Garden Friday

Happy June, y'all!

Rain, rain, and more rain!
We've been blessed with showers from above
and the garden is showing its gratitude!
Here's what's happening on this Garden Friday.

I'm happy to report that most of the crops that were wrapped in the copper wire

sustained less damage to them than the ones left bare.

Although the slugs still climbed some of the stems,

there were far fewer than before this method was tried.

I'm thinking it just needs some tweaking,

or perhaps beer traps can be added,

to enhance our  

Slug Security System.

The Yukon Gold potatoes have exploded out of the wire cages.

The stalks soared far above the tops 

and it was difficult to keep them covered with leaves.

I'm curious to see if having them exposed to the sun

will affect the harvest or the taste.

The blossoms let me know that something is happening 

underneath all the leaves.

It should only be another month before we can start to harvest.

The sign we will look for is yellowing stalks,

then it's time to upend the cages and see what we've got!

It'll be about the time we are ready to plant sweet taters.

Cantaloupe and watermelon have begun flowering,

and even though they are being sampled by the slugs,

the leaves continue to grow larger.

5/18

5/28

The cucumbers really responded to the rains we've been having.

It seems the leaves have doubled in size in mere days.

Is that the sweetest lil' cuke you've ever seen?

What a wonder!

This is our first ever cucumber crop.

A more permanent trellis system is being formulated,

but for now, I wanted the beans to have something to scale.

The bed in the foreground contains drying beans,

while the other box contains Slenderette bush beans.

The dried leaves have done a fair job of keeping the weeds down,

so I will probably rake up more and use them around the pathways.

The stake-a-cages that were made earlier in the week were installed.
A small pipe was used to start the holes (this is clay after all),
and then the stakes were pounded into the pre-formed holes.

Four were placed on each side of the garden, about 4 feet apart.
Care was taken to leave ample space between the raised beds on the south side,
and the straw bales on the north side.
The plan is to fill in the walkways (over the leaves) with thick cardboard
and then cover with mulch or straw.

Speaking of which,
a beautiful sight greeted me early yesterday morning.
A big ole Wolf Tree Service truck came-a-callin'.
About a month ago,
the power company sent trucks out
to cut down some trees in the neighborhood
that were interfering with their electrical boxes.
I high-tailed it over to one of the trucks
(in the pouring rain, no less)
to let them know that they could drop mulch off at our homestead.
I just called this week to find out why they never returned. 

They showed up bright and early and gifted us
with a truckload of treasure!
I've already started using it in the walkways by the veg garden.
This weekend will no doubt be spent 
adding it to the new butterfly bed and the other flower beds.
The blessings keep on comin'!

So many satisfying tasks completed.
Of course, the list has dwindled only slightly.
With each accomplished undertaking,
the garden's "bones" are getting closer to fruition.
One step at a time, we'll get there.

"There is no substitute for hard work."
~Thomas Edison