Thursday, August 16, 2018

Side Garden Update- August

     We will start with a new addition. Sweet potato slips. When we went to get flowers we ended up finding cheap sweet potato slips. No idea if they will actually have time to grow, but one dollar for six slips could not be passed up!

     If you notice we used a little cloth shopping bag. We had ordered a potato planter because it was on sale but weren't sure how long it would take so we just used what we had. This one only has one slip for Little E. I hope it makes at least one or two little potatoes. It is small enough that I might be able to bring it in this winter if not. 

     Then we have our Pappaw Bill tomato plant. It has really taken off! The cage is a large one and it is even taller than the cage. I keep taking off the bad looking leaves so the plant can concentrate on producing tomatoes instead of healing the leaves. It seems to be working as we have several tomatoes on the vine. Little E has been picking them as soon as they turn so we have been eating them quite a bit. 

     Next up we have a small pepper plant. We got him on sale as well. You can just see him by the tomato cage. I don't think it is growing well now so we will probably over winter him. Next to him is a bag with the rest of the potato slips. 

     The bell pepper plant was looking puny so we took off a lot of the lower leaves. Now it has a lot of peppers growing on it! It has been hard to keep Little E from picking them. It will be a happy day when they are big enough to eat.

     We still have the big planter with the overwintered tomato plant. Just when I was ready to take it out and move the purple basil plant it put on a bunch of new growth and tomatoes. It is the little tomato plant that could. 

     The cucumbers are still going. It is about time to try some more neem oil and get rid of the powdery mildew. I had actually planned on pulling it up not long after the squash, but now there are about 15 new cucumbers growing. So I guess taking most the leaves off didn't hurt it in the end. Maybe all those aggressive pruners really are on to something. 

     Then we come to the tomato cages that have some of the cucumber plant intertwined with beans, beans, and beans! Underneath are the new batch of peas. They are coming along nicely so I suppose it is about time to succession sow another batch. We really love peas around here so will probably do several more plantings. 

     Lastly we have the mint in its new home.  We have been picking it, but not enough to keep up. It truly loves its roomier pot! We love to cook with hom sometimes, but mostly use it with other things to spice up our tea or make our own! 

Here is what it looks like all together.

We hope you have enjoyed our side garden tour. We have one more tour coming up this month- the back garden! We'd love to hear about ways your garden has changed over the season, unexpected big producers etc.

Happy gardening everyone!

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