Pruning, planting and summer tomatoes

Recently the garden has been blessed with timely rains, and our crops are responding with rapid growth.

We've been pruning and supporting our lanky tomato vines every week, and today we harvested the first of the regular tomatoes.  Cherry tomatoes have been ripening for a couple of weeks now.  We're trying to control fungus by cutting off lower branches that touch the ground.  It seems every time we come back there are more branches in need of cutting.  Behind the lower branches is where we've discovered ripening tomatoes we couldn't see from other angles. Our efforts are bearing fruit.

The first planting of sweet corn is now higher than our knees, and the second and third plantings are coming along.  The first beans are up, and more will be added once the ground dries a bit.  Cucumbers are growing, okra is just starting to come up.

Peas & lettuce out, cucumbers & beans in

This week brought the end of lettuce for our spring garden.  We harvested the last of the first planting of peas, and took out the plants.  We planted cucumbers and our first planting of green beans.  Next come the second planting of sweet corn and okra, as the last peas go out, probably the end of this week.
Little of our abundance goes to waste. Most of the lettuce and lots of peas went to the local food pantry, along with a large bag of Swiss chard picked this morning. The carrots are coming in, and more beets too.
We're seeing our first challenges from pests.  We lost two tomato plants to a disease that is spread by thrips.
And, we've destroyed Japanese Beetles that attacked the basil, eggplant and tomatoes.
It's all good.

Time for hot weather crops of summer

Summertime is nearly upon us, as our garden crops respond to the changing seasons.  We've been inundated with more lettuce than we can harvest and give away.  Spinach bolted and went out last week. 

Today we harvested the first banana peppers of the season, along with more chard, beets, peas, and of course lettuce.The next week is forecast to be much hotter than it has been with some rain possible.  Still we must water the corn as it has only started coming up and it may not withstand the temperatures near one hundred degrees.

June harvesting and planting

Our garden is beautiful and bountiful these days, as spring gives way to summer.
As the days grow longer and the temperature rises, it is good to go early in the morning to work before the heat builds. This morning was nearly ideal, as the early morning temperature was down into the 50s overnight. So when we got to the garden it was still pleasantly cool.
As spring gives way to summer, we are blessed with an abundance and variety of early produce-- lettuce, beets, peas, and spinach that we have been harvesting already.  Tomatoes, Swiss chard, carrots and herbs are growing.  Tomato supports have been set, and some sweet corn is planted and coming up now.
--Deborah

Spring planting

Spring this year has continued to be cool and wet here in North Carolina. Our earlier planted crops have been growing well.  In between we also weeded and mulched the blueberry patch near the church on a Saturday morning in April when the garden beds were too saturated to work in.

Blueberries starting to form

Finally the weather permitted us to get the tomatoes in this

month.

Tomato plant

Planting Tomatoes

The Food-Faith Connection

The Food-Faith Connection
There is a moral, spiritual implication re: our food choices.  Our garden is the best!  I am so very glad to be affiliated with Koinonia!!!   In your spare time (ha) listen to this podcast.  It underscores the connection between our food and our faith.
-- Jane F.
http://www.seedbed.com/connection-between-food-faith/

Why garden?

Why Garden?

I suspect the answer to that question may be different for each of us.  I grew up in a city and lived in an apartment as a child.  I remember going to visit my aunt and uncle every summer who lived in Michigan. They had a small hobby farm, complete with a big red barn and a haymow, apple trees for climbing and a large organic garden with compost pile.

At the age of seven, I was set down in this space and taught to pull weeds.  It was all so amazing-- tomatoes growing on vines, zucchini squash, carrots and strawberries!  From that came a lifelong love of gardening and growing my own whenever possible.  So now, being retired and living in an apartment, I jumped at the chance to join a community garden. --Deborah G.

So, why do you garden?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.