Sunday, June 30, 2013

Garden Update Part 2

I'm finally getting to finish up the state of the garden update from the other day. Is it me, or do the days just get busier and faster the older you get? I can't imagine being bored! Anyway:
I tried Charming Snow Cauliflower again and like last year I was rewarded with a bunch of nice little heads that added up to one meal's worth of cauliflower. I have some seedlings started for a fall batch, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I also planted a variety called Amazing, which so far hasn't lived up to its name at all. They didn't germinate all that well and so far I haven't seen any sign of a head on any of them, but they may yet "amaze", time will tell.
My beets are doing really nicely this year, which makes me very happy! We love roasted beets in salads, speaking of which, my spring lettuce was also a winner. I grew some 18 varieties and like last year I had so much I was giving it away to friends in huge bagfuls. Both beets and lettuce leave me with challenges I have yet to master. I am never successful with beets after the first sowing, no matter how hard I try. If the seedlings survive at all, they don't tend to form bulbs. My initial beet bed is thriving and thankfully it is pretty large. I sowed a second one and every day I find fewer healthy seedlings. The heat just seems to get to them before they are big and healthy enough to fight it. I thought this time around I would finally succeed with the second sowing of beets, but it's looking tenuous. And with lettuce I have yet to get a decent harvest of lettuce when the weather gets hot. My initial spring lettuce is all gone now and my second batch is at its peak. I have a third bunch started from indoor seedlings that's coming along, all of more heat tolerant varieties. They'll be ready to harvest soon and we shall see if they turn out bitter or not. And I planted a bed of heat resistant lettuce from seed last week, but I'm not seeing much of any germination, likely due to the warm weather. I'd love to be able to extend the lettuce a bit more!
I tried Scarlet Runner beans for the first time, but planted them a little too late to get any beans out of them. But they are presenting us with a beautiful display of the lovely red flowers they get their name from and I'm hoping our humming birds are enjoying them! They make the garden look happy!
My cabbages are running behind last year's crop. By this time last year I had finished harvesting the last of the earlies whereas this year I just harvested the first one today! My red cabbages were looking beautiful till a week or so ago when they were ravaged by cabbage worms and I caught them a little too late. Bummer. I have yet to have any real success with growing red cabbage which is an irritant to the German in me. Sweet and sour red cabbage is a favorite with much of my family.
Oh, and I should mention that I had an early and successful crop of bok choy, mizuna, semposai and komatsuna. Asian greens are so quick and easy to grow but unfortunately not so easy to store.
And that's where things stand as of today. My June harvest total in pounds was 6 pounds less than last year, but I had a blockbuster May so I'm still ahead of the game. Hoping we get a bit of rain tonight so I don't have to water tomorrow. How is it possible it will be July already???

6 comments:

  1. I bought Amazing cauliflower seeds this year to plant for the fall. We shall see how they do. So far I only have a couple of cauliflower heads. Hopefully the rest will start forming soon! Your garden looks great! Keep up the good work! Those scarlet runner beans are beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Robin! It is a labor of love, as it is for all of us gardeners. I am trying fall cauliflower for the first time this year. Good luck with yours!

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  2. I had the same problem with my early beets, mostly greens and little root. That almost always happens with my radishes, but not usually with beets. I have two new beds just germinating, and now it's 100 blazing hot degrees out there, so I'm not sure they will survive. I put lattice over some of my lettuce, trying to coax it through the heat. I looked out at the garden a while ago, and everything looked wilted. It's going to get worse before it gets better :-(

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    1. I don't envy you all that heat Granny! I wilt when it gets over 80. Hope your garden isn't set back by those temps!

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  3. I think as we get older that they must shorten the days!!!! Or so it seems! Maybe it is a good thing as the energy gets shorter too! Nancy

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    1. Sure seems that way doesn't it Nancy? Sometimes I feel like a rat in a treadmill, lol!

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