The Garden--Early June

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had finally finished planting the garden.  As of last weekend, every veggie we want to grow is out there.  Whether or not it stays there (ahem, deer), and whether or not it grows (missing a whole lot of the peas I planted several weeks ago, grrr) is another story.

Here is a picture, taken this morning from the front porch, of most of the garden.  At approx 120' long, it's really hard to get the whole length of the garden into the picture.  I'd have to stand so far away it would look like a dirt patch in the foreground of the neighbor's pasture.  And I really don't need a picture of the neighbor's pasture.

This year I decided to separate the garden into four sections.  I'd say quadrants, but that might give you the impression they are all equal in size.  And they're not.  I also decided that instead of attempting to keep the paths separating the sections tilled and weed-free, I'd just let them grow up in grass, weeds, whatever and keep it mowed.  It only takes DH a second to buzz through there on the zero-turn.  So that is the big green stripe going from left to right and from the pergola back toward the neighbor's pasture fence.

The big green patch in the left side of the picture is peas in the front, and strawberries in the back.  The peas really really need to be weeded badly.  That is on my agenda for this afternoon.

really weedy pea rows

three pea plants in a row!

The six rows of peas are not filling in very well, 

I'm thinking I might have to go buy more seed and replant if I want any shelling peas for the freezer.

Most of my annual veggies are to the right side of the garden (which is the west side, if you were here).

first rows west of the north/south path contain a couple hundred onion seedlings 

(and weeds, which I can grow better than veggies!)

nice sturdy tomato seedlings, 

Romas I started from seed

Honey & Cream sweet corn

beans, beans, the magical fruit :0)

Several rows of a variety of dried beans for soups,

a couple rows of rainbow mix (green, purple, yellow wax) bush beans 

and to the left you see the edge of one of the bean poles planted in Kentucky Wonder pole beans.

KY Wonder is my old stand-by for canning.

potatoes, and weeds

I did the tilling between rows, now need to do the hand weeding between plants

squash seedlings, just sprouted

The strawberries look pretty good; if the birds don't get them, I should have a good crop.  Some berries have started to turn red.  Which means I should be enjoying lots of fresh strawberry goodies next week!

With the rain we had yesterday, and more warm weather on the way, the garden should really start growing in leaps and bounds.  I know the weeds are.  Doing the delicate hand weeding around seedlings is time consuming, especially because I'm the only one at this little place here who can identify a veggie seedling from a weed seedling.  Honestly, I think the rest of the family avoids learning the difference, so they don't have to do the hands and knees, pulling with your fingers work that hand weeding requires.  Like in the lettuce.

little lettuce seedlings only as big as the tip of your finger