With my abundance of free time lately, I have been able to get some work done in the garden. Last year it seemed like I never had time to work in the garden; I was always busy doing home improvement projects when I was not at work. By the time I got around to the garden, the grassy weeds were so overgrown in some beds that I just gave up. It's nice to be able to look at neat, (mostly) weed free beds for a change.
These Provider bush beans got a late start but they are growing like crazy now.
Note to self: You can NEVER eat that much arugula! What were you thinking? Also in the bed are red russian kale, lettuce, and Swiss chard.
My sugar snap peas got a late start in the spring, and for some reason did not germinate well. Nevertheless I spent yesterday morning weeding the beds and improvising trellises from old hay bale twine. I hope I get at least a few pea pods before these plants give in to hot weather. Not that the current very pleasant 81 degrees is relatively hot, I'm not complaining, but peas don't like it much. Perhaps I should throw a row cover over them for shade.
While weeding the snow peas, I noticed several Asian green looking things growing. I think the above one is mizuna. I harvested one bunch, but left the others where they were. I thought I had peas in that bed last year, but who knows?
My garlic is growing well with little help from me. For several years now I have not had to buy garlic for planting or eating. I even have some left over from last year's crop; it keeps extremely well.
And finally: This is NOT a garden bed, and I did NOT plant these. This is my compost bin! There are a couple of extremely well nourished tomato plants, one tomatillo, a few unknown squash, and even one corn plant. How's that for easy gardening? It will be interesting to see if these plants bear fruit, and what they will look like.
I have discovered that when I have enough time to not worry about the endless other household chores that must be done, gardening does not seem like work and I don't get tired of it. It is pleasant, actually, listening to the birds and letting my mind wander. It is a form of meditation, of worship.
5 comments:
Your garden looks so delicious and productive. Don't you just love this time of the year? Fantastic.
I loved these raised beds , can't wait to retire and be home full time to try this method of gardening . Your garden pictures are so nice to look at , fresh and so green .
I'm with Cheryl, but I agree with you about the way working in the garden is like meditation. I never feel closer to the Divinity than when I am weeding or trimming.
Neat to see lettuce growing in the summer. Here it is a winter crop or it bolts immediately.
Curious to see what the compost surprises taste like.
Very nice! I've got some tomatoes that are vigorous and jungly after a couple of weeks of summer heat, some cucumbers just beginning to climb their support, and some beans that have been noshed on by bunnies or woodchucks and may not produce anything. That's all I managed this year, apart from the perennial herbs. Kind of pitiful -- didn't even get any zucchini planted.
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