To read more about how my garden is growing this season check out my past Garden Journals from this season:
Welcome back to the garden! We just came off of a few days of rather hot temps for us in Maine. I didnt spend much time in the garden until today when it was a glorious temperature of 75 with a nice breeze. Here is what is happening in the garden.
Cauliflower
I harvested the last few heads. One was too overgrown so it went to the pigs the rest was frozen in florets or riced.
Herbs
These are going a bit crazy, I’ve made a lot of pesto and will either dry some more or make some basil cubes with olive oil for the freezer. I also plan to dry the rosemary.
Cucumbers
I have eaten so many cucumbers. Most of the slicer and pickers plants are slowing down but the suyo long and the lemon cucumbers are still producing. I sliced and froze 8 or so today and will use it in smoothies through the year.
Peppers
These are doing better since I trimmed up the other plants around them. They were fairly overwhelmed and not getting enough sun so they’ve done well since I pruned. We have one orange pepper so far and some others are starting to color up.
Brussels sprouts
I harvest these guys tonight. One plant had a lot of well formed heads and others were just too crowded with other plants. The Broccoli plants that sprouted among the brussels didnt help them grow either.
Tomatoes
They are finally ripening to a beautiful red! I dont know why I grew so many cherry tomatoes. I’ll eat them in a salad but usually I share these with family. If we get another freezer or I make some room I think I will freeze the tomatoes and make some batches of sauce when I have all of them ready, and have more time.
Zucchini/ Squash
Zucchinis are still pumping out. I have shredded and froze many many and made a lot of batches of zucchini muffins and bread. The one we forgot and have let go is getting huge! Spaghetti squash is growing well and probably ready to harvest soon. I really need to weed the squash area or at least trim the grass around it.
Broccoli
I had no idea how many florets you can harvest after the initial head is harvested. We are enjoying a lot of broccoli over the last few weeks.
Beans
Flambo beans are getting prettier and prettier! Some of the plants are starting to dry up so I’m on the look out to harvest and get them dried and stored. Yellow wax beans were prolific and have slowed down. Green beans are still going strong. I have been drying them to save room in the freezer.
Cabbage
I harvested the rest of the cabbage, 5 heads in all. I enjoy sauteing it and tried my hand at a batch of sauerkraut. I acquired some seedlings from a neighbor so I put those in. We had an issue with earwigs devouring the first crop so I put some diatomaceous earth on them this early to hopefully deter the pests.
Beets
The second planting of beets is coming up well. I also put in a third planting that have started to come up. Those seeds are loving the warm soil temps!
Carrots
Since my last entry I have put in a second and third planting. They are coming up well!
Potatoes
We have harvested all the potatoes and they are curing in the basement. I am very pleased to not have had the blight issues that we did last year. The boys enjoyed digging for the hidden gems in the soil, it was very exciting! We don’t have a root cellar and I’m trying to use what I have. I am using the shelving I used for seed starting and seed starting trays to keep the potatoes in a single layer and hopefully they’ll have good airflow and cooler temps.
Flowers
OH the flowers! It is so much fun seeing them burst with blooms! Zinnias, salvia, celosia, and sunflowers. They are all greeting me when I go to the garden and its so much fun. I will always aim to make the space beautiful around the food I’m growing.
Thanks for walking the garden with me, I am so excited and blessed by the abundance we have enjoyed in the garden so far. Swing over to Instagram to watch a video walk through as well!
