that is, i'm not going out to pick right now because it's hot and humid and i just had breakfast. instead, taking a few minutes to natter on about the gardens.
most things are going well. a few plants of squash and cucumber were uprooted by the raccoon searching for grubs and worms. i replanted those holes with peas and edamame soybeans.
not all the onions are not doing as well as last year. in places i knew i had a bit too much C in the C:N ratio and was hoping the worms and worm poo would be enough. still some time to go yet. i also think we had a bit too much cloudy weather last month for them to get going so perhaps they'll pick up now that we've gotten more sunshine. some of the onion seedlings i had from last year's experiment made it through the winter and i've left them alone to see what they do.
the auxillary strawberry patches (outside the fenced garden) have come through very well this year. about 1/3 of the crop comes from them and they are getting raided by birds, raccoons and the chipmunks, but there is still enough that the critters don't get. as these are rather wild patches often i have the challenge of trying to find a place to step that is not either plant or berry. i'd much rather have the ground covered and green than having pathways. so i would guess the once-in-a-while sensation of stepping on a berry is the price i have to pay.
the peas are flowering nicely and most of the other plants are growing well with the heat and sunshine we've finally had. the tomato plants have probably gained a foot in the past week and are also starting to flower. we are due for scattered thunderstorms each day and evening this week, but i'll believe it when i see it.
in the cabbage patch there is one plant that gets shaded by a neighboring lily. it is about
1/2 the size of the rest. amazing what a difference a few hours less a day of sunlight makes. i'm hoping it will catch up to the others once it gets bigger and can spread more leaves further to the sides and up... it's still quite green and alive, doesn't show any signs of disease and it gets as much water as all the other plants. the plant next to it (which also gets some shade later from the lily) looks like all the other plants. so the difference is only a few hours of light in the mid-to-late afternoon.this is the first time i've grown cabbage. looking at the plant and noticing the waxy leaves i decided to mound the plants in the clay and then to mulch them with newspaper to help keep some of the dirt from splashing on the plants. at the rate they are growing they seem to be healthy and strong (even the runt looks healthy, just not as big as the rest). no sign of cabbage worms yet. we have some smaller white butterflies about, but they seem to be content with the rest of the yard and gardens.
garlic is putting on the curlers (scapes).
beans are sprouted and growing rapidly with all the sunshine. good thing. i like to keep the gardens covered with green as much as possible. overall a much better germination rate this year compared to last year. only a few spots to fill in. the month of June being almost over (where has the time gone?! eek!) i can use the shorter season red beans as filler.
i've tried now a few times to get decent pictures of the poppies and trefoil as they are in full bloom along with the clematis. it makes for such a nice broad landscape picture. but i can't get the pictures to turn out well enough. i tried again yesterday, so i have to see how those turned out sometime soon and then i hope to have at least one picture worth editing and posting.
well, ok, i've procrastinated long enough, gotta get out there and pick. i'm not expecting
15 more quarts like the other day, but we'll see what Mama Nature has accomplished...songbird