June Garden and Volunteer Plants

Over the past few weeks we have had much rain, and in between the rain storms we added a few new plants and a few more volunteered in the garden!

New Rhubarb 

New Raspberry

Blueberry from last year has berries! 

Vetch is everywhere

The Paw-Paw is doing nicely - just planted this year!

We planted this 4x8 bed with corn and beans and found that MANY pumpkins came up from last year. As well as an overachieving butternut squash...so we decided that a new bed was needed!

Notice the large volunteer Mammoth Sunflower behind the bed. 

I love these and will find a way to have them all over the garden next year =)

So I took some newspaper and placed it down in the front yard  and wet it with a watering can.

And then I put cardboard over that and wet it down with water.

We filled the circle up with soil...

And moved the many rogue pumpin and butternut squash plants into the new bed...

We watered it in and it looks good as a starting point to replacing the front lawn...

Notice the Sunchokes are about four feet tall in the background!

in the back garden, trees are growing like crazy, grape vines are vining....

In the beds, canning tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and amaranth, carrots, radishes, sea kale,

and eggplant, etc. are all growing. Intermingled hot peppers in each bed as well as 

marigolds, poppies, herbs and flowers all perking up after a week of rain.

And the first of our apple trees is fruiting - I pruned off about 25-30 fruits

and we are letting a few grow near to the trunk where they won't break the branches.

I can't wait to try this fruit!

Yard in Bloom

Amaranth and Cherry Tomatoes growing together in the same bed - support each other and look beautiful together!

Marigolds in the herb spiral

Vetch around the fruit trees

Pumpkins in the Sunflower / Corn bed!

Pumpkin

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Waiting for Sunchokes to bloom!

How does your garden grow?

...at warp speed?

Just a quick update because I am amazed at how quickly things are progressing. We ate some deliciously sweet snap peas in a stir fry yesterday and today the Marigolds and Nasturtiums are starting to open. With the expected weather at 95ish for the next two days, I am hoping the sweet potatoes will get the heat they need. Otherwise...you can see for yourself. Not so bad for a first try at this thing. It makes me so happy to just watch the changes, even from morning to evening the growth can be seen. I have never loved Summer so much!

Delicious sweet Snap peas

Sunflowers, corn, beans and squash - will be taller than me soon!

view of the beds - peas, snap peas and the herb spiral - first Nasturtium flowers!
In the far back near the fence- potatoes.

Blue Poppies 

Cherry Tomatoes and Red Hopi Amaranth

Snap Peas- Sweet and Delicious

Broccoli, onions, and red onions 

Package of mixed lettuce seeds...wow

In case you are wondering...the lettuce is just a package of mixed seeds - literally just scattered in a planter - and I could have many salads.  Tomorrow we are planning a little salad with a radish or two and will be picking the shelling peas to see how that goes.  

We'll be eating/freezing this batch and planting another for seed for next year.

The only thing that has been difficult...the location of the eggplant and watermelon did not work, probably too shady, so I will be starting them again and hoping to have it work in a sunnier spot in the front yard.  The pumpkins, zucchini, and butternut seem to love it - 

so it's worth a try.

All in all, I am enjoying the watering each evening and the obvious growth 

from day to day.