Enjoy photos of one of my garden areas. In this patch, I focused on growing various companion plants designed to assist the growth of tomatoes and peppers.
Pepper blossoms are a beautiful white downward hanging parasol white star.
Often the first blossoms I get are very weak and tend to snap off. This can happen if the plant has not finished growing into maturity. It can also be the season was too wet and cool, because peppers like lots of heat and days to dry out in the soil. Also the amount of pollination that occurred while the blossom was open can affect how well developed the fruit will become.
Fortunately, these fruits look like they are becoming strong. The days are getting hotter, and the season is still midway. Insects are everywhere, and I have tons of flowers all around. This is a much better environment I created for the peppers to grow this year.
Some of my peppers had some leaf damage from insects that nibble. Pepper leaves do have a tender crunch insects enjoy, even when they are mature leaves.
The nearby nasturtium flowers are acting as a magnet to draw good and bad insects in. The leaves are softer, and the flowers are more inviting.
Little solitary bees and wasps like this are diligent pollinators. They return every day looking for pollen where they found it the day before. Yellow and white flowers seem to be their favorites.
The parsley is a smelly plant that deters aphids. This is not a ladybug. We know this because it is yellow black and not red with black and white spots. It could be a Japanese beetle that flew over here. It doesn't appear to be doing any harm with all of the diversity of bugs and wildlife my garden is attracting.
Nearby I often find many red and black ladybugs hanging around my patch of yarrow flowers.
Peas I like to encourage to grow starting in early spring. I let them grow kind of wild into a crazy jumble. The form a tangled ball of shade, allowing some protection for the tomatoes when they are young. Peas also act like an umbrella, taking the brunt of the impact damage from the heavy rain drops, so it doesn't collect on the tomato leaves. Too much moisture on the tomato leaves can lead to disease problems later on.
Now in midsummer the pea blossoms are setting fruit, offering me a sweet morning snack every day. I can cut back the peas when they are done, and the tomatoes and peppers will happily occupy the space now that they are maturing quickly.
Last week I harvest the seeds from all of the plants that overwintered. Mostly Arugula and Daikon radish. Some Brussels Sprouts too. These seed stalks provided a strong spring loaded ladder for the peas to weave through. It's like a scaffolding system to help hold my plants up, so they don't lean over and fall along the soil and rot.
All of the Arugula and Radish seeds, instead of saving them for next year, I decided to cast them back into this garden area. They will probably germinate instantly this time of year. Since I have plenty of mulch made from the cut up seed stalks to hide and protect the seeds, they don't even have to be buried. We'll start the cycle over again, so they can provide the same benefit for the peas next year. Arugula is one my favorite fresh leafy greens too.
Lettuce eludes me.
It falls into the crazy category of vegetables that do not like to be babied all the time. Despite my best efforts to start it indoors, transplant it, and continue successive sowing, they never turn out as healthy and strong, and often die young.
Unlike this straggler who grew from a seed that fell outside the grow bag. It happened to germinate at the right place and the right time under the right conditions. It preferred the low nutrient compacted clay soil covered in wood chips. I've chopped this plant a few times, and the leaves are crisp and not bitter.
And the lettuce growing inside the grow bag is spoiled rotten with the best soil moisture rich soil with organic fertilizers and nutrients. It has plenty of companion plants nearby providing part shade and humidity. I doubt this lettuce will ever compare to it's neighbor living in the lower quarters.
This reminds me of the people in this world who live with a silver spoon in their mouths, compared to those who are told they have to get a job when they are a kid if they ever want to have food and a future. Not everyone in life has the perseverance to endure hardships, but the most successful people often got to where they are by learning to overcome rock-bottom circumstances.
These tall flower stalks of wildflowers grow together as a wall behind my grow bags.
I call them my sentinels, because they watch over and protect everything from high above.
They started growing late last summer, and endured all winter through ice, snow, and storms. Now they stand as tall as trees, giving fresh flowers every day.
I haven't had much luck growing sunflowers this year. They are in that mess somewhere, they are just taking their time.
These flowers I almost prefer to the sunflower. They stand tall a little bit firmer because they are less top heavy, and require zero maintenance. I think they enjoy rooting down into the compacted soil, because they spent all year staying low to the ground until Spring began. They would probably be able to survive weeks without water.
The flowers smell like butter and vanilla whipping cream to me. When the day is over, the flowers wilt, and practically fall off the stalk. The next day, another bud on the stalk opens, to provide fresh pollen to attract the insects. Butterflies enjoy these flowers as they also contain nectar.
Parsley is bolting, and readying the plume that will become fresh flowers.
Lastly, the tomatoes starting to reach maturity. The first flowers are opening.
Soon we will see green fruits developing into red juicy fruit.
And one more look at the helpful nasturtium blooms. These are incredibly easy to grow from seed, and they naturalize well into almost every soil type I have planted them into. These perfect soldiers are engineered to benefit the garden in so many ways.
How does my garden look? Remember my illustration plan I drew? It looks like it's on the way to matching, or surpassing the expected results soon.
Looks like it's missing some onion. I'll have to add some of the Green Onions I recently rooted as soon as the peas are finished. Peas and onions do not play well together! Carrots are not growing well in this bed either. Maybe I'll try one more shot at sowing some more seeds in.
As you can see, this garden is packed full of activity. Have you ever tried growing a high density garden like this before? I really enjoy filling every square inch with plants that benefit the entire garden.
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