Garden Update for June 16, 2012

A cool start to the summer has given the garden the chance to really get established this year.  The kohlarbi was a bust — like the cabbage, it fell victim to the cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, but I think that I can avoid that kind of damage in a fall planting if I use row covers to keep the butterflies from landing on the plants.  So I pulled that out this week.  Here’s what’s in the garden right now:

• Squashes & Pumpkins — 2 hills each of yellow crookneck squash and zucchini and one hill of Jack-Be-Little mini-pumpkins for fall decorating — plants are still small, but starting to show buds
• Carrots — A couple of rows of carrots are almost ready to pull and enjoy.
• Swiss Chard — a small patch of rainbow chard — we ate one big meal out of the thinnings and should be able to pick a meal’s worth every week for a while yet.  The chickens love the older leaves, too.
• Basil — We are harvesting thinnings to use in dinners and then once the patch is well-thinned, we’ll let it grow for a weekly harvest that will put pesto in the freezer.  We also have, in separate herb gardens by the front door, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, oregano, Thai basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, chives, tarragon, sage, and garlic chives.
• Cucumbers — I planted Straight Eight plants around the poles of a tipi-style trellis.  I planted a few seeds each week for 3-4 weeks and the oldest plants are climbing high and flowers.  The youngest have their first true leaves.
• Beans — I planted a big patch of mixed bush beans (yellow, purple, and green) and they are setting their first beans this week with tons of flowers showing at the same time.  By mid-week, we’ll be picking beans and should have enough for a good meal with each picking.  I plan to plant a second patch where the kohlrabi was.
• Peppers — 3 plants each of red bell, habañero, jalapeño, cayenne, ancho, Thai, and sweet cherry.  The Thai and sweet cherry peppers were planted from seed and are still very small, but sturdy. The rest of the peppers are loaded with flowers and young fruits.  We have picked a few green cayennes for Thai food already.
• Tomatoes — I have four each of Yellow Brandywine, Sun Sugar, Green Zebra, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, and Beefsteak.  The brandywines and krims are the sturdiest plants and both are flowering like crazy and there are green tomatoes on the Sun Sugars.
• Onions — Red, yellow, and white onions are about ready to harvest.  I will keep the space they were in empty to leave lots or room for picking peppers nearby, but in the fall, that space will be used for greens.
• Chickens!  We have seven three-week-old chicks.  Two Dominiques (Jackie and Meg), three Buff Orpingtons (Sunny, Dandelion, and Buttercup), and two Barred Rocks (ZeeBee and Eyeball).  They are growing fast and feathering out beautifully — I really enjoy them!

As always, click any image to see the larger version and see more garden fun over at Small Things!