Early July Garden Update
On July 3rd the first flower began blooming on one of the winter squash plants. It all seems incredulous to me: I started the seeds back in mid-May, planted the seedlings on May 20th (earliest guaranteed frost-free date around here), and the blooming was just beginning to start in early July. The flowers aren’t even self-pollinating - they are male and female flowers, so pollination probably won’t occur until mid-July. This means the plants have only 3 months - basically from now until mid-October to grow a fruit, have it mature and be ready for harvest before a freeze kills them. That realization basically convinced me of the necessity for constructing a greenhouse someday if I am going to be serious about this food growing thing. It’s still a wonder to me that people in northern climes could manage to survive centuries ago, and that the human race as whole didn’t starve to death at some point. We still may.
Something is going on with my blueberries - I noticed many of the berries have gone missing before they became ripe. I don’t know if they have prematurely fallen off or if a chipmunk or other animal has been getting under the netting and making off with them. Whatever the case, I will not be getting the nice crop I had hoped for. But the bushes are all still healthy and the goal is that eventually the bushes will get large enough that there will be plenty of fruit regardless of how much the animals eat.
The peas are continuing to do great. The tomatoes (now fertilized) have been tied to the stakes as the earlier varieties now have decent sized fruit that was causing them to lean. I was able to revitalize the basil by assiduously pinching off all the flower stalks. The carrots are slowly continuing to grow and the onions just sit there, each with their three vertical leaves that don’t look particularly healthy.
Recently I noticed that some animal has been rooting around in the grass of the front yard. Sure enough, one morning I happened to spy a skunk digging about looking for grubs. He was so busy that he failed to notice his shift was long over and he should be back home hidden away somewhere. That’s OK, Mr. Skunk, you eat all the grubs you want.
Something is going on with my blueberries - I noticed many of the berries have gone missing before they became ripe. I don’t know if they have prematurely fallen off or if a chipmunk or other animal has been getting under the netting and making off with them. Whatever the case, I will not be getting the nice crop I had hoped for. But the bushes are all still healthy and the goal is that eventually the bushes will get large enough that there will be plenty of fruit regardless of how much the animals eat.
The peas are continuing to do great. The tomatoes (now fertilized) have been tied to the stakes as the earlier varieties now have decent sized fruit that was causing them to lean. I was able to revitalize the basil by assiduously pinching off all the flower stalks. The carrots are slowly continuing to grow and the onions just sit there, each with their three vertical leaves that don’t look particularly healthy.
Recently I noticed that some animal has been rooting around in the grass of the front yard. Sure enough, one morning I happened to spy a skunk digging about looking for grubs. He was so busy that he failed to notice his shift was long over and he should be back home hidden away somewhere. That’s OK, Mr. Skunk, you eat all the grubs you want.