Lunchtime

In a bit of a rush, but I wanted to show you all what I am taking to work for lunch tonight. Everything was grown in Pooka's garden and she said I could take the second cherry tomato "since you haven't tried them yet. They are delicious."

Homegrown carrots, peas, beans and cherry tomato

I know using plastic bags isn't the best answer, but the kitchen is still in process of being rebuilt and we don't currently have a sink for dishes. I added a store bought cucumber to make sure I get enough. I am waiting impatiently for ours to come in. Hopefully I bought my last sets for awhile.

Cucumber is getting there.

Getting There

The harvests are getting bigger. On Friday, Pooka and I harvested these yellow squash from her yellow squashes from her mystery squash plant. They are fairly small still, but I heard if you harvest them smaller they are less seedy and taste better. That's the hope. We haven't had a chance to try them yet since we lost the kitchen this weekend. We are planning on trying them today.

Harvests

Pooka was so very excited to see that first yellow cherry tomato. I barely got pictures before she was jumping in and eating it. She said it tasted wonderful and is hoping for a purple cherry tomato next. I told her we will see. Brother also had a handful of blueberries in there. Those lasted about as long as the cherry tomato.

Again with the bunnies

Today we rescued yet another little bunny from our yard. He is the second one this summer that we have rescued. I am tired of the darn things since they keep me from being able to put the dog out unsupervised. What is even dumber is they seem to be nesting in the yard with the biggest dog on the block.

Scared little bunny

  It is not fun, but we managed to save this little guy that keeps giving me heart attacks. Let hope he is the last one. He froze and Daddy was able to put him in a box and then the kids and I took him to a wooded area and said goodbye to Bugs.

Run free and stay away.

Oh, and if you do a search on how to keep bunnies out of your yard, the number one answer is get a dog. That is the problem.

Happy 4th

Here at Pooka's science garden, we want to wish everyone a safe and happy 4th. We like so many others are working on yet another home improvement project. This one doesn't have anything to do with the garden, so you won't see much except the finished product if that.

We also want to take a moment to say thank you to those who put their lives on the line for our freedom. A large chunk of our adopted family have served. We have been lucky to have everyone come home safe, we also know not everyone is so lucky.

Until then, Have a happy holiday and enjoy yourselves. I know we will. And hopefully you will have fresh produce to enjoy. We are waiting for the strawberries to turn.

Strawberries and carrot greens

First tomato

Sometime between my walkthrough of the garden and Daddy's walk through today, this little guy jumped off the plant. We have our first little tomato. Now to see how long before we start getting more. We will have to wait and see.

A tomato... it has begun

Starting over

The green onions have looked better, in fact, I think they have died off. They were potted from sets and we just harvested them too much. I never realized how much we would eat something like this when it was just sitting there and we needed onion for eggs, or anything that matter.

Looking pretty sad

However, our nursery still had a few onion sets in stock. Pooka and I picked up a few to start fresh with. I admit it is nice to walk out of the nursery with a total of less then $0.50.

Onion sets

We grabbed this planter that had spinach in it. We had harvested a bit too much and it bolted, so it was free to be reused. We planted the new sets in it and are awaiting more green onions.

Reusing a ready to go pot

Meanwhile  the bok choi had not only flowered but also formed seeds. They were past rescuing sadly.

 

It is done.

I had mentioned this to Daddy, but I hadn't had a chance to deal with it yet. Daddy swooped in one night while I was at work, and cleared them out for me. I added a few of our Pak Choi seeds back to the bed and am hoping the rains we have been having will help us get some more Bok Choy. It seems the kids and Daddy really love having it mixed into things.

 

Reseeded and ready to go

 

July 1st pictures

The first of the month has come again, and I while I am a tad late, I want to get up the monthly picture. I feel so much has changed, but I am still waiting on that first tomato and cucumber. Soon I hope. Also, if you look up at the top, there is a page where I am keeping track of my harvest totals, so feel free to check that out.


Corner set up

The corner stand still holds the zinnias, the lone oregano pot, the green marigold pot that has some sort of squash in it, and the snap dragons. The lilac is doing really well in this spot.

Deck side one

The pots on the deck are looking very green. The second sowing of carrots has begun to sprout, the squash and eggplant are getting large. We had to get trellises for the squash to grow up. The blueberries are starting to ripen while the strawberries are covered in flowers and berries.



Deck view two

The other side of the deck shows the greens doing well, The zucchini is growing well in the corner and the marigold on the table has the beginnings of a bloom. The second pot of spinach also has begun to sprout.

Bok choi and broccoli

The Geometric broccoli had some problems with cabbage worm, but a cup of soapy water has fixed that. They are slowly growing back but seem determined to keep growing. The Bok Choi was removed since it had long past gone to seed and has since been reseeded.

Peas, beans and peppers

The peas seem to be starting to die in the heat. However, they hold on and are still producing if a bit slowly. The green beans however are getting their step and really starting to produce. The basil plants next to them have flourished in this spot and I cut them back just this morning to start drying some.

Peppers, tomatillos and onions

The sweet pepper plants continue to grow, but do seem to be struggling some. The store bought sweet peppers have begun to produce, but seem to be having some issues. Meanwhile the green and yellow peppers are doing quite well. They are all flowering and growing. The tomatillos keep flowering, but have yet to put any tomatillo on of size. They are flowering, fruiting then drop these tiny little flowers. The onions seem to do well and we are thinking of cutting them since the winds in the recent storms keep damaging the greens.

Corn, squash, potatoes

The corn is doing well, but needs to be staked up. The squash is flowering and fruiting, but so far none of the squash is of a big enough size. The potatoes in the back seem to be dying back and I am thinking it means we will have potatoes soon.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli

The broccoli suffered a bit from the cabbage worms as well, but the biggest plant has already produce one small head that we had for dinner. The cucumbers have yet to really put fruit on, but we have seen them flowering. The tomatoes still hold tons of tomatoes that we keep watching for any signs of ripening. They are getting good sized.

Tomatoes

The tomato plants continue to love this spot. They have already gotten their second tier on the custom built cage. We have green tomatoes everywhere, but yet to see a red tomato.

Jalapenos, poblano, cherry tomatoes

The hot peppers are doing well. The jalapenos are flowering and you can see tiny peppers, the poblanos are starting to really grow and may start showing us blooms soon. The cherry tomatoes are growing as well and have good fruit as well, but we have yet to see anything turn ripe.

stargazer

The stargazers out front are growing quite well. The blooms are starting to appear on the flowers. A bit of color out front.

garlic bed

We have harvested most of the garlic now, but the biggest ones are still seeming to do well. Daddy and I remembered we didn't amend this bed very well and think that may have something to do with the small garlic bulbs. We have already made plans to get some compost in this bed before winter.

Herb bed with lilac

The front herb bed is doing really well. The cilantro is trying to bolt, but other then that, most everything is growing quite well. We have already been drying herbs for the winter. Mostly tho it is nice to be able to go grab fresh ones for dinner. The lilac is still struggling, but I am hoping it makes it.

sunflowers

The sunflowers are growing quite well. I doubt for the second year in a row that we get anything near the 20' tall mammoths the package promised, but they all seem to be doing well and we have blooms on a few.