Picked and Planted June 24th – July 5th

This week (plus a bit) we picked:

Over 2 and a half pounds of Haskap Berries – a few were still on the tart side – we couldn’t wait! Plus many, many samples – I don’t think my wee girl is going to let us pick any decent amount to bake with this year (although I did manage to get a batch of haskap lemon drop scones and a haskap shortcake made!) These sell for a minimum of $15.00 per pound – they win the prize for most lucrative pick of the week.

Haskap!

Strawberries – so delicious!! I am more than dreaming of shortcake…we have been getting our fill! Unfortunately, so have the squirrels…

Sugar Sprint Snap peas and Oregon Giant Snow peas are here – so delicious right off the vine.

Chocolate, berry and mojito mints, lemon balm and lavender have been supplying me and my two busy bees with herbal teas and a good reason to sit still and enjoy a few minutes on the patio watching the birds.

 

We continue to pick all the greens, turnips, radishes and herbs from last week that our bellies could hold!!

Approx savings compared to local market: $103.18!!!

Total weight picked this week: 10.81 pounds

This week we planted:

Succession planting of Mouse Melons aka cucamelons – it was too wet and they did not germinate…

Marketmore 76 and Burpless string cucumbers – second planting

Watermelon seedlings – unsure of type – they called to us at the market!

Royal Burgundy beans, second planting

Beets – Chioggia, Taunus, Early Wonder and Detroit Red Supreme, second planting

Napoli and Sweetness II Carrots, second planting

Laurentian Turnip (winter storage variety of Rutabaga)

Cherry Belle radish, second planting – it has been so cold and wet that they do alright!

Sugar Sprint peas, second planting

Genovese Basil and Cilantro around the peppers and tomatoes

Maybe some tomatoes in our future?!

“One cannot think, love, sleep well if one has not dined well.” ~ Virginia Wolf

End of June Veggie Garden Photo Tour

The end of June has come very quickly and the garden is coming along wonderfully!  It has been a slower start this year, but July will have many, many treats for us! We have not purchased any supplemental veggies at all this month, and we hope to be able to supply everything we need from now until October (though we may not always get what we want on a given day, it does teach us to eat what is ripe and available.)

The tomatoes in containers seem to be doing the best, followed by those with the red plastic mulch.  The new beds along the back have been slow to start, but I expected that – I find it takes a few years for the soil to reach the perfect mix of nutrients, worms and texture. I finally took the plastic off the zucchinis and butterbush squash because they were getting a bit stressed from the days finally getting warmer (the leaves have greened up even since the pictures were taken!)

The berries have started – Haskaps were first and now strawberries are starting to ripen.  There is going to be a bumper crop of Raspberries and Blueberries this year as well as wild Blackberries!  I have found a few little hardy kiwi hiding under the leaves, fingers crossed!

My wee girl’s garden is filling in wonderfully!  Her runner beans are starting to climb, the purple cauliflower heads are just starting and her Black Plum tomatoes have a few little buds poking out.  She has seen many little bugs and bees visiting – more will arrive once the flowers she has planted begin to bloom.

The weed suppressors are doing a great job!  In the potato beds without film or straw the weeds are doing almost as well as the edibles…grrrr…time to find some more clan straw.

Enjoy the end of June tour!! To see more beautiful end of June gardens, visit Helen, the Patient Gardener.

Haskap!

Red Tomato bed

Peas

3 sisters bed – corn, pole beans and spaghetti squash

Sugar Sprint Peas

Raspberries on guard

Zuchinni and Butterbush Squash

Cheiftan Potatoes

Cucumbers poking up

Peek-a-boo!

Early turnips, beets onions

Tomatillos

Alaska Tomatoes

Wee girl’s Purple and Pink Garden

Chives

Lemon Boy Tomatoes and Calendula

Early bed – radishes are all done…

“I grow plants for many reasons: to please me eyes or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my soul, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow.” ~ David Hobson