Happy Summer Solstice! Hope you are enjoying the first day of summer. Summer is my favorite time of year!
Well, we’ve had more hot days, which means great growing environment for my plants, even though it might be uncomfortable for me (however, I’m in a large air conditioned office building M-F). I’ve spent time watering, aerating soil, and feeding the plants with compost when necessary. They are looking great!
First, tomatoes.
I’m growing 7 tomato plants total. From the top left image, clockwise:
Amish Paste, Pruden’s Purple, Yellow Pear, Amish Paste, detail of Silver Fir, Silver Fir, mystery volunteer, Pruden’s Purple flower.
Both the small paste tomato and the Yellow Pear looked just awful Saturday afternoon – droopy and flaccid, and just not in good shape. I sturdied up their dirt, added compost, and plenty of water. On Sunday they looked great! I think they are on the mend.
I’m particularly impressed with the Pruden’s Purple flower – it doesn’t look like any tomato flower I’ve ever seen, and it’s a gorgeous shape. I’m looking forward to seeing it in bloom.
Cucumbers – my lemon cucumber isn’t fruiting yet, and I found a volunteer cucumber plant across the yard! That was a very fun discovery.
The lemon cucumber is in the top left corner photo, and the rest are of the volunteer. Looks like the volunteer will produce a more classic shaped cucumber. I’m happy with this discovery and can’t wait to see what happens with it.
Ground cherries and tomatillos continue to increase in size, and I’ve even seen one or two flowers.
I’m going to have to stake the tomatillos, or perhaps get a tomato cage for them. Tomatillos are very sprawling plants and need support early on. I’ve inserted a bamboo post for right now, which is helping with support. I can’t wait for tomatillos! I plan to make lots of salsa verde.
There’s plenty of wild stuff in the garden, too.
Although they are a bit of a pest, these morning glories sure are pretty. I’ve seen a number of ladybugs in the garden, which makes me happy. Saw a bunch of yellowjackets, too, and honey bees!
Thyme is slow growing but steady, and tatsoi is steady and fast growing! It makes for a delicious salad, simply dressed in lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper. I like it a lot – it’s like a gentle arugula as far as the peppery taste goes. It’s delicious.
I spent time weeding on Saturday and there were far less weeds than a couple weeks ago. This is a good sign. Hoping that my weeding efforts here in June will make for a mostly weed-less summer.
Happy for all this growth!
