Garden Update--6/9/2015

Last week, I'll admit that I haven't been to the garden as much as I'd like.  Both the threats of rain and getting actual rain is what deterred me.  We did, however, get a bit of a torrential downpour some time this week.  When I went to the garden, stuff is growing very well (praise God), and let's hope all remains well (please Lord).  Here is my progress:

As you can see, I need to do some weeding.  No worries.  There's still food amongst these weeds.  In this picture, there is Swiss Chard and parsley.

Look at the flat leaf parsley.  I prefer this in cooking--as it imparts SO much flavor! The first time I grew this, I actually started a seedling.  It was so prolific that it started to look like a shrub!  I can see it with this as well.

Here's a half-weeded bed.  We can FINALLY see the curly and flat-leaf parsley.

Another parsley visual--a long with the oregano and sage.

HOLY SWISS CHARD!!!  LOOK AT IT!!!  It has EXPLODED with growth!  So much so, that I decided to harvest some and take it home.

LOOK AT MY COLLARD GREENS!  SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!  And this is three of five plants.  I'm debating whether or not to try for more.  I mean, I still have time.  You can NEVER have enough collard greens, and as I reiterated in other posts, home grown collard greens are THE BOMB!!

My lowly cayenne pepper seedling.  For some reason, I don't see any more of them.  I just can't have ONE plant, so I may have to bite the bullet and buy a couple more (if there are any available).  We use red pepper flakes quite often in my house, and I would also be interested in grinding some cayenne as well (I use cayenne pepper as a replacement for black pepper in my homemade salad dressing), so one plant is NOT going to supply all of our needs.

Here's a Rutgers tomato seedling.  I have a least four more that are doing well, but this is the biggest.  As with the cayenne pepper, I'll need to purchase some additional plants.  I bought canning jars, so I need enough tomatoes to fill at least five of them. Perhaps five plants will be enough, but I also know a man at my church who is a HUGE fan of Rutgers.  I would like to have a little extra to either give away or sell.

Check out this Red Russian Kale!  It is getting SOO big.  And no, those aren't bug bites.  Those frilly leaves is just how it grows.  This is the biggest plant, and I have about five more.

Here is the White Russian Kale.  It is not as prolific as the Red Russian Kale (I only have two plants), but it's a start.  I hear that White Russian Kale is extremely high in antioxidants.  Yummy AND healthy.  Looking forward to a nice kale salad--or even some kale chips.

Peas in the middle and turnips on the left.  I need to get in here and weed.  I am however, glad to see the peas taking over as opposed to the wild morning glory.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm experimenting growing peas without support.  They're growing, but I think I will definitely use a support for next year--that way they'll grow taller and have the tendrils on the support.  They're currently wrapping themselves around each other.

The peas are ready for their close up.

Check out the green beans!  The plants are looking well, and thus far, I saw little to no damage from the Mexican bean beetle.  I'm telling you--rosemary and petunias--around ANY bean, will repel those awful pests.  I'm looking forward to an awesome string bean harvest all throughout the growing season.

Here, my friends, are the black beans.  This is important to highlight because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I did not sow seeds that I bought from a seed catalog.  Rather, I bought a bag of beans at The Dollar Tree for $1 and put those in the ground.  Clearly, they have germinated.  NOW, I have to wait and see if I'll get an actual harvest.  If so, then good-bye to $3 packets from seed catalogs!  This will be monitored closely

(NOTE:  I also bought a bag of navy beans for a dollar and some change.  I will attempt to do the same thing.  More to come on that as well).

My first tomatoes!  These are yellow pear tomatoes.  Awwww....aren't they cute.  These are the only two thus far, and I seriously need to stake this plant.  It is just laying on the ground, and I don't want the plant to get infested with mold or blight.  I forgot my stakes at the time, so when I go back, I will make staking tomato plants a top priority.

In this bed, I've sown seeds for all different kinds of lettuce--from Buttercrunch and Parris Island Cos, to Lolla Rossa and a Wild Garden Mix.  The next thing on my list is to get onions (keeps rabbits away) and straw (to keep the soil cool and moist).

In this bed, I've sown seeds for corn, zucchini, sunflowers, and borage.  I know, I'm a little late on the corn and zucchini, but it's not officially summer yet, and the growing season is still fairly new.  I believe I still have an ample amount of time.  I'll definitely keep you updated on the progress.

(TIP: The purpose of growing sunflowers with corn is that the sunflowers repel Japanese beetles.  In my first year, I've noticed that with some of my neighbors' corn, it was completely INFESTED with Japanese beetles.  However, because I interplanted sunflowers with my corn, I observed the Japanese beetles flying around and for some reason, taking a very long time to find a place to land.  I only saw about five Japanese beetles around my corn that year, so I've been planting corn and sunflowers together ever since.)

Here is my Swiss chard harvest.  It's so PURTY!!  Such amazing colors!  I prepared it by sauteeing it in olive oil and butter--and with garlic, onions, and added a vegetarian vegetable bullion cube (non-tomato based) for additional flavor.  It was EXCELLENT, and my mother liked it too!  I didn't think of turning this into a blog entry--until AFTER I prepared it and started eating it.  I still have an abundance of Swiss chard, so I will provide an entry when I harvest some more.

I am SOOOO excited for my garden this year.  Every thing is looking really good.  Sadly, I don't see any cabbage (which was one of the first seeds I've sown), but I have time to try again.  Everything else, is...just...GROWING.  On my next trip to the garden, I will plant seeds for cucumbers, more sunflowers, dill, and fennel.  So until next time...Think Thrifty!  Dawn