Harvest Monday - July 4th

I started the Harvest Week last Monday picking this green pepper which didn't have much that was eatable.

The next day I picked two Cubanelle and two green peppers, green beans, zucchini and some basil.
Thursday I picked these zucchini that went into a shrimp stir fry.

The garlic was harvested last week and is drying in the garage.

More cherry tomatoes which are very sweet.

The single zucchini went into a salad and I steamed the green beans. The bunny is enjoying them too. The onions were part of my onion harvest. Now I know how you get pearl onions! That's the size these were so I added them to frozen green peas.

Sunday I braided the onions after they had hung to dry on the fence for two days and then got rained on early Sunday morning. I have to rethink how I grow onions. They are not very large.


These are the bullnecked ones which I'll have to use first.

This morning I got two more cherry toms and two cucumbers for the 4th of July dinner tonight.

See other harvest at our host Daphne's Dandelions.

Me vs. Nature

Do you feel sometimes that as you try to tame the garden to do as you want that it's really a battle of you vs. nature? I had that feeling today. Why? Let me count the ways:

1. The tomato hornworm showed itself today. It's bathing (drowning) in soapy water. I'm not honoring it with a photo but here's the damage it wrought on my Rutgers tomato. Only evidence I could find of its rampage. I thought the marigolds would keep it away.


2. Something is eating my basil and I can't see what it is. Is it a bug or slug? Rabbits? No clue.


3. Two different varieties of tomatoes had stalks that wilted up. Anyone know what that would be? I cut out both stalks and put them in a trash bag for the trash can. Is it a wilt of some sort? Should I be worried about the rest of the plants?


I do have hope that I will have some victories as I look at the tomatoes forming and harvest zucchini for dinner.

Wordless Wednesday - New Faces in the Garden

Post script: My 10,000 hit came and went. I thought I would notice but didn't. Thank you to whoever was that 10,00th visitor.

Linked to Cottage Flora Thursdays

Trial Plants - 2011 Update

Last year my friend in Nebraska at Bluebird Nursery sent me a variety of plants to try out. I've neglected to do a post about how they are doing this year until today. Not all of the plants survived their first summer with me and some didn't survive the winter here. This is a report on those that did make it.

Above is the phlox Natascha. They are loved by the ground hogs so must be surrounded by chicken wire to protect them. Last year only one of the three bloomed, but this year all three are blooming. Two of them are shown above. (Click on the photo to enlarge.) I am very pleased with how well they are doing. And the color is beautiful.

These are the heucheras - Snow Angel. They are not much bigger from last year and have yet to send up their flower stalks. They are a lovely color and I'll let them be in this location.

These hecheras are called Limelight. I lost one over the winter and these are struggling. It makes me wonder if they are too shaded in this location.

These are Carmel heucheras. I've seen this type in full sun as very large plants and again I'm wondering if my location in the glen garden in front of hostas is holding back their growth.

Last year all three Pink Cloud hibiscus were planted in this location. This spring I transplanted two of them to the perennial garden where they are growing well. This one gets full sun and has set some buds.

The ones in the perennial garden get less sun so buds have yet to set. But Japanese beetles have been munching on them. Yuck!


Here are the previous posts on Trial Plants:
Arrival,
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
Update 4