Early June Garden Update - Part I

I took this picture shortly after 8:00 PM today. A storm front is moving across our area tonight and tornado warnings have popped up in several parts of the state. Though not as dramatic on film, the approaching clouds have cast a strange yellow glow over everything outside. It was quite remarkable actually.

In this picture, you also get a better sense of how our gardens are laid out. The large maple tree on the left casts a huge shadow over much of yard during the morning hours, and as a result, the side garden (bottom right) gets only about 5 hours of full sunlight a day. My leafy vegetables, legumes, root crops and alliums seem to do fine under these conditions but I grow most (if not all) of my tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn and melons in the back garden, which gets full sun throughout most of the day. I'm sure all of us would wish for more sunlight in our gardens (at least I do). Thankfully, it seems all is not lost in part-shade.

Anyway, I thought I'd do an update on how things are growing at the moment. Looking at these pictures, the garden looks rather bare compared to this time last year. Hopefully that will change soon. In no particular order:


Yes! We now have mini-crowns of broccoli. This particular variety is called 'Bonanza', which I grew for the first time last fall. I've been pleased with it so far as it's relatively early to mature and produces plenty of side-shoots. We'll see how it performs in the summer heat.


Hopefully this one will be ready to cut in a week or two.


Despite the cooler than average temperatures of May, my green soybeans (edamame, 'Envy') germinated relatively well - at about 75%. The garden pests went crazy for them last year so I may have to cover them with some netting or row cover this time around.


My bush beans ('Contender' and 'Dragon's Tongue') germinated at about 65%. Some of them emerged from the soil rather mangled-looking. As a result, I had to pull those up and re-sow the bare spots. Beans have never performed well for me. Hopefully that will change since I'm growing a lot more this year.


Since taking this picture, the shell and snow peas have begun to flower. Better late than never I guess. On a high note, it looks like the wire trellis I put up is working out well.


My long beans have taken root and are starting to grow again. I was a bit nervous since beans tend not to transplant well. I wonder how long it will take for them to climb atop the hoop house frame.


It seems to be another good year for garlic. The stalks are tall and fat with no signs of rust thus far despite the mild and wet weather we've had. (I've become obsessed with homegrown garlic so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.)


Finally, I first noticed this little guy last summer. He's about 3 times the size now. I'm not quite sure where he came from but glad that he found a nice place to hibernate during this past winter and decided to stick around. Hopefully he'll find mate and eat his weight in slugs every day.

The Calm After the Storm

It's been a while since I've posted an aerial photo of the backyard. This morning presented a fine opportunity to do so. I've always loved the morning after a great winter storm. The world outside just seems so calm and peaceful.


Poor Bobby. Despite the fact that he's built like a horse, even he had trouble maneuvering through two feet of snow.

On a side note, I was able to brush all of the snow off my hoop house when I got home tonight. Luckily, everything still appears intact.

Aerial View of the Fall Garden

Taken from our 2nd floor bedroom window, I would call this a semi-aerial view of my garden. It's not that impressive is it? Nonetheless, I like to offer it as proof that you don't need that much space to grow a decent amount of food. All in all, I think I have about 1000 square feet of growing space, though I've never officially measured it. As you can see, the dogs have done quite a number on our grass. We desperately need to train them to do their business in the back end of the yard. I'm getting quite sick of looking at the dead patches.

Our next home would ideally be situated on 3 to 5 acres of land, with pretty of open space and a reasonable amount of woodlands. Most of my garden lies in part shade and I'm looking forward to the day when I grow all of my veggies in full sun. I'd like to plant a small orchard and have access to enough freshly-cut logs to grow my own shitake mushrooms. Hopefully, this will become a reality in 3 to 5 years. For the time being, I'll be focusing on whipping this space into shape.


In other news, the Heavenly Blue morning glories are finally starting to flower. It hadn't been doing much of anything all summer long. I'm guessing that the lack of rain had something to do with that.


I love these blooms. They only last a day or two but are magnificent to look at.

In Progress

It's been exactly two weeks since we've been in our new home and I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed that the garden hasn't progressed as much as I'd hope it would. With a new home to get in order, a toddler running around and a longer work commute to contend with, it doesn't leave much time in the day to carry out one's hobbies. Oh well, I guess some things in life move at their own speed and you just have to run with it. I have to remind myself that the joy of gardening is as much about the process as it is about the end result. That being said, here is the progress I've made so far.


Soon after we moved in, I began dismantling the prior owner's old garden. I had initially wanted to save myself some time and energy by expanding upon it, but in the end, I decided to find a new spot for my garden. The major con in doing so is that the new spot (along the side of our yard) gets a bit less sun than the old one. However, the major downside in keeping the garden where it currently is (smack dab in the middle of the yard) is that it effectively cuts our lawn in half, and eventually, the backside becomes under-utilized. Although I've never been a major fan of large grass lawns period, I can see how a long continuous one would someday appeal to my son. Finally, I think the new spot will add better overall visual appeal to the yard.


A few days after we moved in, I began clearing out about 150 sq feet of overgrown brush on the right side of our yard. So far, I've filled 18 30-gallon lawn bags with branch clippings and leaves, not to mention the HUGE pile of trunks and thick branches that we've accumulated. I'm starting to realize that clearing brush and trimming trees is the easy part; it's the clean up that's the big headache! It took me the better part of a week to get this cleared out and cleaned up.

Once the side of the yard was cleared, I made a visit to Home Depot this past weekend to rent a rototiller, which ended up being one of those life lessons experiences. I won't bore you with the details but here is what I've learned from my experience:

1) Rent a machine that is up to your particular task. In my situation, I had to clear about 600 sq feet of well established (VERY THICK) lawn. I foolishly rented the smallest machine available at Home Depot simply because it was the only one that would fit (barely) in the back seat of my Nissan Maxima. (I was starting to see the appeal in owning a big gas-guzzling pickup truck...well almost.) Needless to say, the machine was barely powerful enough to crack the surface of the lawn and ended up being more trouble than it was worth.

2) Before rototilling, make sure you mow the area to the shortest length possible and rake up the grass clippings. I rototilled on lawn that hadn't been mowed in over week and end up with 600 sq feet of clumpy soil densely matted with grass. And the recent rains didn't help either. I suppose if I had gotten a more powerful machine, this wouldn't have been an issue, but alas, I didn't. The best I can hope for now is that this mass (and mess) of dying grass/soil starts to break down quickly and hand turn any areas of new grass that might develop.

3) Do a bit more research on what's available in your area. After I returned the thing to Home Depot and explained to the sales clerk my problems, he confirmed that I should have rented a much more powerful (and heavy) machine (one that requires ramps to load it onto a pickup). He also mentioned that although Home Depot didn't deliver, there was a tool rental shop located the next town over from us that did for a reasonable fee. Now I know.


So after several days of clearing and four grueling passes with the darn rototiller, this is what I ended up with. It's amazing how much more of the yard we are able to utilize now. We can also see the stone barrier that had been hidden underneath the brush. One of my many future projects is to continue weeding and repairing the stone wall and to plant a small shade garden to the right of the raised beds (more on them later). Sorry this post is so long! Shorter next time...promise.

Future Garden Spot

Here are some views of our future backyard. As you can see, there's quite a bit of shade in this beautiful lot (courtesy of a huge maple tree off the rear stone patio). Fortunately, there is a perfectly sunny spot in the middle for a nice veggie garden. The farmer inside me kind of wishes for a bit more sun, but then again, the hammock-loving afternoon napper that I am surely appreciates the shade.

I was glad to find that the present owners have a bit of the gardening bug inside them as well. As you can see, they currently have a small garden of their own (currently dominated by 3 feet tall mint). Also, they were kind enough to leave behind a couple of golden raspberry bushes, a blackberry bush, and a strawberry patch. To me, that's like Christmas in July!