Vegetable Gardening May 2017 

Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.

It's Time To Sit Back And Watch It Grow Or Pick And Eat...

It's May and the veggies are coming along quite nicely.   It seems they really pick up speed as the days get longer!


A view from our roof


Each bed is 25' by 4'


A view from above


The garden from the roof

The Back Yard

We have about 600 square feet of actual garden in our back yard (tillable dirt). With the redesign, we get as much from the garden as we did before the walk-around raised-bed design! It's a lot easier on the back!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The zucchini seem to pop right up and grow huge overnight! Paul tried pickling some zucchini slices as we have so many!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Sometimes we miss picking one and it gets huge... The colors help hide them

Early May 2017 in the garden
Just before picking

Did You Know?

1. One zucchini has just 25 calories (compared to a baked potato, for example, which has 130 calories).

2. The flower of the zucchini plant is also edible. (If you dare.)

3. The world's largest zucchini on record was 69 1/2 inches long, and weighed 65 lbs. Bernard Lavery of Plymouth Devon, UK, grew the humongous veggie.

4. According to World's Healthiest Foods Nutrition info, nutrients and vitamins found in zucchini can help prevent cancer and heart disease.

5. A soap bar called Fresh Zucchini Flower Big Bar Goat's Milk Soap (rolls off the tongue, no?) is made with real zucchini.

6. A zucchini has more potassium than a banana.

7. The word zucchini comes from 'zucca' the Italian word for squash.

Early May 2017 in the garden
We planted some additional strawberries to make sure we do not run out

Early May 2017 in the garden
Another 2-3 weeks and these little guys will be producing like mad!

Did You Know?

  • Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
  • The average strawberry has 200 seeds
  • Strawberries are low fat, low calorie; high in vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, potassium
  • Strawberries, as part of a 5 a day fruit & vegetable program, can help reduce the risk of cancer & heart attacks
  • Americans eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus another 1.8 pounds frozen per capita
  • Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring
  • There is a museum in Belgium just for strawberries
  • Strawberries are a member of the rose family
  • In medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity.
  • Folk lore states that if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you'll soon fall in love
  • Birds are responsible for distributing strawberry seeds everywhere.
  • Strawberries are indigenous to every continent except New Zealand, Australia, and Africa.
  • Not every single flower will produce a strawberry.
  • A strawberry will not ripen once it is picked.
  • Strawberries do not grow from seeds. Instead, they reproduce with long shoots of new growth.
  • California produces over one billion berries annually. Laying them side-by-side would allow them to circle the earth several times.

Early May 2017 in the garden
Transplanted beets! They look a little worse for wear but they come right out of it!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The tomatillos are looking good... We see great sauces in our future

Early May 2017 in the garden
Round two of the corn season... They are babies

Early May 2017 in the garden
Some of our asparagus are coming up... We lost several plants due
to all the water we had during the winter storms.

Early May 2017 in the garden

Early May 2017 in the garden
The tomatoes are going wild!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The tomatoes are easy to get to with the raised flower/vegetable beds!

Early May 2017 in the garden
We have 30 different kinds of tomatoes planted this year!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Tomatoes in the back and beets in the front

Early May 2017 in the garden
The string beans are coming!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Baby green beans just being born

Early May 2017 in the garden
We have three types of cucumbers this year

Early May 2017 in the garden
They are doing quite well!

Early May 2017 in the garden
For breakfast this morning

Early May 2017 in the garden
The eggplants are forming the fruit as we speak!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The blueberries are LOADED with fruit! We have fresh blueberries all the time
and we enjoy having Logan and Clark come pick the berries!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Paul is getting old... The hand cart is used more and more these days! 100 pound
bales of straw are moved easily this way!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Yes indeed.... Carrots are coming up nicely.

Early May 2017 in the garden
They are quite well behaved and are easily taught to dance!

Early May 2017 in the garden
It is so easy to walk between the plants and pick/pull/admire!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Almost as high as an elephants eye!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The corn is beginning to show!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The girls have released their silks! It's almost time to get it on!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The pollen is on the tassels which have to fall on the silks

Early May 2017 in the garden
As high as the roof! ( See more about corn )

Early May 2017 in the garden
As Logan says (next door neighbors grandson) - "Boo Berries"

Early May 2017 in the garden
A months supply right there!

Early May 2017 in the garden
See the cucumbers forming?

Early May 2017 in the garden
We gots tomatoes

Early May 2017 in the garden
Nectarines

Early May 2017 in the garden
Bet we have 200 nectarines on the tree

Did You Know?

A nectarine is a fuzzless variety of peach. It is NOT a cross between a peach and a plum.

Nectarines, like peaches, probably originated in China over 2,000 years ago and were cultivated in ancient Persia, Greece and Rome. They were grown in Great Britain in the late 16th or early 17th centuries, and were introduced to America by the Spanish.

The word 'nectarine' means sweet as nectar, and this is very likely the obvious origin of the name.

Today, California grows over 95% of the nectarines produced in the United States.

Peach seeds may occasionally grow into trees that bear nectarines, and nectarine seeds may grow into trees that bear either nectarines or peaches. It is not possible to know which fruit will grow on trees grown from nectarine seeds, so nectarine branches are grafted onto peach trees to guarantee a crop of nectarines.

Early May 2017 in the garden
The new apple tree is loaded also!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Baby avocados... The tree is only two years old... Just wait!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Figs are coming on strong!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Oodles awaiting another month of sunshine!

The Front Yard Is Also Busy!

We garden everywhere there is available dirt! The passers by enjoy several of our fruit trees and in fact we had to put another apple in the back yard so we would have some!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Down the driveway we have Artichokes, potatoes, bush beans, and grapes

Early May 2017 in the garden
The bush beans are beginning to produce and they produce every day!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Look carefully to see them!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The straw mulch keeps the ground cool and moist

Did You Know? -   Flatulence?  Many edible beans, including broad beans and soybeans, contain oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose), a type of sugar molecule also found in cabbage. An anti-oligosaccharide enzyme is necessary to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the large intestine. This digestion process produces flatulence-causing gases as a byproduct. Since sugar dissolves in water, another method of reducing flatulence associated with eating beans is to drain the water in which the beans have been cooked.

Some species of mold produce alpha-galactosidase, an anti-oligosaccharide enzyme, which humans can take to facilitate digestion of oligosaccharides in the small intestine. This enzyme, currently sold in the United States under the brand-names Beano and Gas-X Prevention, can be added to food or consumed separately. In many cuisines beans are cooked along with natural carminatives such as anise seeds, coriander seeds and cumin[citation needed].

One effective strategy is to soak beans in alkaline (baking soda) water overnight before rinsing thoroughly. Sometimes vinegar is added, but only after the beans are cooked as vinegar interferes with the beans' softening.

 

Early May 2017 in the garden
Coming soon to our basket!

Early May 2017 in the garden
The plums are beginning to take shape

Early May 2017 in the garden
They are hard to find amongst the leaves

Early May 2017 in the garden
Another few weeks!

Early May 2017 in the garden
These are grapes... Not tiny plums

Early May 2017 in the garden
The apples are taking shape

Early May 2017 in the garden
Plum tree #2 is on the street and it is also doing well

Early May 2017 in the garden
Potato plants are coming up.... When they turn drown, it will be time to dig for potatoes

Did You Know?

  1. The average American eats approximately 126 pounds of potatoes each year.
  2. The potato is a relative of tobacco and the tomato.
  3. Potatoes require less water to grow than other staple foods such as wheat, rice and corn.
  4. Up until the late 18th century, the French believed that potatoes caused leprosy.
  5. The potato is the fourth most important crop in the world after wheat, rice and corn.
  6. Marie Antoinette wife of Louis XV was known to wear potato blossoms as a hair decoration.
  7. It is most likely that all of Europe's potato crop in the 1800s originated from only 2 plants brought back to Europe by the Spaniards. This lack of genetic diversity is one of the probable causes of the devastating potato blight of the late 19th century.
  8. The first permanent potato patches in North America were established in 1719, most likely near Londonderry (Derry), New Hampshire.
  9. The 'Idaho' potato or 'Russet Burbank' potato was developed by Luther Burbank (1849-1926) in 1871.

Early May 2017 in the garden
We put onions everywhere!

Early May 2017 in the garden
Strawberries are so good right off the plant

Early May 2017 in the garden
Inside the fence we have artichokes and tomatoes

Early May 2017 in the garden
The pomegranate tree is loaded with fruit this year

Early May 2017 in the garden
Must keep it evenly watered

Early May 2017 in the garden
On the north wall we have two tomatoes and a Japanese grape

Early May 2017 in the garden
We calls it "Grandpa's Garden"

Early May 2017 in the garden
Bell Peppers do well in this location

Early May 2017 in the garden

Typically we grow Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Garlic, Marjoram, Mints, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, Savory (Summer), and Thyme

Did You Know? - In general use, herbs are any plants used for food, flavoring, medicine, or fragrances for their savory or aromatic properties. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices.

Early May 2017 in the garden
Dill and Rosemary

Early May 2017 in the garden
Sage

Early May 2017 in the garden
Basil and Cilantro

Early May 2017 in the garden
Garlic more Strawberries

Early May 2017 in the garden
Lettuce and Sage

Early May 2017 in the garden
Lemon grass

Early May 2017 in the garden
Lemons galore!

Early May 2017 in the garden
We see a lemonade stand in our future!

Early May 2017 in the garden