Summer Garden Progress

first harvest - peppery radish

After July Fourth, summer finally arrived.  Temperatures began to hit the high nineties.  Through most of July I could sit outside in a skirt and sandals and not feel cold.  At the beginning of August it became too hot to eat lunch outside on the deck, but cool enough to enjoy our evening meal Al fresco.

beets, carrots, radish, beans, lettuce & spinach

Higher temperatures mean garden growth - yeah!  I have been able to harvest lettuce, spinach and radish from my seed garden.  Surrounding the seed beds with chicken wire did prevent the chickens from scratching all six beds up.

I managed to surround most of my squash plants with various assortments of wire fencing to deter total poultry invasion.  Now that the tomato vines and pepper plants have fruit on them we had to decide to keep setting up makeshift plant enclosures, or just put up a fence that completely surrounds the entire garden.  Since time and money are limited we decided on a temporary fence that encompasses the entire garden plot.  So far 3 foot high wire fencing and wooden stakes are working just fine.  The chickens seem a bit disconcerted that they can no longer take dirt baths right next to my cabbage plant or peck away at my tomato vines.

cucumber and squash 

I have been able to harvest zucchini, and crooked neck squash should be ready this week.  We also managed to make an asparagus bed right in front of the cucumber trellis.  Hopefully, if the warm weather holds, we will get a decent tomato and pepper harvest now that the chickens can't get to them.

gooseberry, squash, tomato & pepper plants

Right now my tomatoes are the size of marbles, but maybe in two months they will be ready to eat.  I planted three squash plants that self-seeded from my compost pile.  I think that at least one of them is a butternut squash plant.  

Sometimes it is fun to be surprised! One year we had cantaloupe plants grow from compost seeds and they produced small but yummy melons.  We saved the seeds and grew them for several years at our last garden.

pots on the back patio

I purchased the geranium plant in the above photo last summer at Ace Hardware for $1.  It along with its two sisters survived the winter in a sunny window.  The hummingbirds just love these geraniums.  I stood just about a foot from this plant and watched a hummingbird insert its long, narrow beak in several of the blossoms.

Last summer I planted those red geraniums on this shelf pictured above which graces our front deck.  The hummingbirds were just crazy about those red blooms.  This summer I planted sweet potato vine, coleus, and fuchsia on the front deck shelf.  I just love this combination but the hummingbirds aren't attracted to it.  Next year I will try to satisfy my love for stimulating container plants and please the hummingbirds too.