It's been a while since the last Garden Update but honestly trying to take pictures in a deluge just isn't a lot of fun. I was beginning to wonder if I should start building an Ark in the basement but finally today the sun returned. There have been some wonderful success stories and one sad passing in the garden.
Today after tasting our frowsy lettuce from the four large beds we planted it was apparent that the excess of water had taken it's toll. The lettuce left a nasty bitter aftertaste.
I have to admit I have eaten my fill of greens by this time so I'm not mourning them all that much. There is one bed of sweet Romaine left and we'll harvest that tomorrow.
We have some onions in flats that will take over the lettuce beds and perhaps we'll plant some more greens in a few weeks. For right now it's all about the peas.
Shelling peas, snap peas and pea pods. Wes is 6 feet 3 inches which gives you some perspective on the success of our peas and trellis structures.
We had fresh snow peas for dinner with some fresh shelling peas and I put up two pints of shelled peas to the freezer. They'll be a tasty treat in the cold of winter. Said winter, by the way, that still seems to be lingering. In the mornings we bundle up a bit, me with my shawl and blankie and Wes with his flannel shirt and coffee. Slowly the house warms to roughly 68 degrees but honestly for July this is downright chilly. I'm about to go hunting for a large flat rock so I can lay myself out like a lizard and get some inner warmth going.
I'm a bit worried about the beans, zukes and cukes but they do look nice. Hopefully they'll ignore the overnight lows in the 40's and 50's and take off with the day time temps in the 70's.
The onions are doing quite well and we're going to thin them a bit this weekend and sell some of the excess.
We do like onions but there's no way the two of us can eat more than 300 over a winter *g*
Finally, the one garden oddity that has me really wondering is this watermelon and his siblings.
I threw these seedlings out in the cold of May under row cover and they've thrived!!! We had several hard frosts which killed the winter squash (wimps) but these melons and the Hale's Melons have survived and thrived. I have no earthly idea if they'll grow up in time but I have more row cover and I'm going to baby them until either they do mature or the garden freezes over.
Today was a lovely day in the garden full of heat and promise. While the rain has not given us much of a break and the lack of heat precludes the abundance I was planning for the tastes and joys of this garden are all good. I spun on the porch during the early afternoon breeze and Agatha laid herself out on the daybed in a sunbeam. What more could a family wish for!
Too bad about the lettuce passing, but I know what you mean about greens overload. We've been experiencing it here, too! However, I am very envious of your lovely Romaine!!!! For some reason I cannot fathom, because I usually have tons of it, I seem to have forgotten to plant Romaine!!! (except I've got a few baby seedlings (redundant, I know) in the new bed. So someday we'll have some Romaine, I guess.
Posted by: Norma | July 09, 2009 at 05:56 PM
We're still in flannels too, but wow, could we use some of that rain!! Your peas turned out super-are you giving lessons?? Perhaps it's my lack of rainfall. You can water and water with a hose, but really, nothing works as well as rain.
Posted by: Sue | July 10, 2009 at 02:28 AM
Our peas are close, but not ready *yet* - still in that microdot stage. We're so anxious for peas, we check them almost hourly...
Abundance is coming. Just wait till late August when you're up to your collarbones in tomatoes!
Posted by: gayle | July 10, 2009 at 05:51 AM
Your fresh garden veggies look yummy.
Posted by: Phyllis | July 10, 2009 at 06:08 PM