Update on Plants

The beans in the smaller garden are not growing as good as the ones in the bigger garden.  I think the bigger plot is more fertile because last year, I put the remnants of the goats manure, plus old hay, plus chicken poop, plus compost in there.

Carrots on the left, with potato plants sprouting close to them. A few bean plants are growing on the right.

The carrots were slow to start too, but they look pretty healthy now, even though they are kinda smothered by a few scattered potatoes that had been left in the ground from last year and are growing in random places.

Here is one pumpkin plant out of six seeds I planted.  However, this plant may produce quite a few of pumpkins.  Lets keep our fingers crossed on that one.

Lone pumpkin plant (and lots of weeds).

Now the potatoes, well, they look lovely.  I usually rotate the area where they are planted so as to avoid potato scab and other diseases.  My friend from PEI, who surely knows all about potatoes, had never seen anyone plant potatoes like I did.  I have no idea how I got this method in my head, but it is how I have always done it; what I do is dig trenches about a foot wide every two and a half feet or so.  I have always planted the potatoes IN the trenches, not on the mounds, with the rationale being, as the plants began to grow, the mounds of soil would be used to hill up the plants.  What I do is push the mounds down gradually as the plants grow, until eventually, the mounds become the trenches.  Has anyone else ever heard of this!  If so, I would like to know, or even know other ways of planting. 

Gorgeous potato plants.

I think I was told that many years ago by someone who knew more about gardening than I did, and I just believed it.  Anyway, it has worked for me for many years and I will likely continue to plant them that way.  I am a creature of habit and not good with change.

I almost forgot about the garlic I planted.  I got the bulbs from Gaze seed. Actually, I had forgotten to pick it up and the garlic was an after-thought so my friend gave me money to buy the bulbs.  I have planted garlic cloves in the fall previously, but this year I planted them around the middle of June.   I had given up hope and even forgot about the garlic, when yesterday, I  saw two beginning to grow.  That is two out of about 12 cloves I planted. In PEI a few weeks ago, they were already selling the garlic curly stems at the farmers market!

The strawberries are beginning to ripen now and every day, there are four or five juicy red strawberries.  They are not very big but they are tasty.  I planted them about 5 years ago when I bought them from Ross Traverse.  Last year when I had goats, they chewed the plants to pieces before any berries came out, so this year, it was nice to see a  few berries.  Some berries have been picked at by either slugs or carpenters.  Lots there though.

Finally, here is a photo of the walkway I had started two months ago!  Only now getting around to half completing it.  I still have to get more large rocks to place on the edges of the walkway to give it more support on the sides.  Each patio block weighed a lot and I could barely lift one.  I did manage to set them in place.

Starting the walkway; crushed stone and some sand on top.

Blocks in place, but I need more large rocks for the sides.

I think that patio needs a hot tub!!  I sure could have used a hot tub tonight after all that brutal, heavy lifting today!