Time for another garden update, with extra pictures!  Comments follow the images.

Garden Annex - South View

Finally got some pictures from our garden annex, down behind the Friary.  In this one, you can see the green and red cabbages at the lower left, green beans on the right, and sweet potatoes between them.  We had just planted the sweet potatoes when we took this picture.  Beyond the sweet potatoes is one tomato plant, and beyond that tomato and the green beans are white and yellow scalloped summer squash.  Beyond all that are the other tomatoes.  One tomato plant is Beefsteak, and the others are all Roma, a pear-shaped tomato that’s good for sauce.  Here’s a picture from the other direction that shows the tomatoes and squash better.

Tomatoes and Squash

Some of the tomatoes have small green fruit already, and I think the squash will be blooming within a week.  We have to get tomato cages down there very soon, before the tomatoes get so big and sprawling that they’re impossible to get in the cages.  Other than that, everything looks great.

Mighty Hunter

Here’s Pepper looking all innocent and playful.  But what she’s really doing here is watching the photographer, waiting for us to go back to work so she can get back to that nest of baby rabbits to her right.  Mmm, tasty rabbit.

Early Morning Garden

Back to the backyard.  This is a really nice picture Angel took of the garden in the early morning sunlight.  The tall stuff on the left is the oregano and sage, which have completely bolted to seed, but they’re kind of pretty.  The green beans are hanging over the sides of the bed, so it’s looking kind of wild these days.  The garlic leaves are starting to dry up, so we may be able to harvest that soon.

Green Bean Jungle

At this angle, you can see the green beans hanging all over the place.  That’s partly from being walked on by dogs and chickens, and partly from the hard rain we had Friday.  The steel posts are to prevent more dog napping on the cool soil.  The beans look like they’re still healthy, and they’re putting on tons of blooms, so they should still produce plenty.

A Weed in the Peas

That’s some kind of weed coming up in the edible-podded peas.  The big ribbed leaves in the background are Swiss chard.  The peas have been disappointing this year.  We didn’t plant enough of them, and then the birds nearly killed them pecking at them earlier.  We got enough for one meal, and I think we’ll get one more small bowl from them, but that’ll probably be it.  We’re definitely going to have to plant some fall peas, and next year start with more.

Swiss Chard

Here’s a better shot of the Swiss chard.  It certainly hasn’t been a disappointment; it’s healthy and huge.  We haven’t eaten much yet, but it’ll come in handy during the hotter months when most other things quit.  I’ll try to get some recipes up for it, since most people haven’t had it.  I’m sure we’d be willing to part with some, if anyone wants to try it.

Bolting Lettuce

It may not be obvious in this picture, but the lettuce is all bolting (shooting up a tall stalk to make seed).  We got a couple salads out of it, which is pretty typical for me.  I don’t really know why I keep growing it, except that fresh lettuce sounds really good in February when you’re ordering seeds.

The carrots are on the right, and they might wind up being worth something after all.  I pulled one Friday and found a smallish carrot.  Nothing to write home about, but at least there’s a root there, unlike the turnips.  We may just dispense with carrots and lettuce next year, to make more room for peas.

First Green Beans

We just picked these green beans last night.  I knew some were ready, so I wanted to get them picked, but I wasn’t expecting much more than a meal’s worth.  They nearly filled this gallon bucket!  Most of them come from the Contender variety; the Blue Lake look like they’re just a little slower.  This should make a few meals, so the next big batch will probably go in the freezer.