summer lull in garden work

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It seems to me there is a lull now in the the vegetable garden work. I’m not planting many seeds now and everything is fertilized. I go to the garden to weed and harvest a few minutes every day. It doesn’t even need much water now with all the afternoon thunderstorms we are getting. I can just sit back, enjoy the harvests and watch the tomato plants grow!
 
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garden bloom day

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I really meant to be on time for this one. Bloom Day is the 15th of the month. Anyway… Here’s what’s blooming (and budded) in my garden today.
 
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garden work

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Today’s garden chores: 1. Fertilize. The main thing I wanted to do was fertilize today. Everything is growing so fast and I don;t want the nutrients to run low. I scattered granulated 5-10-5 (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) everywhere and watered it in well. I also added some Miracle-Gro Tomato Food (18-18-21). My dad found a nice article on tomato culture with fertilizer recommendations. “Tomatoes respond well to fertilizer applications, especially phosphorus. Excess nitrogen fertilizer can result in plants with extremely vigorous vine growth but little fruit production. Apply 2-1/2 to 3 pounds of…
 
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cheers to the harvest!

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This is my first non-lettuce harvest of the year. Sugar snap peas, broccoli buttons and a radish! Yippee! Gretta warned me that spring broccoli around here tends to button. She said it goes to fast from cool to hot. I would assume that’s what has happened to mine. Little tiny heads. I picked them because they look ready – like they’re about to open into flowers soon. My 15 year old son ate them and the peas and I heard no complaints – that means they were at least good.…
 
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bluebird news

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Good news! I hear the bluebirds in the meadow have 6 chicks that have fledged! How great! That’s a lot of mouths to feed. garden birds (Hortus Aves) Belmont Victory Garden
 
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my shady home garden

 
 
The boards between the vegetables patches are my new thing this year. They are slats from old pallets. They make good walkways. I used to just jump the 3.5 ft beds, but this year I find I am ending up stepping on plants instead of clearing the bed. I think the boards look nice. I went ahead and uncovered my brassicas (no big deal – that’s just the kale and broccoli in the center of the photo). I had them covered to avoid cabbage worms and flea beetles. I got…
 
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favas

 
 
The fava beans are growing! I have to get my recipe ready soon. Yummy…Vicia faba
 
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pea flowers

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My peas have lots of blossoms. From top left: Tall Telephone, Pisello Nano, Sugar Sprint snap pea and the pink bud is a Capucijner pea. I think these will open tomorrow! Always exciting to see these beautiful flowers.Pisum sativum
 
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weeds and parsnips

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The photo above is my parsnip bed. Parsnips were my new plant challenge this year. I’ve never grown these before. Not even sure what the seedlings look like. I’ve seeded them twice now in this bed. I’m afraid to pull the weeds because I’m not sure if its a parsnip. Can anyone spot a parsnip seedling here? I think the seeds probably did not sprout. Its just amazing how fast weeds grow in my sunny garden! They grow several inches just overnight. And some of them are very nice looking…
 
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Kathy Martin
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy


weeks and counting until my last spring frost

What I planted recently

Jan 21
thyme, lettuce, escarole

Feb 21
celery, celeriac, parsley, leeks

March 11
cabbage, kale, arugula



What I'm planting soon

April 1
peppers, eggplants, marigolds, beets

April 12
tomatoes, basil, sunflowers

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My garden this week

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17 years of archives!

Check out the food pantry farm I helped to start up:

Aurelia's Garden

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Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!

“I envision a day when every city and town has front and back yards, community gardens and growing spaces, nurtured into life by neighbors who are no longer strangers, but friends who delight in the edible rewards offered from a garden they discovered together.” – Greg Peterson

"What can happen to a seed is a miracle."

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