How my garden does grow #mngarden

July 18, 2020 by Julie Holmes, author 34 Comments

The fun has begun! Cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, kohlrabi. Come one, come all!

Seriously, though, it’s starting. The rush to pick stuff and use it before a) it goes bad, and b) have to pick more.

So, cucumber cascade anyone?

Everything is growing everywhere. The pumpkins are spreading, the cucumber plants are climbing and spreading, and I’ve had to prune the tomatoes a few times. It’s been hot lately, so the plants are a little wilted. We might get a storm tonight, but if not, I’ll water tomorrow.

Zucchini, with a background of tomatoes

The zucchini is, of course, prepping to feed an army. I’ve made a couple batches of zucchini/onion/mushroom sauted in butter (because everything is better with butter 😀 ), and the chickens have gotten a few treats already.

Diva cucumbers–spineless, non-bitter skins, tasty!

I was looking for the variety of cucumbers they sell in stores as snacking cucumbers. They usually come in packs of six or so. The closest one I found was a new variety called “Diva”.

Cucumbers everywhere!

The pickling cucumbers are starting to come in. The worst thing is you have to pick more than once to collect enough cukes to warrant a pickling session. So it means rounds of picking, refrigerating, and hoping to get enough cukes to pickle before the refrigerated ones go bad. The dill is at the right stage now, too (got lucky!).

Green beans and onions, with peppers in background.

This weekend we should get our first batch of green beans. My son loves garden green beans (he won’t eat canned or frozen). He’s home part of the weekend, but it sounds like he’s leaving before harvest. I’m sure we’ll have many more meals of green beans.

Green tomatoes not turning red fast enough!

I’m starting to think I have too many tomato plants, even though none of the fruit is ripe yet. Let’s see, I think I have ten plants. Erm, yeah, maybe a little overkill this year. The plants last year got sick (blight) and died earlier than expected, so this year I hedged my bets. So far, the plants are doing okay. I tried to get blight-resistant varieties, and so far only one is showing signs of blight. Crossing my fingers!

Basil!

The basil is doing fabulous! Now, to figure out how to use it … Pesto, right?

Overheated brussels sprouts 😦

The brussels sprouts are weathering cabbage worm attacks, as usual. I’ve tried to get out almost every day to pick them (squish them!). The plants do not like the heat. At all. Members of the cabbage family prefer cooler weather, but if I planted them later in the season, I’m not sure if they would have enough time to grow. My beets are looking sad, too. I think I could plant them later in the season and they would be okay; they like cooler weather as well.

Marigolds in foreground, yellow-crowned dill rises above

I keep waiting for the marigolds to flower, but no buds yet. The dill is flowering, so is at the right stage to use for pickles. Hoping I get enough cukes to pickle while I still have decent dill.

And there you have it. Julie’s Jungle, with mosquitoes just to keep you on your toes. It’s been hot and humid, as in tropical hot and humid, and little wind, so the mosquitoes are out in force. Swarms of them. They sound like those old WWII movies with all the planes, but at a higher pitch. Ugh. Weeding (what little I’m inclined to do in the heat) is an adventure in micro-vampire avoidance. I think we need more mosquito repellant!

Hope everyone is doing well! I started my new writing class (yay!) and will be digging into Book 2 second round of revisions. My Writing Sisters virtual writing retreat is coming up as well. Man, I’m going to miss gathering in person, but this year it’s safer to Zoom it. Anybody know where I can return 2020 for a refund?

Happy Writing!