The lettuce has been crazy. The early planting is now starting to bolt and seed, but I still have two other beds of perfect lettuce. Growing it in raised pallet containers made all the difference. NO BUGS! Not one bug. Now I got smart and placed diatomaceous earth along side the rows. This stuff is a natural bug repellent or killer. It is like tiny shards of glass - bugs walk through it and it kills them. Gets rid of those pesky potato bugs that love old wood (pallets). When the lettuce was young, I soaked the soil in rabbit manure tea. Loves the nitrogen. Perfect lettuce. This variety is called "Oak Leaf Lettuce."
My carrots are amazing. First year ever for good carrots! Again, deep raised beds, up off the ground away from critters and on the southern-exposed deck for maximum heat. I also drowned them in water everyday so they never dried out. Perfect. And so sweet. These were Yaya Carrots.
Peppers! First year ever for peppers. It's just not warm enough here unless one uses a greenhouse. But again, raised beds, up on the southern-exposed deck for maximum heat. Once the fruits were set I soaked the soil in rabbit manure tea. These are Anaheim Peppers:
These are Bell Peppers:
The squash are questionable. I did not used a trellis system to lift them off the ground because I was told they need the heat of the earth. Well, they are still small. Granted, I do know they are not in a location that gets sun all day. Pumpkins are small:
Delicatas are very small, but there is still time:
I used rabbit manure as I was told squash love it, but maybe it's too much nitrogen.
And then there are apples. I am overloaded with apples because I trimmed the branches last winter. So loaded the branches are bending, nearly snapping. I culled hundreds of apples at the beginning of the summer to remove some weight. The apples at the top of the tree I couldn't get to. Then once a week I poured buckets of rabbit manure tea at the base of the tree. MONSTER APPLES! And so sweet and juicy!
I go out every morning and pick up the windfalls, at least a bucket every day. I've been taking them to my friend's horses. During the night sometimes I can hear them fall as they hit the metal ladder. I've been picking apples every day, giving them away and trying to eat as many as possible. I don't know what to do with them all. If anyone visits, they take home a bag of apples. So beautiful. The birds have be munching on them, but very few bugs holes.
I think I'm finally getting this organic gardening right. It's a wonderful replacement for a social life. Plants are not irritating, disrespectful, or sociopathic. We get along great. Gardening keeps me moving, working, and breathing fresh air.
Lucky you! Lovely produce from the garden.
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