June 19th report

Moonflower seedlings, hanging on under dryish conditions

Morning glory. All but two seedlings have been chomped. Rabbits.

Raspberries are still a little way off I think, but blackberries further down the alley are starting to turn.

Cover crop is still lush! Maybe almost time to steal some of it?

Here's the view from the east end.
Potatoes are doing well. I've picked about 8 potato beetles off, but never more than 2 at a time, and I don't see any orange egg masses.
On the right, the squashes and cucumbers are doing well - at least those that came up. I'm having a hard time getting my lemon cucumber and acorn squash seeds to germinate. I've interplanted basil, and plan to start some lettuce seeds around these squashes.

Sugar snaps were planted late, but they are doing OK. Also in this narrow bed are purple royalty string beans.

Here's the view of the main veggie beds. The Tomatillos have really taken off, probably 2 feet tall now. Onions are starting to bulb. Beets are ready for greens harvest. Carrots are about 5 inches long, and super skinny. Tomatoes are flowering and even have a few fruits on them. Peppers haven't grown much yet, but they are flowering and I hope the coming heat will help them along.

The cut flower bed looks so much like weeds that even I wonder if I actually planted seed here.

The greens bed is about to go through a conversion. Lettuce is being pulled for harvest rather than just picking leaves off the sides. The chinese greens are bolting and need to have their final harvest. The garlic leaves are starting to yellow. This may mean it's time for harvest, although I think I should wait a little longer. I just read a very detailed article on garlic that said it could just be drought stress, and I think I should have watered them more through some of these dryer weeks. Peas are still producing well in this bed, but I wish I'd planted longer rows.
Sweet potatoes are going in this bed. Maybe some more beans. And hopefully some cabbages for the fall.

The scarlet emperor beans are just shooting skyward. I also put provider string beans in here, but despite a pre-soak, they didn't come up very well.

Amish paste tomatoes are the tallest and earliest fruiting of my tomato varieties this year. So far, so good with the squash on the left of this photo, but I'm dreading the squash vine borer's arrival, and keep meaning to wrap the stems in nylons which might protect them.

Here's the lettuce leaf basil. All my basil is frustratingly small. I'd love to be making pesto with the garlic scapes right now, but can't pick any decent amount. I guess this is typical. This is one crop I really hope to accelerate somehow next year.

Sunflowers are just 5 inches high. I expect them to start pouring on the growth any day now.