Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes,
it is a triumph of hope over experience.
— Marina Schinz
Garden bounty! Swiss chard, black seeded lettuce, summer squash and the first (cherry) tomato of the season, June 28, 2013. (Click image for larger version)
Just a quick update today, I was just too busy this past week to post the June 23 (below) image for the garden, and I’ll have a new one in the next few days. The enjoyment of the fruits of my labor is beginning in earnest, I’m eating salads on a regular basis with the Black Seeded Lettuce, remaining radishes, and some ‘baby’ Sweet Treat Carrots as I thin them. And I’m harvesting some of the Neon Lights Mix Swiss Chard and Ruby Red Swiss Chard (see above photo) as I thin the plants, anticipating a tasty sauteed treat for dinner tonight!
I also harvested the first Black Beauty Summer Squash, and there are a number of others setting fruit, as well as quite a few Early Prolific Straightneck Squash. Still no sign of the dreaded squash bugs and striped cucumber beetles – looks like my proactive spraying with Garden Safe Fungicide 3 (fungicide/insecticide/miticide) has kept them at bay! And the Early Acorn Squash and Waltham Butternut Squash are blooming like crazy and setting many fruit – fingers crossed for a big crop for storage and fall/winter eating.
Oh, and it’s official. This has been the wettest June in recorded history for New Jersey. Which, as I mentioned in a previous post, has caused some problems, most notably to the radishes and tomatoes. But the past week has been mid- to upper-80’s for daily high temps, and upper 60’s overnight – garden growing weather!
It’s summer in New Jersey, and the garden eating is getting good!
Plot #63, Roseville Community Garden on June 23, 2013. (Click image for larger version)