Sunday, July 5, 2015

Garden Share Collective - July 2015

June has been a very variable month. We have had highs in the 50Fs and highs in the 90Fs. But at least we are getting rain again.

The spring cool weather crops are almost done. Most will be pulled out in a week or two. Some like the broccoli will produce all year long, so they get to stay. Our hot is not the hot of the south, so some years they produce very well over the summer.

The hot weather crops are starting to grow. The corn and squash are doing well. The cucumbers have started to climb. The sweet potatoes are taking over their bed. Sadly though the melons were eaten down by slugs. They were replanted, but they are being slow to restart. I hope it doesn't end up being a melon free year.

June Completed

  • June 3, planted second half of lettuce succession, planted corn and Sweet Potato squash 2W (third succession)
  • June 7th, resowed failed turnips, seeded corn (fourth succession) and butternut squash in bed 2E, resowed 4 bean seeds (all I had) after the groundhog ate the others
  • June 7th, planted melons
  • June 14th, reseeded melons after being eaten down by slugs
  • June 15th, seeded turnip succession
  • June 16th, started transplants under lights for broccoli, basil
  • June 17th, seeded squash bed 6W, reseeded more melons
  • June 19th, planted corn seed 6W (5th succession), planted lettuce succession
  • June 19th, ripped out sage plant in herb circle and replaced with rosemary
  • June 27th, started transplants under lights for fall cabbages, kohlrabi, and amaranth
  • June 29thth, seeded amaranth at ends of bed 7W and 8E
  • June 29th, planted Broccoli, lettuce succession, basil
  • June 29th, redid part of strawberry bed
  • Netted peach and apple trees

Harvests

Harvests started out with greens, greens, and more greens. But by mid June the greens avalanche was over. I still am picking greens, but at a much more sedate pace.

Now my harvests are more varied. This month I've picked bunching onions, a few head of garlic, garlic scapes, broccoli, carrots, Michihili cabbage, bok choy, mizuna, tatsoi, cabbage, celery, chard, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, spinach, snowpeas, pea shoots, and turnips. I've also picked a lot of herbs - chives, cilantro, dill, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rose petals, sage, and tarragon. All in all it was over a 100 pounds of veggies.

For fruits I've picked 16.9 pounds of strawberries, 2 pounds of raspberries, and 3.5 pounds of currants.

Frozen packet with 6 cups of spinach

Preserving

I've been busy drying herbs. I like to replace them every year. Most have been done already, though I can always use more of some things like parsley. I could use a truckload of that if I have the production and time to dry it all. I froze a good quantity of the strawberries and a few of the raspberries. I'll eat them up in my breakfast smoothies over the next few months. They won't last until winter. It would be nice to grow that much, but I just don't. I froze the currants as I'll make jam from them later this year when I get a chance. Most of my preservation though has been the frozen vegetables that I store for the winter. June, especially early June, is my biggest preserving month for greens.

Tally of what is in storage from the garden

Freezer

  • Brococli - 13.5 cups
  • Chard - 14 cups
  • Mizuna - 23 cups
  • Kale - 30 cups
  • Spinach - 61 cups
  • Chinese cabbage - 4 cups
  • Turnips - 5 cups

I need about 180 cups of greens to get me through the winter without skimping. Right now I have 145. I need 35 more cups. I didn't think I'd get anywhere near my goal, but I'm making very good progress. Well as long as I don't have to eat any of those greens during the slim times during the summer. I have planted amaranth, but it should have been planted weeks ago. I hope it serves to fill in the gaps.

July To Do

  • Seed transplants for fall kale
  • Harvest and dry garlic
  • Replant garlic section with mustard or more greens
  • Weed and water
  • Prune currants and gooseberries after harvest
  • Plant two carrot beds
  • Plant cabbage and kohlrabi bed
  • Keep lettuce and turnip successions going
  • Seed more cilantro

This post is part of the Garden Share Collective hosted by Lizzie at Strayed From the Table.

17 comments:

  1. I love all the neat lines you have in your garden, and my it does seem very productive. Your strawberries look yummy too.

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  2. Wow, you really have been busy. I love the tally you keep of the cost of both growing and buying fresh food, what a great way to take charge of the garden...mind you the cost saving is not what drives me....http://gardeninginamberley.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/good-golly-there-are-cauli.html

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  3. Wow, you really have been busy. I love the tally you keep of the cost of both growing and buying fresh food, what a great way to take charge of the garden...mind you the cost saving is not what drives me....http://gardeninginamberley.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/good-golly-there-are-cauli.html

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  4. as always daphne I am wowed at your productivity (and slightly shamed!). i'm also looking at your netted beds and thinking, that's what I need to do to stop the bird eating my pea seedlings. thanks for the inspiration.

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  5. Your garden seems to be super productive this summer, 100 pounds of vegetables is impressive. Your strawberries look so good. How many strawberry plants do you have?

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    1. I'm not really sure how many I have. Quite a few. They line my fruit trees along the road.

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    2. Thanks Daphne, clearly I need more strawberry plants.

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  6. Hi Daphne, Looking at your garden I could get discouraged! And you are on top of things freezing! How many hours a day do you spend planning your garden and working in it, not counting the preserving part? Nancy

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    1. Well nothing the last four days. I've been away camping. But normally it really depends. Most days I'd say 15-60 minutes.. In the spring at planting time, probably an hour a day or more and almost every day. Nowadays I tend to spend a lot of time outside when the weather is nice and none at all when it isn't. On stretches of really nice weather, I wish there were more to do as I love working in the garden so much. When the weather is bad I wish the weeds would stop growing as I get behind then.

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  7. I love visiting your site and seeing your beautiful garden and super productive approach to preserving. Wonderful!

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  8. Amazing! I hope my garden gets to be half as productive!

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  9. First time I have visited your garden, it is magnificent! You have made great use of your space and produce.

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  10. I hope you get some melons going, I was unlucky this past summer and didn't get any thanks to rats and mice. Love the look of those strawberries and as always such an inspiring read to visit your garden.

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  11. That's a very impressive crop of backyard strawberries. Do you make jam or just freeze them?

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    1. I've done jam in the past, but this year I just froze them.

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  12. Oh those strawberries. Gorgeous!

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  13. I'm always so impressed by how organized you are! A few of my spring plantings are bolting now too, so I'll be pulling those today. I'm still wondering if I could grow some of them over the summer as I've had luck in the past with lettuce. I've pretty much given up on spinach over the summer since it's not just a matter of heat, but of daylight hours. But I'm going to give the mizuna & tatsoi a go to see if they are as successful as bok choy has been, even in the heat.

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