Garden update

I promised to post pictures once my garden got to a braggable state. Check these out:

Blueberries - Although the plants have only been in the ground a couple months, one is already producing plump, sweet berries. More surprisingly, the ravens have been leaving them alone.

Artichoke - Prior to planting I wasn't aware of just how big these plants would get. Then we visited the garden at Mission San Juan Capistrano. It was there that I learned that within a few months these will be big enough we will lose all view beyond the corner of the yard.

Romaine - I was a little worried that these went into the ground too late in the season. So far they're growing well and should be harvestable. I'll just need someone to tell me when that time comes.

Pumpkin - Thing 2 wanted to plant "prize pumpkins" - the kind that grow to be hundreds of pounds. We said no. He's just gonna have to deal with standard sized Jack-o-lanterns this year.

Zucchini - We've been warned, but we didn't listen. All 9 of our plants are now flowering. I suspect before too long they'll take over the whole yard.

Cucumber - I'm disappointed in the progress these plants have made. Maybe they're just slow growers?

Bell Peppers - These haven't grown much either, but at least they haven't died. If they ever fruit we'll potentially have 6 didn't varieties.

Green Onion - I planted these throughout the garden to repel pests. The added bonus will be when we get to eat them.

Corn - It's not even the 4th of July and already they're knee-high.

Grapes - We planted a couple of these on a whim. They were bare-root and dead looking when I found them on clearance at Home Depot for $2.49 each. Now they've leafed out and doubled in size. Hopefully someday they'll bare fruit.

Navel Orange - I'm beginning to suspect our efforts at watering have been insufficient for the past couple of years. The biggest positive externality of a new vegetable garden has been a bumper crop of itty-bitty baby oranges.

Sugar Peas - These have outgrown the mesh we installed for support and are now starting to overrun the trampoline.

Already we've harvested more than a dinner's worth of peas. Before planting I probably should've checked to make sure the neighbors even like peas.

Tomatoes - We planted 16 plants of 3 different varieties of tomatoes. So far only the Sweet 100s have ripened, but the Early Girls, and the Momotaros are well on their way.

Strawberries - Berries are starting to emerge from the blossoms. Now I've got to figure out how to keep the kids away long enough for them to ripen.

Broccoli - After they were eaten to the ground in an early season bunny attack I contemplated ripping them out and starting over. But that requires work. Instead I figured I'd give them a couple months to prove their resiliency. It looks like they've made a leafy recovery, although I still wonder if they'll produce any heads.

Side Note - The bunnies made me really, really mad. So mad, in fact, that I started wishing for the return of the coyote pack that used to live in the drainage ditch on the hill behind our house.

Not being able to find a pack of wild coyotes to reintroduce into the neighborhood I opted for a controversial bunny deterrent I read about in an online gardening forum - cayenne pepper powder. Apparently bunnies don't like it because it burns their paws, and their mouths, and their eyes. Bunnies have even been known to claw out their own eyes in an attempt to stop the burning. Poor bunnies. Maybe next time they'll leave my garden alone.

Carrots - The tops are tall and bushy, but the carrots themselves are still tiny. I'm holding out hope for veggies worthy of a salad.

Compost Bin - I put Nate to work building one after I spent a boat-load of money on soil amendment, fertilizer, and mulch. Now it sits (and spins) in the backyard and collects our fruit & veggie scraps, weeds, grass clippings, and anything else that will compost. I've become such an enthusiastic composter I have another black water barrel waiting to be transformed for its second life as a compost tumbler.