The garden continues to grow! :) My dad and I were able to fix the greenhouse yesterday. It was 100º+F up inside the roof of the greenhouse, sweat was pouring off both of us. We got it fixed, using ductape, before we had used packing tape, but that just doesn't stick to things like ductape. I am looking at trying to make a 'shed' out of the north west corner of it. Replace the side with wood and maybe shingles, make a roof of some sort to block the sun, and maybe a slightly raised floor. Before I was thinking of a greenhouse I was thinking of building a small shed down in the middle of the garden.
I checked on my cucumbers, they are doing great, I have two small cukes! The onions are doing well, most are 12+inches high. I mulched the onions in the top terrace with compost, over the hay mulch, so I shouldn't have very many weeds at all in the onions. My carrots are doing quite well. My zucchini took a short break, they tend to go through days when they produce a lot of female flowers and than in a week I have tons of zucchini, and than it backs off. But I have 6 more zucchini plants that are now producing flowers, so I should have zucchini for a good 2 more months at least. And than just 2 weeks ago with my younger brother and sister we planted some round zucchini. So, I think as far as zucchini goes we should have plenty. :)
My brassica is doing quite well. Cabbage starting to head up, cauliflower and broccoli heads are getting big! It is exciting! Reminds me, it is about time to start planting brassica for this fall and winter. I harvested the mustard I planted 4 weeks and composted it all. It attracts the most bugs, so it wasn't that great for eating, but it is great for the compost. My rutabaga are doing well, I harvested one yesterday to see how well they were doing, it was about as big as a small childs fist. I don't know if the hot weather coming up is going to do much for them, but I would like to harvest them when they are as big as a mans fist, or bigger, we will see.
The peas all died while I was at the BWS Conference. So, I finally got around today to pulling up all the weeds and the withered vines. I actually found one pea that tasted alright. It makes sense that the gardener is the one who gets to eat the last one. :)
I got up at 7:30am went down to the garden, harvested some beans. I think I am getting an idea for what kind of beans I want to grow next year. I picked a few purple bush beans two days ago, but I am letting the rest all go to seed for next year. I started out with 9 seeds two years ago, this year 18 plants. Hopefully I can get about 30-40 seeds this year. And get a bigger crop for next year for eating. Its kinda fun to be saving the seed from year to year. The beans I am growing for shelling are getting quite big!
My tomatoes are doing well. I have a few that are defficient in something. I think probably magnesium, which I can amend by adding epsom salts around the plants. Either that or calcium is what they are defficient in. But, I should have tomatoes in less than a month and they should go quite late. I am hoping that I can make a lot of sauce with them and freeze them.
My garlic is not doing as well as I would like. It had been doing quite well, but now it isn't doing as well and the weeds are getting to them. I wonder if it was all the rain we had recently. I've heard too much water can be bad for them. That would be a bummer. I hope to do as much garlic this fall.
My potatoes are doing well, definitley need mulching, or earthing up of some sort. I have lettuce still. I hope it doesn't get killed with the hot weather we are getting in the next few days. I am hoping I can harvest most of it for Tuesday when we have a big party for a friend. Mostly leaf lettuce, a little bit of summer head lettuce that is small.
I am mulching with my compost that is mostly finished. It resembles manure with some mostly composted leaves. I figure it is either going to turn into compost in the pile and than I add it to the garden, or when it is mostly composted I add it and it decomposes the rest on the garden and acts as a mulch.
My celery is doing pretty well. Probably about time to transplant. It's about 6" high. I have probably 12-20 'hearts/heads' of celery. Not as much as I would have wanted, but a pretty good amount.
My hop plant is 10' tall. And growing inches every day. Over when I was gone it grew nearly 3ft tall. It is amazing! I definitly need to get something taller, or work something out with the string attachment. I have a few ideas on it.
My basil is growing well. I have some that is 8" tall. After looking at my cousins garden I realize how much better his soil is than mine, as far as nutrients. But, I am working on that, after all, this is my first year. So, hopefully by next year it will be starting to get there. I wish I had a pickup truck to haul manure in.
I am considering starting over with my strawberries. This is the third time they have gotten eaten, and the bed is quite over grown. So, I am thinking about this fall putting in strawberries in another bed, and building a chicken wire cover for the bed. And turning the strawberry bed into two deep beds. I could always use the space. :)
I am hopeing to make a batch of mimosa wine soon. Maybe today, if I get some white grape juice. I don't know when the best time to pick the flowers is, though I would assume morning, before too hot.
Well, that was longer than I thought it would be, but it feels good to write about it. So, I will now be signing off, I need to go make some root beer, see if it can be ready for the party on Tuesday. ; )
English Vintner
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