Farmers' Market is back!

It's that time of year again for fresh veggies! Our favorite farmers' market is open again after a long winter. It actually opened last weekend but we didn't go until this week. We weren't there for the opening rush, so who knows what else was to be had, but we got a few good veggies. Mostly there were salad greens, and since we're growing those ourselves this year we skipped those.

We got some "raw" garlic, meaning it was just picked and still had the stem attached. Fresh garlic is amazing, such a different taste. And different to peel - a lot harder! We grabbed some garlic scrapes also - the curly, green onion-looking things in the picture. These are the top part of the garlic plant, which farmers cut off to direct energy back to the bulb. We tried these last year but back then I just chopped it up like a scallion and added it to a dish. Today we cooked it like asparagus - coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings and roasted in the oven. It was SO good. The scrapes are only around for a few weeks so I hope we're coming in at the beginning and not the end.

Flowers!!

Some pics of what we've been up to with flowers in the yard!


I think I'm giving up on my roses. I'm not a rose lover. I mean, I think they're nice, but I'm not in love with them...it's not like giving up on hydrangeas!:) I've tried pruning them, cutting back, etc.. Just too much work for too little benefit. They get aphid damage in the spring and are magnets for mildew damage every summer. They're gone this weekend I think.




Hydrangeas, of course. In between them I started annuals from seed. Mallow in the back, I think Zinnia in the middle. And I just added some small nasturtiums.




California poppies! I sowed a whole bunch, but only a few took. I think the others didn't take b/c I did it too early and I just plopped them down on top of the clay without amending the soil. I learned my lesson!

The spiked speedwells in the back have some serious mildew issue. Experimenting with cutting it back to see if any new growth emerges. If not...well, they may lose the rest of their leaves. In the front I transplanted some provence lavender amongst the petunias. Also seeded a bunch of other herbs in the area.

The yarrow was being very naughty so I cut it back hoping for a smaller plant upon regrowth. In the meantime, a little potted deal is filling up the area.

I radomly grabbed a $1 bag of gladiolus at Ace Hardware this year. Didn't think much of it, I was just in the midst of a seed buying fit. Stuck them right into the nasty clay soil, and lo and behold - all 10 of them germinated!!! Next to them is the remains of our Easter Lily - hoping it'll winter well.

New potted plants! We had some house plants in the white pots but we killed them (somewhat on purpose...) and Kmart was selling annuals for $1/6 pack. Soooo, new groupings!

Transplanted black-eyed Susans and Bells of Ireland from seed. I sowed a whole bunch of seeds over here (Bells of Ireland, Gayfeather and Red Hot Poker), but I think it was too early in the season and I had yet to amend the clay soil so only a few of the Bells took.

Closeup of the largest of the Bells of Ireland.

Our most fully open Hydrangea flower!

I *think* this is a spider flower (cleome?), but I forgot to write it down...

Vine-type Nasturtium

Some sort of red flowering bean vine along the ugly fence to cover it up.

Also on this side.

We inherted these Bearded Irises. Only one bloomed this year, I think becuase they need to be divided. I'll be dividing them in a month or so and hope they do better next year.

Big crysanthemum. Far side is a baby mum that had split off from the mom mum and I moved it to give it a shot. Also transplanted geraniums. I've also sowed some herb seeds.

Veggies!

It's almost time to start harvesting! I can't believe how quickly and well our garden has grown. Maybe b/c we've had way too much rain lately. Some other plants are getting nasty mildew but the veggies are thriving! Hot, humid and rainy. Yuck.

This year we bought self-watering tomato planters from Gardeners.com. SO worth the money. Check out how much they've grown in just a couple of weeks....

May 27th

June 2nd

June 10th. We switched the planters around, so the tall one in the above pics (was middle left) is now on the far left. Amazing growth! It's true...the trick to tomatoes is lots of water!!

A baby tomato!! This is a cherry, and we also have a couple beefstakes.

Herb garden! Basil, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, and chives in the front. All grown from seed except the rosemary. I've also started some herb seeds in a couple in-ground locations. We'll see what does best!

And here's the actual garden!

Left bed top to bottom: Cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, summer squash, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, green onions, carrots

Right bed top to bottom: Green beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli, lettuce, black lettuce, spinach, swiss chard.

Zucchini is a disaster so far. Only one of the three hills germinated to start, and that one I had to cut back b/c of powdery mildew. Just planted another hill that germinated just fine.

Swiss chard is no more...a bunny got it! A cute little bunny hopping around....so cute. I want to make rabbit stew.

Broccoli! My foot is in there for size comparison. This is the biggest one and it's a monster. It hasn't even set the head yet, so who knows how large it will get! A couple rogue tomato plants got in there also somehow!

Sugar snap pea!!!!!!!

Green beans!

Awwwww! Cute little squash! I realllly hope these produce, last year our squash and zucchini were terrible.

Baby cukes! Mmmmmm nothing quite as good as a fresh from the garden cucumber!

Pumpkins! Trying out pumpkins this year. Just two little plants. This one and one at the other end of the fence. Figure the green beans will produce and then die and the pumpkins will have room to grow.

Our first pool!

Somehow, we've made it to Cole's fourth summer and had yet to buy a kiddie pool. Today we got a great one because summer is definitely here.


Kev spent half an hour blowing it up by mouth, then decided parting with $8 for a pump was better than fainting.

Filling it up!

Time to swim! We had a fun afternoon in the pool and Coulter was NOT happy when it was time for dinner.

Hydrangeas need help!

I think my hydrangeas need MAJOR help! Check out what I saw today when i went in the backyard....

Wilted!

Wilted!!

I know they often wilt their leaves a bit in the heat, but this is extreme! I'm thinking of maybe moving them to a shady location...

They definitely perked up after some water, but geeeez, I can't be watering them every day.

This one has some odd shade variations in the leaves...normal? Maybe too much sun?

This other one has major problems...not sure what's going on.

But our tomatoes are doing excellent!!!