In the Garden: Pumpkin Patch and Cagey Tomatoes

These days the garden seems to be at the center of all things.  It is alive with veggies, flowers, worms, insects, children and soil. I'm planting, harvesting, and waiting ever so patiently for the next thing to ripen. I'm trying to stay connected to it all by digging in the dirt with my bare hands and going barefoot as much as possible. I put on the shoes and the gloves only when I'm using the big shovel or rack.  I've planted more seeds this week and transplanted nearly everything at this point. I have a few stray plants that still need a spot, but they'll find their way. I have a lot of thinning to do. I never seem to be able to keep up with that task. Our weekends (which our Monday and Tuesday) have been rainy, so I haven't been able to build all the stick teepees we need, but I can't argue with Mother nature doing her part of the watering.

 Jake built a rustic branch and twig cover for the sandbox and I am waiting for the Dutchman's pipe we bought to climb up it and make a leafy awning. One of the plants does not seem to be climbing and I'm worried it was damaged by frost. I also transplanted morning glories to grow up a metal framed gazebo we have in the yard.

The peonies are still teasing me, but the lupines are in full glory. I love the rich pink of this particular one.

 Elsa is helping by racing around on her tractor.

 Oona is helping by caging herself in a tomato cage.

 So many seedlings have emerged. Next year I'll start more indoors and do row covers, but this year I took it a little easy.

Only part of my pumpkin patch has sprouted. It's hard to tell in the photo, but they are planted in hills. Some of the seeds are saved seeds and I'm worried they're not working, so I might replant in the next day or so.

I'm giving eggplant another go, even though I have been mostly unsuccessful with both seedlings and starters. This year I purchased starters. The bugs are already at it. If anyone has useful tips for helping eggplant along, let me know.

I'm keeping my peppers and larger basil in pots on the porch. Peppers have not done well in my garden, either, so I figure I'll at least be able to monitor them more closely in pots. I only have a couple pepper plants, but I companion planted them each with a stem of basil to hopefully help with the bug problem.

 The garlic seems to be doing great and I spied the first scapes yesterday. 

I am squeezing things in every which way. I planted a small herb patch around a cherry tree... leeks around another cherry tree. Hopefully the cherry trees don't mind the neighbors. I snuck a few watermelon hills along the hillside.

 I don't think it's going to be a great year for tomatoes because I didn't get my seedlings started early enough, so I had to purchase four plants in addition to my little plants. I'm also a bit worried about blight. Last year was the first year we got it. I rotated the plants to the opposite side of the garden this year, and I hope it stays away.

In the patch above I have cauliflower, cabbage,  and potato plants. The potatoes got a late start, but should be sprouting soon.

Radishes are still abundant and they look so pretty in bunches. The girls tried them, but were not fans. Jake has never liked them so I'm the only one in the house that eats them. If anyone has any good suggestions for radishes, besides just eating them or putting them in salads, I'd love to hear. They are fun to grow, and I know the girls like picking them, even if they don't eat them. I like having their little garden so we can all experiment with veggies we haven't grown before, and the girls can try new things. I already thinking about what we should try there next year. If anything, it gives them a pretty place to sit on a stump and stare at the greenery.

What's growing in your garden? If you do garden posts, please share your link! I love to see what's going in other people's gardens.

My notes: 
-next year do row covers and start seedling earlier... start tomato seedlings 8 weeks before planting date
-research egg plants, broccoli and cabbages this week

Here's my previous garden posts from this year:
May 29th
May 11th

And here's last years posts:
May 28th
June 20th 
June 26th
July 16th
July 17th
July 26th
August 15th
August 20th
September 11th
September 26th
October 10th