June Garden Update

One of the things I love about blogging about my gardening is being able to look back and see what I planted last year, and when, and even being able to record the garden progress through the present growing season. For instance....... 

This is that same garden view as above posted on the 6th of May

And again posted on the 20th of May

And again I am posting just a little over 2 weeks later the first week in June. Wow look at the growth in just 2 weeks.  And for us a permanent record that we can look at next year to help decide when to plant.   

These are all cool season crops such as potatoes, peas and onions. The first week in June and we are enjoying spinach and lettuce salads and the first lettuce planting has bolted and we are feeding to the chickens and rabbits. The second lettuce planting we are enjoying now and just planted a third planting of lettuce in a shadier spot to hopefully enjoy later into summer. We know that this planting will depend greatly on the heat in our area.  We cut our first broccoli heads this week and enjoyed a broccoli and noodle salad as well as enjoying our first pot of fresh mustard greens with the thinnings from the mustard row. We also cut the first spinach of the season also eating in a salad. The beets continue to grow and are starting to put on roots.

The peas continue to bloom and the pea pods are just hanging on the vines and if they continue to get plenty of rain we should have a bumper crop this year to freeze. 

This week the temperatures have all of a sudden went into the 90's with unbearable humidity. We have struggled to continue with the weeding and mowing and have started getting up at daybreak to work in the garden to beat the heat. Planted 7 rows of Jade green beans, 6 rows of "Kandy" corn, set out 30 tomato plants and planted 6 rows of red beans. Also 1/2 a row of field peas 2 more rows of onion sets and 4 hills of zucchini and 4 hills of yellow squash. That night we got a gentle rain which is just what we needed to get those seeds off to a good start. Waiting now for garden to dry some so we can get back into it to do some more mulching. Next week we will add crushed egg shells, powdered milk  and Epsom salt to the dirt around the tomatoes to help with blossom end rot before mulching with straw and putting the rings on the tomatoes for support.

The potatoes are blooming and we continue to pull dirt around them regularly. The potato plants themselves are almost 3 foot tall now and the dirt mound atleast 18 inches. Hoping they are not all bushes with no potatoes. No synthetic fertilizer used at all this year only side dressings of rabbit manure. No pests other than a few cabbage worms which we are picking off by hand thus far. If it continues we may have to put a light dusting of seven dust on the cabbage but time will tell. Only if absolutely necessary.....

Still to plant: field corn, pumpkins, peppers, basil, dill, okra, watermelons, cantaloupe, horticulture beans and sunflowers. 

We hope that these 90 degree temperatures move on and some milder 80 degree days return. That high heat and humidity are rough on these two old people. 

Here's hoping that your gardens are growing well also.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter