July Garden

Pride is bad. 

I know that so you don't have to tell me.

But I'm proud of my garden.  Full of pride.  I don't think we've ever had a more beautiful garden.

Want to see?

Our repurposed, homemade-ugly grow tunnel.  We used the netting and the legs from a defunct trampoline to build a 4-seasons garden.  The netting creates just enough shade that the lettuce and leafy greens aren't bolting straightaway.  This fall, we'll remove the netting and add some plastic, greenhouse-y type panels to keep spinach and kale growing through the winter.  There's more in the works for the old trampoline...please stay tuned. 

Pepper plants we grew from seed...and a baby pepper.

Rows upon rows of white half-runner green beans and the cornfield in the back. 

             

Tiny tomatoes.

                                                 

"The Gauntlet"

The rear of our property with taters (sweet and white) on the left and fruit (berries and rhubarb) on the right. The blackberries in the foreground are thornless, but the black raspberries in the back, you can't walk past them without getting bitten.

 

Cabbage glistening with dew.

                                         

Flowering butternut squash.

                                         

"The Carousel"

I don't know what this thing is called, but our experiment in trellising cukes and runner beans is going well.

 

One of many onion patches. Anywhere that I could find a few empty feet of garden, I planted onions.

The carrot patch in the new raised bed. They're doing exceedingly well and Mara is already begging for carrot pickles!

Blackberries beginning to ripen.  Through what can only be described as a God-thing, we have ripe berries for a solid 5-6 months each year, starting with Serviceberries in May, and ending with the last of the yellow raspberries in late September or early October.

So, the pictures don't do the yard and garden justice.  It's just plain beautiful this year.  Green despite the lack of rain.  The weeds are under control.  Not too many bug/vermin problems, thank you God.  This season is a good season. 

The Mr. and I sat outside and watched the sun set over the cornfield last night and it was nothing short of breath-taking.  The garden and berry bushes were shadowed against the orange-pink sky and it was so quiet, with only the twitter of birds and the occasional diesel farm truck driving by. 

Now I KNOW why they called this place Pleasant Township. 

There isn't a more beautiful spot in the world.