We’re a bit more than half way through the summer, and it’s about time to let you know what the garden is doing. Short answer, amazing! At least compared to some years.
Early on I had a small but steady supply of blueberries. AND! Even a few gooseberries before the birds wised up. No mulberries this year, but I hold out hope for next year. Not sure about the potatoes yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have a good crop.
I have chard! Yes, huge red-stemmed, green-leafed chard. And a sane amount of cucumbers, one at a time, large and lovely and very tasty. No need to chase down people to give them away or leave them by night on the neighbors’ doorsteps. You will notice in the photo that the cucumber had a girdle mark–they keep insisting in growing into the netting.
The tomatoes have been amazing, but in spite of my best efforts, something is getting inside the netting and eating a few. As long as they don’t take more than their fair share, I’m good with that. I tried growing bok choi and am amazed both at how well it has done and how tasty it has been in my stir fries. I’ve even frozen some for the winter along with a good supply of the tomatoes to go into stews and soups and such like.
As for the less than glorious, the ears of corn were very teeny tiny, but still tasty. The green beans were few and far between, but still okay. The eggplants have been small, but nice in a ratatouille.
The jury is still out on the leeks. The pumpkin and cantaloupe vines are making blossoms, but I have yet to see much in the way of potential fruits. We’ll see. I’m letting the onions and garlic take their time. I’m hoping for a nice harvest someday soon. And the herbs have been, as always, a delight.
I had some nuts on the European hazel tree, but I’m pretty sure some people of the squirrel persuasion relieved me of that concern. However, the American hazel bushes have nuts that might actually become an edible sometime in the near future. And, of course, there are a gazillion black walnuts. Everywhere. More than even the squirrels can eat.
And finally, the wild flower bird and bee garden was a bit weak, but a huge stand of volunteer sun flowers (from the bird feeder fall out) made up the difference. My accidental tribute to the embattled Ukrainians.
In all, I’d say it has been a pretty good year, thanks, I suspect, to the early and often rainfall. Less intense heat would have made weeding a better time, but I’m not complaining. Much. Not with fat, juicy tomatoes like these.
Image: A representative sample of my harvest this year. By Marilyn Evans