Monday, June 8, 2009

June Update - Part 1



Once again a few weeks have gone by and I find myself with lots of garden updates. This is part 1, soon to be followed by part 2. Things have been growing okay this year -- except the weather has now decided to be tough as you will see...

The walking onions have grown are are starting to form little springy tops - new bulblets ready to jump out and walk...perhaps a sunny location will aid the spread of these plants.


I have continued to sample some of the wild edibles in our back-yard. I have sampled wild violets. Below, yellow wood sorrel makes a nice addition to a salad, or an interesting tea....though sources warn to use in moderation due to high amounts of oxalic acid.


Oh yes, the weather...well the past number of days in June have had highs in the 50's F. That's like the average low or something. I don't know the effect this will have on things like broccoli and cauliflower, but it is taxing some plants and looks to have killed others....below is the before and after of a zucchini that was doing well until a night of near frost.


We also lost a pumpkin plant or two, but some did okay. The tomatoes are next to the house and looking fine. Tonight will be cold, so I will cover what has so far survived.


Cool season plants are doing well, the kohlrabi I transplanted looks healthy.


The stems are beginning to swell, so a harvest is soon to come.


Pop-corn looks to be surviving, though I worry what the next nights low temperatures will do.


Cabbages are one of the crops I think is perfectly happy at the moment.


Peas seem to be ahead of last year, even though they got a later start. These early bush shelling and snaps are flowering.


Carrots are in need of thinning...I have a couple varieties here and one that was just sown a few days ago.


Potato plants are getting huge and bush beans are popping up -- I hope the cold doesn't hurt them too much.


Leaf lettuces and radishes are coming up nice. We have harvested some radish, though we tend to just let them flower. The lettuce could probably stand to be thinned. The brick keeps rain gutter water from digging a deep hole in the bed.


Spinach is ready to really produce and the kales are liking this weather I think.


Well that's it for this half. Hopefully I can get the rest up later tonight. [Here is Part 2]

10 comments:

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

I have a few walking onions they are so fun to grow(-: Yours look great! Your veggies look great too. I heard that ND had some snow the other day. I thought about you and wondered how that might mess things up in the garden. I can't imagine getting snow. It rained here last week and I loved it! This week is cooler and I am sure that won't last long!

Anonymous said...

hi there... i just happened upon ur blog from "rose cottage garden" blog. i am a MN gardener with a new blog on gardening. nice to find another "cold" state gardener. are you zone 4? i love seeing your pictures. :)

Roses and Lilacs said...

Your garden is coming along nicely. The lettuce looks so good. wild pruslane is coming up here, that's one of my favorite salad additions.
Marnie

Unknown said...

Wow, beautiful veggies!!!! You will have a great crop this year!

ChrisND said...

Hi CiNdEe...I will have to start using some of those walking onions - I hear they are best as green onions. Western ND did get snow...we only got rain. The garden would really love the moisture if it were warmer.

I'm sure your garden will love getting the rain too!

ChrisND said...

Jeanette...I will have to browse over to your blog. It's fun to read blogs that are in the same climate...We are in USDA Zone 4.

ChrisND said...

Hi Marnie. I will have to try some of our purslane...our patio becomes a regular field of it during the summer. We hate to use a chemical to control them and hand weeding bricks is tedious. Maybe pickled purslane will be on the menu!

ChrisND said...

Silvia...This year should hopefully provide a larger harvest from the last. We expanded the garden this season, just want to try more things.

Anonymous said...

Looks like the cool season veggies are indeed enjoying your cooler temps right now. Are you going to resow the squash?

ChrisND said...

Perennial Gardener...We have resown the squash plants and have a cucumber ready (it looks sick too). The worst case, I can go to a greenhouse and find a replacement.

Our first year of summer squash, so I don't want to overdo it either :-)