Garden - July!

After all of this hot weather and sunny days my garden is finally a tangled dense chaotic lovely place. I have been drying a lot of herbs, and we have eaten a LOT of swiss chard, radishes, parsley, beets and greens so far, among other things. The big stuff is almost here - cucumbers are finally popping out and climbing like crazy. The pumpkins and squash are long with massive leaves. We even have pumpkins and squash growing up our deck and gazebo! And of course the peppers, carrots and tomatoes are *so close*. Once those start, there will be much more work, getting everything frozen, dried, or made into sauces for the winter. Yum.




I was looking through photos from late May to see the before/after...here are a few shots. On the left is late May, on the right is this week. I just love seeing how much has grown ... for those times when I think in a panic:: !!I should be growing MORE!!! It reminds me how much we have expanded our growing space this year, and inspires me to do even more next year!






There are a few places opening up as I harvest the beets and soon carrots, so I am planning to plant some more vegetables for fall harvest. I love when everything gets to thick and green. I also love seeing things growing that nourish us in spaces that contained only lawn and that most people would think is not usable. While it is not the perfect space, we work with what we have, experiment, expand, learn from our mistakes, and keep trying!

I have also been sketching and planning for next year. I am planning to expand growing space again, and hope we can add some cold frames or a lean-to mini greenhouse. For me, now is the time to think of everything as I have it all in front of me, see the sun and shade, see (and therefore remember) where everything is and what is or is not working. And by sketching ideas and taking lots of pictures NOW, it will help me a lot in February when I am attempting to plan!