So, this is what I started with just after getting out of school for the summer... a ton of weeds!!!
I planted the second half of my garden after getting out of school. The beets, which I planted earlier, weren't coming up (probably as a result of too much water... a lot of local gardeners were experiencing seeds rotting away in the ground from too much rain). The carrots and parsnips were sort of coming up (here is a current carrot picture below).
However, they weren't coming up in the proportions in which they were planted. The lettuce did pretty well at the beginning. As it got hotter, it didn't come up as well (again, it probably needed more water for proper germination).
Chives were/are doing well... these little fellas take their time when growing, but they do come back every year. Spinach didn't grow at all... actually a couple of weeks ago I saw it popping a couple heads through the ground, but these got picked by a couple of overambitious weeders a couple days later (he he). The spinach might not have made it anyway since it isn't very fond of hot weather. The peas have done nicely, but I had some problems with them pulling my trellis down; of course, I made the transition to a more robust (2 x 4) trellis. Even so, the peas put a good deal of force on the strings of the trellis pulling them off to the side. I am going to try wire next year. I think I might also double my pea crop, as the trellis we have now doesn't hold enough peas for our family.
Onions are doing great... not much to say there. I mulched them with straw (which I should have done a long time ago) because they need a lot of water and the straw helps them to maintain there moisture levels. Grass clippings are supposed to be a good alternative.
Cilantro is likewise doing well. I let the silly things flower because I wasn't exactly sure if I had to harvest them when they got to a certain height and... well... now we are growing coriander. I might plant some more cilantro this summer so I can make some fresh pico de gallo when the tomatoes and onions are ready for picking.
Now for this summers plantings: I put beans and cucumbers in, supported by my homemade "tee-pee" trellises (dimensions given in a later post); Three trellises were for beans, two were for cucumbers. The beans are only six inches high and growing well, but I doubt that they will produce enough beans for our family. I might have to make a couple more trellises next year.
I planted 5 zucchini and four squash. From what I hear about the prolific nature of the squash family, I have a feeling that I will be cutting back on my squash plantings next year. The neighbors might get tired of squash offerings and we might might get tired of zucchini bread (if that is possible).
The broccoli had problems with the first planting. Several came up, but only one made it (probably a water problem). I replanted several indoors and they all came up; I ended up losing a couple more. I think I ended up with six altogether. They are pretty small and growing slowly. I am wondering if there is a nutrient deficiency or if broccoli is just naturally slow growing. I sprinkled some bone meal around them because some had a pinkish/purple tint to the leaves; I suspected a phosphorus deficiency. I'll have to see if this helps.
The tomatoes are the next heartbreak. I planted over 60 tomatoes.
I transplanted them 6-8 weeks ago in nice weather. That night it hailed. After suffering through some more bad weather, they finally got there sunshine; it was too late for some though. I am down to 35 (after buying 12 full grown beefsteak to replace some of the dead tomatoes). The bright side is that the ones that did survive are gorgeous and full. I am just hoping that the season is long enough for them to produce. I have heard that an old Amish trick is to place red tiles under the tomatoes. They absorb heat and release it throughout the night and, what's more, the red color in the tile encourages them to produce early. I am going to check Craigslist and see if I can get some red tile for my tomatoes.
I planted some basil alongside the tomatoes (supposedly growing the tomatoes and basil together will improve the flavor of the tomatoes); I also planted kale and filled in the carrots and parsnips. Germination was not great. So the other day, I covered the carrot bed, parsnip bed, basil and kale bed with newspapers with straw on top (I was careful not to cover the already sprouted seedlings). I am going to give it a week or so and then uncover the beds to see if I can manipulate some of the seeds into sprouting.
Oh, can't forget about corn. That is planted and is coming up nicely. It wasn't knee-high by the forth of July (unless you got down really low), but it is growing quickly and I hope to get some good corn from it. I have been watering it every now and then with fish emulsion in the water. I think the corn has enjoyed this special treatment.
A couple of improvements I made to the garden are covering the rows between the beds with newspaper and straw. This makes a nice neat path and cuts down on the weeding that needs to be done.
I also added a drip system to the garden. This is a nice addition as it cuts down on my watering time... it took nearly and hour-and-a-half by hand.
Here is the drip system running through my potatoes.
To install the drip system, I had to first install three extra water spigots around the garden. This involved digging a foot-deep trench half-way around the garden and laying down piping... that was quite a job, but I had some lovely assistants who were a big help.
The third improvement (which I am in the middle of completing) is putting a weed barrier down around the garden. Since the garden is backed up to a hay field, all sorts of obnoxious weeds find their way into the garden. To slow this down somewhat, we are digging a clear three-foot wide path around the perimeter of the garden. Then we are going to lay down black garden fabric and then cover that with stones. We'll see how that works!
Here are some more pictures for your enjoyment:
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My strawberries haven't been allowed to flower so as to direct all energy into growing big... the raspberries produced a couple berries each, but should be more productive next year.
Little bro cherry pickin'...
... and here are the "fruits" of his labor.
Here is a final up-to-date picture of the garden; it is definitely looking a bit better!!
