“A vegetable garden in the beginning looks so promising, and then after all, little by little, it grows nothing but vegetables, nothing, nothing but vegetables.” ~ Gertrude Stein
While away for several days enjoying time in Central Texas with the cousins, fruits continued to grow in the neglected garden, some to gigantic proportions.
Okra and zucchini will get big really quickly and really must be checked and picked with regularity. Um, Husband didn’t get that memo and enjoyed the treat of a quiet house with no wife and kids instead.
Meanwhile zucchini and okra blew up. Never mind.
Jalapeño peppers and eggplant all continue to produce for the 15th month straight, and the kale and tomatoes feed our faces daily. Fresh herbs and onions and leeks from the garden enhance daily meals and are the easiest of foods to grow.
Of the 10 tomato variety, only four plants — two grape and two slicers — were intentionally planted. The rest are ‘volunteers,’ Roma and Cherry. I like to use the Roma to lure Leaf-footed bugs away from the ones that feed our faces (grape and cherry) as they don’t need to be pretty to serve; Romas get turned into sauces.
A single watermelon vine has taken over the chipped mulch pile and has a dozen fruits, a first for this garden. Nothing says ‘summer’ like watermelon smiles on the back porch of a hot day!
Zucchini Whopper!
Any work I do to ensure yard fruits for my family is minimal. Nature does all the work! Emptying bags of previously collected leaves onto the garden space along with grass clippings and other organics or transferring mulch from the giant pile onto walkways between is really all I do. A 15-minute compost-flipping in the early morning hours (when it’s only 80 degrees) will quickly extend the garden another 20 sq feet is up, reading soil for coming for fall plants.
This is a no-till, no water, no work garden. Seriously, folks. Nature really does know best.
Of late, we are hosting a regular herd of doe who are patiently waiting for the figs in our yard to ripen. Thankfully so far, the only fruit in the garden space they enjoy is (was?) the cantaloupe and cucumber. They can have ’em. I’ve got plenty of other options, plus, their antics are sure fun to watch!
This fawn quite nearly got run over by my lawn tractor he was so well blended in. I caught him and put him inside a box with some hay (lid closed) to allow for the lawn crews and me to finish up. I then put him right back where I found him, box tipped on its side. He lay in wait there for several hours until Mama came to get him later that evening. (Doe will not collect their fawns until the coast is clear of predators…including humans.)
We have since watched her nurse him right from our windows, right in our yard.
Epitome of Cuteness!
Brand New White-tailed Deer Fawn
♣
Fellow gardeners! I would love it if you would comment below with a picture of your spring/summer garden. I will put mine in first as a template. (Hint: Copy and paste your on-line photo link ending in .JPG for instant embed.)
Please include (my sample is in the comments below!)
- A photo of your garden…of course!
- City, State, Country (and your season, if it’s different)
- Your blog’s name (if you have one)
- Your favorite summer veggie
- Your favorite tool
- Share a tip for success, if you have one
Thank you for sharing your gardens with my readers.
Do you like to play in the dirt like I do?
DirtNKids Blog 
Sorry for the delayed response, I moved my blog over to a new site: sweetbeegarden.com
Sonoma County, California (early summer)
http://sweetbeegarden.com
1) fav. veg: artichokes
2) fav garden tool: cardboard!!!
3) success tip: don’t be discouraged by what other people say! (you’ll never get rid of the blackberries….you have too much space to manage….)
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We decided to try something different and build a large raised garden. We are not crazy about the premium garden soil we bought by the yard evidentially the plants did not like it much either. We will add some compost, peat moss. soil and see if we can not get make this dirt richer. The tomato plants in pots did the best and the sweet 100 were the star tomatoes this year.
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There is no wrong way to garden! Leaves should do the trick which have the added benefit of being free (once people start cleaning up their yards for fall), and fragile peatlands can then stay off the menu. Toss some earthworms in your beds and throw ’em some kitchen scraps; they’ll multiply They’re the real muscle behind healthy soil and fungi (from leaves) is the distribution system for all that compost gold they create.
Feel free to insert a photo of your beds! Would love to see them, Sonya.
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This dirt was suppose to be premium garden soil but it seemed to have more ground mulch than dirt. The earthworms might just do the trick we have a few beds that are full of them. Do grass clippings work well? We always have plenty of leaves in the fall.
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Wendy @ The Bent Trowel blog
Buffalo, NY June 16
-This is our first year growing veggies! Well, just tomatoes this year to ease into it.
1. Favorite Vegetable: Tomato
2. Favorite Garden Tool: Shovel
3. Success tip: planting close to the house for easy watering and for keeping the deer and other critters away!
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DH found a few forgotten zucchini in my garden the other day. He came in, brandishing them. I said, “oops. Looks like I forgot to set the timer.”
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Ha! Yes, this hubs doesn’t wander the garden so much, but my kids are always quick to notice the unusual. Squash are still good big, just have to cut the seeds out first. No picture/play? Your garden in the new house is astounding considering you are chasing little ones!! Please share!
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I will as soon as I have both the camera/phone and a free outside moment 🙂
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Julie @ chocolatechipsandchaos.com
Georgetown, Texas USA
Fav. Veg: Tomato
Fav. Garden Tool: My hands!
Success Tip: Don’t ever give up. If you keep trying enough different things, eventually something will work!
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Hi Julie! You’re an internet’s stone’s throw from me. I’m down in Austin.
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Houston, TX USA (late spring!)
Shannon @ DirtNKids Blog
https://dirtnkids.wordpress.com
1. Fav Veg: Tomato
2. Fav Garden Tool: Hand / Dull Butcher Knife
3. Success Tip: I use carpet grass as garden edging to keep out invasive grasses and weeds. They don’t seem to like fluffy, rich soil.
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