End of July Garden Update: The harvest has started!!!

I know it is August now, but I have been quite busy entertaining people at the house and have not had too much time to dedicate to the blog. Here are the photos I took at the end of July and the latest update. Enjoy!

Right side beds

Left side beds

The plants are huge, it is so hard to believe they were just seedlings a few weeks ago. The first vegetables of the season have started to show up and we have enjoyed eating all of them!!! Please have a look:

On the right side vegetables beds we have:

Zucchinis

We have had a couple of green zucchinis. I was able to stake the yellow squash so it is growing upright quite nicely and we have eaten the yummy flowers stuffed with bacon and cheese, however no yellow squashes so far. The green zucchini plant was hard to stake upright so I left it go sideways, keeping it as trimmed as possible so it would not block all the sunlight from the carrots.

Tomatoes

The homemade tomato cages are awesome. We have had a few storms and they are holding strong. The first set of tomatoes are almost ready to eat and the plant have already reached over 6 feet told and are coming down again. I should start cutting them so they stop growing up (or should I say down!).

Cucumbers

They are so delicious this year! We have had about 5 so far - and they are quite a few ready to go soon. The plants took well to their support - I am really happy with this system. I can see the cucumbers growing and they are not all over the rest of the plants as they did last year.

Sweet Potatoes

These plants grow and grow - wow! they are so long I keep twirling them all over themselves. I do hope they give us nice sweet potatoes - Next year I will have to build them a support like the cucumbers!

Corn

I only managed to get 3 plants growing and one fell during a storm. I have 2 corns growing on them. I will say that this is probably not a worthwhile crop for such a small garden, but I am glad I tried it. Next year I will see if I can find a bigger space somewhere else in my house so I can grow some more plants.


Some Herbs and Onions

The Oregano, thyme and basil all picked up - The basil is so cute - it is a non traditional variety and it grows like a ball and tastes delicious. The onions are all done - there are not many left in the ground.

Carrots

I have struggle with these as I planted them too close to the zucchinis and they are not getting much light. But they are doing Ok for the little sun they get!


On the left side vegetable beds we have:

Potatoes

The potatoes are amazing, they grew so much they have spilled all over the tires. They had some nice flowers and are now starting to die - which means yummy potatoes are coming soon! I am so curious to see how many pounds I will get this year! Next year I think I will do 4 tires each!!

Broccoli and more Zucchini

The second set of broccoli are still to flower - I wonder if it is the heat - We have had crazy temperatures around here - over 100F for quite a few days. Broccoli are cold crops so it could be. However, we have had quite a few side shoots from the first 4 plants.

The small zucchinis and yellow squashes are also quite tiny, but I can see a small yellow zucchini growing!!!

The green onions are growing well and I harvested all the garlic, including the delicious garlic scapes.

Red Onions and Beets

The red onions ended up relatively small but quite tasty - I took half of them already and there are a few more not quite ready yet.  I have been eating the beets leaves in my salads for a while now, I took one plant only to discover the bulbs are still small. So I will keep eating the leaves for a few more weeks.

Strawberries ans peas

They are still holding on and getting strong for next year! The peas are done for the season - so sweet and delicious - I put some beans in their place - lets see how it does.

Onions, Peppers and Eggplants

The yellow onions were good, some are still growing and some I harvested and were quite small. The peppers are nice - we have had 3 so far. The eggplants grew quite tall - I have had 1 eggplant from each variety - real yummy!

More Tomatoes

These are brandywine tomatoes - they are huge - that little cage did not support them well so they kept falling after every storm. I bought a couple of re bars and conduit and made a stronger pole to hold them. Next year they will definitely need their own support - I can't wait for them to be ready to eat!

Greens: Lettuce, Arugula, Spinach, Cabbage

They are almost done by now. The lettuce has bolted in the heat - but I am still eating it (not too bitter). The majority of the arugula and spinach are done - I am waiting for the seeds to dry so I can collect for next year. The cabbages are huge but they took a long time to start forming a ball - They have started to do so now - so we will see if they end up looking like cabbages after all.

I need to clear this whole bed and have it ready to plant some new greens in a few weeks to get our fall salads!!!

So there you have, a quick update of my little vegetable beds. Not bad for such a small space. How is your garden doing?