My garden is producing!!
I am finally getting more than sporadic production from my garden. Right now, there are probably 10+ cherry tomatoes, two good sized zucchini and a couple of crookneck (yellow) squash ready for picking. Before this crop, I had not harvested a single squash but produced many worms. It was a very nice change. We also have watermelon, eggplants and more peppers in the works. And, the bugs have been kept at bay so far. With luck, I will have a real crop this season. I wont hold my breath as this is early June & a long bug season awaits. Is anyone else having any success?
Our potatoes have been producing for some time and the crook neck squash are becoming very prolific. We managed to get several quarts of squash n the freezer this past weekend. I am sure the worms will be along shortly and the summer heat will take it's toll on the vines in the near future.
My garden has suddenly turned in to a mess, I went out for a few hours last night and came back to the mess in the photos.
We could see something was sprouting from the little forest next to the house and its roots were spreading to the house but we didn't expect this. Needles to say my job today was trying to make it look a little bit tidy.
Oh and we've got quite a few strawberry now.. delicious too :)
Well, we had a slight incursion. The acorn squash (two plant experiment) must have looked too tasty to one of my four legged house-mates. Most probably, my chewey leaf loving dog climbed over the two feet chicken wire fence and severely sampled the plants. She just literally chewed the leaves, tore off the developing veggies and almost uprooted it. It looked pitiful. After It was found, I removed the damaged parts, added soil around the roots & generally performed triage. Its looking much better this morning, well see if it recovers. Cross your fingers with me!
My garden has suddenly turned in to a mess, I went out for a few hours last night and came back to the mess in the photos.We could see something was sprouting from the little forest next to the house and its roots were spreading to the house but we didn't expect this. Needles to say my job today was trying to make it look a little bit tidy.Oh and we've got quite a few strawberry now.. delicious too :)
Oh my what a challenge! Thank you for the pictures and the best of luck dealing with recovering that lost patch of garden space. Before and after pictures will be greatly appreciated, Rita! Don't kill yourself - and regale with the understanding that hard work done nude always beats hard work done in clothes.
My garden is finally starting to bear fruit. Spinach, lettuce, kale, parsley are going gangbusters. I picked the first cherry tomato on July 4th. Strawberries are done and the raspberries are just starting. I live for this time of year!
Finally! Yesterday I spotted our very first cherry tomato with its lovely yellow flesh telling this thankful gardener it is time to reap some benefits from all the hard work since planting the first seeds in cells in the barn in February. WORTH IT! The not-so-down-side to the first being a cherry is that the only realistic way to share it with my bare naked baby is to put it between my teeth and kiss her mmm that's nice!
I should give honorable mention to the herbs and collards we've been harvesting for a number of weeks as well. Tomatoes and peppers are a large part of why we go to the trouble every year, though over the long haul, thyme, parsley, chives and oregano plants give us plenty of joy as well. We've had three nice bouts of collards on the dinner table this year - a first from the garden for me! I'm hopeful the cabbage plants they are presently outgrowing (and overshadowing) will manage to live through the summer for some fall crucifer deliciousness. And our pole beans are climbing what seems like a foot a day, yikes! Getting and staying ahead of the japanese beetles is not going so well but we're trying to be positive there. Two traps out and keeping the fingers crossed.
Well, I knew it was too good to be true. The acorn squash plants had recovered nicely after being sampled by the dog and put on multiple small squash. As this was a quick plant sample at the hardware store, I was doubtful of its chances but it surprised me. It had multiple blossoms, the vine grew well and the veggie was developing. And then it almost stopped. I managed to coerce two developing squash to keep growing by fertilizer & pesticides. One was doing well while the other faulted, it was discouraging. But one kept growing & was healthy looking on the top and about the size of a large pear. But it looked funny & I checked. While the top was healthy green, the bottom had been invaded by bugs and was soft & yellow. Oh well, off to the burn pile & Ill try again next year.
I'm hearing from many gardeners in the states that this is becoming a very challenging year on many fronts. It has definitely been the case for us with my inability to stop the varmints from invading through my barriers or the six-legged sort doing massive damage to the leaves. Two incursions by deer through my negligence into a sizeable hole in the bean netting caused many leaves to be chomped by deer, japanese beetles decimating many of the healthy leaves even with numerous traps a doze yards away, and then the tomatoes fighting both (what appears to be) fusarium wilt and the damned explosive rabbit population we're seeing at our resort and their talent at gnawing through the nets and then taking a nice nibble from the fruit and destroying it before the hungry naked humans tending the beds can pick them. Frustration and a desire for rabbit stew does enter the mind after so much tending for little reward. Next is developing netting that tastes of capsicum and possibly beginning with some less-susceptible varieties when purchasing seed next year. I wish you all better luck in your nude pursuits in the greenery!
WildWilly . . . I used 24 inch chicken wire for small rodent protection. It can usually be purchased quite cheaply in many length rolls. The posts are usually either 36 inch or 48 inch steel rebar woven through the wire (I had some leftover from a project) and are just staked at the corners & at midpoints. Though I have seen numerous rabbits in the yard, none have made it through it. After the garden is done, I roll up the chicken wire for use next year. Maybe this information will help in the future.
Alas, rules inside the gated community where we live require approval of all fencing and chickenwire is a no-no, darn it! Thank you for the input though. I'm trying to think outside the box a little with ideas to thwart the shits doing the damage - so keep the ideas coming my naked, helpful greeners!
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