The first signs of tomatoes..

After a couple of dry months, where supplemental water was necessary, we finally got a bit of rain the last couple of days. The first round of thunderstorms bent over the tomato plants which I had neglected to tie up as they grew. Fortunately I believe that they will all be alright, though one did lose a major branch. The squash were also bent over, but they seem to have recovered on their own and are still putting out a number of blooms and more squash is on its way.

This last week the cukes took off and seem to grow several inches every day. They have also been blooming but no sign of actual cukes coming on as of yet.

Not much else to add.. the parsley has all been removed, and the tomatoes now receive a bit more of the sun so hopefully they will thrive now. I am still pondering what to plant next, hindered by the ongoing projects at work which demand all of my time. However no excuses..

I am looking for a water timer so that I can care for the garden even while I am out of town working, but thus far no luck on something that seems to fit the bill. Soon the winter squash will need to be planted, at least the first round of them, so that I can get a bountiful and ongoing harvest for those leaner times. At more than $1.00 a pound for winter squash, double that for organic, these plants will easily produce enough to compensate any effort I put forth. Though of course I am growing them as much for the pleasure of the task, and for the flavor not found in store bought produce, as for the savings.

The second round of yellow straightneck gets ready for the steamer.. :)

The first scallop squash is nearing harvest..

First squash

Short post today.. just to let everyone know that I will be harvesting two straightneck yellow squash later today. The first of the squash this year. Also this is the first of this heirloom variety so I look forward to a new flavor..

Here is a shot taken at just about 1:00pm.. as I said, sun is at a premium in my yard..

More canopy

These are just a couple of shots fo the canopy which covers the garden area. I only get a few hours of sun in a couple of spots, which of course makes gardening a real challenge.

Sudden Update!

The brevious entry written only minutes ago, is already out of date.. :) After posting it I ventured out into the garden which I had not looked upon since yesterday only to discover more growth on the cukes, and along with the flower pods, one female flower on the squash!

I had forgotten to mention adding BioBoost, a product from Gardens Alive! which is supposed to benefit the soil, and through it the plants. I had added this to the tomatoes, and to the cucumbers as they were struggling so, and though I will be the first to admit that perhaps other factors came into play, it seems not unlikely that this product at least assisted in the dramatic increase in growth of the cucumber plants.

I have added a bit more to the cukes, but also the other squashes as it recommends a treatment at planting, but also at the time of flowering and setting fruit. Here's to hoping for the continued progress from all of these plants!

Differences in soil and sun

As time has passed I have been watching carefully, and with more than a bit of anticipation, the growth of the summer squash varities, as well as the cucumbers. In doing so I have noticed some interesting differences in the plants. The plants in the first and second mounds are doing well, the first doing exceptionally well. The plants in the third and fourth mounds are growing, but much more slowly.

I suspect two differences, one slight the other extreme are making all of the difference. The first is differences in sun exposure. Living on a heavily wooded lot of mature oak trees makes even having a garden a real challenge and in this case I believe that the amount of sun in the beds differs slightly, though they are only a few feet apart. I will be watching this to see if this is in fact the case, if so I will adjust this new garden area as necessary. The second is almost embrassing to admit, but is soil preparation. I spent a good deal of time breaking up the clods in the first two mounds, and little at all in the last two, hoping that the addition of composted manure, and other organic matter would be sufficient to support the plants.

I believe that I have learned this obvious lesson about soil prep the hard way, as the cucumbers, which are in the last bed, are only slightly larger than they were in the pots in which they were started. My hopes for a crop have begun to diminish.. Nonetheless, I will continue to water and amend the soil so that hopefully a fall crop of squash can be reaped from these same beds.

On a more positive note, the squash plants in the first two beds are growing by leaps and bounds, increasing my impatience for those first few fruits of my labors..

The tomatoes are starting to flower, so I am hopeful that they will begin to set fruit, though they do appear a bit small so I am cautiously optimistic.

The basil is delicious, having topped some farmer's market greenhouse tomatoes along with a bit of olive oil and cheese..

The parsley continues to produce abundantly so much so that I have hardly made a dent in it despite a number of tasty salads..

No peppers as of it, which may mean that I do without this year.

To all of you who are in the various stages of preparation, anticipation, or hibernation, I wish you the best and will be glad to share my bounty when next we are together..

Still growing

It has been a couple of weeks since I offered any update, but this does not mean that nothing has been going on in the garden. During this time I have added natural fertilizers to the tomatoes as well as a product designed to further increase the microbrial activity in the soil I have been regularly pinching off the suckers from the tomatos and at the same time been tying them up to the stakes.

Not much in the way of new plantings. I took the remaining onion seeds and scattered them about in a pot in hopes of getting some germination, despite getting none in the garden itself. Unfortunately I greatly reduced my chances of getting onions (other thant he volunteers already in the garden) by knocking the pot over and spilling the potting mix. I gathered it back up as best as possible, and have hoped for the best. I have begun seeing some very small sprouts which I hope are the onions, but until they are large enough to harvest I will not count on them.

After one of the driest Aprils on record we are getting a wonderful rain shower while I type this. The yard and garden both can use it, though I have been supplying additional water to the garden through the use of soaker hoses.

The Squash are coming along nicely for the most part, though one hill seems to be lagging behind the rest. I fear that I did not sufficiently prepare the soil in that hill or in the one that has the cucumbers as they too are not developing as well or as quickly as I would have hoped. When the squash come out to make ready for the fall/winte planting seasons I will be adding a good deal of compost to these hills to improve their soil structure. In a year or two they should be as productive as the rest of the garden.

On the kitchen side of kitchen gardening, I have been using the snow peas from this last winter in an asian inspired fish soup, which also uses the cilantro which is on the way out of the garden. The parsley has been a vital part of my tabouleh and tabouleh inspired salads.

Take a couple of cups of spelt cook until soft (30-40 minutes)
Cut up several handfuls of freshly harvested parsley.
Add several fresh tomatoes diced.
Add black olives, also diced.
Add cucumber diced to the same size.
Add a bit of lemon juice and olive oil.
When the spelt cools, add it and mix everthing well.

I vary the amounts each time, basically doing it by eye so that most everything seems in equal portions, except the black olive, which should be a bit less.

This is the basic recipe, though the original calls for bulgar wheat instead of spelt. I vary this each time. Sometimes I will add mint, from the garden of course. Other times I will make it into a spinach salad by adding lots of fresh spinach along with all of the rest. The flavors all combine well so each time I just experiment and so far I have not been disappointed with any of the results. It is a light but satisfying salad, the spelt adds a texture, a chewiness that adds a sense of heartiness to the salad.

All of the best to all of my gardening friends.
Brian