I go to the garden every day, sometimes even twice a day (if I'm able to wake up at 6AM), so I don't really see the progress and use my photos to compare the growth every week. Last week, I was gone for a few days, and I was surprised to see how everything grew in such a short time. We're going on vacation for 9 days soon and I'm sure I won't recognize the garden anymore. I have asked our friends to water it and take whatever vegetables will be there, so that they don't bolt or rot. Sharing is caring and they also have to make time to water our garden, so it's some sort of a thank you from our side. For now, I try to harvest as much as possible or as much as we can still eat before our time off.
I couldn't wait for our purple beans as I was so excited about the colour that was supposed to be a nice addition to our meals. Sadly, they lose their colour with high temperature, so I ended up with green beans instead. They are still delicious, but I was disappointed as I was expecting something special. Nevertheless, I will grow them next year too as I feel like slugs prefer the green and yellow ones. These seedlings were not so damaged which resulted in many more beans to harvest.
Do you remember when I told you that I was leaving some radishes to bolt to collect their seedpods? They are ready now! I like eating them just like this as they have the typical radish flavour without being too sharp. I love radishes, but usually can't eat them just like that because they are too sharp for me. This is a gamechanger!
My tomatoes decided that it was a good time to break colour just before our vacation. It looks like I will be taking some with us on the plane 😊
Just a couple of days ago they were all green...
I will harvest them tomorrow and let them sit on the countertop until they are red. This might not be a popular opinion, but the flavour is locked in the fruit as soon as they break the colour and then it's only about them change the colour, and by removing them from the vine the plant will focus its energy on creating more fruit, plus you'll make sure that you'll get to your tomatoes before any pests.
A week ago, I removed the only eggplant that I had as all the flowers were falling off before pollination. By doing that I was hoping to encourage the plant to create some fruit and here we go, 3 tiny eggplants!
My Hokkaido is growing so well. It's already bigger than my hand...
We put some wooden pieces under each pumpkin to protect them from rotting. It doesn't rain so much these days, but it's better to do it now when they are still small and flexible.
The Red Bell peppers keep growing day by day. They are only 2 of them on the plant and I don't expect any more...
My cucumber 'forest' has finally started to set some fruit too! Great timing again as they will be good to eat when we're gone, but well, it is what it is.
I had to look for them as they like to hide and come to light only when it's too late and they're too big and bitter to eat.
I removed plenty of leaves for the airflow, but they keep pushing more and more...
And this one I took home today...
I haven't had this variety yet, so I'm excited to try it. It looks massive and somehow 'meaty'.
These are and will be my favourite. Harvesting them is painful as they have these tiny thorns all over them which like to sting and stay in your skin. I don't like gloves when harvesting as I'm afraid I would break the plant, so I sacrifice my hands every time...
Fresh are the best!
Things like this happen too...
This cucumber grew on the soil, so it's skin didn't develop well and it is somehow yellow because it didn't have enough sun. This is why it's important to control the plants and let the sunshine reach the fruit.
How much basil is too much basil?
We don't have a proper freezer in house yet, so I can't freeze pesto like I did last years. It's a pesto day every day now, and it goes with almost anything.
Do you remember my volunteer potato? It grew 4 potatoes! I removed it already because I needed the space for my strawberries, and now I'm wonder what I'm going to do with them 😁
The beauty of the green manure is that you can get some surprises. One of mine is definitely lentils. I was looking at the dried pods yesterday, so I opened one. I have never grown lentils, so I looked at the package and guess what? There are multiple varieties of lentils in there!
Then I harvested all the dried ones and spend the evening opening them. It takes ages to prepare and it doesn't give great volumes, so it's not something I would grow intentionally, but I still find it cool to have our own lentils. I might be able to make one pot of lentils soup in winter 😊
Every day, there is a new surprise flower...
Love in a mist is going its second round...
They are so pretty and spread by seeds like crazy, so they will keep coming every year. If I feel like there are too many I can easily pull them out.
I have about 10 sunflowers that are about to bloom. I hope that they will still be blooming when we're back as I would hate to miss them. I've been taking care of them for months, so I hope that I will be able to see their beautiful flowers.
I would also like to thank you for your continuous support. I know that I'm not active enough, but there is simply so much to do with the house, 2 gardens and my job that I'm happy when I'm finally in bed ready to rest.
Until the next time....
