1st zucchini!!

Well actually, that's a lie. Brian harvested a tiny one for us the other day, I needed a zucchini for a galette I was making, he found a small 'gherkin pickle' sized one. While it was wee, it did its job and we feasted. So this is the 1st zucchini of real size that I've harvested. There are at least 6 more on the vine that I can see, viable & ready to harvest in the next few days. EXCITING!!!

this plant is the only one that survived from seedling, and its the 1st to have a harvest. Yay!

7 inches, oh yeah baby!

The raspberries have been producing nicely this year. For the most part they are nice & plump, the more scrawny ones don't' get as much water. Something we need to address next year! I started harvesting the berries July 2nd, so far I've filled 1 gallon size ziptop bag and started a 2nd. I've also made a galette out of 7.5 oz of the berries. I'd have to average our harvest yield around 12 oz a day! Not too shabby! Jam will be in our future, soon.

July 7th already?!?

Holy cow I've been a lazy blogger! I just realized that the post I started over a month ago never got published...maybe I shouldn't have so many blogs LOL :) This shot is of some pretty snapdragons growing in my front yard. I've never planted a single snapdragon here, and they come back yearly. I did read somewhere that snapdragons grow around witches to protect them, that could explain why I've always got so many of the little beauties around. I like that!


Seedling/Plant report:

Tomato plants: Doing good. The Cherokee purple are the heartiest of the plants so far. The cherry tomatoes are next. Beefsteak - still pretty scrawny but growing. This could be due to placement in the garden, the Cherokees get the sun first, that may explain their success while the others are lagging. But really, does 30 min of additional sunlight really make that much of a difference? Who knows?!

Back yard garden, tomato plants, you can really see the size differences here, the larger along the back (fence) side are the Cherokee Purple, 2nd row is cherry tomato and back row is beefsteak.

Cherokee Purple tomato plant

Squash, including zucchini, butternut and spaghetti: only 1 zucchini seedling survived the transplant. I replanted butternut and spaghetti by seed and they are doing great, as well as the seedling that survived and the nursery zucchini plant. The home seeded zucchini has fruit on it, a blossom that should be open in the am for pollination. I'll be out there, to help it along :) No other flowers yet on squashes, zucchini started flowering males about 10 days ago (late June)

Zucchini baby with its flower attached. I hand pollinated this myself :) Come on baby, grow!

overview of the left side of the front garden, there's 2 zucchini, 2 butternut and 1 or 2 spagheitti squash down there. Not too bad for the 1st year planting in this garden area.

Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli: poor. All but 1 Brussels sprout plant has died. All broccoli perished as well. Reason unknown, but they didn't do well after the transplant to the cups.

The sole survivor of the cruciferous plants

Lettuces: did well, they tasted funky however. Not sure if this is a variety issue or the soil, whatever it was it was gross. It made my hands and kitchen stink, too. Very unpleasant. I'm over trying to grow my own lettuce, its dirt cheap at the store and honestly it tastes better.



Cucumbers: transplants all died. Reseeded early June, they are doing great.



Peppers: doing well. Growing and thriving, no fruits or flowers yet.



Beets: seeded early June, doing very well.



Watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkins: all failed. Seedlings did survive for melons but after transplant withered & died. Causes are most likely not enough water for location, in raised beds so they get hotter than usual and the water just isn't enough to compensate. Maybe if we try again next year add drip irrigation and augment soil.

All in all the garden is doing well. There's been a few rough patches (failed transplants, hail, lack of water, etc) but its pulling through nicely. One thing I really realize after doing this post is that I need to get out there & weed again!!