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Summer Is Here And The Living Is ...

Posted on July 1, 2009 at 11:52 PM

Summer is here and the living is easy.   Well....summer is definitely here, not so sure about the easy living part!   Things have warmed up again and keeping the garden beds watered is turning back into a full time chore.   It's important to stay on it though - as so many of the crops are at critical growth stages right now.   Lots of items are forming or maturing fruit and need to be kept hydrated to ensure no interruptions occur in that process.             

        

The pumpkins and winter squash are both setting fruit now.   This is one of many "Small Sugar" pie pumpkins that are forming.                  

               

   

 

The vines are lush and the tiny fruits are abundant.   My biggest challenge with the squash patch is going to be keeping it from taking over the neighboring beds.   I swear that you can watch the vines grow if you are willing to just sit still and watch for a few minutes!                   

      

But the real stars of the garden at the moment are the strawberries!         

        

   

 

Long holiday weekend coming up.   Great weather in the forecast too, which means I will be spending most of it catching up on the watering chores!

Categories: Watering, Berries, Plants

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10 Comments

Reply Annie's Granny
01:12 AM on July 02, 2009 
Mr. H seldom shows any interest in the garden, but he is fascinated with the way my earliest pumpkin is growing. He just can't imagine anything that can grow from the size of a computer mouse to the size of a football in just 3-4 days!

Oh, I can't hardly wait until I have strawberry harvests like yours! We're still taking turns eating our daily picking, but it is increasing in size! Someday we might both be able to eat strawberries on the same day ;-)
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
08:29 AM on July 02, 2009 
Annie's Granny - I think squash plants are a bit of a miracle myself. The tremendous growth is always a bit awe inspiring. These pumpkins aren't quite as dramatic as yours because they are relatively small when mature. One pumpkin makes one pie with "Small Sugar" pie pumpkins.
Reply Annie's Granny
09:43 AM on July 02, 2009 
Mine is a Small Sugar N. E. Pie Pumpkin, so it surprises me that it is growing like this. I've even left all of the pumpkins on the vine, assuming they will be smaller if I do, but the first to appear (of 7 that I see so far) is really getting some size to it quickly!
Reply Nancy
09:56 AM on July 02, 2009 
AG--We felt the same way when our little cherry tomatoes started to ripen...The chickens got quite a few when they were only two per day...Now we have large salads with dinner...yea! For the most part, they are staying hidden under their leaves and the birds and squirrels have left them alone...*: ) The chickens know where they are planted though and follow me with a squawk fest when I go near the bed!
Reply Dan
10:25 PM on July 02, 2009 
The strawberries look fantastic. I have been eating my far share of them lately but not from the garden. My bird poop ones are growing nice leaves though.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
11:13 PM on July 02, 2009 
Annie's Granny - That IS surprising!

Nancy - it is indeed hard to wait for the produce to quit coming on in dribs and drabs and produce something substantial in amount.

Dan - The strawberries have been remarkably good this year. I realizd after the fact that the strawberry photo is rather patriotic! Red Strawberres with white crowns in a blue bowl (on a blue bench no less!).
Reply Sustainable Eats
12:48 AM on July 03, 2009 
I just saw my first pumpkins today too! This is the first time I've grown any squash save for zuchini so it's really exciting, and my 5 year old is thrilled to watch his jack-o-lantern get bigger. It's so fun having a garden with kids! Your strawberry picture is beautiful, by the way. Good eye!
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
12:56 AM on July 03, 2009 
Sustainable Eats - I think squash are the most delightful of plants for children to grow and observe. The seeds are large (easy to handle), the sprout and grow fast if the soil is warm and moist, the first leaves are BIG and easy to see, and if fed and watered well they grow before your very eyes. Add the curling tendrils that wrap around everything and it's like Jack's Magic Bean Stalk incarnate! What more could a small child want from a plant? Well maybe a pumpkin on Halloween! Isn't it fun to see the garden from the eyes of a 5 year old?
Reply Sustainable Eats
01:02 AM on July 03, 2009 
Oh my gosh, no one can walk past the yard without him offering to give them a tour complete with "samples". He's going to be one great host for any party he throws. And then of course he invites them into the backyard to see the chickens. It's a good thing we live in a nice quiet neighborhood off the beaten path!

He's already sold the strawberries & peas and held a rhubarb-ade stand. He's picking his fall seeds out for own garden box this weekend. It's a wonderous thing.
Reply Annie's Granny
11:02 PM on July 03, 2009 
Johnny's Select Seeds describes them as "one of our best tasting bush beans, fresh or frozen. Blue Lake quality with a sturdy, upright, lodge-tolerant plant. Beans are dark green, 5-1/2 to 6" long and exceptionally easy to harvest." Sounds good to me.