Weedwhacker said:My snow peas have finally started really taking off and are a couple of feet tall -- no flowers yet, but shouldn't be long. All of my beans (planted out after starting in flats in the GH) are looking good. Potatoes (which I finally got planted out on 6/12) are beginning to sprout. And still picking lots of asparagus! I spent a good bit of timing weeding out the asparagus bed today -- mostly of chickweed. And, finally planted some mini Indian corn and broom corn seeds.

Excellent about the peas and the beans doing so well. Excellent about the potatoes too but since I don't grow those I don't get as thrilled about the idea of potato sprouts.

I guess with your shorter growing season you do need to start the beans and plant them out. I like to just plant bean seed directly in place wherever I can, so much easier. But then it is results that count and your garden seems to be coming along really nicely.

Hooray for all your asparagus.

I didn't do much in the veggie garden today. I only planted out my Muncher home grown cucumber seedlings and watered all sorts of baby veggie plants that needed it. Unless it is raining I end up having to water something each day.

I was productive in that I replanted all the daylilies that I had dig up from my bed that now is the pea bed. But had lots of daylilies to replant and didn't get to that until today.

Newyorkrita said:

I guess with your shorter growing season you do need to start the beans and plant them out. I like to just plant bean seed directly in place wherever I can, so much easier. But then it is results that count and your garden seems to be coming along really nicely.

Well, I don't really need to start them that way; I've only been doing it for a few years. But it seemed like when I was direct-sowing the seed the seedlings would no more than emerge and then be eaten off by something... slugs? or something else? it was the growing part of the plant, above the cotyledons, that was always eaten . When I start them in flats and plant them out I don't seem to have that problem.

And, I'm only growing a few potatoes this year, mostly for "seed" in case I really do want to grow them next year -- although the more I think about it, the more I think they take up more room than I really want to spare for them, and potatoes are very cheap to buy here (as they are a fairly major agricultural crop for the UP). I have to admit it's nice to go to the garden and dig some "new potatoes," though!

Tonight DH said "so, is everything planted in the garden now?" Well... pretty much . I want to plant more carrots, beets and lettuce, and around the 1st of July it will be time to start some brassicas to plant where the garlic will come out around the 1st of August .

Happy that I've been seeing swallowtail butterflies this year -- they have been very scarce for several years now! I always let lots of dill self-sow, mainly for the swallowtails' benefit, maybe this year they will actually be taking advantage of it again .

Hey, if it works keep on doing it that way!

Yesterday harvested cukes and made refrigerator pickles and cucumber water. Then harvested basil and made pesto. And today we are going boating for Father's Day and doing a picnic with cold pesto lasagna. Bounty of the garden!

I trimmed the bulbs and bagged up a few of my garlics, but these were the varieties that only a few cloves were planted, so production is miniscule. Woe is me. I won't have nearly enough garlic that is still curing.

SCButtercup said:Yesterday harvested cukes and made refrigerator pickles and cucumber water. Then harvested basil and made pesto. And today we are going boating for Father's Day and doing a picnic with cold pesto lasagna. Bounty of the garden!

Oh yummy!

drdawg said:I trimmed the bulbs and bagged up a few of my garlics, but these were the varieties that only a few cloves were planted, so production is miniscule. Woe is me. I won't have nearly enough garlic that is still curing.

Yesterday harvested cukes and made refrigerator pickles and cucumber water. Then harvested basil and made pesto. And today we are going boating for Father's Day and doing a picnic with cold pesto lasagna. Bounty of the garden!

SCButtercup said:Yesterday harvested cukes and made refrigerator pickles and cucumber water. Then harvested basil and made pesto. And today we are going boating for Father's Day and doing a picnic with cold pesto lasagna. Bounty of the garden!

Sounds excellent.

Do I have the first ripe tomato?

texaskitty111 said:


Do I have the first ripe tomato?

Excellent! Did you eat it after taking the picture?

texaskitty111 said:


Do I have the first ripe tomato?

I have had a garden with tomatoes ever since I was 9 and I am now 75, but I still get excited when I harvest the first fruit of any crop. Kudos @texaskitty111

I ate it for lunch, along with homegrown greens, onions, and asparagus.



The pizza is just a frozen one, but since dean didn't burn it this time, I'm eating some.
Marion tomatoes rate 5 on a 1-10 scale

We have been able to sell a few tomatoes the past two weeks at market. They are starting to come in very heavy now. I just cleaned up the bad, early blight lower leaves yesterday and today. Tomorrow I will spray with BT for the brown worms that keep eating them! Grr! Between the deer nibbling the tops hanging outside the cages, the worms and the voles taking a bite out of the low hanging fruit, we were getting very discouraged.

While I was cleaning up, several green tomatoes got knocked off so we had fried green tomatoes for lunch. They were so good!!!

The soap I hung on the pole beans seems to be working, they are growing back with no new damage.

I got a few peppers last Friday too. So, we had cabbage, potatoes, peppers, lots of cucumbers, carrots, beets, chard, kale, tomatoes, basil and flower bouquets for sale last week. Oh, can't forget the zucchini! Oops, blueberries too.
June 11 market table



June 18 market table (David was focused on the flowers, can you tell?)



Other than the Jagodka tomatoes, the earliest for us are Burpee's Steakhouse and Porterhouse. Big tomatoes too. I haven't compared the flavor of the Porterhouse yet. We love the Steakhouse though and it's a customer favorite!

texaskitty111 said:I ate it for lunch, along with homegrown greens, onions, and asparagus.



The pizza is just a frozen one, but since dean didn't burn it this time, I'm eating some.
Marion tomatoes rate 5 on a 1-10 scale

Lunch looked great to me!

abhege said:We have been able to sell a few tomatoes the past two weeks at market. They are starting to come in very heavy now. I just cleaned up the bad, early blight lower leaves yesterday and today. Tomorrow I will spray with BT for the brown worms that keep eating them! Grr! Between the deer nibbling the tops hanging outside the cages, the worms and the voles taking a bite out of the low hanging fruit, we were getting very discouraged.

While I was cleaning up, several green tomatoes got knocked off so we had fried green tomatoes for lunch. They were so good!!!

The soap I hung on the pole beans seems to be working, they are growing back with no new damage.

I got a few peppers last Friday too. So, we had cabbage, potatoes, peppers, lots of cucumbers, carrots, beets, chard, kale, tomatoes, basil and flower bouquets for sale last week. Oh, can't forget the zucchini! Oops, blueberries too.
June 11 market table



June 18 market table (David was focused on the flowers, can you tell?)



Other than the Jagodka tomatoes, the earliest for us are Burpee's Steakhouse and Porterhouse. Big tomatoes too. I haven't compared the flavor of the Porterhouse yet. We love the Steakhouse though and it's a customer favorite!

Well, those flower bouquets do look so pretty. But I just had to admire all the veggies in both pictures.

So sorry about the deer and worms trying to get the tomatoes that you work so hard to grow. Frustrating is right, so sorry!

I know you love the Steakhouse but I have grown the Porterhouse also and they are very good. Also a big tomato so I think you should like them.

That's good to know, Rita. So far, since we haven't had a lot, we have taken them to sell and haven't tasted them, but this week that will change. They are huge, like the Steakhouse. Most likely, one of the two varieties will be our entry in the Tomato contest for largest tomato by weight.

Actually mine grew bigger than my Steakhouse but that could have been a fluke thing. But I really liked them. If I remember to order seeds from Burpee this winter I will start some from seed for myself.

And if we like them, I will save some suckers, pot them up and winter them in the greenhouse. I will compare size tomorrow when I pick some.