last time in the garden (may 15):
this time in the garden (may 28):
Do you see all that green? It's amazing the difference two weeks can make. Everything is popping up in the garden, the apple trees & berry bushes are leafing out, and the ferns are blanketing our woods. It looks like they'll bloom soon, I don't know if I've seen ferns bloom before?
Watermelon, muskmelon, spaghetti, buttercup, sugar pumpkin, & delicata squash are all popping up in the big mounds we planted in the back of the yard. We'll see if the vines and fruit hold up to curious critters in the woods.
Speaking of critters. Do you see that sweet little tree frog on the apple tree branch? I counted two garter snakes, two toads, a tree frog and of course…. a very helpful puppy, while I watered the garden yesterday morning. (my brother is going to love her, she is such a cutie!)
I transplanted the bulk of the tomatoes into the garden. (Amish Paste, Zapotec, Red Pear Cherry & Gold Nugget Cherry) The hot peppers will go in this weekend along with the Snow White Cherry tomatoes. What are you favorite heirloom tomato varieties? I always have such a hard time narrowing my decision down to a reasonable amount. Also, on a funny note…. I mixed up a few of my tomatoes… so I'm not sure where the cherry tomatoes will be. It will be fun to see where they end up once the fruit begins to ripen!
The fava beans! I've never planted these before (picture number 8) and they are beautiful! The robust leaves almost look like succulents. I'll be making tee-pees for all the beans and peas next week. I'm hoping to harvest a few snap peas before we head north…..
Lastly, those potatoes. I planted yukon gold, norland red and german butterball. (all from fedco) They look amazing and are filling in the half moon beds quickly. I plan to bury them again in a few days. We'll keep adding straw and soil to the beds as they grow. I've read this has the possibility of yielding a good amount of potatoes in a small space, have any of you tried this?
Tell me, what is growing in your garden?
xo,
s
Sweetbrier Farms Journal 
I have LOTS of herbs (60 foot of them!), Tomatoes (25 plants, but 5 of them are in a low spot in the garden and won’t make it), squash, broccoli (that my chickens are eating nicely..lol), okra, green beans. My garden is doing MUCH better this year than last. I’m excited!
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My goodness, the transformation is just amazing! It looked wonderful before, but now it is so lush! (And that puppy! Too sweet…)
We planted far fewer tomatoes this year (8 total, including 3 cherry tomatoes) because we got such a late start last year & ended up with so many that didn’t ripen last year. (We tried ripening them indoors at the end of the season, with mixed results.) I have a feeling we’re going to regret planting so few this year, though. We’ll see… xo
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I so want to find a toad to show Knox. I’ve been telling him how we used to catch them when we were little, but I don’t think he believes me. Between the chickens and our dog, we don’t seem to have any in our yard, but I’m determined to find one on a walk sometime.
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Speckled Roman is one of my favorite tomato varieties-it’s beautiful, prolific, tasty, and versatile-eat it fresh but it’s also great for canning and freezing. Look for it next year-you won’t be sorry!
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Wow! Totally envious of your space. That sounds amazing! Though mine is truly proving to be enough to care for time wise. I told Joe if/when we have a bigger garden I will install drip tape for sure! I am putting in some more perennial herb beds throughout the summer. I want a chamomile bed for sure and have been looking at some more hard to find herbs to put in next spring. I think it will get better each year!
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So much green, right? Even the few days I was gone was a huge transformation. I couldn't believe how much it had changed in four days. Have you tried drying cherry tomatoes ever? I hope to this year…. I also would love to meet more locals so we could swap heirloom tomatoes. That would be so fun and then we'd have a selection of different kinds without buying 10 packets of seeds!
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I think this is what we had from our farm last year…. they are a wonderful versatile tomato. I bought a seed packet from Cubits, but I was too late to get them started, so it's tucked away for next year. The ones from the farm were so delicious and so beautiful!
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Arkansas Traveler and Abe Lincoln. Yum!
Your garden looks great. We moved recently and are working on taming the wild yard. Managed to clean out one small area so I could plant a few tomato plants though. Dreaming of next summer already…
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love your garden! its so pretty.
We live far north so we are just starting to get things outside. I am growing potatoes, peas, strawberries, raspberries, carrots, beets, lettuce, kale, squash…..
http://theselittlejoys.com/garden-march-28-2014/
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This morning I just pulled out all of the kale. IT’s too hot now with 102 degrees days. The corn is growing ears, the squashes are flowering, carrots are all gone, tomatoes are ripening and being eaten daily. There are loads of cucumbers and lots of thyme, oregano and strawberries. So many yummy things. I can’t wait for the first zucchini. I’m hankering for some summer squash.
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Oh my gosh! I get to see that amazing garden in less than 48 hours… I can hardly wait to hug you! xoxo
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It looks wonderful, like a little oasis of foresty green! Love it.
We just top off our potatoes with straw or hay, or grass clippings if I’m lazy. Makes harvesting really easy. Does require additional water though. For our high summer temps I use a combination of sprinklers on timers and soaker hoses under the pea straw mulch in the beds.
My gardens packing up for the winter now! http://poole.kiwi.nz/garden-update-5/
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Oh my goodness!! That greenhouse is so amazing. We'd love build something similar here. Your garden is lovely!
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Oh wow…. I'll bet you have no blight issues with it being so dry? I'd never thought of that before. Your zucchini is blooming and mine was just planted! I love comparing where our gardens are at……. so different!
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Toads are my favorite! I hope you find one to show him this summer….. I am sure you will 🙂
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Those look delicious! I love the more robust slicers…. they seem to hold up better when they have some "meat" on the inside and not just juice and seeds. (I'm not sure that even made sense, haha!) We spent all of last year taming the wild yard here….. it was hard not having a garden other than two potted tomatoes. All that hard work will pay off though 🙂
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🙂 Yeah!! Love you mama…. can't wait to see you!
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Thank you so much for the potato tip. Reading it is one thing, but I always feel so much better when someone says "this is how we do it…." I hadn't even thought of grass clippings. I've certainly got lots of those in the summer! I may invest in soaker hoses for next year depending on how big of a chore this watering business is. The melon/squash patch is all the way out back and it's a good hour plus to get everything watered. Not that I mind it one bit though 🙂 Your garden is lovely…. those flowers especially! I hope to slowly build beds here and there for more flowers…… so pretty!
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It has certainly greened up. I love the frog and the stones.
Your potato method should be fine. It will protect the growing tubers from sun and exposure.
Here is my garden this week: mygrandmotherslegacy.wordpress.com
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Gah!!! Peonies are my **favorite** ~ there is one here that is bright pink…. I am hoping to add two more this year… your soft pink one is lovely! (ps ~ thank you for the potato tips! I'm so excited and hopeful to have a nice big harvest)
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Our garden is going well, it especially loved the rain we finally received last night and I was thrilled that I didn’t have to water for hours. We have been eating squash, cucumbers, still a little lettuce that hasn’t bolted and all the herbs I can add to a meal. Dill and chive potatoes anyone? 🙂
We have done our potatoes like that and it works great, I think you’ll be very pleased.
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Yes! I am grateful for a rainy day for the same reason! It takes me almost two hours to water everything… I am *so* looking forward to summer vegetables. Yum…. and herb potatoes sound delicious! They are a favorite here too. And I'm so glad a lot of folks have tried their potatoes this way…. growing this many potatoes is a new thing for us, and I'm so excited! Also, though it may sound strange, a fresh "salsa" made from diced tomatoes, fresh dill, and sea salt is delicious. My husband loves it spooned over quiche. It's best made in the afternoon so it can sit at room temp for a few hours to meld the flavors together.
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WOW! Looks fantastic. Great job. That tree frog is totally amazing. Never seen anything like it. Have a wonderful weekend.
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I haven’t visited in so long. Wow. What a beautiful space you have here, I’m going to have to come back more frequently.
Xo
C
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p.s. we have lot growing in our garden, our beds are smaller than yours, but we pack it in…. ; )
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I’ve never tried drying them. I’m thinking of investing in a dehydrator this year. (I’ve always dried fruit in my oven before but I do enough of it that a dehydrator seems like a reasonable thing to get.) So maybe this year… We eat a ton of them, but last year we were giving quarts and quarts away because we couldn’t keep up with them.
(PS With any luck I will be local-ish next year…I’d totally be interested in an heirloom tomato swap!) xo
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We need to talk about the herbs. I’m getting excited about making salves and tinctures, etc. My chamomile is doing fantastic right now. Need to go thin it. I need to research what part of the plant I can use in salves, etc. I think a garden is an ever evolving thing. This year proves to be easier to care for than last, but next will bring an even bigger garden with more improvements. The drip line is more work than I thought it would be…trying to get it set up and all lined up properly with the plants. It really does just DRIP so if you don’t have it lined up JUST right, it’s pointless.
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Have you seen this…
http://www.nourishingdays.com/2011/08/how-i-make-lacto-fermented-salsa/
I make this all summer long and eat it on everything.
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oh… i am in love with your garden… it is so beautiful! i had a “big” garden a couple years in a row with very little success. so, i decided to start again… but smaller. i planted blueberries and flowers, and i plan to plant herbs this year, and i plan to do some raised beds next year. (i am also in love with your doggies… so cute! i bet their excellent helpers)
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The puppies were so naughty, but so fun. We miss them all ready. I'm looking forward to seeing them when we go to Alaska in a few weeks for my brother's wedding. Your garden sounds lovely! I fear I did not estimate the tree coverage well & planted my blueberries in some really lovely shade. Oopsie. Now to find a new sunny spot to move them to 🙂
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Have you seen the Herbal Academy of New England Classes? I am going to take one for sure at the end of the summer. I got a sneak peek of the course and it looks very well put together with great visuals, videos, etc. I think underground soaker hose style might be something to consider as well…. hmmmmm……
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Very similar to my recipe! Isn't it the best ever? We made 2 gallons of it at the end of the summer last year. This year I plan to make double that. It's supposed to last four months or so in the fridge and we ate ours up way before that. On eggs over a bed of sautéed greens is so delicious!!
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Oh my! Keeping my fingers crossed for local-ish 🙂 I think I'm ready for a dehydrator too. I've been dreaming forever. Apples in the fall would be wonderful to put away for winter. I've heard freezing them works really well to keep them fresh. I'm wondering about blueberries too. We picked so many last year, it would be fun to try drying some. I think they'd be delicious in granola or baked goods…… (this is my giving myself lots of good reasons for this investment!)
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Hello, hello! Funny you should mention it because your post caused me to visit you too & I just subscribed in my rss feed. So nice to reconnect!
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