The past two weeks have been very busy and there has been little time to work in the garden, and even less time to write about it.
But we have accomplished a number of projects and there are many developments to update you, the curious reader.
We completed both our trellis for the cucumbers as well as the compost bin (finally).
The peas are in need of bigger stakes to keep them in line. They are presently dripping with pea pods.
The corn is getting taller and we will be thinning the rows to 1 plant per foot. I applied a spray of fish/seaweed fertilizer to the seedlings as corn is a very heavy feeder. I also planted pumpkins next to the corn stand which should grow in and around the plants (maybe dissuade raccoons from sampling the corn).
In front of the corn (and elsewhere) I transplanted some of the many sunflower seedlings from the cold frame.
The tomatoes continue to grow in their cages without any sign of blight. I have not yet decided to apply copper spray to prevent it. While it is approved for organic use, it is kind of nasty stuff and I would stop applying it by the time the plant begin to flower. But for now they are all looking very healthy.
The peppers and eggplant however are a slightly different story. I jumped the gun in putting them into the ground and they have pretty much just sat there waiting for some hotter weather. It still is getting down in the low 50s at night and we cover them with pots when it gets that low. We also have a problem with flea beetles. They are chewing pin sized holes in the eggplant leaves. I could have/should have waited until it was really warm to set them out. Then they would have been less susceptible. I am cultivating around the plants and hopefully the birds will help me out. Otherwise I will consider using spinosad which would be nice not to use as it hurts the bees, but should be fine at this point since there is no reason for a bee to hang around my tiny seedlings.
The broccoli is getting bigger and bigger and I have seeded more broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower in the 2nd cold frame.
We packed away the bolting spinach in the freezer for later use and are working through our kale which is becoming a menace to the salad rows beside it.
The herb garden is filling up slowly. Mostly through plants I brought home from Allandale, but the parsley, coriander and garlic are all doing well from seed.
I had my first beet yesterday and it was on the small side, but very good and sweet and crunchy. We will be harvesting more of the beets and the carrots toward the end of the month. There are newly sowed rows of both vegetables to give us a harvest late in the summer.
plus, I had my first blueberry.
