Welcome to MegaGarden, July 2013. Things have been growing a great deal (vegetables and weeds!) and while I've been extremely busy with non-gardening and gardening alike... I realized that it would be kind of nice to have at least one post this month that showed how things were progressing.
Here is one row of tomatoes... it's either Italian Roma or San Marzano (I'm too lazy to go find my planting blueprint). Anyway, I'd like to point out that the tomato on the far right was essentially DEAD when a killer frost came through this past May. The plant was literally reduced to- stem. I didn't think it would make it, and in my process of grieving I left it in the ground and continued to water it. I learned from this that tomato plants are incredibly resilient! The red solo cups were the 'pots' the plants grew in and they double function and row markers (so I am reminded where all my tomatoes are) and lazy bird deterrents... it keeps them from perching on the stakes and pooping on my plants/fruit.
A salad row. I planted it in row that I knew would end up shadier... in hopes of pulling off some summer lettuce (it gets so bitter tasting in the heat). It's not as tasty as spring lettuce, but it will do. The purple sage has been doing marvelously- I think I'm in love with it.
I did it! I pulled off growing some squash. For years this has been a struggle in my garden which is apparently infested with various squash pests from insects to small rodents. I started my squash as transplants, I planted them about mid June, I started using floating row covers and using BT caterpillar spray. Also, in my battle against the squash vine borer... I planted a lot of butternut squash (like 10 plants), which is resistant to the pest due to its harder stem.
This is one of my first Black Krim's. This is so exciting. I've never had one before. The plants are growing very well.
Did I mention the Butternut squash? Ha ha. I've really come to love Butternut squash in recipes. I was pretty bummed when chipmunks killed my plants last year. I hope I will have a good harvest, the squash themselves will store for a very long time (on the verge of feeling neglectful) just sitting around the house.
This is my good row of beets. I grew two beds of beets. The crazy dill and oregano I have growing all over kingdom-come engulfed one row of beets and set the plants back quite a bit. This row is growing normally, thankfully.
It's a baby cucumber! Awww!
Here is a different cucumber. Notice how spiky and knobby it looks. You can eat them at any time really, but you know when they are ready to pick once they fill out a bit more than this and the spiky/knobby appearance mellows out.
A bee working in the garden to help pollinate my squash.
I grew lots more basil this year than last. I can't seem to grow them directly in the garden with seed as insects/slugs eat them. I seem to have managed success with transplants- which all of these are.
This is just one of the crazy dill that are growing everywhere. A good portion of my weeds seemed to be dill. They are a pretty majestic plant though, growing up to the height of a person.
Another view of my squash. I'm growing Butternut and Acorn squash. It might be difficult to see in this picture, but the plants are creeping all over the place. I've decided to let it have free reign this year. I figured that the past years of failures at growing squash allowed me to have an obnoxious year of conquesting squash (I hope, we will see in a month or so).
The first official roma tomato! You can see that there are plenty more on the way. These plants are very prolific and at times appear to be dripping with fruit. Tomato sauce/salsa canning time... here we come!
I always grown some beans, but they are not something I always talk about. These are my own purple beans for which I began experimenting with seed saving. I've been saving these seeds for... five years? (I've lost count)
The Swiss Chard is still going strong, though I think the drought was a little tough on them.
Cabbage. I purchased these as transplants, though almost everything I grow is from seeds I plant myself. I bought these thinking they were Brussels Sprouts... I eventually discovered that they were mislabeled. Opps.
The garden is turning into a bit of a jungle, but thankfully I'm fighting back the weeds one day at a time. Here you can see some leeks (planted from a starter set) and Parsley which is probably growing wild as most of my herbs seem to be in the habit of doing these days.
Nasturtium. Grew on its own accord. I recognized its leaf shape as I was weeding and left it to mature. Mother nature and I are at odds with each other at times, and sometimes I think we are on the same page.
Scaling back a bit. There is the Nasturtium nestled in between a towering row of pole beans on the left and ... TITAN tomatoes on the right!
I've been telling all my friends about these tomatoes. Here is some photographic proof of how tall they are. The ladder is there for size reference, but also because I actually NEED it now to reach the plants in order to continue training them up their stakes. They outgrew the metal stakes and I had to extend them with some wooden ones. It's all very jerry-rigged at this time. I had no idea that these plants were going to get so tall (apparently indeterminate). These are an heirloom called Amana. I'm 5'4" and if I stand there with my arms reaching for the sky... my fingertips would never reach the top... and the plants are still going. *sigh*
As tall as the plants are, they are not 'dripping' with fruit as the Roma plants are. Hidden as they are, there are fruit. This is a Brandywine. Brandywine, Black Krim and Amana... are all varieties I've never grown before and I've also never eaten before. This is all very exciting.
Yesterday, I picked the first Black Krim and the first cucumber (which didn't last long enough to even get a picture before my boyfriend sliced into it ha ha). I wasn't sure, but the Black Krim seemed ripe even though it was a tiny bit green still on the top of the fruit.
I sliced it and... Oh MY... do they taste good! My first taste of Black Krim has me anxiously awaiting to eat the next one!
Looks great Karen!
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