The past month has been busy in the garden; lots of prepping, lots of planting, and sometimes, headaches! The crazy heat fluctuations and lack of rain take their toll on young plants. To top it off, throw in a hoard of hungry Japanese Beetles! But this is summer in Ohio, and if you roll with the punches, the reward will be delicious.
Here are a few garden happenings over the last month:
Our tomatoes have begun to fruit! I have planted a few different varieties including Black Cherry, San Marzano, Pineapple, and Cherokee Purple. They are supported by a trellis system made of t-posts and coated wire.
I divided our raspberries early this spring then added a few new rows with the fast-growing transplants. Bluecrop, Jersey & Earliblue blueberries were planted in April and are also taking off.
I planted two different varieties of grape this spring; Himrod (seedless) and Concord (seeded). They were bare root and not a foot tall when I purchased them, and now most are three or four feet and growing.
Our peppers are also doing well. We have Hungarian Wax (pictured) and red and yellow bells. Each plant has at least one pepper growing, and many flowers indicate many more to come.
The raised beds inside our greenhouse are home to more tomatoes, chard, Zephyr squash, and Cayenne peppers along with a couple of hanging baskets that are recuperating from a fall. The Fordhook Giant chard is almost past, though the other vegetables are about to start producing.
I was finally able to add the remaining elements to the gourd tunnel in June. I wrapped the frame with 16-foot-long cattle panels which will allow gourd vines to climb up and over. As it was a little later in the season for most vines to make it over the top, I planted each raised bed with sunflowers and Runner beans. A few Dipper gourd seeds were planted as a test, but next year will be the main event!