I am always amazed at just how pretty and neat my garden starts out being but that by July, August and often on into September, its a jungle out there!
I am pleased beyond measure about the bounty that I am getting, I am up to 75 pounds of green beans freshly picked, cucumbers, peppers, peas, potatoes and so much more, but it is a bit less than asthetically pleasing now. It is however producing in abundance...come a long for a quick visit and tour.
I am pleased beyond measure about the bounty that I am getting, I am up to 75 pounds of green beans freshly picked, cucumbers, peppers, peas, potatoes and so much more, but it is a bit less than asthetically pleasing now. It is however producing in abundance...come a long for a quick visit and tour.
Though you cannot tell in the picture, this is actually 2 long rows of bush beans. I use Early Contender Heirloom bush beans and LOVE the abundance they always produce. As I mentioned I have pulled 75 lbs of green beans from these two 40 foot long rows and that filled 5 of my 5 gallon buckets, snapping and canning have been my mainstays for the last 2 weeks. We are nearing the end though, I will pull these rows up next week, toss whats left for the pigs and replant the exact same beans to harvest again in late September. It is then that I will let some of the lastling beans dry on the plants to save for planting again next year.
I have to confess that this is my first year with onions. I have always been offered an abundance from my neighbor who grows more than he can ever use, but I was curious and I wanted them to grow REALLY big, my neighbor picks them small. I am not sure why they are starting to push up out of the ground yet but at this time they are still only golf ball sized (I know this thanks to an avid gardening 2 year old who likes to "help")
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My banana peppers and jalapeno peppers always produce so much more than I ever expect, and I always overplant them because they are the easiest to grow from seed, and they produce in abundance. I will be doing some hot pepper pickling for hubby very soon!
 | I have been growing these Ancho peppers for the last 2 years. They are great roasted and dried, especially since we cook ALOT of mexican dishes around here. They get pretty big and are medium heat so we all love them, especially in the fall when we add them to chili or when my tomatoes are all ripened and they make it into the homemade spaghetti sauce! |
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Every year I grow a few unique varieties of tomatoes for no other reason than just because. I have my staples, Amish paste being the one I use yearly for my spaghetti sauce and Roma for salsa, but honestly I love the variety and colors that I can get in heirloom and some hybrid seeds (though I prefer to grow heirloom so I can seed save). The above left is my Tigerella tomatoes, they are yellow and green striped and the one on the bottom is almost ripe though not yet tender enough to pick. Above right are the largest Amish paste I think I have ever grown, there must be some extra good worm castings in my soil this year!
These are new to me this year, blueberry and black cherry tomatoes, I love the little star on top from when the stem is pulled away. They have the deepest rich purple hue mixed in with the red, these are REALLY cool. They are a bit tangier than most sweet cherry tomato varieties, but very tasty!
If you missed my post on how to grow purple potatoes, take a peek here...I was checking to see if they are done, nope not yet. They typically get to be the size of a tennis ball so a little longer...
Check out my simple trellis design from repurposed metal rods we found in our old barn (the one we tore down)
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I prefer to grow all of my cucumbers trellised like this and really any 3 long poles or sticks will do, I have even used just dead wood sticks in a pinch. This seems to help with air circulation so as to avoid powdery mildew problems and also makes finding and picking those cucumbers much easier.
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This is my zucchini that I plant successively throughout the season. I do this because I have a never-ending battle with squash vine boarers. My neighbor grows big beautiful zucchini EVERY year, when I asked him his secret...he said Sevin dust. Nope not for me, so instead I deal with the organic method of handpicking aphid eggs and covering with a floating row cover when I remember to.
There it is, the garden in July, thanks for visiting with me this morning, I will update again next month, it is sure to be even more home like for Tarzan himself then.
