Abundance

We made our fifth harvest this past weekend from a single row of four squares in garden four (about 24 quarts). There is an abundance of kale, chard and lettuce ready to harvest. We have been making pesto, green smoothies, and fresh salads.

The new garden frame that was planted last week is growing well. It should be coming into production in August.

A trellis was created for the winter squash, but I realized when I went to drape the vines on the trellis that squash put out new roots every couple feet of vine. I guess that makes them more resilient in case part of a plant is damaged. I saw one buttercup squash fruit that is a little larger than a baseball.

The tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the front are all looking healthy and reaching for the top of the enclosures. Everywhere I look are flowers and developing fruit.

Strawberries, grapes, catawba, fireflies

We have begun harvesting strawberries in earnest. After a couple of two or three strawberry days, we harvested seventeen on Sunday. This past weekend, two more seedless grapes were planted, one red (Canadice) and one white (Himrod). Youngest made one of the best Basil/Arugula pestos I have ever tasted. I will post the recipe once she finishes with finals and sends it to me. I was pleasantly surprised to discover another catawba tree in the backyard and this one is flowering, so beautiful. The flowers are orchid-like and waft a wonderful scent. The container gardens are quickly filling and in some cases spilling out of the protective frames. There are quite a few tomato fruits beginning to appear. Fireflies are abundant this year. I haven't seen so many since I was a kid growing up in Maryland. Squash have been flowering for about a week. Gardens three and four are at their peak. One more garden frame was started from seed yesterday with four varieties of carrot, two varieties of beet, four varieties of lettuce and two varieties of kale.

Asparagus maintenance and strawberry report

This morning, I filled the asparagus beds with more Bumper Crop and weeded. All twenty-five asparagus roots have now put up green shoots, most are in the fern stage. There are two strawberries that look completely ripe.

I have seen many suggest that strawberries should not be allowed to flower the year they are planted in order to promote abundant harvest the following year, however we are receiving an abundant crop this first year, as many as 10 berries per plant (10x52 ~ 500 strawberries in a 4'x 4' frame).

Fourth harvest and Mid-June Update

This morning I harvested lettuce (salad bowl, oak leaf, romaine), chard, kale, arugula, and spinach. The spinach and one of the chard plants were headed to seed as a result of the warm temperatures we experienced last week. This harvest filled two 18 quart containers and will give us plenty for fresh eating and making pesto and kale chips over the next week. A conservative estimate at this point would be that we are saving $15-$20 per week by growing our own fresh greens and preserving some in the form of pesto.

This was the first weekend that I did not do anything significant related to the garden, though if I had more time I would have built another garden frame and planted it with beets, carrots and greens. My plan is to start a new garden frame mid-June, end-of-June and mid-July. My experience has been that after that point the shortening days and lower temperatures of Autumn do not give the plants much opportunity to mature.

Youngest daughter reported "very, very baby" tomatoes appearing in the container gardens. We have been enjoying fresh picked basil from that location as well.

The irises have just finished flowering and the peonies will not be far behind. Dames rocket is mostly finished flowering. The morning glories are just beginning to lift their leaves above the undergrowth and reach for the trellis. Soon the pretty white flowers of the snakeroot will begin to appear. The apples are almost the size of golf balls. Strawberries are beginning to ripen.

Grow boxes

The_homemade grow boxes are doing great. The tomatoes have especially taken off and the cucumbers and peppers have made definite progress. The bottom watering concept definitely takes the guess work out of watering. We just look down the fill pipe to see whether water is needed. We started picking fresh basil last week. Our marigolds have begun flowering but the peonies are more picturesque.

Third Harvest

Our third harvest of lettuce, chard and kale loosely filled an 18 quart container. This is from cuttings of 8 lettuce plants.

Youngest daughter and I finished planting the fruit today. We planted two peach trees and two grape vines.

Yesterday, I thinned out the beets and carrots that were planted directly from seed. The plants were about four inches tall and the roots about a quarter inch thick. I used these to make a delicious "green" smoothie which my youngest daughter stated was the best smoothie she had ever had. Here is the recipe for our "Smooth Reddie":

Smooth Reddie
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2 cups filtered water
2 frozen bananas
2 cups frozen peach slices
3 cups loosely packed beet thinnings (leaves and thick part of root)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Blend until smooth

Memorial Day Weekend

Over the long Holiday, we were able to accomplish quite a lot. Apples were thinned down to the king fruit; containers completed and peppers, cucumbers and basil planted; three more winter squash planted; cherry and pear trees planted; morning glories, dahlia and marigolds planted. Everything is out from under the lights.

Currently in bloom: iris, lilac, poppies, rhododendron, daisies, cornflower, dames rocket, comfrey. Currently emerging, peony, gladiolus and volunteer morning glories. Currently fading or gone: quince, daffodil, vinca, forget-me-not.