Garden Update, Late July, 2014
An update of my garden in late July, 2014, US hardiness zone 6a.
It is time for my bi-weekly garden update! I like to keep track of what is/is not working in my backyard garden. To date, things have been going fairly well, but you never know when things will change.
All my tomatoes are growing like gangbusters! They have started to ripen, I am hoping for a big harvest. Hubby wants to can rather then freeze tomatoes this year, so hopefully we will have a load all at once instead of in dribbles and drabs.
The ground planted tomato plants aren’t really far behind the earth box tomatoes. I am more and more convinced that next year the earth boxes will be used for different vegetation.
The earth box peppers are so far ahead of the ground planted peppers it isn’t even funny. I can’t wait to see those peppers turn colors!
The fennel looked beautiful after the sprinklers watered. We water between 4-5am three days a week. We do have a rain gauge on the gutters. What this does is measure if it is raining or has rained recently by checking for a water build-up inside our gutter system. If there is water, the sprinklers do not run if scheduled. This prevents over watering.
I pinched basil heads last week. My plants to look sad though. The bugs have gotten them (not sure I’ll be able to go all natural on these much longer), and only the 5 of 12 survived, but I do expect to be able to harvest.
Oh my poor, poor blackberry bush. The new blackberry bush is doing well, but my old one? Not-so-much. It was clearly traumatized by the roofers last year, and will need another year (or two) to recover. While we do have some fruit growing, it is nothing like past years!
Right now I am preparing for a tomato harvest, and eventually a basil harvest and drying (I hope).
What are you growing in your garden this year? Tell me, How Does Your Garden Grow!?
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tami says
We are in a severe drought so no garden this year 🙁 I do have some containers worth necessities like jalapeños and grape tomatoes and two pumpkin plants (came up from last year’s seeds). I recycle my washing machine water for the pumpkins and condensation croon the air conditioning unit for the containers. ..I miss my big garden. ..
Ann says
I am so sorry, Tami. Where are there drought conditions this year? California?
Ann
Tami Lemons says
I am in North Central Texas
Stephanie B says
I was JUST thinking of this gardening post as I harvested 8 large peppers from my garden! I have plenty more to harvest, but they need time to grow still. I hope they will change colors eventually too since they are supposed to be multi colored. I have tons of tomatoes….none are red yet though. They seemed to explode in size out of nowhere and took over space that did not belong to them. My husband says he can string them up. I hope so, because they are now covering my onions and starting to overtake the peppers. My broccoli is adorable. Can’t wait for it to get bigger.
Ann says
When we were down in Ithaca two weeks ago, we stopped at a roadside stand that had RED tomatoes!! I wonder if they were greenhouse grown?
My tomatoes in the earth box are strung, Stephanie. They seem to be holding ok. The ones in the ground have cages, and those are VERY straight.
Jealous of your peppers!! Mine have a few weeks left to go. IF they all grow, there will be tons and tons and tons…. and that is with the ground-planted peppers being great big duds.
I am glad all is growing well for you!!
Ann
Stephanie B says
My tomatoes have cages as well, but the one plant grew so .much so fast that it ripped the cage right out of the ground!
Ann says
Oh my goodness, Stephanie!!
Ann
Stephanie B says
I just had to say that I can’t believe the difference in taste between the peppers we grew and ones that we buy! So flavorful!!!
donna says
After enjoying two successfull red tomatoes, the remainder supplied a(n apparently) much needed meal for a neighborhood possum…:(
Ann says
Awwww I am so sorry, Donna. I keep waiting for the squirrels to attack, but it hasn’t happened yet. *knock on wood*
Ann
donna says
Ha…rookie gardener here…next time, I’ll buy some chicken wire!
Ann says
Just to make you feel better… My uncle and aunt have 38 years of schooling between them. Every year for as long as they have lived in their house (40 years now), they have tried to rig a contraption to keep the squirrels out of their garden and bird seed.
And for 40+ years, the rodents have won. I think this is a case where survival trumps education, and humans can’t ever get a step ahead of the wildlife. LOL
Ann
Debb F says
My little garden is doing great! I have 2 kinds of tomatoes and the one I planted for me is doing wonderful! I have already eaten about 5 tomatoes and about 10 peppers! I have already harvested parsley and sage and am almost ready to do it again! We have a baby dove growing up in our backyard so we are trying not to disturb him or his parents. With such a wet summer here, my plants are so big! We did have some yellowing of the tomato plants but treated that with miracle grow. Ours are strung up because they out grew the cages. I put tomato cages around my peppers too and it works well. 3 kinds of tomatoes, and 3 kinds of peppers and some parsley is all I grew this year. My flowers are amazing! Haven’t had this much beauty in many years!
Ann says
My tomato leaves got a bit yellow, too, Debb. I turned the boxes, and the sunburn went away. Another reason i like where I ground-planted my tomatoes; a lot of sun, but not too much sun!
I have tomato cages around my peppers too, and I agree it helps. I also put them around my cilantro. I think tomato cages are very versatile!
It sounds like your garden is booming, Debb!! Lucky, lucky you!
Ann
Debb F says
And just to encourage Donna, the varmints here try to wipe me out as well! This year I planted HUGE marigolds to keep the bunnies away and it is working a little bit. But they steal from me too. Please don’t be too discouraged Donna, a few years ago I tried planting a separate garden for the bunnies and lettuce else where for me. They got it all. Just as it was about to head up! LOL. I used to get mad but not any more. There is a product called liquid fence that you spray to keep deer and squirrels and other animals out of your garden. I am considering trying it, but I have a blind dog and use scents to help him navigate the yard. I pour skin so soft on the beams that hold up the porch, on the bottoms of the clothes line poles, and on the wood edges of our raised beds where my gardens grow. It helps him a lot and I am afraid to use the liquid fence and confuse him. So for now, as long as I get a few tomatoes I am content. I do try to outsmart the critters. I pick the tomato as soon as I see it turn yellow and let it continue to ripen on my counter inside. It will, with or without sun light and it is plenty ripe. The critters wont take them until they are red. So good luck. 🙂 PS with gardening it is all trying is doing and as long as you are trying before you know it you will be doing it and doing it well!
Marie says
This is a comment for a little bit of everything I just read. I have used cages on broccoli too. My tomato plants grow up over the cages and lean all over everything including the rose bushes. I too pick the tomatoes and leave on the window sill. The bell peppers are so slow this year and I am thinking maybe they don’t like it on this end of the garden (crop rotation). I barely can wait long enough for my peppers to turn red. If deer don’t like catmint, maybe rabbits won’t either. Just a thought.
David says
I LOVE summer and those summer veggies. Your garden looks great! I have only earth box tomatoes so far and they’re growing great this year. Now I’m thinking whether I should try growing some other summer veggies (hope it is not too late?)