First Fruits



The first eggplant

Trombocino is growing.  This is an amazing summer squash.



One day's harvest - tomatoes to freeze
 



 



Turmeric Sprouts + First Fruits + Wet Blankets

July is an exciting time in the garden.  Within a day, the squash vines have crept along by inches, and the bean vines are wrapping around poles at the blink of an eye.  So much growth.  The first of any fruits are a joy to behold, whether it is the first ripe tomato or a squash flower transformed into a tiny fruit.



An additional joy was noticing that the turmeric root I had potted up a few months back finally sprouted, which means I will transplant it and perhaps it will make more tubers.

Hard to be planning for winter when the temperatures are blazing into 3 digits, but I am following the methods of my wise Community Garden neighbor Jim, who has planted winter carrot seeds this week.  The trick is keeping them moist enough to germinate in this heat.  I covered mine with a discarded cotton blanket which I am soaking with water. When the seeds start to sprout, off comes the blanket.  I've also been germinating fava beans (from the grocery store), which I will soon put in the ground for a fall crop.

12 pounds harvested this week - with the first eggplant, trombocino squash, and tomatillos to look forward to.  Happy Summer.

10 Pounds this Week

Finally!  Something other than lettuce, swiss chard and kale.

Blogging wanes as the garden explodes into production.

Watering... weeding... harvesting... scheming.... 
What will I plant where the garlic was?
A fellow gardener is putting in winter storage carrots.
Maybe a fava bean cover crop... maybe more buckwheat....
....back to weeding... staking... tying... mulching... and more watering.

How fast things grow, with such heat and humidity.
Gotta love the process, including the detective work of examining every stripped down bare leaf of container kale to find the cabbage looper who is eating my breakfast smoothie greens.  Haven't found it - could it be a rabbit?

The 10 pounds were:
The 1st 2 perfect striped zucchini  - 2 pounds
Lots of little plum tomatoes  - 1 pound
Beautiful onions - 1 pound
Rose colored potatoes - 2 pounds
More kale and chard - 1 pound
Garlic - it's gorgeous - 2 pounds
Assorted other things... jalepenyos, amaranth, chamomile, lettuce, basil, shiso- 1 pound