When Pam, from Pam's Garden Dreams, was over this weekend, she told me that I needed to do more overviews of the garden. It is true. I think the last overview of the garden was near the end of May. So here it is, the garden overview.
I like overviews of the garden. When taken in sequence through the months they tell the story of the garden. Not just the long range ones but the closer ones.
This is my greens bed - the top bed in the overview. This view is close enough so you can see what I'm growing. Still it is too far away too see the more stunning views of the plants.
This one is always my favorite. In the afternoon the sun shines down through the chard stems and lights them up.
From farther away you also don't see the profusion of blooms on my pea plants. Or the little peas that have started to form. Go peas. I just have a few more days of waiting. I'm drooling already.
This is a wide shot of the Three Sisters Garden. The corn looks strong and the beans are hard to find in the garden, so it doesn't tell the true story of what is happening.
But on a closer look, you can see the beans are already forming their next set of true leaves. I know bean plants and once they take off, nothing can stop them. They are growing faster than the corn. I'm worried. Should I buy myself some bamboo and just grow the beans up that? It wouldn't be much of a Three Sisters Garden if I did that, but I would still get corn.
These are the bottom beds. I have my solanaceae crops planted on the outside and carrots running down the middle. There are carrots between the peppers and tomatoes. I swear. You just can't see them from so far away.
You also can't see the real beauty of the bigger carrots. I've been slowly thinning them out. I pulled one today that was just over 1/4" wide and 6" long. I ate it. These thinnings don't end up in my harvest tally, but really how much can they weigh?
Then you can get even closer at least if you have a macro lens. I saw three sets of these on my dill. When I told my husband I needed the macro lens to shoot these, he set up his camera (really nice Nikon D200) for me. He said it was all set on automatic and told me how to use the flash since it was very dark this morning. I went out and had trouble figuring out how to turn the thing on. There are so many buttons and dials.
But how cool is that? I took a photo of my lacewing eggs. I want to keep an eye on them. There aren't many aphids near the dill, but just four feet away is my borage that is covered in black aphids. It should be a nice banquet for them if I can get them moved over before they eat each other out of hunger. The adult lacewing probably noticed the dill because it is one of its favorite foods in my garden when it blooms. It will probably be in bloom when these little guys grow up.
I love the overhead views!! Your garden looks fantastic! It's so neat and tidy!! Just so you don't feel any less intelligent, my uncle, professional photographer since the 1960s, complained about all the buttons on his Nikon and having to use the overcomplicated manual all the time.
ReplyDeleteDaph~ Now I know you are Zone 6, one zone warmer than my zone 5, but how do you have such tall growth on everything? Did you start everything months ahead inside? I did too but set everything out May 15th, granted we have had a lot of rain and have not even hit 80 degrees yet, but I wonder if I should have started even corn inside earlier? Go see my blog and see how puny everything is. www.sproutbabysprout.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. I like the lacewing ones especially. It was worth the effort!
ReplyDeleteLzyjo, Thanks. I have a tendency to get used to a piece of electronic equipment than not want to learn another one. I should learn to use this camera at least a little bit. It is so much better than my old Elph. This morning he showed me how to switch it into manual focus which will make my life so much easier. To get that photo I was focusing on the ground in front of the dill and bringing the camera up. It wouldn't focus on the little eggs. Twenty photos later I got one that my husband declared OK but I could do better.
ReplyDeletejezibels, I cheated. I started the corn in soil blocks inside to germinate the seed. As soon as it germinated, I put it outside (April 19th) under a row cover. I have a short season and it doesn't get all that hot here. So I pushed my season so it would be big enough so I could start my beans at a reasonable time. They can take 100 days to mature the dried beans so I needed all the time I could get. Some days I think it would be easier to move down south. Then I think of how much I hate the heat and stay :> BTW your corn is cute. It seems quite tall enough for being put out on May 15th.
Sheila, Thanks. I hope so. I was lying in my path getting into weird contorted positions to take the photo. Though I'll probably do better now that I know how to focus the camera.
Fantastic! just fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI am envious of your peas as mine did not thrive, although they are still alive.
The 3 sisters garden is pretty darn cool.
My favorite picture of your garden is the chard lit up by the sunlight.
Good work.
I could look at garden photos all day. I could look at veggie gardens all day ;-) Yours is looking gorgeous, and making me wish I had more flowers in my garden. I have too many nasturtiums this year, I need more color.
ReplyDeleteAm I going to have to climb up on my roof to get a decent overview of my garden? That's scary!
PS: I meant to comment on your potatoes. You've sure hauled a lot of soil! I didn't think you were ever going to fill that bed, but you proved me wrong.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks incredible. I started planting late this year and I'm weeks behind. The Swiss Chard looks yummy! I tried sowing it but didn't have much luck with it. -Jackie
ReplyDeleteSo lush and so little slug damage! We're having all kinds of pests this year.
ReplyDeleteWOOOW your garden looks amazing! So lush! I would love to walk through that every morning :)
ReplyDeleteThose lacewing eggs are awesome, Daphne, and I like the overview shots of your garden. I have a hard time doing that with mine because it's sprawled everywhichway...
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking lovely. I really like the natural look of it. I have been thinking I should put up overview shots as well. I don't think I have even taken any since the garden was under 12" of snow. The lacewing eggs are very interesting and what a nice photo of them. The chard photo is very nice too, I think you could give your husband a run for his money :-)
ReplyDeletewow! pam was right. your garden is gorgeous!! i love the photos.
ReplyDeleteI love the overview, but I also love the close-ups. Together they provide a balanced perspective.
ReplyDeleteI owe you a belated thanks for the award you passed along to me. I apologize for being slow. My attention has been focused elsewhere recently.
Seeing other people's sun lit chard is why I decided to grow it this year. I love those photos. I hope I love the taste of the chard as much!
Daphne
ReplyDeleteI'm very jealous of your carrots. And your camera!
Three sets of carrot seedlings have been munched by slugs so far this year. It's only June but I fear I'm running out of time, so I will live vicariously through your veggies instead...
David, I just hope the three sisters garden works. If it does I'll be so happy.
ReplyDeleteAnnie's Granny, I could look at veggies all day long too. My nasturiums are tiny right now. They are back along the fence. I'm assuming they will grow up and flower. Oh dear. The thought of climbing up on the roof for a photo. Maybe you can get a nice step ladder ;> I have hauled a lot of soil. Well compost. I still have a bit to go to fill that bin, but I'm almost there. I really don't think I'll get to the top before I quit. I'm quickly running out of compost.
Ellie Mae's Cottage, Thanks. My Swiss chard was very slow last year. This year I started it inside and it did much better. Last year it took until August to get to the big full size leaf stage. I think it grow better in the cool spring than the summer.
Cumudgeon, Oh I have slug damage. I just didn't show it to you. It is under the row covers in the brassicas. I swear the slug love to live under row covers as much as my plants do.
Cynthia, thanks. I do enjoy my morning walk in the garden.
Jodi, If I didn't have it all fenced in I wouldn't be able to grow anything here. The rabbits would eat it all. The first year I was here I dug a small garden in that spot. I planted a few things. All gone by rabbit. Only the squash survived and it was in a tall pot.
Dan, lol I taught my husband how to take photos. He considered himself an unartistic nerd. I was the only artist in the family. He learned though. Then once he got into it and got good, he started buying expensive camera equipment. Then he lost me. Too much work to learn each new camera as he upgraded them.
Josie, thanks.
Maggie, I always look first at the close photos because I'm usually saying something about a particular plant. So I show that one plant. I do need to do those overview more. Just so you know, the red chard is much better than the rainbow chard in taste. Next year I might germinate a few of the rainbow ones just for the pretty yellow stems, but most of them will be rhubarb chard.
thedroolingvegetable, Oh the poor carrots. Last year I sowed carrots in the middle of July and got nice carrots in the fall, so all is not lost.