June Garden

Hi, readers! It’s been a minute, huh? Life’s been pretty crazy around these parts, leaving us feeling both fulfilled and thoroughly exhausted. I’m hoping the next few weeks will be a little slower than usual though, because I have a lot to share in this space!

First up, a look at our summer garden. I got most of this year’s plants in the ground around Memorial Day weekend, and these photos are from this weekend!

It’s been a wild summer, weather-wise. The first couple of weeks after planting, we had loads and loads of rain. In fact, some of what I planted by seed quickly drowned. Now, we’re experiencing extreme heat, which is leading to a lot of plants bolting and the need to be extra attentive when it comes to watering. Never a dull moment!

We’ve got loads of veggies (and a few fruits) going, including small and large tomatoes, jalapeño, bell, and poblano peppers, broccoli, cucumber, watermelon, strawberries, kale, spinach, lettuce, onion, zucchini, and white eggplant.

I also tried my hand at several edible flowers this year, to use in recipes and decorating, and some have proved stronger than others. I’m not sure I’ll dedicate as much space to them in the ground in future years – I’ll probably stick with only the few that survive the summer and keep them in containers. But hey, lesson learned!

As always, I also have a lot of herbs going. I’ve been using the basil and mint the most (and those have also proved to be the hardiest, along with rosemary). I’m saving all kinds of ideas for using (and preserving) the other herbs. I tend to let them go to waste each year, and really want to make use of as much as I can!

I did a little crop rotation this year in an attempt to ward off squash bugs (which we experienced for the first time last year). They mainly attacked our zucchini plant, which is always the largest and highest yielding.

I put it in a container this year, knowing it’d be a lot smaller, but easier to control any infestation. Just yesterday, I noticed that they’re back! Now I’m in maintenance mode, using this neem oil DIY spray to hopefully keep them at bay and save the plant!