Just went out to check on the garden. Not much ready today, but we have green & yellow beans ready to pick about every 2 days and cucumber, zuccini, and peppers just a couple days away from being ready. After harvesting some chamomile flowers, I stopped to pull up a carrot. I didn't expect anything big, but wanted to see how things were doing. I got a carrot about 3/4" in diameter and about 2 1/2 inches long. What hit me most was the aroma. Right after picking it, I could smell carrot...something you don't smell when you buy the 10 lb bag at the supermarket. Of course I washed it off and ate it right away...I can still taste the slightly spicy flavor....can't wait till they are all ready to come out of the ground! My intensive spacing didn't seem to bother them yet, as they are planted very very closely...I just didn't thin them out when they were smaller. I know that as they grow bigger, they will probably look a little strange, but my goal is quantity, not market quality!

My (late start and very small with poor soil) gardenis finally showing progress. I have 7 green bean sprouts, and most of the other plants are starting to show as well. Here is hoping I get at least SOMETHING out of this years work.

We lost our peas...totally in the heat but...our tomatoes and peppers are doing very well.
We had our first Black Krim today...the flavour was out of this world! Heritage tomatoes are so worth growing! I can't wait for the German Stripes and Brandywines to be ready.

We lost our peas too. The tomatoes are no heck either.

I guess peas are suffering everywhere as I lost about half of mine and the other half have really dropped off in production. Maybe the second planting will produce something.

Pea's are very much a cooler weather crop, So I have been told in my childhood and its in most of the garden books I own as well.

For what its worth, Pea's are planted out in fall prepared beds, when I can work the dirt down two inches with my fingers, they can take the cold, but not the heat, my first crop of pea's tend to go in between april and march, and are typically done by first- mid part of may and then ripped out and replanted into climbing beans rows for the heat and summer, the beans will go still about mid aug/late aug, at which time I will rip them out, chop the plants turn them back into the soil and once the evening temps drop towards the end of aug, will replant out my second crop of pea's at that time.

The key for the second set of pea's is to do your reseach and order in one made for northern climates, you want a very short producing time, we tend to get a good second crop in the fall, with once or twice needing to throw a frost cover of them but rarely, only one year did we get caught with a hard frost and I just pulled the plants, and put up the greens (they tastes good, with a vague pea taste to them).

Clearly adjust to your own zone, I would imagine that those furher north, might be able to replant their fall crops in aug, as long as their night time temps are dropping down.

Shocked to see how dried out my squash was today! Turned on the soaker hose connected to my 55 gallon rain barrel - I heard it might rain tomorrow..... Potatoes look pretty dry too. Half my carrots started July 1st are dried out/dead - I'll re-plant in a few weeks. Surprisingly the tomatoes and peppers look okay . Late August I'll plant lettuce, beans, peas.... I think it's gonna be a long hot fall.
It's bloddy hot out there!

I think we can see where food prices are going to go this fall.

Off topic: PrepHer - I'm trying to send you a message but you've disabled message receipt - can you email me?? 🙂

Back to regularly scheduled programming!

Off topic: PrepHer - I'm trying to send you a message but you've disabled message receipt - can you email me?? 🙂

Back to regularly scheduled programming!

YES me too

😳 Sorry, I didn't know I wasn't able to receive PMs - I just changed the setting so it should be fine now...... 😳

Picked my first tomatoes of the season today.

I got my first one a couple days ago...
I had to restake all my tomatoes yesterday as the weight of the tomatoes pulled the plants down stakes and all.
Our best guess is that we have about 200 tomatoes on the plants that are starting to ripen at about the same time.
Got the canner and jars ready!
My squash can no longer be contained in the bed and is now overtaking my lawn while ears are starting to form on what corn did grow.
Most everything is producing now on a regular basis. I am picking and freezing almost every day now.

my watermelons are now the size of peaches 🙁

very sorry garden this year with the exception of tomatoes. peppers, onions, shallots and herbs. Parsnips I think are okay as well, but too early to pick. Am setting up cold frames this week so we can hopefully have some fresh veg after garden season.