Early Midsummer Update

The mulberries are becoming ripe now, this is one of my favorite berries. I like the way they melt in your mouth and they are very sweet. Last year, the birds picked the bush clean before I could enjoy them. Tomorrow morning, I will cover it with netting.

The chard has been harvestable for a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to a dinner of steamed chard with tamari rice. One of my favorite dishes.

Three productive frames

The daikon radishes will be harvested and pickled this weekend. Parsley, cilantro, and basil are ready to be added into tabouli, salsa and pesto respectively.

The peas are producing abundantly, four cups this morning, three cups yesterday, a couple handfuls the day before that. Almost all of the spinach has bolted at this point. The leaves never grew large. perhaps due to being crowded, but nothing that grew was wasted.

Cucumbers and pole beans were planted under the pea vines on Tuesday. If I were on top of things, I would have started lettuce three weeks ago that could be planted in place of the spinach and radishes that will be harvested. Something is eating leaves in the first frame, time to bring out the beer traps.

The marigolds that I started from seed in April all have at least one flower blooming now. The clematis, rhododendron, lupine and columbine are finishing blooming. Veronica, hosta, azalea, and [?] are blooming.

Cucumber and echinaceae seedlings

Cucumbers planted under pea vines next to radishes

Sweet peppers in a grow box

Cruising Along

Everything is growing quickly in the garden now. The peas which started blooming in the middle of last week are sporting pods.

We have six tomato plants in a new frame and six green peppers in containers.  The basil is almost ready for a second harvest and the chard and kale in the second frame will each make a good dinner with rice or quinoa. Radishes, spring onions and baby greens from the first garden frame continue to be enjoyed on a daily basis. We also have enough parsley to make some tabouli and cilantro for fresh salsa.

Cucumbers and string beans starting in the basement will probably be planted out this weekend.