June has been very kind to my gardens. An early wave of hot days and very warm nights has given the tomatoes and cucurbits a jump start, but cooled off quickly enough to keep the brassicas and peas comfortable. Rain hasn’t been abundant, but certainly sufficient.
I have already harvested radishes and a couple of kohlrabis. Tiny watermelons, cantelopes and pumpkins are developing and some Rond de Nice squash are half way to full size. A few Marketter cucumbers are a little over 3” long, and the plants are lush and thriving, unlike last years cucumber plants. Gardening can be a lot of trial and error and a lesson was learned and will not be repeated. Some varieties just aren’t built for this climate.
The Polish Linguisa paste tomato plants that I was concerned about have proven themselves much stronger than I initially gave them credit for. The leaves are delicate looking, but the stems are sturdy and thick and already have an abundance of tiny, long, green tomatoes hanging from them.
I found that I prefer bush-type green beans to pole beans. The bush beans take up less room and the beans are easier to find and pick before they get too starchy and tough. The pole beans I have grown in the past have been so tall and thick that the beans got lost in all of the foliage and twisting stems. Many of the beans I found too late and decided to just leave them there to mature and use for the next year's seed. I have a lot of pole bean seeds that I am not sure I will use. Maybe I can swap them for some type that would be more useful to me.
The tiny petunias I started this spring are grown and planted in containers. I can’t believe how big they have gotten! The Marigolds and Nasturtiums are in bloom with all their warm summer hues. The Black-eyed Stella daylilies that line the retaining wall ( a welcome handout from a neighbor) are loaded with bright, cheery lilies. Hard green berries cover the Blackberry plants and the raspberry plants have grown considerably. Sunflowers that line the privacy fence are at least 3’ tall and will provide lots of food for the birds by summer’s end.
It’s been a great gardening season so far. I can’t help but think this may be my best vegetable garden yet!
PS. The bold, italicized text links to images on my Photobucket page, or you can just search "pittsburgh gardener" at photobucket.com to view my albums!
