Patrice's Patch Garden Journal

I spent 3 hours weeding and planting 2 of my raised beds this afternoon. I wanted to get as much done as I could before the rain gets here.

The first bed I had already direct seeded with parsnips, rutabaga, kohlrabi and turnips but the weeds and sticker bushes took over. A few of the rutabaga and turnips did come up as well as 1 kohlrabi so I just weeded around them and planted more seeds in those sections.

The other bed was also previously direct seeded with carrots, leeks and shallots. It too had been over run with weeds. Just a few of one variety of carrots had come up. I weeded and seeded it with cutting celery, more carrots and 5 different varieties of cabbage.

Depending on the weather tomorrow I'm hoping to get back out there to weed and direct seed the two beds with the trellises. I'm planning to plant a full bed of pole beans and 1/2 bed each of cucumbers and sugar snap peas.

I still need to weed the long back bed where the asparagus and rhubarb are growing. I want to plant that bed with a few pie pumpkins, watermelon and a couple of zucchini.

The last bed that I need to weed and plant is a small bed where I plan to plant the leeks, onions, shallots and garlic.

Well, I got the bean bed weeded and seeded, two other beds weeded around the plants and weeded enough of the back fence bed to plant some watermelon, zucchini and pie pumpkins. 2 1/2 hours in the humidity and I'm done. I came in to rest and it started raining so I won't be going outside to do anything else today

You are getting a lot accomplished. I still have a lot of garden that needs to be planted and even more that needs weeding, but all it does is rain.

Our rain was short lived and just made it more humid. I'm trying to do a little bit each day or at least every other day to keep on track. I'm pleased with what I've managed to get done so far with everything that is going on here.

It's been too hot and dry here. I'd love a good, soaking rain.

I moved 9 wheelbarrow loads of mulch and spread it over the cardboard that I'm using to create the new horseshoe shaped flower bed. I need to get about 5 more boxes to complete the horseshoe shape. I'm going to create a hole where I want to plant the flowers, put in some soil and the plant. The mulch is breaking down nicely after sitting for the last 3 years.

The potatoes are looking really good so far. I've got to send my ds after a couple of bales of straw to mulch the potatoes if I can't get my cousin to bring me some when he comes for the chicken coop.

I got back out there this evening and finally got the rest of the annuals planted in the newly created flower beds.

I planted chives, garlic chives, rosemary, basil, parsley, yard long beans, straight eight cucumbers, and sugar snap peas today.

I also spread a butterfly and bee wildflower seed mix over the new horseshoe shaped flower bed mulch.

My ds planted my new double knock out pink rose to replace the rose that died in the living fence row.

Wow. A very productive day!

Good for you!

I'm very pleased with what I've managed to accomplish under the circumstances this year. Hopefully I can get the rest of the horseshoe flower bed completed this week between the days we are supposed to get rain. I'm hoping to beat the rain in the morning to apply some fertilizer to the newly planted flowers and the seeds that I scattered today.

Here are a few pictures of the hanging baskets, my roses along the back of the house and the new horseshoe flower bed.

You are really coming along! I feel like it is one step forward and two back around here right now.

I picked a half a gallon of sugar snap peas yesterday from the garden. Here are a couple of pictures of the hanging baskets, they are finally starting to climb up to the frame.

nicely done!!

Thanks Keith. I hope they hurry up and really start filling up the netting.

I was just out surveying the garden. There are no beans, no more peas came up that I started in a different place, the onions are blooming and I'm going to have to wait until the rain rolls through tonight to pull the carrots. The tomato vines are loaded but none ripe yet, the cauliflower and brussels are doing ok. No zucchini came up but the pumpkins and watermelon did.

I haven't had the time to weed and most things are over run like the cabbages but they are looking pretty good. Maybe tomorrow morning I can get at cleaning up a couple of beds and plant some Fall stuff.

I'll plant more broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. It might be too late but I'm also going to try more leeks in a bed with the hoophouse frame on it.

I have 2 peppers on two plants and that is it. If we had to rely on this to survive we'd be starving. What a dismal garden this year.

Here's an update on the hanging baskets.

The basket looks nice. Now once they get started they should really start taking off.

See what happens when you don't get out to check the garden on a regular basis. I grew a turnip large enough to feed ALL of us on the site. The thing is bigger than my 17 year old son's head.

Wow that is an amazing turnip! How are you going to fix it? I know most people like them roasted or mashed. Me personally I like them baby small and raw ... almost like a radish.

Maybe it's a good thing I don't have any turnips! I don't know that I'd want one that big!

I'm not going to eat it, it's probably too tough/woody. It needs to just hit the compost pile.

I wonder if you could carve it ... you know, like a pumpkin?

It might make an awesome shrunken head like we used to make out of apples.