The Big garden was finally finished. The weeding was up to date and it was completely mulched. Plants are growing relatively well. So starting at the south end (42’ wide) and working up the length (60’):
From the bottom – top: nasturtiums; on right multiple startings of mesclun/greens; on left 1 kabocha squash; on left center 1 summer squash; on right center violets, white iris, 3 horehound plants; 1 melon; back right 6 artichokes, bulb area; center back sedum, veronica, lungwort, geranium, cleome; back left 2 cukes
The greens/mesclun have mostly bolted. I harvest them for the hens. Most everything in this area has done very well. The soil was not dug here and the biology is intact.
From the bottom – top: 1 kabocha squash; center 1 summer squash; on right center violets, white iris, 3 horehound plants; 1 melon; back right 6 artichokes, bulb area; center back sedum, veronica, lungwort, geranium, cleome; back left 2 cukes; far left peas
The squash bugs have appeared and we’ve made some attempt at controlling them. Squash borers got the zucchini early on and it was removed. Raw milk foliar spray has kept the mildew at bay. Both squashes are producing beautifully. The cukes, only 2 hills, have been excellent.
I was glad to find buds on the artichokes. It’s always touch and go with them here.
From the bottom – top: Dutchman’s breeches; 1 kabocha squash; center 1 summer squash; pea fence with sugar pod peas up center; 1 melon; 2 cukes; cleome
The peas produced very well considering they were planted late June. I keep a few cleome volunteers at the far end of the garden each year. They add a nice splash of color.
There are still a lot of flowers from the flowerbeds in this garden. They are all doing well.
From the bottom – top: 2 lamb’s ears up center; peas on right; creeping veronica left center; left 1 SunGold cherry tomato; 1 pepper; center back 4 sauce tomatoes, 3 eating tomatoes, 1 red cherry tomato, 1 pepper; back left echinacea, violets, hollyhock, 2 daisies, white iris
The tomato area was dug and then planted and as a result, the biology was not in place. They are doing ok, but I suspect they will succumb to late blight due to poor nutrition due to poor biology.
The flowers had been in place a whole year and so have better biology and are doing excellently.
From the bottom – top: bottom center soapwort; right lamb’s ear; creeping veronica dead center; lamb’s ear and columbine right center; SunGold cherry tomato center; tulip area on right; geranium right; tomatoes and peppers back; hollyhock left top
I can’t wait to start rebuilding the flowerbeds. I will be improving the soil in each one and hope that the plants will do as well in the new beds as they’ve done in this garden.
From the bottom – top: lily of the valley center; soapwort right; liatris center; species spiderwort behind it; SunGold cherry tomato top right; hollyhock and violets center top; tomatoes right; lacinato kale and broccoli back left
The tomatoes just started to ripen up. The SunGold in the center was first, followed by the end sauce tomato. The poor peppers all got blown over in the storm on Tuesday, so I don’t know if they will survive.
From the bottom – top: broccoli up center, then 2 carrot rows; species spiderwort right center; kales up left, first Vates, then lacinato; top right hollyhock, violets, daisies, bulb area, white iris
The plants in this area were put into newly dug soil, so there was no biology at all. They just didn’t do well, succumbing to pest pressure. The broccoli was worse than the kale.
From the bottom – top: Vates kale, then lacinato, then broccoli up center; broccoli on right center; 2 carrot rows; hollyhock, violets daisies, white iris top right; Walla Walla Sweet onions up left; comfrey top left
Oddly enough the 2 kales have done ok, given the soil condition. The carrots had a bad start, then were never thinned or weeded. There won’t be much for carrots this year.
From the bottom – top: on right up center 3 rows of Walla Walla Sweet onions; on left up center 2 rows of Cortland storage onions; top right lacinato kale; top left comfrey
This has been the worst onion year I can remember. These were planted in newly dug soil, and have done very poorly. They are very small and fell over early. The Cortlands did slightly better than the Wallas.
From the bottom – top: on left Jerusalem artichokes; center quince and calendula; back right comfrey; back left rhubarb
The comfrey and rhubarb were established, so they have done well. I had hoped to move the quince out this year, but it’s not likely now. We found some volunteer calendula in the weeds and left it.
The Jerusalem artichokes were moved to this location by rodents. We left a few of them along the fence.
So that’s the Big garden at the beginning of August. The Small garden was covered with black plastic after the garlic harvest and will remain like that until sometime after Labor Day. I need to find a lot of mulch to be able to put right down when the plastic is taken up. This will encourage the biology to come back and prepare the soil for planting in the spring.
Excellent Garden, I have been living in a unit in a city for the past 3 years and am missing my garden
Too bad about the onions. The farm is beginning to really take shape and I'm glad you're all done with the work. Now the waiting begins.
Oh, a long ways from done with all the work! LOL Just done in that garden. :))
Oh okay. Fall is fast approaching. Hope you have enough time before winter sets in.