It's About Time

Well, I've been so busy posting about what you can do with your produce I haven't been posting about how ours is coming along.  I'm going to make up for it, yes indeed.  You thought there was a momma of a canning post last week, well, today I present a momma of a garden photo post.

Below is our main (fenced in) garden.

Above is our lettuce and spinach.  Much of it has gone to seed, but we have been adding plantings and covering the poles with sheets to give the younger lettuces shade.  Because of this, and making sure to pick it young, we still have salad to eat.  Garlic is on the left, onions on the right.

From right to left, a row of jalapeno peppers, carrots, and Swiss chard.

On either side of the plastic (left there from long ago when we had to occasionally cover plants due to frost) is our strawberry beds.  These plants were the original ones (or the children of the originals) that we planted here 5 years ago.  This year's crop wasn't that great- both in quantity and quality, so we've bought new plants and have started a new strawberry bed for next year (see down the page bit).

Bell peppers part way back right side, tomatoes line the rest of both rows.

To the right are the peas we planted en masse as an experiment.  Things were going along swimmingly until we went away for a weekend.  While we were gone, there were either strong winds or the weight of the pods caused the plants to lean all the way over.  They look pretty pathetic, but the peas are still good.  Next year we will be trying bush peas.

To the left and toward the front are two half rows of stevia.  Behind the stevia and beside the peas is a half row of basil.

In front are the new strawberry plants that will become our new strawberry bed.  There doesn't look like there are many plants there now, but these plants are already sending our runners that we will transplant behind these plants, hopefully extending the rows (eventually- after the plants behind them are done) all the way to the fence.  Behind the strawberry plants are 5 zucchini plants and the broccoli.

To the right are our sweet potato hills and the little slips that are taking root.  Before long, you won't even be able to see the straw- the sweet potato vines will cover everything.  To the left, another row of tomatoes. To the left of those, snow peas along the fence.

These guys don't really belong in the garden, but the red raspberries we planted outside the garden fence thought being inside the garden would be lovely.  We don't really mind.  We love raspberries.  I ate the first ripe one a few nights ago.  Shhh.

Next, is the back (unfenced) garden...

Potatoes.  Sam is ready for those potato beetles.  He's saving up for a lego set and knows we pay per beetle.

Green beans.

Various stages of corn.

Sunflowers, leeks, cantaloupe, butternut squash, and pumpkins in the back. This section is next on my weeding rotation.

Next we have some miscellaneous shots from around the house...

Pears.

The lovely egg layers in their run that connects their house to their yard.  Yes, I know.  One had gotten out.

Mint bed.  Want some?  It's free.

My brother's sunflower patch beside our house.

Some of the many wild black raspberries that grow around the property (not yet ripe).

Wineberries (also wild).

Close up of wineberries (you can't see the berries yet- they are inside those little pouches).  A note about wineberries.  They are pretty seedy, so making jelly is tedious.  I toss them in with the raspberries and freeze them- they're great in muffins, oatmeal, on or in ice cream, cobblers, etc.

There are peaches on our peach trees!!  Two or three years ago, we planted two or three year old peach trees (sorry I can't be more specific).  This year is the first year we might get fruit.  On each of our four trees, there are about 4-5 peaches.  At the same time, we planted six apple trees, but they were only a year old at the time, so they're still tiny.

There you have it- our garden in June.  I'll leave you with a picture of day lilies beside the smoke house with the blooming Mimosa tree in the background.  Isn't this time of year lovely?  By the way, I'm realizing that you really can't talk about gardening without talking about weeds, so keep your eyes peeled for a weed post coming up soon.