June has been a busy month even though we're still staying at home due to the pandemic. With the hot weather settled in to stay until the fall, watering and harvesting have become daily tasks, but the plus side is that we're getting to eat plenty of fresh produce grown in our own backyard!
The garden this year hasn't taken off the way it did last year, as my photos from June 2019 remind me. Last year we had more squash than we could eat and a lot more tomatoes coming in by now, too, but the spring weather had been very warm and wet last year. Everything grew like crazy! This year I'm contending with new beds, new soil, and a number of new types of plants. The problem with a new house is that our "dirt" on the property is basically solid clay with a lot of rocks/concrete bits mixed into it, so only the most determined plants thrive in it (the daylilies don't mind it a bit). I've also got several different brands of potting and garden soil thanks to pandemic shopping issues, and some of those are clearly doing better than others.
In spite of the problems, the cucumbers (all growing in pots) have really done gangbusters, and the larger tomato plants - the Husky Cherry Reds I bought as starts - are providing a steady little stream if not a raging river of tomato goodness. We have yet to harvest any of the heirloom varieties, but they all have green tomatoes on them, so hopefully it won't be long now. I am hand pollinating the squash to ensure that we get a few to eat; so far we've had the best luck with the lemon squash, but I harvested two of the white scallops this week, and they were pretty tasty.
The raised bed with cow peas and corn is coming along quite well, although the pea vines are growing faster than the corn, so I don't know if the vines will get the support the corn was supposed to provide. I hope the corn will catch up because I'm out of stakes and cages and can't find more at the local garden centers when I do make my rare visits to them.
The daylily bank and pollinator patch are full of color and bees now, and I'm already thinking about how to expand on those areas next year with new bulbs and better organization in the small space that we have. It's exciting to see the bulbs we planted months ago sprout and finally flower! The glads and liatris have been especially fun to watch. Next year the daylilies and other perennials should be even bigger and more robust, but they're already putting on a good show this first time out.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I get a bigger squash harvest before the vine borers make their destructive appearance!
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