This ferny forest is my asparagus plants. I can't believe how tall they are. Some are over 6' tall. Does this mean there will be a bumper crop next year? Or are the roots putting every bit of energy they have into the ferns and will be weak as kittens next season? Gadzooks, I hope not.
This is a line of zinnias along the north end of the field garden that will soon grow into bushy bushes of riotous color. I hope.
I plant pickling cucumbers and make pickles only every other year. This is not a pickle year, but my dear husband wanted some to experiment with in making some old-fashioned pickles in a crock so I planted eight feet of them for him. They're only about 2-3" high as we speak.
Our three rows of potatoes have been hilled for the second, and last, time. The plants are so tall I really can't get any more soil to stay up around them. Only the one variety, the Burbank Russets, are blossoming at this point. (Those four little scraggly plants in the foreground are volunteer nasturtiums from last year that I can't bring myself to yoink out.)
The shell peas never seem to grow up their trellises as fast as I think they should.
But I did spot the very first blossom on them yesterday.
This is my planting of pumpkins (with the rather pitiful pot of geraniums in the middle) I just barely managed to squeeze in this year. I'm going to leave only one plant per each of the four hills and baby along each pumpkin it produces.
My row of bush beans germinated 100% this year compared to last year when I had to replant bare spots twice. They're lookin' good.
This is a shot of one end of my double row of Brussels sprouts. I find them such a pain in the patoot to harvest, clean, blanch and freeze that every year I say I'm not going to grow them again. And every winter we enjoy eating them so much that I do it all over again.
Oh, I do love to garden! And I consider the dividends it pays in wonderful food for us are well worth any time and trouble on my part.
32 comments:
what wonderful crops you have coming along all looking strong and healthy heres to a bumper harvest :-)
It's all looking terrific, but do you think you can muster up the heat those zinnias need??
I can let you "borrow" some--it's supposed to be near 90 here. UGH.
Happy 4th, dear lady
Your garden is full of food and all planted very neatly...Mine never get that orderly...so, I'm very impressed and encouraged to see that it is possible to do so!!
Look at that nice fine soil...So jealous! Yeah Zinnias!!!
Your veg garden looks very tidy and weed free compared to ours, but I don't give up on us, and hopefully one of these years we shall be organised enough to produce as good a plot as yours. Love those frames for the peas and cucumbers.
I agree, I told Cliff just the other day that gardening was worth all the hard work. I really do love it! Yours is looking very good. Luscious and full! And your garden soil doesn't look too bad for all the rain you've had. Can't wait to see those zinnias. Mine have only been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Some days they look stressed from all this heat, but I just keep watering and they spring right back. It's supposed to be 97-101 degrees all this week. Ack! Happy 4th!
I am so impressed with how much growth you have! I have never planted Brussel sprouts (I'm the only one who likes them). Do you start from seed, or do you put in little plants? -Jenn
This is my first year for Brussels sprouts. Only two plants made it. Do you cut up the sprouts before you blanch them to freeze? I've got yellow and green squash coming out my ears! I'll have to start freezing some of that.
Your garden is picture perfect! How on earth do you do it?
I'm encouraged each time I open your blog. I'm retiring next Spring to 2 acres I recently purchased. Building raised beds this summer and will plant a backyard orchard this fall. I also plan to turn the soil in an area for a trellis and peas. Everytime I read your blog I see something else I want to do but I need to start slow so not to get overwhelmed. Thank you for your post. I love them!
Your garden is looking amazing and so weed free! I wish mine looked half so good!
Dawn - From your mouth to Mother Nature's ears!! :o}
Sue - My zinnias are used to shivering in the cold! It takes a long time to get them up to temp . . . but then they last until a hard frost knocks 'em dead!
Please don't take the trouble to send me any 90 degree heat. I melt at that point!
Annie - It tickles me that you see the garden as "full of food!" For us, that's the whole point. And you really can grow a lot of food in a relatively small space. I wish more people realized this and would do it, don't you? Every time I see a large lawn area around a house, I think of how much wonderful food could be grown there.
Tami - Every time a plant a zinnia seed or transplant one or pick one, I think of you! Truly.
Vera - You can still harvest great food full of nourishment from a weedy, haphazard garden! We all do it our own way.
Laurie - We're lucky in that we don't have the heavy clay soil here that other parts of our county have. Our soil is what they call "rotten rock" which tells you it's very gravely. We've worked hard to improve it and it's paying off. (Now we grow better rocks. Ha-ha!)
Jenn - I start my Brussels sprouts inside from seed and then transplant them to the garden. This year two of my plants died after transplanting so I picked up a flat of 4 from a greenhouse and used two of them to replace mine that kicked the bucket. I swear they are now smaller than when I planted them. I can't believe they'll ever catch up to the ones I started!
Katie C. - I "clean" each little Brussels sprout by removing the not-so-good looking leaves and then blanch the whole "ball." Pack enough for a serving for the two of us in a container and freeze.
Good luck with your good harvest of yellow and green squash!
gld - No, m'dear, not perfect by any means. But I find that if I can have the weeds under control and a lot of mulching done by this time in the season, I'm pretty much home free. I stay on top of a weed here and there and remove plants after the fruit has been harvested.
You have to remember I don't have any of the beautiful flower gardens which you do!
Paula - How I appreciate all the nice things you said!
Needless to say, we didn't do all we've done on our little homestead overnight either. When we bought the property the whole area where I have my raised beds and field garden was covered with gravel as a parking spot for semis. Boy, am I glad we don't have to start from there again!
So starting slow and working on one project at a time is the way to go. (If only I could convince my dear husband of that!) You will succeed on your 2 acres with your enthusiasm and a good plan.
Kev - But remember I don't have three little kiddlies and an off-the-homestead job like you do!! Thanks for the kind words.
Thank you for the sound advice.
Your garden is lovely - and I would leave the nasturtiums too. Ahhhh Brussel's Sprouts - how I love them - but can't grow them here.
Mama Pea,
Your asparagus should grow in nicely. When mine bushes like this, I actually chop it down, and next season I have a large batch of asparagus spears popping out of the ground. Next year, I won't be residing here therefore, I will be pulling it all up and seeing if I can pot some of it for the next place.
Zinna's are just so gorgeous. Your row of Zinna's will make a beautiful wall in your garden.
Look at your amazing potato rows....OMG they're doing so good. I'm sure you'll get a very large harvest from these plantings.
Do you run a trellis for your Bush beans to climb when they get larger?
I've never grown Brussels sprouts myself. They do intrigue me, maybe one day??
Your garden beds look gorgeous dear friend.
Hugs and love to you and yours.
Sandy
Hi, Sandy - As far as my asparagus "trees" go, the nursery where I bought my roots says to let the ferns stand (if they don't blow over!) for the winter and then trim them off before any new growth appears in the spring. I'm a newbie at asparagus so am not familiar with your method, but it must work because of your success!
I don't trellis my bush beans. They may get a little heavy and plop over a bit but I mulch on each side of the row so any beans don't get splattered with mud from rain.
Thanks for the kind words. You're so complimentary, as usual!
Congratulations on your asparagus success. I admire your perseverance/hard work. If I remember it correctly, it's not your first try on planting asparagus.
DDD - How right you are! This was the third try and, as they say, maybe the third time's the charm! Actually, I think I picked a very poor spot for it the first two times. This time it was planted in really good soil that we've been amending for a few years . . . and gets more sun which has got to be a biggie!
You're very welcome, Paula!
JoAnn - A lot of people say they don't like Brussels sprouts, but fresh from the garden . . . such a unique, yummy flavor!
Thank you for the tour of your garden :) I've never seen asparagus like that before! Do you have trouble with the critters? My bf noticed two baby brown squirrels in cahoots, rappelling down the side of the house to get at my hanging strawberry basket...he shooed them off but now there is a loose net over them!
Rain - We have a little squirrel variety called the Pine Squirrel in our area and they will do a lot of damage both to buildings and areas where they think they can get food. Also chipmunks. Our fencing doesn't keep either of those critters out, but so far (knock on wood) they have not bothered our garden. I'm sure both chipmunks and squirrels could become very fond of strawberries, given the chance!
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