Garden Update! - Getting up close and personal!
Garden Update!
The Growth!
Ahhh, this is a great time of the year! All the hard work prepping and planning the garden and we get to see the growth really taking shaping and enjoying some fruits of our labor! Below I will be sharing with you some up close and personal shots of my friends in the garden! I hope you enjoy!
The pepper plants are starting to flower! I have two rows of bell peppers and and few banana peppers and one hot pepper! The banana peppers are not looking all that well, I have been having pest issues and the banana peppers went in the ground at an early stage. Not too sure how they will fare, but I will continue to nurse them!
Ahh lettuce is a looking good! Harvest some of this deliciousness just the other day! These were transplanted out and preformed very well!
I just love broccoli and how giant there leaves gets. Snapped this shot of the under side of one of the leaves looking for any pests. All clear! Early on in the season I had a HUGE slug problem, which I am still dealing with. I wasn't sure if these guys were going to make it, but most of them are pulling through!
This next one comes from my herb bed. Valerian, the herbal sleep aid. First year growing this and it is looking great! Stretch my friend and reach for the sun!
The blueberries! These fellas popped many buds early, but took a turn for the worse. I decided to knock off just about all the buds for the plant to focus on establishing it's new home. Some are looking better then others, time will tell. They just need to stay and get stronger and next year's yields should be plentiful! But I'm hoping for a few berries this year from the healthier ones!
Carrots have sprouted! I may need to get a fence around this box sooner then later. Once these little guys start blowing in the wind, it may be inciting for some critters. I will be sowing another round shortly! I have three rows going now.
I am so excited for these! Caledula! First year growing them! I made a deal with myself, that what ever I was going to grow this year it had to be edible! Caledula is a great medicinal herb! These should start producing some flowers soon! However, someone just ate one of my plants yesterday! :( I guess the fence has to come around these too!
Close up of my German chamomile! I have these throughout the property. I'm hoping to harvest the flowers for some tea making! Chamomile tea is a nice relaxing tea! You can see the bud of the flower is coming along!
Fennel dancing in the wind!
Here is a mix of salad greens. We have been harvesting these the last couple of weeks. Yum!
And of course cucumbers! I have two straight cucumbers and one Boston Pickling Cucumber. I will be starting another round shortly. So as these guys produced through the summer and then begin to die off from the heat I will have another round going for end of summer harvest. I haven't tried this before, but I will see how it goes!
And finally first year strawberries! They are coming along nicely. I'm not expecting fruit this year, but next year we shall be enjoy some berries around this time! Can't wait!
That was my up close and garden update tour! I hope you enjoyed it! Also, if any one has pointers on slug control, I'm open to ideas! I have 4 beer traps and hand picking just about every night! I've never seen so many slugs! I wish the toads and robins would take care of it!
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Thanks for joining, and for the update, @iexplore.
Before I forget: the slug problem.
Last year I had hundreds of them in my garden, but managed to save most of my veggies.
All it took was garlic.
I planted garlic cloves everywhere in between my veggies (except for the cabbages, because it’s a bad companion plant for cabbage). I know you should plant garlic in the fall, but I just planted it all season long.
Also, I sprayed all my plants with a garlic spray every two weeks (you can find the recipe on my @organicgardener blog: https://steemit.com/freedomfirst/@organicgardener/garlic-the-best-remedy-against-garden-pests-garlic-recipe-included)
The cooked cloves from the recipe, I also throw in between my veggies.
Slugs hate everything with a strong smell. Planting some rosemary or lavender strategically in your garden can also help to keep away the little bastards.
I often add 10 to 15 drops of patchouli essential oil to the spray bottle. Slugs hate that smell too. I use the same spray but with peppermint oil to fight aphids.
Your garden is looking good. Just like you, I’m growing only things that are edible (except for the bees/butterflies flower mix). You’re going to be so happy with the calendula. It’s not also a valuable medicinal plant, it also looks good on your plate (or in herbal butter), and it keeps away aphids from your other plants (it attracts them, so be sure to wash them carefully before you use them), it attracts other, useful insects, desinfects your soil and has many more benefits. I think it’s one of the most useful plants in the garden...
The lettuce is looking delicious. I’ve made the same mistake as last year and sowed too many kinds of lettuce at the same time. I know how so much we will never be able to eat it all. Will probably try to make soup out of it, although I always feel like making soup is a bit of a waste... :0)
Btw, the garlic spray can also help you to prevent pests (maybe cure them if it is not too late)
Thanks for this great garden update
Thank you for this! I haven't thought about garlic and I should have because that's what I did last year with carrot root flies. I will try this! The spray looks easy enough too! I try to avoid sprays on my lettuces...have you sprayed this on leafy greens and if so when eating do you taste any of the garlic?
I love having an abundance! I like to share with the neighbors!
I'm super excited for the calendula! I will watch out for the aphids thanks for the heads up!
I must admit I never tried eating the lettuce one or two days after spraying it, but I assume you wash most of it off. I haven’t had any garlic taste on my lettuce so far (or maybe I did and didn’t notice, because I’m very fond of garlic, I eat it with everything, lol)
I just discovered I forgot to mention a very useful ingredient in the recipe: neem oil.
I always add it to the mix, because it’s a very powerful insecticide, kills bacterias and can prevent and treat a lot of pests and fungus on plants . You might to try it on your pepper plants.
It’s 100% organic, and does not harm any beneficial insects, nor the enviroment. As an organic gardener, you can’t live without neem oil.
No, that’s not right.., you can, but it does solve a lot of problems.
Just Google ‘neem oil gardening’ and you’ll find loads of useful info.
I love neem!! That is always my first go to! But I only use that with water and a drop of soap. I will add that to it! Thanks!
Lovely garden pics! Your lettuce looks amazing! Probably because i am craving a big bowl of garden grown lettuce, hahaha!! All your plants seem vibrant and thriving. I really enjoy seeing gardening blog posts! So, thank-you for sharing yours!
Thank you so much! The lettuce taste amazing too! Thank you for stopping by! I'm sure I will have more updates soon!
You're welcome!! I am grateful for the plentiful wild dandelion greens growing freely on my patio. Haha! They are a delightful edition to the daily salad. Yummo! I will watch for your updates.
Yes dandelions!! Harvest the roots in the fall and roast them to make a tea! Yum! You can also dry the leaves and make teas too!
gorgeous green nature pictures
Thank you! They are indeed!
Awesome. :D Looks like you have a great lil garden going there! Sorta reminds me of how the IFC itself is growing, sorta like a garden.. And the seeds have only just been planted recently! In time.. I think we'll bloom beautifully. Also thanks for the mention of my father's photography as well! That was nice of you. :)
The seed grows the plant! The IFC is grow quite nicely!! The playoffs are going to be exciting! I mean it's exciting now with all the tiebreakers! How's the top 16 going to shape up!? So many changes every winning announcement!
Your father deserves the attention, and if this is the least I can do to maybe get him a little more, I will continue to promote him! His work is incredible!
Pretty nice garden you going there, the lettuce is looking real good, nothing like a fresh picked lettuce leaf or two for a sandwich. No onions or tomatoes?
Thank you! I didn't get onions in early enough and I decided that tomatoes were going to be left out this year. I grew Romas for sauce making last year, but decided to put the effort in other plants. We don't eat tomatoes unless in sauce. I do like growing them though, so maybe next year I'll try another sauce making tomato.
You can't make a BLT without the "T". But lots of people grow tomatoes so getting fresh when in season is easy. I love fresh tomatoes, the ones on the vine from the store are a good size for stuffing.
Cut in half, scrape the interior pulp into a bowl
Cut up some roast beef into really really small pieces.
Cut up some cheddar cheese into really small pieces.
Add to the tomato pulp.
Add a little seasoning, salt pepper, and what ever you like (rosemary)
Add a big dollop of Kraft sandwich spread or mayo (if using mayo a small portion of mustard also)
Mix it all together, should be held together with out being to wet. Stuff in tomato half's slice each half in thirds, and a nice sized tasty snack.
(I know I like strange foods)
I love your garden, so many plants and vegetables that I haven't seen here. Thanks for sharing them!
Thanks for visiting! I'm glad you love the garden and you've seen some plants you haven't seen here! :)
Yeah, really eye opening!! Thanks!