Growin' and Pickin' the Garden

The garden season is well under way here. I picked a bucket full of squash a couple of days ago. Soon we will be into the canning season again. We have canned up one batch of beets, which I will be sharing with you before long. The cucumbers are beginning to bear, the green beans are blooming, and it won’t be long until the potatoes are ready to dig. We have been getting, and will probably get rain just about everyday for a while. I just hope there aren’t anymore high winds or hail to damage the garden. Here is a tour of what is happening so far.

The green beans are blooming.

I planted two small rows of sunflowers by the green beans.

The potatoes are doing well this year, at least on the surface. Some of them are starting to die off, so it won’t be long before we are able to start digging them up.

We have canned a batch of beets, and the ones that we left growing are still increasing in size. They will need to be harvested before long.

I think I have figured out why my onions never make bulbs. I plant them too deep. I really hope next year I can grow some real live onions. I wonder if I can grow a fall crop? I have never heard of anyone doing that. It’s pretty hot here until about the end of September. I may just have to try that.

 The cucumbers are blooming and have some tiny little cucumbers to show.

The sunflowers are doing great. They are strong, healthy plants.

A storm semi blew over about half of the corn yesterday. I got most of it standing kind of upright again. Around here folks say it needs to be knee high by the 4th of July. Well, it’s way past my knees, almost to my shoulder.

The purple hull peas have plenty of competition from the grass and weeds, but they are growing well. They should be blooming before long. I hope to get them some relief sometime soon.

The squash is growing very well. We are having to battle a few squash vine borers, so I put some wood ashes around the base of each plant. Surprisingly, we have seen very few squash bugs this year. Last year I was picking leaves with bug eggs on them everyday and feeding them to the chickens, along with squishing many bugs. This year I have squished about five or six bugs and haven’t found any eggs at all. Weird. We have seen quite a few assassin bug nymphs around, and that is good.

The okra didn’t germinate or grow well this spring. We had some late frosts and some cool weather, plus a lot of grass and weeds, but the okra is just now starting to grow. It hasn’t filled in all of the rows and I’m not sure if I will replant the bare spots or not.

The peas are just about finished. It has gotten to hot for them, so we are waiting to pick the last few peas. I haven’t figured out how to get enough peas to freeze a few quarts or can a few jars. Each year so far, we have only had enough peas for about five or six meals. I may not grow any next year and spend the time and effort on something else. It is nice to have something to eat out of the garden early in the spring, though. The tomatoes are doing very well. They are nice strong plants and have started to bloom as they take over the pea trellis.

The carrots are growing, but don’t seem to like this end of the garden as well as the other end, where they grew last summer. The peppers seemed to have grown about six inches overnight. They are very happy with the hot weather we have been having. They are starting to bloom.

It reminds me of when we first moved to Alaska. Before our move we were consuming our own meat, milk and eggs, just like now. After we had been gone for about six months we came back to our family doctor for a regular checkup and blood work. A few days later at our appointment, the doctor asked us what we were doing different because our protein levels were low, which had never happened before. The only answer we could come up with was that we had changed to all store bought meat, milk and eggs. It’s something to ponder, huh?

The time may come, sooner than we would like, when there are no more rides to town so someone else can cook for us and feed us. There may come a time that what we can grow or raise is all there is. There may come a time that the only medical attention we can get is what we can provide for ourselves. I can only say that I am glad that day is not yet upon us. But I feel it coming a little closer everyday. Don’t wait until it is upon us. Get what you need while the gettin’ is still good.

Until next time – Fern