The Vegetable Garden Update

It's time for a vegetable garden update. Things are progressing here, just rather slowly. The very wet and cold month of June certainly allowed all of the plants to settle in to their new home but hasn't exactly encouraged much growth. However, we have finally seen some warmer temperatures this last week and the plants are responding!

I can finally see some major growth in the tomato plants. It seems that for the longest time they were just sitting there, moping. But now many of the plants have reached the top of the first tier of their cage and are also filling out some too. They aren't as full and robust as I would like but I think that they are on their way.

I can report the first set tomato fruit of the year. The "Azoychka" tomato has two fruits already and loads of blooms yet to open. It is not surprising that this variety, originally from Russia, is doing so well despite the cold Spring weather.

The onions are still the star of the vegetable bed. Planted in early April, these two varieties have slowly and consistently been growing and thriving. Both "Prince" & "Red Bull" are Northern Onions, meaning they are day-light sensitive. Now that we have passed the longest day of the year ( wahhh!) the onions will quickly switch gears and put most of their energy into bulb growth instead of leaf growth.

The amazing thing about this change is how quickly you can see it happening after the Summer Solstice. I bet by next week the ground around these "Red Bull" Onions will be cracking as the bulbs begin their rapid expansion.

I grew this yellow storage onion "Prince" last year and I loved it. It grew very well for me and stored amazingly. In fact I still have some in storage. I pulled one out to use for dinner within the last week and it was still in perfect condition - firm, juicy, and not a blemish anywhere.

Underneath the protective cover of its remay tent, the two "Marina di Chioggia" Winter Squash are really doing well. I think that I will take off the remay tent this weekend if the temperature rises like it is suppose to.

The two "Delicata" Winter squash are also starting to take off and go.

The lettuce has gone crazy. I absolutely have to pick it all in the next few days to make room for the two Butternut Squash hills. I will certainly miss the beauty of the "Australe" plants in the garden. This is such a pretty variety and it has done really well too.

The "Winter Density" lettuce is also a winner.

My "Gypsy" pepper, planted in its own black grow bag, seems to be settling in. With this last week's higher temperatures it has begun to put out some new growth and has opened its first bloom.

The morning glories are settling in well too. My two plants of "Heavenly Blue" that I planted next to the leaf sculpture have started grabbing onto the metal pole with their vines. It shouldn't be too long now before they begin to bloom.

And the four "Pastel Mix" Morning Glories are really happy. They are are climbing my new trellis and have produces a lot of new vines in the last week. The little birds have been doing a bit of damage to a few of the leaves but it hasn't been as bad as I feared. Soon there will be enough climbing vines and leaves that any damage will be covered up quickly. So far these plants have opened two blooms, but it has happen on a weekday while I was at work so I have missed seeing them! I need some weekend blooms please.

And lastly, I am not sure how my two Sweet Potato plant are performing. I am sure that they have hated the cold weather, but I do think that they have put out some new growth in the last week. Fingers crossed that July will be much warmer than June.