Things are really in full swing here in my backyard. I am officially swimming in salad greens (I've given away 3 grocery bags full of greens in the past week and still have so much left to eat) and am starting to think this is going to be a theme this summer. Thankfully most everything else I'll be growing will be preservable.
Come take a peek into my garden...
tatsoi and arugula with a bit of bok choy in there too
blushed butterleaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and some russian kale in the back and some brussels sprouts way in the background
carrots slowly coming in with cosmos and tomatoes in the background
chives with some newly sprouted arugula
my tomatillos have started blooming! does anyone know how much each plant usually produces?
some bush beans, hot & sweet peppers, basil, marigold, tomatoes and tomatillo
cosmos blooming next to a big patch of mesclun mix and herbs
one of my biggest pea plants with a marigold and some newly sprouted radishes in the background
tomatoes, tomatillos, and cosmos towering over arugula, lettuce and spinach
I'd like to think my garden is a good example of companion planting. I'm trying to keep each bed pretty diverse in hopes of attracting necessary pollinators and beneficial insects as well as discouraging pests. So far it's going great. My swiss chard and spinach are the only plants that are suffering from any pest problems. Apparently radishes make great trap crops for leaf miners (which is what's eating those greens) so I've quickly sown some extra radishes near those crops. Do you have any other tips for how to get rid of leaf miners?
your veggies are so inspiring!! they look great. i am so enjoying fresh salad mix, i can't believe how fast it grows!
ReplyDeleteHey Alexis. Covering your veggies with remay helps with leaf miners, or going around and squishing the leaves to see if you can find the little wormies. Your garden looks great - our cosmos aren't NEARLY that big yet, but we're starting to eat beets and carrots and peas and strawberries! It's only starting!
ReplyDeletefANTASTIC! MAKES A MAMA PROUD. GIRL!
ReplyDeletethanks for the tip Kerri! So far I've just been trying to discard any infected leaves in hopes of staying ahead of the bugs. but it feels like im loosing more leaves to them than i'm eating :(
ReplyDeleteI will check out remay!
the really big cosmos were transplants i bought from my favourite group of mennonite farmers, my own home grown cosmos are still rather small too.
We cover a lot of our greens with remay - it helps with carrot rust fly and cabbage moths too, so we cover our kale, cabbages and the rest of our brassicas when necessary... we also cover our corn, but I don't know why. Congrats on the baby hump - when are you due?
Deleteaugust 30th. my first thought when we found out was "oh no! that's peak gardening time!" haha. let's hope he enjoys the garden as much as mama.
DeletePapa concentrates on the edibles--mostly tomatoes and basil and peppers--and I on the flowers, with which they're interspersed. A deer (I think) ate ALL the blooms off two of my rosebushes in one night! Disgusting sprays of natural deer repellent made from coyote urine seem not to discourage these exotic-food enthusiasts. Even so, with frequent replacement of colorful annuals eaten by, I think, rabbits, the gardens are looking pretty good! Mom and Pop will be with us for the fourth--fireworks from the front porch--and on the 1st, everyone in the lower 48 is coming--Terry and Ellen and their families as well as Carol and Phil, Susie and Loren (but probably neither Greta nor Nick) and Max and the "boys." We'll be thinking of you!
ReplyDelete