Backyard Garden

This year our gardens are small but coming along nicely. Mulching the gardens has not only reduced weeding but has also helped keep the moisture in the beds. We tried planting just a few cukes in a large pot and letting them vine instead of spreading out, we have already had several cucumbers and they are easy to see and pick. This year we are letting the big compost pile rest (it is almost perfect soil and will be nice to add to all the gardens later this fall) and picked up a barrel composter. Since we let the old pile rest there must have been some pumpkin seeds from last Halloween that sprouted and we may get some pumpkins, if not it's squash and either way it's great! Left to right: flower bed, morning glories, mint & chives bed, tomato & herbs bed, and the new composter just under the Japanese maple. 3 beds with peppers, different types of tomatoes, basil, oregano, broccoli, marigolds, cilantro, and strawberries. First successful brocc...

The newest addition to the gardens....

We have been getting the compost turned, giving the raised beds some extra composted manure and getting everything ready for the seedlings to go out. Hopefully this weekend we will have everything in the backyard garden and will only have the big garden left to work on. Our lettuces are ready, so our first salad from the garden is coming shortly...the kale and spinach have taken a beating though from the squirrels, for some reason they want to dig them up. I added a lovely aluminum pie plate on a stick to scare them a bit and it works until the plate gets free. I hate having what looks like junk hanging in my garden, but I also don't want the groundhog eating my lettuce and the squirrels digging up my other greens! The seedlings are holding on even though I have had some dampening off and the garlic spray seems to be helping some of them. I was glad that we put in grow lights for them because it has been so cloudy and rainy for the past couple weeks, although you can tell we had s...

 My seedlings have some dampening off this year which is a real bummer. I sprayed them with a garlic spray and some are coming back and some will not make it regardless. So I may nee another trip tot he nursery before I am done with the garden. My tomatoes are holding on, but the cabbage, basil, cilantro, and some of the flowers were hit hard.  Lilac! so beautiful and covered too bad it's all raining during the full bloom... Everything keeps plodding on even though we have not seen the sun for a whole day in well over a week (Last Saturday afternoon with intermittent thunder showers was the best we can hope for apparently) I think that when the sun finally comes out it will be in true Maine fashion and we will be in the midst of  summer.

Seedlings coming up... Apples from seed, not sure what we are actually going to do with them... Lettuce, Kale, Spinach all coming up nicely despite cool temps... Funny little fairy garden under the Japanese Maple is already flowering... It won't be long until the Lilac blooms, it is covered with buds!

Means sweet little lambs.

Hard to believe it is that time and that I am actually a little late! Started some lettuce, kale and spinach outside, although I am skeptical it will work I have heard its possible. I started tomatoes, herbs, cabbage, flowers, and some summer squash inside. I also planted 100 bulbs two weeks again that I am anxiously awaiting. If it all works out it will be quite a display under the lilac.

The backyarden is looking crazy, lots of things did not like the heat last week, myself included. So some plants are starting to die back and late season plants are hitting their stride. Finally we are getting lots of giant and delicious tomatoes. Plus we are inundated with all the sweet cherry tomatoes. I returned triumphant from the Sumner gardens with boxes of yummy San Marz, Nepal and Brandywine tomatoes. Not to mention a box of cabbage, beets, and basil. Lots of tomatoes....before the dreaded food mill... The final product cooked down for 6 hours and reduced the liquid to half resulted in five quart jars and two pints. Ready for use on or in anything! We made a delicious tomato soup from it by sauteing onions, and adding salt pepper fresh basil and a bit of cream.

Other than the fact we need to mow the lawn the backyard is happy and lush. All the rain that came down last night soaked everything thoroughly and it all looks good. From the other side... The pumpkin patch may need to be thinned soon! Salad second cuttings are ready... The tomatoes are growing like mad and I am optimistic about the harvest. Hopefully all is going well up in the big garden where we have twice as many tomatoes!

So the tomatoes are loving all the hot weather we have been having and getting big and thick and flowering like crazy. I noticed that some of the flowers are giving way to tiny tomatoes which is so exciting. This year I have several types in the garden Nepal, Brandywine, San Marzano, early girl cherry tomatoes, and an heirloom mix of cherry tomatoes. When I finally put these seedlings in do you think I marked them? Nope! Too much rushing when things had to get into the ground and I grabbed the best plants of each and threw them in. My logic at the time was this, I just want tomatoes, and at the end of the season I will know what they are. Then I also have all these funny tomato plants that are coming up from seed in the compost. They could be any kind, cherry, beefsteak, last year's Nepals, I have no clue! They look healthy and so I left several plants. Now I have a tomato free for all. From the looks of these little green starts we have a cherry tomato (top) because is is perfectl...

So our garden here is doing okay... and I say okay because we got everything in late, the cabbage worms have been at the cabbage, some tomato plants showed early signs of blight and needed to be removed, and the groundhog that disappeared is back, or another has taken its place. That said here it is! The big tomato plant here in the front looks good..note that all the red cabbage in this first box was chomped by a groundhog... Salad needs to be picked in this front box, this being the second time, we have a bunch of mixed carrots and lettuces here. After our first planting some animal tore up the whole bed mixing it all  up and tearing up the seed. The herb boxes in the back are coming along nicely, there is a big tomato here that came from the compost...which means our compost is not getting hot enough, but I will take it because it looks strong and healthy! Some of the big terra cotta pots just have flowers, I love these "Love Lies Bleeding", beautiful flower with a gru...

The lovely tea roses at the top of the garden...                                                 Scarlet runner beans and purple basil mulched... potatoes that need mulch and to be weeded still... mulched rows with cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, swiss chard, beets, carrots, onions, nore basil... Tomatoes! Nepal, Itailian paste tomatoes, and brandywines... Another shot of the mulched rows. We are using newspapers and dirty hay from the sheep infused with tiny little dry poops. Makes great mulch and fertilizer. Hopefully it helps keep the weeding and watering time down!