Garden Update – June

My vegetable garden is OUT OF CONTROL! Every evening, when I go out to look at it, I still feel stunned. I love to talk about my garden. A few of my co-workers are now calling me Farmer Brenda and asking when I’ll be selling at the farmer’s market. :) I haven’t harvested anything yet, but it won’t be long!

The tomato plants have continued to grow about a foot a week, but I think they’re slowing down now with the arrival of the fruit! I have five plants. Roma, Mortgage Lifter and grape all have lots of green tomatoes now. Beefsteak looks strong but doesn’t have any blooms yet. My Sweet 100 cherry, which is hidden in the back of the tomato section, is the only plant in the garden that hasn’t thrived. I’m not sure if it’s not getting enough light, or the other plants are taking its nutrients, or what, but it’s not dead yet so I haven’t given up on it.

Behind the tomatoes is the cucumber trellis, which the cucumbers have already taken over. This picture was taken last Friday, and since then I’ve had to start draping the vines over the top of the trellis. I may eventually have to cut them back because there’s nowhere else for them to go!

On the left and we have assorted bell peppers and one banana pepper, in the middle are more peppers and an eggplant, and on the right are yellow squash and spaghetti squash, which are just as aggressive as the cucumbers. You can see the vine running up the side of the house. Off to the right I also have cilantro (which already bolted – boo), tarragon, basil, sage, dill, and oregano.

This was my first squash EVER! Every year, my squash plants bloom and have great foliage, then wither and die suddenly without producing a single fruit. So, even though a chipmunk came a few days later and stole this one off the vine, I’ve already declared success. Now a second squash has appeared and is already bigger than the first.

Here’s the cantaloupe! No fruit yet, but the vines are loaded with blooms. I put up this trellis for them so they’d have their own area and not choke out other plants. Hopefully it’ll hold up the heavy fruits. In front of the cantaloupe section is my heirloom watermelon vine, and a special mystery squash that was a gift from the owner of Bartlett Nursery. I’m really excited about the watermelon. The seeds were given to me by my sister’s father-in-law.

Before this year, I had truly given up on ever having a successful garden. I wasn’t going to stop gardening, but I had tried everything I could think of for five or six years, so I accepted my destiny of consistently mediocre harvests. But my dad never gave up and continued to help and encourage me. Now I have this amazing bounty. Hopefully there’s a lesson there!