New England, June 2015

Nice garden!

Yes, you certainly ARE doing well!

Sarah & Deb, looking good!

I was surprised to find my first rogue red strawberry this weekend too. Saw a half red one out there today. But most are still blossoms or teeny green things.

1- 1/4 inch of rain yesterday afternoon in just under an hour. Everything looks so green and fresh this morning. I think it washed away all of the pollen for us.



Greens are doing well, started picking romaine this week.

Got all the tomato plants in pots all over the yard and patio.

Raspberry plants are very happy with first crop berries forming now.

Waiting on my first ever Meyer Lemon.

Accidently stumbled on an amazing trap crop for the cucumber beetle. They have been eating the tomatillo plants like crazy and pretty much leaving the cucumbers alone. The tomatillos keep putting out leaves and I hand pick the beetles off of them twice a day. They also have been laying their eggs on the underside of the tomatillo leaves and it has been easy to see the eggs and remove them.

Potato plants are growing like crazy.



Been picking handfuls of strawberries twice a day and the French breakfast radishes are coming in fast and furious. Seeded more in the empty spaces in hopes they will keep coming. I'm seeing tiny tomatoes forming on the cherry tomato plants. Love this time of year! Put in the peppers and eggplant starts, so everything is planted now.

Lyndeeloo - Pretty as a picture!! And great find about the cucumber beetle trap crop!

And lemons!

We didn't get a drop of rain yesterday, tho they issued thunderstorm warnings. I think we're still pretty okay from last week's rain, but soon I'm going to have to water.

Wow, Lyndeeloo!  Amazing!  It looks wonderful...

Nice garden Lyndeeloo. Covers like that might me in my future. Also more boxes, we got more free boards last week. 

So I thought I was going nuts... There is no bean plants on my teepe. First I thought it was the cold snap. But then some started popping up. I didn't water back there for a few days last week( the rain and then hubby did a few nights for me) and there were less, but little stumps. Something's been eating them! So I grabbed a few empty plant trays and am starting some new seeds. I also notice a squash plant missing. I went to spray stuff down, but can't figure out how to open the sprayer. So I just tossed the oils in large watering can and used that. I'll get hubby to show me how to open the sprayer tonight and do more tomorrow.  But I've never had this much trouble before.

Grr. I hate when that happens, Sarah. That's happened to me in the past. Now I know not to put out my squash and other vine plants until they're hefty in size. I don't think my beans got hit this summer tho. I think the cutworms liked my squash and other vine plants. Seems like the plants are so vulnerable until they get established.

I've been having such fun with my blog every day.  I post pix of my gardens, the flowers and the crops, because I can post lots of pictures and even post recipes that are welcomed in my family.  I'm not a good cook, so when I can make a recipe that everyone likes, its like winning the Olympics for me.  I have some favorites that everyone enjoys and I am usually asked to make them for parties and dinners and such.  Other than that, I leave it to my expert DDIL who can cook up a storm and who can make the fanciest of cakes.  For myself, I eat pretty plainly having always been a meat and potatoes gal.
I've also been clearing out my storage areas and cutting down so that when I take that final trip across the rainbow, my family won't have too much to toss.  That's been keeping me busy since my gardens are in good shape.

I still have some Basil I need to find homes for among the gardens but other than that, its all in and growing.

I thought you might want to see the Lady's Slipper that is alive and well on the edge of our woods.  I've been watching her for 11 years now and each year she makes one stalk and one flower and that's it.  I hope someday she multiplies.

We got just a sprinkle of rain yesterday that didn't amount to anything but in testing my soil with my moisture meter, I can go another day without watering.  The only watering I did was the newly-seeded beds.

Oh, and I picked some more asparagus this morning.  That means some roasted asparagus, probably tomorrow nite.
I'm off to make some chicken and rice soup for the family tonite as requested.

Lyndeeloo's gardens are amazing.  I can't let my husband see the pictures or he'll start wondering why my gardens don't look that good.

Thanks all!  Truly appreciate the kind words from fellow sfg gardeners! Love looking at everyone else's beautiful gardens and am happy to finally have some decent pictures of my own to share.

So excited, when I checked the garden this evening I noticed a couple tiny green beans. Green beans are my favorite, I can't wait!    Yahooooo!

DeborahC wrote:Lyndeeloo's gardens are amazing.  I can't let my husband see the pictures or he'll start wondering why my gardens don't look that good.

 I know how you feel! Everyone's seen my, um, opposite style of gardening. Some people are really landscape/garden artists. I admire that!!!

QB, so glad you're having fun with your blog! It's not easy to figure out how to set up a blog. Your cooking sounds good to me!

AtlantaMarie wrote:Wow, Lyndeeloo!  Amazing!  It looks wonderful...

+1 !!

Holy mackeral!  What great photos, ladies!!!

I love that ladys slipper, QB.  Funny how there is only one all those years.

Lyndeeloo, what is the twine you used to hold back that beautiful raspberry hedge?  It looks green...?

Got a new type of netting to replace the tulle and I LOVE it!




I think the 1/4" openings should keep out the white butterfly. Not sure about the SVB, though it's worth a try. And it's UV protected so it seems like it will last for years...

...one can only hope.

CapeC.....That netting looks good.  I hope it does the trick.

I've been unhappy with my name tags for plants.  I've used plastic tags, venetian blinds and they always wash away with the rains.  They are also down too low for me to see them easily.
This time I made some white cotton fabric tags with a slit in them that I can slide onto a wire hanger, cage, trellis, or stake and up closer to my eye level so I can read them at a glance.

Here's one flying on my determinate Mtn Gold tomato cage.  I used indelible ink but don't know if that will work with rain.  I'm on the hunt for an industrial marker or laundry marker when I'm out shopping again.

Thanks QB, you just solved a problem for me.

Mini-blinds written on with an industrial marker work great for me most of the time, but they get lost among plants like squash and potatoes.  I've been using the old-school method of a wooden stake painted white for the larger plants, but even they get lost, and have to be re-painted etc.

I have some plastic ribbon, similar to this
http://www.amazon.com/Flagging-Tape-Non-Adhesive-Plastic-Ribbon/dp/B0041P7N14

that is similar in size to your cloth tags.

I also have a variety of thin bamboo sticks of various lengths that I've accumulated.  I'm thinking that the plastics tags attached to the bamboo sticks will be perfect for larger plants.

I'm off to try writing on the plastic ribbon right now!

CapeCoddess wrote:Lyndeeloo, what is the twine you used to hold back that beautiful raspberry hedge?  It looks green:face:

Hi CC it is a vinyl coated wire from Home Depot. Just found it a few weeks ago. $10 a roll 100' works really well and the vinyl cushions  the plants from the wire.  How are your  raspberries  doing?

QB loved your blog! Thanks for sharing it!

As for plant name tags, paint sticks work nicely and most hardware stores will be happy to give you a few for free. I pick up a couple every time I shop. They really come in handy and I keep a stash at home for all kinds of projects.

Well it is officially June here. The June bugs have arrived.  Time to  break out my headlamp and the oil and water jar. 

lyndeeloo wrote:Thanks all!  Truly appreciate the kind words from fellow sfg gardeners! Love looking at everyone else's beautiful gardens and am happy to finally have some decent pictures of my own to share.

So excited, when I checked the garden this evening I noticed a couple tiny green beans. Green beans are my favorite, I can't wait!    Yahooooo!

I love green beans too! And I like that they are such a high-protein food without cholesterol.

I'll echo what everyone else is saying - your garden looks beautiful! And so impeccably neat.

How are you going to keep the birds from eating all your raspberries?

Has anyone used these for plants that are well along in the growing process?

eBay: 100-pcs-Garden-Plant-Tied-Tags-Markers-Labels-Plastic-Blank-Display-Flowers-Pot

Marc Iverson wrote:

I'll echo what everyone else is saying - your garden looks beautiful!  And so impeccably neat.

How are you going to keep the birds from eating all your raspberries?

Thank you Marc! 


We could eat green beans just about every day! LOL!


KNOCK ON WOOD. The birds don't seem to pay any attention to the raspberries. I have grape vines, a peach tree and a sour cherry tree I have to net against the birds and squirrels, let's hope they continue to ignore the raspberries. I hate wrestling with that bird netting any more than I have to.

sanderson.....I couldn't open your URL.  Something might be missing in it?????

Lyndeeloo......I think I missed out on congrats on your fine looking garden.  Its so bountiful and green.  Love it.

QB,  I didn't post the url, which was very long.  I just gave the site, eBay, and the product name that could be copied and pasted in the search box on eBay.

Here is the url:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS1&_nkw=100-pcs-Garden-Plant-Tied-Tags-Markers-Labels-Plastic-Blank-Display-Flowers-Pot&_sacat=0

sanderson....When I put that in the ebay search bar it told me there were too many to choose so I had to fine tune it.
I just put in 'Tied Plant Markers" and I think I see what you're talking about and no, I've never used them before.   They don't say how large they are but mostly rate it for flower pots.  I think if I can use cotton fabric (being a quilter I have tons of it), I can NOT buy from China or Thailand and I can cut them to the size I desire.  So as long as I can find a good waterproof and sunproof marker, I'll be happy with mine.
Thanks, tho, for looking further.

sanderson wrote:QB,  I didn't post the url, which was very long.  I just gave the site, eBay, and the product name that could be copied and pasted in the search box on eBay.

Here is the url:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS1&_nkw=100-pcs-Garden-Plant-Tied-Tags-Markers-Labels-Plastic-Blank-Display-Flowers-Pot&_sacat=0

Now the link works.  Don't know what I did to turn it red but the link now works.

Besides having my cucumbers starting to sprout, I also have sugar snap blossoms popping.

These are the Boston Pickling cukes along the raised berm trellis.  The cukes all germinated in 6 days from seeds.  That's why I don't bother using space indoors to start cukes.  They can do well themselves outdoors once its warm enough.



Above are the Spacemaster cukes in a pot.
I also have Summer Dance beside the Boston Picklings and another pot with Bush Crop in them.


Can you see the two sugar snap blossoms?  They are the first of the 3 trellises I have planted about 10 days apart.
It sure is good to see greenery once again in my Maine garden.  The wait was long, the snow unbelievably heavy and far into spring, but sometimes the wait is worth it.