Vegetable Gardening

[spokewench]

I went on a 5 day trip and when i got home my veggie garden was bursting with perfect lettuce- far more than we can eat. Not surprising since I tend to plant more lettuce seed than we need- i love to experiment with the various colors and types, and lettuce seed doesn't cost much. Lettuce varieties are so pretty!

So just like last year i harvested a whole bunch, washed, bagged it in several gallon ziplock bags and brought it to my town's silent food pantry, where i volunteer several times a month. My 'thing' is bringing my extra garden produce there all summer when I have a surplus.

For dinner my husband and I had a big fresh salad of lettuces and radishes with chevre cheese, out on the kitchen porch overlooking the garden in the golden late afternoon sun. Our honeybees were all over the catmint in full bloom...so lovely!

What a wonderful evening dinner! It sounds so peaceful. I finally got my garden in last week. Planted eggplant, tomatoes, squashes of various types, cucumbers, winter savory, basil, thyme, seeds of green beans, chard, lettuce, parsley.

Also, got my seed bed for flowers in; sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, naturtiums, and also put in some lettuce and herb seeds in this bed as well. Hopefully, it will be as pretty as last year's flower bed. Put some 4 oclocks and tall marigolds in a pot and planted some new hollyhocks in the perennial bed next to the vege raised beds.

[Brandi]

I think I am going to have to give up on my swiss chard. I can not find what is sucking the life out of the leaves? Been using Safer spray on them and it's not working. Ugh! My lettuce looks wonderful and my beans are starting to go up the poles!

[smilingcat]

May be the problem with the swiss chard is its below the ground or around the base. If the leaves are not chewed by bugs and still wilting, it may be soil isn't quite right. Or the weather is too hot and too dry.

[tulip]

Swiss chard will grow all summer and all winter, in my experience. I've found it hard to damage--it just keeps on coming. You could try planting some in another bed; maybe there is a soil issue in the current bed.

I've been accepted to be on a city Kitchen Garden tour in July! Hopefully things won't be too wilted by then!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've been having a good year in the veggie garden!
Earlier this week i made 15 quarts of dill pickles, and yesterday I made some great red cabbage cole slaw and picked the first tender green beans...
Tomatoes and onions are looking good, with lots more beans and cukes on the way!

[OakLeaf]

Wow, green beans already!

Admittedly I got a late start due to the wet spring (and other stuff), but mine are only getting their first buds.

I've already had my first failure-to-pick-zucchini accident, though. Ate half of it sliced and grilled (yum), will probably shred the rest and turn it into fritters.



... and my chard is just about ready for picking, no thanks to the rabbits who ate it all to the ground last year, and have already torn through the netting that I've got over it this year.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've already had my first failure-to-pick-zucchini accident, though. Ate half of it sliced and grilled (yum), will probably shred the rest and turn it into fritters.

Last year I waited way too long to pick my green beans, and they were too big and tough. This year I'm on top of it!
(but am sadly neglecting my swiss chard!) oh well! Getting some good stuff anyway from the garden anyway, you do what you can!