I never get tired of fresh strawberries. When they are in season of course. I am absolutely "spoiled" by seasonal produce. Eating seasonally--such a simple and ancient concept, but so many of us miss out on the pleasure of plucking a fruit straight from the vine and enjoying the explosion of flavor. We may still not be anywhere near self-sufficient to eat completely from our own soil, but as always, I'm forever grateful to live in a climate that provides year-round.
With that, it's time to share how our latest garden endeavors are going! As you can tell from my cover photo, we are indeed still in strawberry season. In our second year of fruit, we are definitely getting more berries and many are larger than the ones in my hand. However, after a few days of incessant rain I am in an all out war with the slugs and pill bugs to pluck these juicy morsels before them. I don't begrudge them their dinner, but come on guys, leave a gal a few. At least we were able to make it for a day of picking a few weeks ago to truly satisfy my voracious berry appetite...
Back to our garden, besides the berries we have our tender lettuce that made it through the storms. The downpour of rain on Monday and Tuesday had beaten it up pretty badly, but now that the sun is out it seems to be bouncing back nicely. We may have overcrowded the raised bed a bit, but being the first time we grew this variety we had no idea how much of it would make it to maturity. I am happily clipping some more days than not to put into lunches and dinners!
The other tub planters are also looking quite abundant in two different varieties of kohlrabi and a parsley plant that has become quite the monster. Though I suppose we'll let it go to seed to have some to save.
I'm quite pleased with how good the kohlrabi is looking. A few are starting to show the beginning of the bulb forming. One of my friends came over on Saturday to enjoy some porch sitting and was surprised to find out the base is above the ground and not below like beets and radishes. I had no idea what the plants looked like until we started growing them, either! The greens are edible, as well, so if they start going crazy I can trim some back and enjoy those in meals while we wait for the rest of the plant to mature.
The next item that may bear fruit is our zucchini! I think we should get some of both varieties we planted--patty pan and a more traditional type. Though we have been fighting the good fight against the pill bugs in this bed, as well. Luckily the plants sprouted up pretty quickly as it got warmer, so the bases seem to be sturdy enough to withstand some nibbling for now. I got some neem oil to try to deter them from munching away on the leaves, though we're not sure if it's doing much against that particular nemesis. 😂
We still have quite a few watermelon plants that are coming along, as well. There have still been some cool nights here and there, so I imagine once the heat really comes on these will start to explode. We'll let them climb up out of the box and trail through the backyard if need be to let them really thrive. If I have my way we'll have melons and squashes trailing all over the place!
Speaking of, more squash and melon seedlings are almost ready to be transplanted. The melons are more of a cantaloupe variety, and I believe the squash might just be pumpkins. We had to start more cucumbers after the tender seedlings got eaten up earlier in the season, and are trying out planting those in containers on the porch so they can use the existing trellis to grow. More beans are also started since the bugs enjoy those, too. Oh, and more eggplant seedlings are popping up! Lots in the seedling stage right now.
The tomatoes are also getting quite happy, so @dksart just started working on supports for those. Luckily my farmers with hoop houses have some that are much further along than ours because after drooling over @fionasfavourites' summer haul, I can't wait to bite into a fresh tomato! We'll see if the squirrels leave ours alone this year.
I think that about covers the high points. Some other dribs and drabs, and plenty of herbs, but I'll leave something for the next round as everything continues to explode. Plus, @riverflows said only 10 photos, and I don't want to get nettle-slapped for going over. 😉
Thanks for stopping by and taking a virtual stroll through the garden with me! Next time you might need some of my homemade insect repellent as the mosquitoes come out, but for now it's quite pleasant when it isn't raining...
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