June 12, 2013

It’s been a long, yet very satisfying several months putting this garden together.

In mid-April, having bought some starts at the local nursery, it looked like this:

By mid-May, I’d begun transplanting my own starts:

Now, a third of the way into June, it looks very different:

Cat Cage Garden: Both Cherry and large tomatoes, of “indeterminate” varieties, which means they will grow as vines, not bushes, are on the right; various kinds of peppers are to the left of the beds.

Lettuce and Swiss Chard: My first crops! Yumm!

The next harvests have been snow peas! MMMM!

Meanwhile, Beets have been planted and a shade cloth placed atop the cat cage to give young plants some relief from the hot sun.

A gift of basil was separated into 5 plants, and they are thriving:

Both kinds of tomatoes and the peppers are coming along well:

Meanwhile, I’ve planted many of the seedlings of cucumbers, cantaloupes, various squashes, pumpkins, okra, and more into “Earth Boxes” set on “weed cloth.” The idea is that the plants will grow out of the boxes and cover the weed cloth and the rest of the fenced in yard. Then those areas will be covered with more goodies through the rest of the summer.

These young plants are starting to produce flowers. I will be snipping the flowers off until the plants grow down to the ground. That will keep them from producing food, leaving energy for the young plants to grow faster and reach the ground sooner. Heck with immediate gratification!