June 20th Update

I have been checking on the garden in the morning and again in the evening.  This is the time of year that the Squash Vine Borer attack so I am watching closely.  We had to remove our row covers because the plants were outgrowing them (and some plants need to be pollinated by bees).  We had no idea that everything would get so big so fast.  We did make a taller row cover for BED #2 (which you can see below in the picture).  This is an experiment so we will see if it works.   

For reference BED #1 (Asparagus) starts on the left.

Evidence that my little helper has been digging in the dirt!

Zinnias are just starting to bloom!

Tomato plants on deck.

BED# 1- (pictured below) Asparagus, Parsley, Tomatoes (just planted) & Basil (just planted).

Baby Tomato plants & Basil plants (just planted after removing Peas)

Asparagus are very happy.  Next year we can start harvesting them.  
For the first year we just let them fern out.

My amazing Asparagus Beetle catcher!

Each day I check for Asparagus Beetles and I find them on the plants!  I use the glass jar pictured above and I have it filled with water and some liquid dish soap.  I find the beetle put the jar under it and knock it in.  This is much easier than trying to get them with your fingers. 

BED# 2- (pictured below) Cauliflower, Broccoli, Corn, Pole Beans & Winter Squash.

Help the Cauliflower & Broccoli are falling out of the beds!

 

Our first sign of Broccoli!

I made a mistake by planting the Winter Squash plants that I had already started indoors with the corn and beans.  We were trying to do the 3 Sisters Iroquois tradition but I wasn't patient and planted the Squash before the corn and beans.  I had to add cages to the Squash so it wouldn't take over.  This will be interesting!

More detail of Squash, Corn & Beans

 CENTER OF GARDEN- (pictured below) Two Watermelon plants.  This is our first year to try them.

Growing in ground between BED #2 & #3

BED# 3- (pictured below) Onions, Carrots, Bush Beans & Summer Squash.

This bed is out of control!
(Next year we need to pick some of the Onions earlier so they don't overtake the Carrots)

Onion blooming??

(3) Summer Squash in back of BED #3

 BED# 4- (pictured below) Bush Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Cucumbers.

 

Female bloom on Zucchini

The Zucchini are happy!

Garden Update- June 8th

Everything is continuing to grow in the garden.  It is amazing how quickly the plants mature at this point.   We were able to harvest our first peas today and one Zucchini has a flower! 

Front Beneficial Flower Bed

BED# 1- (pictured below) Peas, Asparagus & Parsley

Peas ready to pick!  They should be harvested every 1 to 3 days to get peak quality.  Today we picked about 1 cup of peas and then put them in the freezer.  You can also eat them right away or store them in the refrigerator.

Caterpillar of Monarch Butterfly (munching on our Parsley)

BED# 2- (pictured below) 
Broccoli, Cauliflower, (3 Sisters: Corn, Winter Squash & Pole Beans) Peas.

Plants have almost outgrown the Row Cover

BED# 3- (pictured below) 
Onions, Carrots, Bush Beans and Summer Squash

BED# 4- (pictured below) 
Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant and Cucumbers.

Front left Zucchini is starting to flower!

Garden Update-May 25th

A quick picture update of the gardening growing!

BED #1- (pictured above) Peas starting to produce pods! 

BED #2- (pictured above) Broccoli & Cauliflower getting taller.  Winter Squash and Corn growing behind them.  Peas continuing to grow!

 BED #3- (pictured above) Onions, Bush Beans & Summer Squash.

BED #4- (pictured above) Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Cucumbers.

Flower beds- (pictured above) Seeds starting to grow. 

Companion planting Beans Squash & Corn

When I was planning our plant layout this past winter I came across the term companion planting  It is a practice that has been around for some time and is recommended for organic gardening.  This concept made sense to us.  Basically you plan out your garden with plants known to help other plants by some or all of the following: 

• helping them grow

• keeping harmful insects away

• attracting beneficial insects

• providing nutrients 

• at times provide climbing support

I quickly wrote down what crops we were going to grow and then what worked best by what.  Then I then started laying things out and moving plants around until everything was by a plant that helped it or at least didn't harm it.  (Through this process we discovered that last year some of our plants were not in the best locations....that's how you learn).  

2013 Plan for BED #2 (using modified 3 sisters layout)

One of the most intriguing discoveries was made by my husband.   He discovered the three sisters companion planting method used originally by the Native Americans.   In order to have success with this method you need to pay attention to varieties of your plants, timing and seed spacing.

Three sisters example (taken from Old Farmer's Almanac)

The key is to plant Corn in several rows for pollination, then you plant Pole Beans and then Squash with a trailing vine.  The Corn then serves as a trellis for the Pole Beans and Squash as they grow up the plant.  They also benefit each other providing nutrients as they grow.
We decided to give it a try.

On May 20th we got to work planting Beds #2 & #3.   We started by soaking the Corn and Bush Bean seeds in water 30 minutes before planting.

Corn & Bush Beans seeds soaking

Marigolds, Basil & Squash Seedlings- Cilantro & Bean Seeds

Bed #3 (below) was to receive: Bush Beans, Cilantro and Summer Squash to add to the Onions, Carrots and Peas already growing. 

Bed #3 with Peas, Carrots & Onions growing.

My thoughtful husband found a way to speed up the seed planting process for this year.  He found some old plywood and drilled holes with the recommended Square Foot Garden Method spacing for beans which is 9 per square.  So now we have this template that we can use over and over every year to quickly plant seeds! 

Template for Bush Beans

Once the beans are all planted you just need to cover them with dirt and water! 

Holes in bed with beans ready to be covered with soil.

This is the first year that I have planted Cilantro from seed.  In the past I have just bought the plants at our local hardware store. 

Cilantro seeds ready to plant

I had to remove the Peas from the back of the bed in order to make room for the summer squash.    

Summer Squash

Winter Squash- Winter Harvest Mix seeds

The Winter Squash we started from seed was from a mix of Burpee seeds.  The seeds were a blend of: Delicata Squash, Burgess Buttercup, Vegetable Spaghetti, and Waltham Butternut.  I made sure to select 1 of each different type of seed so that we have 1 of each growing!  (However, I have no idea which seedling is which type of squash!) 

Bed #2 (below) was to receive: Corn, Winter Squash, and Pole Beans to add to the Broccoli, Cauliflower & Peas already growing. 

BED #2 Planted!

We planted the Corn and then when it reaches 4" tall you are to plant the Pole Beans and Winter Squash.  (We planted our Winter Squash early with the Corn seeds, because our seedlings were ready.  We may find this was a bad idea but we will see!) 


This completes the planting of all 4 raised beds. Now comes our favorite part: we sit back and watch everything grow!