It's Busy in My Vegetable Garden
Here at my farm temperatures today are expected to be in the 90s, with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. It's been very hot and humid, but work must continue to keep the gardens looking their best.
Despite the uncomfortable summer weather, my vegetable garden is doing great. To keep it thriving, it must also be carefully maintained. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, visits my large half-acre patch every single day to check on what's growing, harvest what is ready, pull any weeds that emerge, add support stakes or ties where necessary, plant seeds for new crops, and of course... water, water, water.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- I am so pleased with all the wonderful produce that’s coming out of the garden this year. There’s something to harvest every day. This basket is filled with artichokes, and more continue to grow. The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is actually a flower bud, which is eaten when tender. Buds are generally harvested once they reach full size, just before the bracts begin to spread open. I like to harvest them when they are still small.
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- Do you know what this vegetable is? It’s kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable related to cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. It’s also called a German turnip. It has long leafy stems and a round bulb that’s usually purple, pale green, or white and all with white-yellow flesh.
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- Here is white kohlrabi. Kohlrabi tastes similar to broccoli stems and cabbage, although it’s slightly sweeter. The bulb is widely used in salads and soups, but can also be roasted or sautéed.
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- And look at this bounty of green peppers and eggplants. It’s good to pick eggplants when they are young and tender. Pick a little early to encourage the plant to grow more, and help extend the growing season. And I love making stuffed peppers – it’s so easy and so delicious.
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- Ryan is holding one of my beautiful Savoy cabbages. The right time for cabbage harvesting depends on the variety of cabbage planted and when the heads mature. Look for heads that are firm all the way through when squeezed – that’s when they’re ready.
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- In another bed, my tomatillos. The tomatillo, also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a nightshade plant that bears small, spherical, and green fruit commonly used in Mexican cuisine for making salsas, sauces, and soups.
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- And all around the perimeter of the garden are the growing pumpkin vines. We’ll have many pumpkins this season. And, to keep the area neat and tidy, I put down this landscape weed cloth. It works excellently.
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- As for the asparagus, the last of the stalks have been harvested, but it’s important to allow the fern-like foliage to grow through the remainder of the season. The foliage makes carbohydrates and sugars that get stored in the plant’s roots and crowns to help generate next year’s crop.
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- At the south end of my garden are my tomato plants. I use bamboo stakes to support the vining plants. they were put up just in time – the plants are growing so fast.
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- Norman is securing ties around the plants to keep the vines up and the tomatoes off the ground.
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- I like to use natural jute twine. Every plant is checked and secured. It is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.
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- As crops are picked and beds are cleaned, more seeds are planted. I use lots of seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in central Maine. Johnny’s Selected Seeds offers a wide selection of products and provides practical solutions for both the home gardener and the professional farmer.
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- I’m a firm believer of succession planting, the practice of following one crop with another to maximize a garden’s yield. It is a very efficient use of gardening space and time. Here, Ryan makes furrows for the next crop using Johnny’s Bed Preparation Rake.
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- Up next for planting are the soybeans. These Karikachi soybeans produce tall, upright plants that are sturdy and vigorous, producing large, plump soybean, or edamame, pods that are delicious steamed.
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- He also plants bush beans from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. This variety is ‘Maxibel.’ Bush beans are green beans that grow in a compact, bushy form.
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- The brown mottled seeds produce slender, seven-inch green pods, which will be ready in 50-days.
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- My long center trellis bed is also seeded with a variety of pole beans.
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- These green beans grow vertically and need to be supported in order to thrive.
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- These are cilantro seeds. Cilantro and coriander are different terms for the same plant. Here in the US, cilantro is the leafy green part and stems, whereas coriander refers to the seeds.
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- The seeds are planted a couple inches apart in the furrow. Cilantro isn’t for everyone – some abhor it. Those who dislike cilantro tend to have a gene that detects the aldehyde part of cilantro as a soapy smell and taste. Do you like cilantro or hate it?
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- And in this bed Ryan plants radishes. Have you ever tried radishes with butter and salt? Peppery, crispy radishes with butter and a pinch of flaky sea salt is a popular French snack.
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- After planting, Ryan uses a soft rake to gently bury the seeds and smooth out the beds. Sprouts should start to emerge in about a week or two. Before finishing for the day, sprinklers are turned on to give all the beds a good drink.
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- It’s a busy time in my garden, but everything is growing so well. How is your garden doing?
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