We definitely have food coming in from the garden now. Last night a heavy thunderstorm pounded the hell out of everything out there, and when it had passed I went outside to see what kind of damage it had done. I had a lot of plants on thier sides: tomatoes, corn, beans, and the potatoes - let me tell you - these storms we're having can really beat down a potato plant. I did what I could to try to prop things back up where it seemed necessary, but mostly tried not to worry about it, since it's a natural phenomenon. I assume most everything will bounce back once that sun starts pounding on them again.
While I was out there yesterday evening I realized that I have managed to grow a cauliflower! It looks like I might only end up with one out of the four that I planted, but still, I'm going to count this as a success. Out of my four this is the only one that really seemed to self-blanch. I tried to tie up another one by hand but it is just infested with bugs and little slimy green eggs. Another that I did not tie up has started producing a head, but the florets are far apart instead of tight together as they're supposed to be. The fourth just doesn't seem to be producing a head (yet) at all. So I guess the verdict is still out on whether or not that one will feed us. The broccoli has been coming in nicely though so we're having broccoli and cauliflower for dinner tonight for sure.
While out on inspection last night I also discovered a vine borer hole in one of my summer squash...sigh. I really need to get on the ball about covering these things when I set them out. Like everything else that's new to me that very thought of it intimidates me. Silly, I know.
We've had ample salad greens/lettuce and plenty of salads, so I've been real happy with that. I've pulled up a beet every now and then but they're small and growing very slowly. I've had a few peppers already - two banana peppers and two tiny - and I'm talking tiny - jalepenos. My three jalepeno plants are small and yellow. I'm disappointed; and not sure what to do about it. The plant I had last year was huge and robust and all around stunninly georgeous. I bought it big from a big box store, and I'm going to go hunting for another one, maybe this weekend. Last weekend's hunt resulted in finding out that my local private garden store only had three jalepeno plants for sale and they were smaller and yellower than mine. So maybe it's the weather...I did buy a nice big kung pao pepper plant there though. That should be interesting.
I've been meaning to say that I have an unusual amount of ladybugs in the garden this year. I mean, just a ton. Last year where I was seeing California Potato Beetles on my potato plants, this year they're just crawling with ladybugs. Can a high ladybug population decrease the Potato Beetle population? It certainly seems that way, though I have nothing to offer in the way of scientific evidence....
The blueberry bushes just don't seem to be taking off. The blackberry bushes, on the other hand, are growing like weeds and have already set fruit. I think next spring I'll put in more blackberries and maybe some rasberries. I would love to have blueberries, but honestly I don't want to have to fuss with anything too much. I favor plants that will be hardy and do decently around here on their own. Lazy, you say? Maybe. But I'm trying to be practical.
I pulled all my miniature onions up last night. I don't want them to rot out there like they did last year. I need to get on the ball using them while I have the chance.
I suppose it's too early to call the Brussels sprouts a failure, I mean I can see sprouts - but they sure do take forever and it just doesn't seem like they're every going to get big enough to harvest and eat...We'll see.
On the subject of problem veggies, my peas are done for the year. I barely got a few good handfuls. Did I do something wrong? Did they die off early, or just languish in the summer heat? Too much water? I have no idea. I pulled them up last night. That's year two of English pea failure. Moving on....
Cucumbers, cucumbers, cucumbers!!! I am loving these little white pickling cucumbers. I did them from seed inside and transplanted them, and they're just doing great. They are popping up everywhere, fast. This week I've come in with a handful every day. We've eaten every one on salads, except for a few that I just had to use to try the Nourishing Traditions lacto-fermented pickle recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out.
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