Once and future harvests

We went from brutal temperatures to rain, and I've been known to hide inside from both of those things. Luckily, we've had enough breaks in the rain that I finally took notice of what was going on in the garden, which was peas and beets!

Gratuitous picture of the garden helper, guarding the harvest:

I should've picked the peas sooner, as some of them were too big and ended up in the compost pile. The rest were very good with dinner, however. Glory the garden helper wanted nothing to do with the raw peas but loved them once they were cooked.

In future harvest news, almost everything seems to be enjoying the rain.

zucchini

sweet potatoes

cantalope

I was about ready to pull out the broccoli and then I noticed that a couple of the plants have teeny, tiny heads. I'm not expecting those to amount to anything, but I'm willing to see what happens.

Last but not least, I pruned my peach tree the other day. I'm following some instructions I found in Mother Earth News and attempting to prune it in a way that will keep it small, but I'm not confident I'm doing it correctly.

before

after

At any rate, while I was trimming, I found two little, green, fuzzy peaches.

I wasn't expecting any fruit on it this year, so if these ripen, they'll be a special treat. I have high hopes for peach crisp and peach ice cream and lots of fresh peaches right off the tree, but I'd be happy with just a little taste this year.

The good and the bad

I won't call any of it ugly.

I'm going to start with the bad, because that's what I keep thinking about.

It doesn't look like I'm going to be eating any peas fresh from the garden this year. We basically went from winter to summer and did not have the spring weather peas need. The plants are small, scraggly and getting chewed on by something.

There might not be any beets, either.

This one is part my fault, part weather. I forgot exactly where I put the seeds and didn't water the whole area. The seeds were five years old, too. So, bad germination, and then straight to summer heat. There's still a chance I'll get a few.

The eggplant had a rough start. I planted two plants, and the next day one of them was pulled completely out of the ground. The other one was leaning. This is it a couple days after my rescue attempt:

It's looking better, now, so I think it may survive.

I don't have any pictures, but the broccoli is anybody's guess at this point. The plants have grown well, but I don't see any heads starting to form.

The last thing I'm going to complain about are zinnias.

I've planted them for several years, and never had any get eaten. This year, I put five plants close to the raised beds, and they're being demolished.

One of them disappeared entirely. I might have to leave the garden helper outside some night and see what happens.

Now for the good.

The heat loving plants are doing well.

cucumbers

zucchini

cantaloupe

I don't have a great place for the cantaloupe, so it's in the one un-fenced raised bed. Last year, after the plant had grown a bit and I thought it was safe, the rabbits ate every leaf off, so this year, I'm going to have to figure out how to keep it fenced longer. That's not so easy with a sprawling plant like a melon, but I'm going to figure it out.

The tomatoes and peppers are also doing well, but I forgot to take pictures of them.

The other thing I'm very happy about are the native plants that I planted last year and then neglected. I did lose some of them, but others are doing well.

I really should remove the grass between these plants on the slope.

smooth penstemon and poppy mallow

I think I planted six Joe Pye, and five came back.

Joe Pye

The lilies I transplanted from my mom's yard are growing and spreading.

Not all of the nasturtium seeds I planted have sprouted, but quite a few of them are growing in this bare corner.

Most of the perennials I put in this new area last year came back, and some have already spread quite a bit.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that there are more good things than bad. Maybe I should start focusing on them instead.