

      I'm going to probably remake the strawberry bed next year, into two 2'x8 foot beds. As I get older, I find it too difficult to reach to the middle of the 4' wide beds. There is just enough room there to put in the two narrow beds with a path between them.

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  11. UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 12:19 PM

    P.S. I love that bay/greenhouse window box you're goin' on there. Very nice.

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  12. UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 2:07 PM

    On your bean seeds...do you use inoculant? or treated seeds?
    I find that treated does better (far better) for me in the spring.

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  13. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    Barbee, I use inoculant, but I try not to use treated seed or insecticides in my garden. Like I said, I don't have a germination problem with my beans, it's insect damage. I may have to give in and dust them with pyrethrins, but I'll give them another week and see if they can overcome the damage. Once they get past the seedling stage they aren't as susceptible to the bugs.

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  14. Julie.Smith.BearMay 30, 2013 at 4:42 PM

    I love looking at your garden photos! Everything looks so well tended.
    Julie

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  15. Cozy Thyme CottageMay 30, 2013 at 7:18 PM

    Your gardens look great to me. So many of my plants do not look well! Nancy

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 30, 2013 at 8:26 PM

      Thanks, Nancy. I went out with the sprayer and the stinky fish fertilizer today. Maybe that will be the pick me up the garden needs!

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  16. Rhonda Gales May 31, 2013 at 7:50 AM

    I'm jealous. Your garden looks great, I'm just getting mine in. The weather has been so cold here. It's finally warming enough where I'm not worried about frost hitting the plants. Hopefully, I'll get everything in this week-end.

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  17. Annie*s GrannyMay 31, 2013 at 8:20 AM

    Rhonda, it's finally, FINALLY, turning warm here this week! I'm wanting to get out and plant more, but there isn't any room left. I'll probably be pulling my spinach by the end of the week, then I can get in more beets and carrots.

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  18. JenniferMay 31, 2013 at 2:01 PM

    Your garden is such an inspiration! I found your blog very recently and I just love it. I hope you don't mind, I've been reading through your archives and am just blown away by what a wonderful gardening and cooking inspiration your blog is.

    I'm over in Idaho and we've had a really cold spring as well (except for the week when it was in the mid 90s!). I've lost a ton of plants to insects (including my poor sad beans that barely grow one leaf before they are consumed down to the dirt).

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 31, 2013 at 2:29 PM

      Thank you, Fern1! Your weather has been just like ours. We had that week in the 90s, actually 97, then it got cold. My beans look like they are going to outgrow their insect damage after just one day of warmth, so cross your fingers for your bug eaten plants. Hey, I'm an Idaho gal too....born & raised in Lewiston.

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    2. JenniferMay 31, 2013 at 2:57 PM

      Oh wow, small world! My mom was from Lewiston (born in Clarkston).

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  19. The Stay @ Home-GardenerMay 31, 2013 at 3:39 PM

    Oh Geesh. Look at those plants go!

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    1. Annie*s GrannyMay 31, 2013 at 4:50 PM

      You'd better get busy on that mountaintop garden, Cloud. Granny's beating your britches!

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    2. The Stay @ Home-GardenerJune 1, 2013 at 12:36 PM

      She certainly is! You know though... actually for this altitude, I do not think I am that far off. Last night it was near freezing. I'm literally high...up!

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    3. Annie*s GrannyJune 1, 2013 at 12:52 PM

      Cloud, I just hope you get that piece of land while it's still early enough to plant a spring garden!

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  20. Mrs.PicklesJune 5, 2013 at 11:04 PM

    wow great pic. Looks like you will have tomatoes soon!

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