We are surprised and delighted by the success of our new vegetable beds.
So far we have harvested green beans three times.
The strawberries are infrequent, but a tasty treat that the boys fight over.
Our carrots taste good despite their petite nature.
We have enjoyed cucumber slices a couple times and have several ready to pick – I might turn them into refrigerator pickles.
The arugula was good while it lasted- the bugs like it too, and it’s all going to flower quickly once the weather got hot. This green lettuce is going strong and we’ve had several harvests.
There’s two broccoli heads coming in and more on the way. They have aphids and it’s a daily fight. We tried poison, diatomaceous earth, and even tried 1,500 ladybugs. The aphids keep coming back. I tore out the worst affected plants and leaves and just check it every other day, dosing with more diatomaceous earth.
We have okra that’s only now starting to grow pods. It’s been struggling between the shadows of the towering broccoli and the tendrils from pumpkins and cukes – I’ve cut off their strangling grasp a few times.
Onions are doing something. I’m mostly ignoring them. We also have pepper plants. They’ve been stunted by the crazy green beans and carrots. I recently staked back the beans to give the peppers more sun, hopefully I can get some before summer ends.
Finally, there’s our pumpkins. We got two good gourds forming that the kids excitedly check on every day. “The pumpkins are so big!” They tell me over and over. They keep trying to call dibs, but I tell them we will see what survives before deciding who gets to carve them. Last week I installed slings made from repurposed supportive wear. I read you should do that if they weigh more than 5 pounds. It cracks me up!
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