Sunday, March 1, 2009

July 2008 in my Vegetable Garden


It is currently 14 degrees fahrenheit, and the snow from Friday night is not melted yet. The highs for the week are supposed to be a bit warmer each day, and by Thursday, it is supposed to get up to 66. The snow should be melted by then, until the next time it comes down. I have been enjoying visiting as many of your blogs as I can, and staying up too late in the process sometimes. When spring gets here, something is going to have to give. I know there are others feeling like this, too. There are so many great blogs and bloggers, that it's hard to keep up.

I am invited to go to a friend's house today to join her and some of her friends in looking at seed catalogs. When I told her I buy my seeds locally, but could bring my computer and we could look at some online catalogs, she said that would be fine. So, just in case I get to show anyone my blog, I wanted to go ahead and get July's veggie garden post up. (When I exported the pics, I added 500 to the normal 1000 pixels, but it doesn't look like it caused these to be as clear as they are in iphoto.)

At the end of my June post, I said I would show the perennial sweet pea vine. This pic was taken July 5th. The white building is our garage.





July 5th, the self sown larkspur and hollyhocks were in full bloom, and I had been picking some of the onions to cook with, giving the others more room to grow.



The tomatoes were starting to form, and the self sown bachelor buttons were blooming.



This pic of the sweet potatoes I grew in the tub on the driveway side of the garden was taken July 6th. The lattice fence to the right of the bed frame is a couple feet to the north, creating the entrance to the garden.




The next 6 pics were taken July 7th. This is what's on the other side to the right of what was pictured above. Here were self sown larkspur, 4 o' clocks, a clematis that was distressed, and a pot of phlox and pansies.



I am always so busy, that I don't always make good use of the rhubarb, pictured on the back left. I just discovered a couple years ago, that garlic scapes, which are the seed heads on the garlic, are edible, and delicious. They should be picked before they uncurl, so I was a bit late with these, but ate them anyway. This hard neck garlic is on the left, in front of the rhubarb. I talked Larry out of throwing the green chair away, because it is broken, and have enjoyed having it in the compost area.


I don't remember what kind of eggplant I put in, but it didn't do well after the first harvest. The peas to the right were almost finished. There is a globe thistle plant in the upper right corner that I put there to harvest the flowers for drying. That's Swiss chard in the middle, and some marigolds I got from a person on Freecycle near the tomato plant. I haven't kept up with Freecycle, and need to clean out the mailbox I have that in, because there are probably a thousand messages I keep forgetting to check. I also gave away some perennials to someone on Freecycle last year.



This is a self sown moonflower in the pot, and some violets near the bench.



I battled purslane all summer, but concentrated on keeping in out of the onions. I didn't cook it, but munched on some, and let some come in with the salad fixings.



The sunflowers I moved from the front bed are growing near the larkspur, which dies out after it's finished blooming.



This pic, taken the 14th, shows the growth of the sunflowers, and the hollyhocks and larkspur still blooming. There are green tomatoes on the plant to the right.



This pic, taken the 19th, and shows the garden from the street. The swamp milkweed, white liatris, and day lilies, have added their blooms.



The sunflowers were even larger by the 16th, which seems to be the last day in July I took pics in the veggie garden. There's another sweet pea growing on a plant stand.


Some years I mulch, but there is always something I don't like about what I mulch with. This year, I applied compost a few times throughout the season. If you have a mulch you like for your veggie garden, please share it in a comment. Thanks!

I have the news on, and it sounds like some of you who don't normally get snow are getting quite a bit, and those farther east are expecting even more. Stay safe everyone!

Update: I enjoyed spending time with 6 other women today. We visited, and ate and ate, and then some had to leave when the rest of us got out the seed catalogs. We didn't decide on anything to order together, but had great fun looking at plants and garden accessories and gabbing some more. I was able to show them my blog and a few other blogs. They were quite impressed, but not enough to want to spend their time that way. LOL

17 comments:

  1. No snow here, it was close though! Windchill is in the low 30's that's way cold for here. Love your gardens!!!! Thanks for IDing your plants, that helps.

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  2. Everything looks great. I love the tubs on your driveway! Hope you warm up soon!

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  3. It all looks really good. Glad you didn't throw away your tulip chair, aka hotel chair. I have two in my garden. Just refinished them today as a matter of fact. Folks pay upwards of $30 for one around here. They are considered retro and real finds. My husband bought me both of mine for $17 at a yard sale somewhere. They were a real find. You may be able to repair that chair. They are fairly simple. I know I used ALL the time in the garden. Love the green of yours, mine are fire engine red.

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  4. It was nice to take a trip back to the summer of 2008 in your veggie garden. I love how you mixed lots of colorful blooms in with the edibles. Beautiful! I wouldn't get rid of that old chair either, it's a retro piece that is back in style now. ;)

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  5. Those pics really make me want spring and summer to hurry up and get here. We have had rain all day and they are calling for snow later tonight and tomorrow.
    Prayers, Bo

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  6. I've got a garden-buddy-friend who has heard me speak (likely ad nauseum although she's too gracious to say so)about my blog addiction. She says, "Yeah. I should do that..." but it hasn't happened yet. That's okay. To each his own.

    Can you tell me the name of your pink daylily? I love, love, love it. Also love the galvanized tubs, etc. I collect them too. Your photos really make me crave summer. I hope it does indeed hit 66 degrees later this week.

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  7. Hi Sue, looking at these photos makes me think about the many happy horus you must've spent then/will be spending....It's such a welcoming place. Thanks for sharing. Pretty blooms and the daylilies are gorgeous!

    Thank you for stopping by my blog...have a pleasant week.

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  8. Your photos bring out the sheer energy of plants - all that exuberant growth! It's nice that you leave the self-sown things to have their moment.

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  9. Hi Sue, back again just to say that I've finally put a 'fire hydrant' blog link on my sidebar at Occasional Scotland. You'll see your very own fire hydrant there.

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  10. Sue I love the larkspur and Sweet Peas in your vegetable garden.

    I agree, blogging takes up a lot of time -- sometimes too much time. This weekend the weather was so miserable that I found myself on the computer a lot of the time though. We have another really cold couple of days, and then the weather is going to warm up wonderfully. I can't wait for spring to get here, and I bet you can't either!

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  11. Wow - your garden is amazing! It must be so gratifying to see the results of all your hard work.

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  12. So, how do your friends spend their time, Sue? Do we need to get a life, or do they?

    I'm sure we have more fun.

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  13. Ah! The early morning dewy, foggy air reminds me of the snow you guys are enjoying (or are you?) and the afternoon hot sun makes me want to be there desperately. Your garden is such a beauty, Sue. I have no words to say. Your posts constantly amaze me.

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  14. Thanks for all the comments. We still have snow on the ground, but hopefully it will melt this week. I am excited about going for more yard walks.

    We have another of those chairs, too. I got them from a garage sale over 11 years ago.

    I resisted the temptation to do a post on all of my daylilies, only because I want to post on them this year to keep track of when each of them bloom. I don't know the names of many of them, because I rescued them from a yard where the house was to come down for an apartment to be built.

    I went and looked at the fire hydrants, Linda. Fun posts!

    Nell, I read your funny comment to my husband, and was glad to see him smile about it.

    Take care everyone, and enjoy the great outdoors when the weather permits. It sounds like it's quite warm in India this time of year. Take it easy!

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  15. Hi Sue~
    Your summer garden is lovely and teeming with growth! I especially liked seeing the old bed frame with your perennial sweet pea climbing up it, my husband just found an iron bed frame on the curb to be tossed out by someone, he brought it home to me and it is now happily planted in my garden with purple hyacinth bean vine.

    Happy day~
    Karrita

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  16. I love how you are sharing photos from your garden past. I am so anxious for this winter to pass. Did you all get the snow ? I am in NW ohio ( south) and we were lucky this time around. They are saying maybe 50's by the weeks end. YEAH!!!!!! Can't wait.

    Did you change the header on your blog. I love the pansies in the wash tub.

    Happy Bloom Tuesday.

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  17. Hi Karrita and Bren,
    I planted some hyacinth beans that grew on the fence by the compost last year, but it was late, and it just started to bloom when we had a freeze, so they didn't get any seeds produced. I forgot to see if there were any pics of that for the post.

    I am excited that it's March, and then comes April, and then comes ...! We got several inches of snow Friday night, and it's almost melted. Our temps are in the 50s and 60s this week, but it's supposed to be in the 40s over the weekend.

    I put the pansies up the end of January, I think. I was tired of looking at my house with all that snow. The pansies are from last spring, and I plan on changing it again with something that's blooming this year. I am excited to get more pansies, maybe this month yet.

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