How Does Your Garden Grow?

It has been over 6 years since I did any vegetable gardening.  I had just begun to learn gardening for the New England region when I became too ill to continue.  So now I feel like I am relearning everything (not sure how much I knew and lost, either).  

The good news is that my grey matter seems capable of learning all over again and I am going for it.

Backyard beds June 14, 2012

My tomatoes are thriving and blooming.  So excited at the promise of fresh, organically-grown tomatoes.  The basil plants attract slugs and are growing but are very holey.  

In the far bed my carrots are finally growing after a second sowing.  I will not bother growing carrots in the future most likely.  They are inexpensive to purchase and take up a lot of space that I think would be better used for more garlic now that I know how well it does in that particular spot.  

My sugar snap peas (on left trellis in rear) are finally blooming.  I am pretty sure we will never get these in the house but will be a favorite "snack from the vine" kind of treat for all.  

Suyo long cucumber

 I have been disappointed in the cucumbers that I planted: Suyo long cucumbers.  They only seem to germinate at 50% and then are not doing well in our cool New England spring weather.  This is when I really wish I had a greenhouse.  Really and truly.  I planted an oriental cuke because I buy the hothouse cucumbers vs. the more common cucumbers when I shop.  This experiment might not be a success.  I will sow some more seeds and wait for warmer weather.  They might just take off when we get another week of higher temps.

Over 100 slugs

Yesterday, I went out in the rain and collected over 100 slugs from my gardens.  Next time I will wear rubber gloves, though.  Slugs can carry a parasite that causes deadly meningitis.  I sure did a lot of hand-washing yesterday.

These slimy guys do a lot of damage; they seem to prefer basil and lettuce to most everything else.  But I don't want to share my lettuce.  So the slugs must go.  

I had a thought this morning while doing my rounds: is there some type of substance I can put on the ground around my garden beds to keep the slugs from climbing the wood frames?  After a quick search I found that lava rocks, copper strips, and diatomaceous earth can all be used as a slug barrier.  Hmmm, I have a huge 50 lb. bag of DE in my basement.  That will be my afternoon gardening task.  I'll let you know how well it works.

Sugar pumpkin

Finally the pumpkins are growing.  Finally! We had an early spring, then a heat wave, then 4 weeks of fairly cool, wet weather.  Temps have been mostly in the 60's to low 70's during the day and in the 50's at night.

Now we need to see some warmer weather so my heat loving plants can start really growing.  

I have had no luck with the pepper plants.  The one plant that I had in the driveway grouping attracted slugs which ate it to a single, leafless stem.  It finally succumbed.  The seeds I planted in my front garden haven't even come up.  I think I might try to plant some inside and see if I can get them to germinate and give them a little head start before transplanting.  I knew peppers would be a challenge in New England but I was hoping I could grow some because we eat a LOT of red, yellow and orange bell peppers around here.  The boys love them raw, sauteed, in their eggs, well, in pretty much anything.

Sugar snap pea

Oh, the beauty of a pea blossom.  Took 10 tries but I actually got a decent closeup.  A camera that can take closeups and macros is on my wish list (when that million dollar check comes in the mail -- I can dream, can't I?).  

Considering this is my first season gardening in a very long time, I feel fairly successful.  Gardening is all about experimenting: failure and success both teach.  

Thank you for sharing my garden with me today.  How does your garden grow?

Slug Slime and Aphid Attacks

It is approaching the end of May and the first week of hot weather this year.  In the last few days my garden has come to life:  My tomatoes, beans and sugar snap peas grow inches each day, little seedlings  are popping up enthusiastic to greet the sun, and so begins the battle between mankind and pest.

One thing I learned early on in my gardening years is that healthy, organically-grown veggie plants attract more pests.  Another little tidbit I acquired along the way is that vegetable gardening is not for the faint of heart.  But don't let a few bugs deter you from growing your own veggies.

While I love the daily interaction I have with my garden, even enjoy pulling weeds, I really don't like bugs.  And take my word for it that slug slime doesn't wash off with soap and water.  

Tomato plants after an application of insecticidal soap

Discovering aphids on my tomato plants yesterday I sprayed them all with homemade insecticidal soap this morning (never spray anything on plants if the sun is shining -- it is cloudy today so it is perfect).  They are all kind of flopped over but after a few minutes I righted them and they look great (and yes, they definitely need to be staked).  I inspected them after spraying and found a handful of healthy-looking aphids so I just squished them and rubbed any eggs I found to destroy them.

Lettuce and spinach recovered after taking a beating

Last Saturday we had a crazy thunderstorm blow in: lightning, thunder, and torrential rains battered my baby lettuces, especially the red leaf lettuce plants.  As you can see in the photo above they have recovered and are doing well.  Still waiting for the bunching onion seeds I sowed in the spaces to germinate.  Seeds take so long to germinate up here in the northeast as compared to the south.

Beans, parsley, oregano and tomato

My container garden continues to thrive.  Beans, parsley, oregano, pepper and tomato plants all share a small space located on my driveway beside the garage.  Lots of sunshine and heat, it seems to do better than my garden beds.  I pick off at least one slug every morning before taking my son to work.  So far no aphids have found this little garden. 

Newest garden space in former goat yard

Finally, this is my newly formed 8x10 garden space.  Sod was removed and transplanted and my son turned the soil down approximately 10-12 inches.  I then formed three raised beds and a row in the back for climbing plants that will eventually grow on a cattle panel I have yet to install.  I am thinking about actually planting 2-3 pumpkin plants to grow up on the cattle panel trellis as an experiment.  It doesn't look like much yet but the seedlings are just coming up.  I sowed Dino Kale, peppers and something else I can't remember (why, oh why didn't I make a diagram and record what I planted where???) in the farthest bed.  The other beds are planted with zucchini and yellow squash and pumpkins.  There are a handful of bean plants growing on the back single row. 

Sugar snap peas are getting ready to bloom

Picking off slugs and squishing aphids . . . not my favorite past-time.  You do what you have to do!