July 9, 2013 - The Summer Garden

 Spacemaster cucumbers growing very nicely in a half barrel.

 The Waltham Butternut squash are overtaking the fence.  I've begun fastening the vines to the chain link with loose cable ties, but I still managed to hit one with the lawnmower and break it off today.

Provider bush beans and a sea of squash.  Jackpot Zucchini and Early Summer Crookneck in the foreground, the Waltham Butternuts  behind them.

 Broccoli (mixed varieties), Large American Flag leeks, Lemon Drop marigolds, Tristar strawberries, Hearts of Gold cantaloupe, Celebrity tomatoes, Canby raspberries.  There are some spring planted garlic scattered here and there.  There are spaces opening up for fall planting, but I don't know what to plant, if anything.  There's so much food out there already, much more than two old people need!  Maybe I'll just concentrate on amending the soil to get it ready for Spring 2014.  I just pulled out a 6-foot long root that I hit while digging potatoes.  Well, I cut it off at 6', I couldn't pull it any farther without messing up my beans and beets.  I've run into quite a few of those big old roots, the remains of the maple tree that used to grow in this spot.

 Dark Red Norland potatoes, broccoli (mixed varieties), Red Sails lettuce, mislabeled potatoes that are probably Russet (supposed to be Yukon Gold).  I hate the looks of the potato beds as the plants begin to die back!  I'll be happy when they are all dug.

 Super Fantastic tomatoes. I picked my first full sized tomato from here this week, and we'll be eating the first BLT of 2013 for lunch on July 9.  The Red Sails lettuce is holding up well through the heat, a new planting of Chioggia beets is under netting to protect them from leaf miners, and a single row of Provider bush beans, the last of the seeds in the packet, looking like they could use a shot of fish fertilizer.

 A bed of Anuenue lettuce that I'm shading to try to get it through the hot weather.  In the foreground is a small planting of parsnips, a mix of Hollow Crown and Andover.  I planted three rows of carrots behind the lettuce bed, but so far none have germinated.  The triple digit heat of last week may have doomed them.

 The cosmos and marigolds are just about the only color left in the garden.   The hollyhocks weren't as pretty this year as they usually are. 

 Gonzales cabbages and marigolds.

 The corn (Honey Select and Early Sunglow) has tasseled and ears are developing, so it won't be long now!  On the right, the sweet peppers have nearly reached the top of their little 36" high fence, and are loaded with peppers.  Some are already turning color.  Contender bush beans in the foreground, not yet bearing.

 My single row of beans, parsnips and beets continues to struggle to keep ahead of the neighbor's weeds.  I try to reach through and pull the tops off to keep them from going to seed, but I think it's futile to even try.

 The first Fortex pole bean!  I love these beans, so I hope there will be many more.

  The second planting of broccoli is beginning to head.

 Fortex pole beans and Patio tomatoes.  Two other Patio tomatoes suffered in the recent heat, so were moved to a shadier spot.  One looks like it might be OK, but the other is iffy.

The Sungold cherry tomatoes have grown up to the roof of the patio.  

The pot garden is being overtaken by Fort Laramie strawberries.  I still haven't had any berries from these plants, but one is finally blooming and setting fruit. I've had a few Black Cherry and Una Hartsock tomatoes from the plants on this side of the patio, and they were delicious.  By far the best tasting of any of the early tomatoes so far, even better than the Sungolds.  Lettuce seedlings grow here, waiting for a spot in the garden.

That's Granny's summer garden.  There's more in there than I've shown today....carrots, a new double row planting of Fortex pole beans where I pulled the pea plants, more beets, cabbages and broccoli plants, another parsnip bed, more sweet peppers, basil, parsley, dill.  The garden has gone from pretty to productive.  I guess that's a good thing, but I miss the pretty.


25 comments:

  1. I love, love, love your garden! The work you must put into it! I think it is still pretty, despite all your heat.

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    1. Thank you, Nutmeg. Some of the plant leaves really got burned in the heat/wind. Most notably the raspberries and pole beans, as well as the two Patio tomatoes...that might possibly be blight rather than burning, it's hard to tell right now.

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  2. Those cherry tomatoes next to your patio are so pretty all lined up on their stem. They almost look fake. Wait a minute! Is that how everything at your place always looks so perfect and lush? You just fill in an ordinary looking garden with fake greenery. I'm on to you now, Granny! :)

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  3. Beautiful. I just love Fortex beans as well. Those have become the only bean I plant besides asparagus beans.

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    1. Yes, and I even grow the ones by the patio just for the seeds, 'cause I can't buy them locally and I'm too stinkin' cheap to pay the s & h through a catalog! The first year I saved seeds, they crossed with some nearby Kentucky Blue pole beans, so last year I grew them from certified seeds and didn't plant any other beans near them. I got a ton (well, maybe it was an ounce or three) of seeds for planting this year, and they are growing true!

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    2. Totally never tried my hand at seed saving. I'll happily shell out the money for fortex. They're worth every cent.

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  4. Great looking garden! I planted Fortex beans on your recommendation and should pick the first ones this week.

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    1. I'm sure you'll be happy with them, Ray! You can let them get quite large, and they will still be tender and delicious.

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    2. I did, too, plant Fortex this year for the first time, cause we all trust you, Granny! Mine are still a long way from harvest, but they seem healthy & happy. I just love your garden! And I love your patio, too. Looks so cozy and relaxing, and when you're hungry, you can just reach for those tomatoes, how convenient!

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    3. I hope you love them as much as I do. And Ribbit does. And Kitsap does. LOL, how can you lose?

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  5. I think your garden looks beautiful. I also hat how messy the potato plant are when they begin to flop and die back, but the bounty beneath the soil is worth it. Congratulations on your first full sized tomato. I hope it tasted good.

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    1. Rachel, it was a bit disappointing, as first tomatoes often are. Better than store bought, but not as good as the early cherry tomatoes. Tomato #2 is close, and it ripened quickly in the hot weather, so maybe the flavor will perk up a bit.

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  6. I wish I lived closer, I would love to visit your beautiful garden! It looks great!

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    1. I wish you did, too! I don't have any nearby gardening friends, they are all here in blog-land. Oh, I forgot about the man across the street, but he doesn't come to chat and visit, I have to go to his garden. Now I can't even see it from here for the sunflowers he has planted along the fence!

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  7. Pretty picture of your spacemaker cukes in the half barrel! Your garden looks so lush and beautiful! How large of a lot do you have? I would think it would have to be pretty large to grow all that. You have not wasted any space! Nancy

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    1. Not very big, Nancy. The back garden is about 60 feet wide and 20 feet deep, the side garden about 20 feet long and 11 feet wide. Much of it is in the shade of the neighbor's walnut tree, so there are spots where little will grow. I have to crowd as much in as I can!

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  8. Ah-it's a jungle out there. Gosh, it all looks fantastic. Wanna know how far behind I am compared to you?---my taters JUST started flowering. I'm so envious of your first BLT. Criminy-I have over a month before I can even start hoping for one. Hmmmm-perhaps I need to hop a plane and visit my bestest friend on earth??? Oh, you didn't know we were best friends??? LOL!
    Enjoy. And think of poor poor Sue , starving for a tomato!

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    1. Darn it, Sue, I saved the spinach for ya and you didn't show up. I have one almost ripe tomato out there, the bacon got pre-cooked yesterday, and the lettuce is in the crisper. I'll hold the second BLT for you until 7 PM, but you'd better be here or I'm eating it! Actually, the first one was only so-so. The tomato was a bit bland and mealy, as first ones usually are. Better than store bought, though!

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  9. Ah, I still think it's a pretty garden! And so impressive! I, too, have neighbors with lots of weeds (as well as a wild rose bush that sends suckers into my yard) and have wanted to ask them if I could just come over and pull weeds for them. Alas, I have enough weeds of my own to pull.

    Do you hand pollinate your squash and other such plants, or trust that insects and wind will do their work?

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    1. I never hand pollinate anything! I'm of the old school....plant it, water it, it will grow. Or not. :-D I try to keep my soil healthy, then leave everything else to Mother Nature.

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  10. The garden looks great! Your squash plants are always huge, much larger than mine ever get.

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    1. Thanks, Vanessa. Yes, those squash plants take up half of my garden. I plant them over some large old tree roots, where I can't really plant anything else, but they still manage to smother out everything around them!

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  11. Your tomato and squash plants have gotten gigantic! Winter squash are so fun to grow, they always make me think about the coming fall and piles of squash to be used during the winter.

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  12. The trend of most when planning to cook vegetable for dinner is to go to the market. Annie here made a difference. However, summertime will surely affect the plants because it is hot and plants may dry. For two persons’ consumption, you did plant more but I am sure your neighbors will appreciate them.


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