The Trusty Gardener-Progress in the Lower Garden
The Romaine Lettuce is Thriving; Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Onions, Squash and Peppers on the Way
Welcome back my fellow gardeners. Can you believe that June is almost over? July will be here before we know it. The gardens are coming along nicely, even though it has been dry here in Central NY. However, last night and this morning we got a few thunderstorms for some much needed rain. 1.2 inches. The gardens and flowers will benefit greatly and will also give us a break from watering.
As June draws to a close, I still find myself planting veggies. I recently put my greenhouse away for the season, which was on the front porch. Of course I had extra plants in there, some I started from seed and some I bought. Everything from tomatoes (of course) to kale to onions, to squash to leeks. I don’t know about you, my fellow gardeners, but I have a tough time throwing out plants. Hard to do for me. So, I find spots to squeeze them in. There’s always room for a few more tomatoes.
The Lower Garden is Doing Well
You might remember that I have 3 gardens. The Lower, Upper, and Auxiliary. I keep saying I will cut back, however … Maybe next year. As I have written before, I find gardening therapeutic and it is good for the soul.
The Romaine lettuce continues to thrive (see my previous story here) as I planted one variety from seed, and I also bought some plants at a local farm stand. I harvested some of the Jericho Romaine lettuce today that I started from seed. It is very crisp and seems to have a little bit of a sweet flavor. It is supposed to tolerate heat very well and so far it has.
I also have Kale ready to pick that I started from seed and some other lettuce that I bought as plants; a Bibb lettuce and a variety called Tennis Ball, which produces mini heads that are about one serving each.
The heirloom tomatoes are thriving and are blossoming; soon green tomatoes will appear. So far no signs of blight which is good. The peppers are also doing well, except for 4 or 5 of them that were eaten by a woodchuck which decided to start visiting the garden. I think it came out of the field next door when the hay was cut. Hopefully it won’t do too much damage; I have since covered the peppers with netting after replacing the damaged ones with some extras I had. If you recall, I planted Bell peppers and also some Mini Belles from Seeds ‘N Such. I set up a “live trap” to try to capture the woodchuck and relocate him or her.
The Hügelkultur Bed is Progressing
The experimental garden bed is coming along pretty well. I actually think that it will be better next year once the wood decays more and the pile compresses. This will allow for more moisture and nutrients. That being said, the cucumbers have started to blossom and the squash and pumpkins are growing. The rain should also help the plants and also help the Hügelkultur bed to mature.
If you are interested in trying this gardening method, see this story I previously wrote. It is an interesting concept and I am very curious to see the results. It is an old German method that has been used for many years. It doesn't seem to be very popular in this country; perhaps I will start a new gardening craze.
In upcoming articles, I will highlight the upper garden (home to about 60 hills of Yukon Gold potatoes), and the auxiliary garden; a small plot in back of the pond where I planted Red Norland potatoes, gourds, Delicata and Acorn squash, and of course a few extra tomato plants.