Garden Update [August 2015]

I keep meaning to post another garden update but I just haven't had time!  In reflecting on my first gardening experience so far... I'm so glad I gave it a shot!  Really, for the money and the time put in (minimal), we are getting so many healthy and delicious veggies.  I am hooked!

Latest Updates:

• Since we put down newspaper and grass clippings, the weeds have been much more manageable!  I really need to get out there and do some weeding - but it's nowhere near as bad as it was in the beginning!
• Our tomato plants got so big that they all started to fall over (despite the cages), so we had to stake them up and tie them with t-shirt strips.
• I'm having an issue with powdery mildew on my zucchini!  Any suggestions?  I found a post online about using milk or baking soda diluted in water.
• We were gone for an entire week (so no water for the garden), and I was SURE we'd come back to dead plants and rotting veggies.  No way!  It needed a drink but everything is doing fine.  And we had a TON of veggies to harvest (as you can see in the pic above).

I have lots of pictures to share!  Check out the slideshow below to see updates on the various plants and veggies :)

[If you are viewing on your phone, make sure you rotate to landscape view so you can see the text over the photos!]

Cherry Tomatoes

While we were at the beach, they went without water for a week!

Cherry Tomatoes

So by the time we got back, ALL of the green tomatoes had ripened to a beautiful red, but the plant was not looking so hot!

Cherry Tomatoes

The plan isn't looking so hot, but there are some new green ones and some new blossoms, so I guess it is still alive!

Peppers

The peppers are all doing really well!  I have harvested a ton of banana and jalapeno peppers.

Peppers

We staked up all of our peppers, but only the main stem.  The side branch on this pepper plant got too heavy and fell over (not sure yet if it is snapped). :(

Zucchini

The plant isn't producing as fast any more, but we did come home to 5 big zucchini!  So I've had zucchini noodles for DAYZZZ :)

Zucchini

Our zucchini is plagued with powdery mildew!  I have not yet treated it, but I think I am going to try milk.

Zucchini

This one was literally the size of a large infant!  I'm going to make a big pot of soup with it.

Tomatoes

We have gotten a few ripe tomatoes. but it seems like once they get the slightest bit red, some insect begins feasting.  What can I do!?

Green Beans

We're still getting some flowers on our bean plants, so I guess we'll have beans for a while longer!

Tomatoes

We have a TON of huge green tomatoes.  Can't wait for these babies to ripen!

Broccoli

I had to throw away 3 heads of broccoli because I let them go too long :(  Lesson learned!  We are still getting these lovely little off-shoots though!

Green Beans

We've picked quite a few yellow and green beans and have steamed them, roasted them, and pickled them!

Cucumbers

The cucumber plants are not looking so hot!  We do have a few flowers still and we get a cucumber every once in a while.

Green Onions

After we got rid of the weeds, the onions took off like crazy!  They are a good size to slice up and add to salads now.  There are a lot of weeds around the base of them but I'm nervous to pull them for fear of uprooting the onions.

Lettuce

I think the lettuce is about done.  We have already harvested it upwards of 4 times, and now the plants are getting huge / not as tender.

Garden Visitors!

Some little bunnies (my nephew and nieces) came to visit this weekend and they loved looking around the garden!

Not an onion fan.

Ben tasted a green onion but it was a little too spicy for him.  Not a fan.

Garden Helpers

We picked some green beans and onions!  Clare loved to try everything :)

Calling all fellow gardeners -- rookies AND experienced green thumbs:  If you have any tips and tricks or tried and true methods, I'd love to hear them :)

---

To get Maria Makes updates delivered to your inbox, subscribe via email here.