Garden Tour

I had so many pictures to upload that my previous post kept crashing! So I continue with this post which is mostly about the garden so it's all good but I better upload today as things are growing in leaps and bounds...and before you know it we’ll be harvesting!

I start with my swisschard that is being grown in a pallet

Zucchini and tomatoes in  a couple of strawbales. I have a shade cloth set up for the strong rays of sun and chilly nights. The mushrooms are starting and I will need to smoosh them into the bales later as the tomatoes don’t do well from the black inky stuff.

Garlic is about 3 ft (1mtre) high! Scapes should be happening soon!

Plant or compost? At this point I have 90 tomato plants planted...these are in case some don’t survive

Peppers are struggling 

Strawberries in tires

Blueberries ..first year in the ground

Raspberries are rockin'

Tomatoes in these bales...the oats are starting too!

Peas ...I strung some bale twine to create a place for them to start climbing...seems to be working

...these were started in egg cartons and transplanted in pots

Keyhole bed...used tulle to cover the brassicas (cabbage, kale, cauliflower, brusselsprouts, onions)

Celery, peppers, tomatoes 

Strawberries seem to like their new home

Beans are hanging in there...started these in egg cartons and transplanted 

Peas direct sowed...if all goes according to my plan we should have us some peas!

...and of course there are always going to be volunteer potatoes!

Row of 4 bales end to end...3 tomato plants in each bale...used stakes with pool noodles on top, wire fencing placed horizontally, and plastic to cover for protection from the strong sun and cold nights

Used some duct tape to protect myself from drawing blood!

Mushrooms are a sign that the bales are going in the right direction ...unfortunately one can’t eat them

Was hoping to grow cucumbers here...transplants failed so started from seeds ...also sunflowers' radishes, lettuce here

Found a spot to plant more lettuce...and I put some seeds here and I don’t remember which ones! Lol...

Oh look more peas!

Zucchini in the sink, daikon radish and swisschard in back

Carrots and radishes

Beets

I hope these are parsnips!

Sage and oh...more chives!

Rhubarb almost finished...

....and to think ...we will never go hungry 😋 

Walkabout Tour

I begin by looking back on previous blogs of the garden around this same time and marvel at the crazy things we've done. It's quite a journey of our life here on our meager one acre and given us a feeling of great joy and accomplishment. With Brent being able to spend more time on projects since his retirement our yard is looking amazing right now. 

The pond is his pride and joy. We were so excited to see a baby goldfish! However we haven’t seen it lately...hopefully it’s just hiding. Pond is still a work in progress but the leak has been fixed and we planted lots of new plants and shrubs. I still want one more...a rhododendron. Might have to wait until next spring.

Pics of pond were taken May 31

This year I decided to try the upside down buckets with a twist. I planted cucumbers in the bottom and tumbling tomatoes in the top. The tomatoes are doing great considering they are only 7 weeks at this point. Brent started the cucumbers back in Mar but they were stunted either by overwatering or cold but they are still hanging in there!

Pics taken June 9

Hanging baskets are filling in beautifully...and to think only 4 wave petunias in this pot!

Another tumbling tomato 

Pic taken Jun 14

Basil is hard for me to grow...

These are Brent’s tomatoes that he started back in March...like the cucumbers they too were slow but not giving up!

This is a Black Krim tomato that I bought from a fellow quilter. She started hers beginning of March! Apparently this is supposed to be a very large fruit!

So exciting...our first pickings!

These begonias are the deepest, richest red ever...I just love them!

I may have gone a bit too far with Lightroom on these closeups🥴

So many compliments on the coleus...very striking 

This pussywillow tree is doing so well in this corner

As you can see, I have planted cauliflower and cabbage everywhere! And there is still more...the bonsai was an accident. I thought it would look good in the wheelbarrow but I decided to do it right and bought the bonsai pot and soil

If you look closely I have planted so many things in these boxes...lettuce, kale, cauliflower...oh and pansies!

It’s been a while since I grew dahlias...I hate digging them up in the fall

Geraniums that I overwintered and have had no place to repot

Astilbe 

Tops of my milk cans

Chives!

My first rose blooms...this rose is not what I bought! ...and the perennial geraniums do not die! I have dug so many up and they keep on coming...

....and this rose is supposed to be a climber? Its beautiful...

...again several tomatoes planted in buckets 

Sedum...

There’s a couple tomato plants in here too!

Pontentilla filling in

This has filled in quite a lot...love, love 💗 

Note to self...June 12th ...spread some worm castings, azomite and cinnamon around base of fruit trees. Brent applied another application of tanglefoot to trees...sidedressed everything else (pots, hanging baskets, raised beds and bales) with 4-4-4