2012 - The Raised Garden - June 7th

The Raised Garden is definitely in full swing.  After two months I finally finished it.  I also added three tomato varieties: Cherry, Yellow, and Heat Resistant.  Another new addition is a Gypsy Pepper Plant.  I love the small sweet peppers find at the store and hope these are like those.  The new plants would not fit in the raised garden, so I bought some plastic pots to set in a protected yet full sun spot.

In the meantime, the Sunflowers have really sky rocketed!  I would say it is at least 7 feet tall!  The blooms so far are a deep, dark red.

Aside from a few caterpillars and a billion ants, the pests have been forgiving.  The Brussel Sprouts seem to be affected the most.  Their leaves are riddled with chewed holes throughout the leaves.

The Snap Peas finally have gotten big enough to eat.  They are so sweet!  I love just snacking on them while I am watering the garden.  The Peas have been the most fun and rewarding to grow so far.

I need to figure something out for the pile of logs.  Burning them would be a good option, but it's been so hot and dry.  I fear, as July approaches so fast, that I will have a much bigger pile here shortly once our summer storms start blowing through.

Our Green Pepper is finally growing and looking good!  It is so small right now, about the size of a thumb. Evan and I have not had a successful growth of Peppers in previous years.  We grew them near the fence where the deer would munch on them or they would get too much water and rot.  I keep my fingers crossed that they will do well here in the raised garden.

Evan picked up this garden sign at Target in the dollar bin and has really helped out our garden.  When we left at the beginning of May on our separate trips, the garden doubled in size while we were gone.  The Parsley was just sprouting, the Cilantro was about two inches tall, and the Sunflowers were only a foot tall.  I get back a week later and everything was doing great and grown!  The Sunflowers were then as tall as the trellis and the Cilantro and Parsley were ready for munching on.

The Kentucky Pole beans have finally produced some Beans.

The Leek plant is still blooming. I am unsure about when it is going to go to seed.  I left the Cottage Cheese container on the bulb to keep from loosing any seeds, but it still seems to be just a bloom.

The Sunflower is so beautiful, but is about 7 feet tall in the air!  More Blooms to come!!!  Even the leaves on this one plant has red veins that stand out against the green, just like the Beets.

The Beets are so yummy.  Evan sautes them in a skillet with Oil, Garlic, and a splash of Balsamic Vinegar.  I slice the Beets and tear the Leaves into bite size pieces and cook it for 8 minutes.  Oh yeah!

The Radishes have stopped making Radish Roots that are editable and had shot up some pretty blossoms.  I am eager for the seed pods as they are supposed to taste like peas, but with a sharper bite.
 

Yay! Yay! Yay!  What a garden!  I can't believe how much better it has been for growing this year.  I make an effort everyday get up early to ensure everything is watered well since rain has been so scarce this year.  I Love it!  It makes me smile.