my vegetable garden
1 Comment
My vegetable garden: from front to back: lettuce, beets, bush beans, carrots, scallions, basil, cucumbers, yellow squash, tomatoes, blueberries and red raspberries.
pumpkin blossom
My pumpkin blossoms open early in the morning and close by about 8 am. The past couple days, I have tried to take their picture, but didn’t get up in time. Here’s a 7 am photo. A lovely deep orange color. Pumpkin — Cucurbita spp.
Echinacea purpurea – eastern purple coneflower
The genus name is from the Greek echino, meaning “hedgehog”, an allusion to the spiny central disk. Its so perfectly arrayed its mesmerizing.
green tomato
On June 20 (20 days ago), I had my first tomato flower. Five days later I was able to photograph a tiny a baby tomato. Here it is now – growing up into a big guy (a Supersonic). Our weather has been good, so it might ripen right on schedule: July 20th (10 more days). (My brother is going to come visit once the tomatoes start ripening, so he can make a note ….)
pink pea blossoms
Snow pea flowers. Very pretty. I’ve never seen pink pea flowers before. Pisum sativum
pumpkins in a pot
I found a large pot I hadn’t filled yet this year in the back of the garage, so I got a 6-pack of pumpkins and an unlabeled (mystery!) 6-pack and planted them in it. I used three bamboo poles as a support and found a patch of unoccupied sun in the driveway. All I have to do is remember to water it and try not to back the car into it.
creeping bellflower
This pretty blue flower is a really bad problem in my garden. This year I have let it go and it has flowered both in my side and front yard. Tempting to leave it, as the flowers are very nice. But it is horribly invasive and impossible to eliminate. I keep after it, sifting out the roots, and usually keep it in check. I’ll probably be in trouble next year for letting it go this year. It crowds out everything else. Here’s what some web sites have to say about…
squash vine borers
I have a continual battle during the summer to defend my squash, pumpkin and cuce stems from squash vine borers. AArrghh. I have been spraying weekly with Sevin for the past three weeks now. Still yesterday I found a hole in a yellow summer squash vine. I’ll see if I can remove the larvea from the stem today. I guess I’ll buy some malathion and see if this works better. Also, I just read that wrapping the stems with strips of nylon stockings prevents egg-laying (http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2153.html). I’ll try this after…
baby vegetables
These guys are really tiny. My first cucumber and pea of this year. The amazing thing is, they weren’t there yesterday. Cucumis sativus
so much is going on
So much is going on in the garden now. The cukes, peas and yellow squash have just started blooming. And the pole beans have sprouted and are growing up fast. I planted some bush beans, lavender and sunflower seeds today. I don’t know if its too late for them, but who knows, maybe it’ll be a warm summer and they’ll grow fast.
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
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
