I’ve spent many hours this week working in the garden. We have had an unusually early spring. I’ve never had this many things planted at the beginning of May, as long as I can remember.
Rob grew such large, healthy tomatoes. We dug every cage we could find out from behind the shed, and planted them. I’m trying something different–I made quite a wide space between the rows, but planted the tomatoes close together. I’m hoping I can still get in there to pick them, but wanted to plant as many as I could. I put a little organic fertilizer under each plant as I planted to give them a boost.
Rob finished his bean trellis. I planted the pole bean starts on the end, Blue Lake seeds in the middle and a small handful of Violet-Podded Pole Beans down on the very end. The damp patch in front of the trellis is planted in Blue Lake Bush Beans and Carson (yellow) Bush Beans. In the background, you can see artichokes, snow peas, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce. The raspberries in the back are about to bloom, so I know those will be giving me a crop in the next few weeks.
The broccoli is growing nicely, as well.
The Trombonconi Zucchini is planted at the base if its trellis. There are lemon cucumbers near there, as well. The onions are very faint and hard to see, but are starting to grow. To the left are rows of beets, carrots, a few more snow peas, dill, basil, cilantro, a few more snow peas, and peppers and slicing cucumbers to the far left.
These are Sungold, Chocolate Cherry and Yellow Pear tomatoes. The peppers are Anaheim, Italian Pepperoncini, Carmen, and a Hot Pepper Blend from Territorial. I have Serranos, Bell Peppers, Hungarian Wax Peppers and Lola Peppers elsewhere.
These are a mixture of the above-mentioned peppers in the flowerbed under my bedroom window. The trellises are there because I planted some very old Alderman Pole Pea seeds at the base of them. If they grow, they will give us a few peas, if not, they won’t take up space in my seed bucket anymore.
In front of the blueberries, but hopefully not too close that I can’t get in there to pick the berries, is 1 tomato plant and some little Bisquino (Little Beak) Peppers. They make tiny peppers and should be decorative. I’ve had them pickled before, and thought I’d try to grow them this year. The plants themselves are quite small, and the peppers are tiny. It’s always fun to experiment.
I will continue to plant more seeds in every extra space in the garden throughout the next few weeks–and then later in the summer and fall, my time will be focused on harvesting and canning. I like to succession plant Oregon Pod II Snow Peas, head lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, mixed lettuce blend, green onions, and whatever else I can fit in so we can eat a continuous supply of fresh vegetables. I only planted part of the beans I need. I have space for a few more rows. We need to can quite a few. I have Sugar Pie Pumpkins and Butternut Squash plants to put out, and Rob grew some Okra. I worked as long and hard as I could, but didn’t finish before the much-needed rain came. I really pushed myself to get as much done as I could, because the rain will water everything in and the cooler weather will give the plants a chance to settle in a little. I’m happy to stay inside today and do other things. It’s supposed to be gorgeous next week, and I can get out there again. The plants should grow nicely, but then, so will the weeds, so I won’t lack in garden work to do!
Beautiful looking garden Becky! I can see how much work has gone into it and it will be wonderful when everything ripens.
Thank you. I’m excited to be growing so many things this year.
Such an amazing garden you’ve got this year, and a great use of space. We’re trying to grow lots of food this year too. I hope you’ll get some peas from the Alderman seeds.
Thank you! I thought the peas were worth a try. They aren’t growing many peas in my seed bucket:)
Becky, your garden is so inspiring! Yay! There’s so much growing! So I’m curious, how big is your growing space there?
We’ve spent many hours getting ours ready for the warm weather vegetables. The greens are in ,but I need to replant some; I think some of the seed was too old. Oh well!
Rob says the shop is 30 feet, so the garden must be 35 or 40 on that side, and longer on the other–maybe 50? I also have 2 4 foot x 8 foot raised beds and some other flowerbed space.
I hope your garden grows well! Such a fun time of year:)
You’ve done such a great job getting your garden put together. It seems like yesterday you all moved in and there were just ‘normal’ garden beds along the edges of the property.
So, how many artichokes are you getting per plant? I ask because one of my artichokes survived the winter and I’m curious about what it might produce.
I harvested kale today – two colanders worth. That’s a lot from my little bitty garden here at my apartment. I was hoping the plants would produce seed but last night’s rain blew both over. So, I took them out and harvested what I could. I still have two flat leaf kale that might give me seed.
I’ve gotten just 2-3 per plant so far, and they are pretty small this year. So, I fertilized them really well. Maybe they don’t have enough nutrition. There are new buds coming, so I will have more to come from these bushes. Sometimes they give one large one, then several little ones before they die down. They don’t give them all at once, it’s a gradual process and then they die back.
It’s great you got kale. We are trying it for the first time this year since Rob tasted a variety of it he liked.
Amazing job. Love hearing all about your garden.
Thank you! I look out the window all the time just to look at it, and it’s my own garden:).
Your garden looks like one in a magazine. The picture I like best is from the back corner of the yard looking toward the house. Your yard is much larger than I thought. It is an amazing garden! I can’t wait to watch it grow. It is going to be interesting seeing how the tomatoes grow closer together.
I don’t remember you growing okra before. Is it hot enough there for it to thrive?
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Here’s the deal on okra. I’ve never eaten it, never cooked it, never grown it…you get the idea. Rob decided to try it. So, now we have these little okra plants and I’m not even sure how far apart to plant them, how tall they will get, etc. I don’t know if they will grow here–it’s pretty cool usually. So, it’s our experiment. Time will tell:)
I can’t help you with the okra. Some are dwarf, others are monster big but I think they all taste the same even the different colored ones. I put mine about 2 feet apart but I have seen them planted six inches apart in tight rows. If you snip the top off when it is about 2 feet tall it will branch out and produce more. The important thing with okra is to pick it constantly because it grows so fast.
I can’t wait to see what you think.
Jeannie
So far, the okra looks sad, to say the least. I’m pretty sure it isn’t hot enough for it to be really happy. But, we had a couple of warm days, and it’s perking up a little bit. I put a milk jug over the happiest plant, in hopes of creating a mini-greenhouse. We will see if it works!
I have planted mine three times and they still haven’t germinated. It isn’t as hot as in previous years.
Jeannie
It’s amazing how it varies across the country. We are having a much warmer spring than usual–which is the only reason so much is planted and growing so well this early.
Wow, what a huge kitchen garden. I’m so jealous. I live in a really shady neighborhood so we have just one tiny spot in our front yard where we get full sun. I’ll have to enjoy gardens this summer by reading blogs. 🙂
I remember one super shady garden area I had years and years ago. I couldn’t even grow zucchini! So, I hear you. I’ll post lots of pictures over the summer:)