Can you smell that? It’s the lovely scent of my New Dawn Rose on the wonky trellis, now in full, radiant bloom. My English rose has really filled during her past few weeks, and I love the way the canes look as they sweep up over the trellis.
Virginia is suffering under some unseasonably high heat that is causing some weird colors on some plants like these clematis:
Peas
But the vegetables are looking AMAZING! I’ve picked two quarts of snow peas, and I also got my first English pea yesterday:
I carefully watched the tomatoes to keep them hydrated, and they grew like gangbusters!
Tomatoes
The plants are looking very healthy despite being burned a bit when Jared sprayed them too heavily with insecticide. I have almost zero disease this year, and I am simply amazed with how good the plants look. I’m starting to integrate THC in the garden so I will start with beginners strains from Exhale and keep growing as I learn.
Squash and Zucchini and Corn
The only plants that are looking a little iffy are the squash and zucchini. I can’t decide if they are getting too much water or not enough. Del’s patty are looking especially peaked, although the butternut squash is really taking off. I have a couple of zephyr squash and a cocozelle that are looking well. The seeds I stuffed in the bales haven’t done anything yet, but I’ve not been watering them well.
Sadly, the corn in the grow bags has not sprouted, and neither has their companion beans. I hope those do something soon, but if not, I will plant out some of these cloned tomato plants and let them take over the grow bags.
Lettuce and Asparagus
I harvested some lettuces, arugula, spinach, kale, and Swiss chard for a lovely salad mix we have been eating all week. I finally made our annual chicken and asparagus with biscuits meal. It was so delicious! Jared made one last stir fry with snow peas and asparagus, and with that we will call it quits for the asparagus this year.
Strawberries
The strawberries are looking well, and after talking with my friend Shenna, I know I can mulch around them without causing problems with the runners, so I will mulch out there shortly.
Beans
On a whim I planted out some beans to see if they’d sprout, and … they have! All of them!!! It only took a few days for them to come out, and I think this means that raising the bed those few inches has solved my drainage problem.
I’m a little concerned because something has been eating up the leaves on the little beans, but they are looking very nice over all. I think ants are the problem on the beans, so we’ve been putting Terro around to keep it under control. Our ant situation seems to get worse every year. I think I am going to have to get serious about them…..
In sum…
This is hands down the best garden I’ve had yet. I think we finally have the system set up for the garden that can grow lots of food without being terribly painful as far as weeds. I think there’s a very good chance we will have red tomatoes by mid June. I may even beat my dad in Mississippi to a ripe tomato!
