Friday, May 25, 2012

Garden Update

 
My two year old standing in the green bean patch.  We got
5 quarts with our first picking!


















I have been busy lately and haven't blogged for awhile.  I wanted to take a moment to let my gardening friends see the gardening progress.  Isn't this year incredible so far? 


I started the garden about a month earlier than normal due to the warm weather and prayed we wouldn't get a late frost.  So far my early start has paid off.  The garden looks more like a late June garden! 

We have been harvesting and freezing Swiss chard and spinach. 


We've had fresh lettuce and cilantro for some time now.  The tomatoes have set fruit and are growing bigger each day.  The winter squash is spreading all over "visiting" and sometimes trying to strangle it's neighbors.  We've picked 8 zucchini so far and many more are formed on the plants.  The most exciting harvest so far is the huge amount of green beans we had for our first picking!


You can probably how closely I've planted in the photos.  I've talked about plot planting and this is what it looks like! 


I've been really lucky so far with the bugs.  I won't jinx it by going into detail but suffice it to say that there are more ladybugs than others at this point.  


I'd love to hear how your garden is growing!




My two year old standing in the green bean patch.  We got
5 quarts with our first picking!
  

Squash patch ~ Notice my weed bed!  I can't seem to keep
up with the weeding. 



See the corn coming up in the distance?




Big beautiful tomatoes!  I started these from seeds!



Winter squash "visiting" tomatoes and peppers



Another view of the garden

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14 comments:

  1. Looks really really impressive. Congrats on the first bean harvests. Hubby and I like to make a meal of them with fresh potatoes.......about the END of July. Wow-you really are far ahead.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sue! I am amazed at the progress of the garden! I hope we get a loooonnnng season this year. What a blessing!

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  2. What a beautiful garden. May you have more lady bugs and praying mantis all summer long.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Gail! I have yet to see any praying mantis in the garden but perhaps they're just good at hiding....

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  3. Nice, Poppy. I am envious.... it is snowing on our farm as I write this! Enjoy your weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I hope you will have warmer weather soon! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. It really looks great. Looks like you will be harvesting for a long time.

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  5. Wow,looks like you guys are a month ahead of us.
    You will have to do second crops before long!

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    Replies
    1. Oh I really hope so! My spinach and lettuce are all but done and I'm trying to decide what to plant in it's space...Any suggestions?

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    2. Jennnay GreenthumbJune 3, 2012 at 12:30 AM

      What about rutabagas?

      Delete
  6. Jennnay GreenthumbMay 28, 2012 at 2:45 PM

    Nice garden Poppy! I wish I had that much space!

    My green beans are the climbing (pole) variety (Kentucky Blue). They take up less space and produce for a lot longer than the bush variety. Up here in the Pacific Northwest, bush beans are more of a challenge due to very high humidity.

    I grow sugar snap peas on stacked and cable tied tomato cages that have seen better days.
    What varieties of squash are you growing? Do you have a favorite?
    Are you growing cucumbers? What variety, may I ask? I plant sweet slice (a slicing cucumber). Since I don't pickle and have limited space, I need a cuc that is never bitter. Sweet slice hits the mark for me. I just wish we had a long and hot enough season to grow green peppers.
    Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting! We've got some pole beans growing too (from saved seeds)~ unfortunately, I forgot they were pole beans and they are a tangled mess! But, we're still getting a huge harvest from them, just not as easy to pick as they would be had I realized it and staked them.

      I'm growing summer squashes (zucchini and lebanese bush marrow), winter squashes (butternut, spaghetti, and succrine du berry plus a variety I can't remember without getting up to look - pure laziness!) I really love them all. I use the summer squashes for grilling, pickling, relishes and to make breads, etc. I especially love the sweeter winter squashes. They taste wonderful and just seem more filling! I use all the winter squashes interchangeably with pumpkin for pies and dehydrate them as chips for snacks.

      As far as cucumbers, I belive A & C pickling are what I'm growing this year (pure laziness again that I'm not getting out of my chair to double check) but I've grown many varieties and find that as long as they are watered well and picked often, they don't seem to get bitter.

      Happy gardening!

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  7. Good start to the year, Pop!

    Welcome back. :)

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