Tuesday, July 1, 2014

entering high summer

Just a fast post today- much to do in the garden (and the house) after we had 8" of rain in 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday.  We had a little issue with basement flooding, but the raised bed gardens sure was happy with the water. 
I drug all of my big pots off the porch so that they could get the rain.  A few weeks ago, I made casual tuteurs  out of my vitex prunings.  I think I may switch to vitex over the bamboo I usually use.  It was nice and flexible and, more importantly, on premise.

I like tucking plants in unexpected places.  I have this chartreuse creeping jenny in dutch clogs and in clay chimney pipes around the porch.

 My first run of cucumbers were cut down by some sort of critters (the neighborhood bunny, perhaps?) the night after I planted them, so I drilled holes in our spare galvanized tub (that we'd used for an ice bucket, but it's really too large), filled it with soil and compost, and seeded in a second run of cucumbers, basil, and climbing beans in mid-June.  They're coming along nicely and I should have cucumbers (and beans) through November!

More beans, mixed in with my eggplant that came from a friend's compost.  I usually have terrible problems with flea beetles, but I wonder if the leeks going to seed in this raised box is keeping them at a manageable rate?  My family does not love eggplant, but I think it's beautiful and gorgeous.

In July we usually slow down with the garden, harvesting, mulching, and thinking about starting fall gardens in late August.  I need to do a lot of weeding and compost additions, and I'm thinking about ripping up my front raised beds and reconfiguring them.  The wood is beginning to rot, so I'll need to do something at season's end, no matter what.  What are your summer garden plans?

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