Raised Bed Square Foot Garden End of June USDA 6b

Below are photographs captured in late June of one raised bed square foot vegetable garden, bed 2.

Lettuce and carrots in squares #1, #2, #5 and #6.

Lettuce and bush beans in squares #3, #4, #7 and #8.

I have been picking the outside leaves from all the lettuce plants leaving the centers to continue to grow.

A close-up of a lettuce in square #3.

These bush bean seeds were planted on Sunday, 23 June in square #8. This photograph was captured Friday, 28 June. The ambient temperature and sunshine have kicked their sprouting into high gear.

Likewise, these Easter Egg Radish seeds were planted on Sunday, 23 June in square# 5. This photo was captured on Friday 28 June. They were planted in the same square that carrots were growing for the last two months.

This is bed 2 from the ESE side at 09:52am EDT. The nearest tomato is a Tami G grape variety. The tallest is adjacent to the Tami G, a Mortgage Lifter and was at least 5'/1.5m tall. Behind the tomato trellis squares #13 and #14 were planted with small watermelons. Squares #15 and #16 were planted with cucumbers. The plants in all four squares may be suffering from diminished sunlight because of the dense foliage of the tomatoes. They are not growing as fast as I think they should.

On the whole, I am satisfied with the progress.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Direct Seed 29 Days of Progress

The seeds sown directly on April 20, 2013 show signs of progress.

Both boxes were closely sown and needed thinning. The seedlings in the longer box were thinned. Thinning of crowded sown seeds gives room for growth to the strongest looking seedlings.

The radishes have grown tall after thinning.  Now, the smaller box needs thinning.

©Damyon T. Verbo - All rights reserved

Direct Planted Vegetable Seeds Sprouting

Vegetable seeds were directly planted into the growing medium on 20 April, 2013. These photographs were captured on 4 May, 2013, two weeks after direct planting.

  

In the plastic boxes were planted ... 

 

I don't remember exactly what I planted in those boxes. I didn't write any notes about these boxes as I did for the raised beds.

Between the open packets of seeds and the visual clues, I believe I planted bunching onions, beets, swiss chard and radishes.

In raised bed #2 the lettuce was peeking out of the slits I cut in the red plastic mulch.

The started tomato plants are showing evidence of growth. I have already been thinking about supports/trellis for the tomatoes and cucumbers to be planted in early June.

Carrots are peeking through the plastic mulch.

Close up of some lettuce.

Once the secondary leaves are opened I will begin to thin down to a few plants per slit. A little later the space will go to the strongest single plant.

I purchased two more varieties of tomato plants - Super Sweet 100, a grape tomato, and Cherokee Purple, an heirloom. I planted them in raised bed #1.

I try to keep the producer's plant ID with each plant.

I visit the home center often to look for new arrivals of tomatoes and peppers. If they ever arrive, I will round out my tomato purchases with a Rutgers variety and a Marglobe variety.

The Rutgers is suppose to be close to the taste of Jersey tomatoes, a familiar flavor from my childhood. Jerseys were tomatoes grown in New Jersey when Campbell's Soup had a tomato soup canning facility in Camden, NJ.

Marglobe I will plant for its abundance of fruit production. The grower touts 50lbs/22.7kg of Marglobes per plant per season. I will need to keep up with watering to fill 50lbs of tomatoes.

I can hardly wait to bite into one of these beauties. Teeth snapping through the red skin, juice popping into the air and seeds dribbling down my chin and onto the front of my shirt. I'll swoon from the odor of vine ripened tomato as the acid cuts into my sun parched lips. Is there anything better? Well, maybe there is. This has got to be a really close second, right?

Good gardening!

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved