Our 2009 garden plot on rented farmland

Here is our garden plot back in April 2009 when we first began tilling:

And here it is as of June 10.















There is another plot to the right of this one about 1/3 the size, but I wanted to show you the same area as April. What a different 2 months and a lot of work makes!

The onions:

Some of the potatoes:

Peas:

Golden beets:

I harvested the first pea pods on June 10!



Below is the farm plot in late August




I haven't posted any pictures of the vegetable garden in months! Sorry about that. I usually forget to take the camera to the farm, and if I do remember it I'm usually too overwhelmed with work to pause and take pictures. Let's fix that problem!

Here are some pictures of the garden in late August. Yes, the weeds have overtaken us. I am so overwhelmed out there, trying to harvest, that the weeding has taken second place. Some weeks, like last week, I'm lucky to get out to the farm twice. The boys starting school took priority.

The zucchini & pattypan squash patch. There are, I believe, at least 20 plants.

The weeds at the left of the picture are actually the beginning of the pasture. There are organic, pastured cows on this farm. Beautiful white cows, a rare French breed that starts with a "ch", but please don't ask me for the whole name or my brain will explode! The farmers grow hay, which is harvested a few times during the summer and baled for winter use.

So those weeds are not something I bother with. There. I've excused myself from that weed patch.

Now this one I will have problems excusing myself from. There are melons and winter squash in here, somewhere, amongst the weeds.


As I mentioned, for the past few weeks all of my energy is devoted to harvesting (and planting, but I'll get to that...). I don't do much weeding these days. When my husband comes out, he likes to weed. However.... he spends his whole time weeding & tilling the same spot. Over and over, each time he comes out with me. I don't know if he is just overwhelmed, and wants to stay in his comfort zone...? He weeds and tills the peppers. Every time. Over and over. Yes!... the pepper patch looks good as a result... Oh well, I am happy for any help!!

Here are those beautiful, weed-free peppers. Sweet yellow & red bell, napoleon sweet (non bell), jalapeno, hot banana, sweet chocolate (bell), alma paprika (spicy now but sweetens as it ripens):


Next is the tomato area. This area starts with the small, bush plants (well weeded - they are next to the pepper patch, lol) in the forefront and extends all the way back to the corn at the top of the picture. 14 heirloom tomato varieties, 157 plants. I'm actually not too overwhelmed with tomatoes. It's been so rainy this year, most of them are so cracked and rotting they end up straight in the compost. Others are being bitten. At first I thought it was an animal, but I am now suspecting the tiny slugs I am occasionally finding. For every good tomato I find, there is at least one tomato that it bad. Plus, as this has been the coolest summer on record, many of the varieties simply aren't ripe yet.


Next is the corn. 1st row is sweet corn, back row is an ornamental green corn grown mainly for holding the pole lima beans growing up them. At the back of the picture is a very tall, ornamental broom corn.


Lastly is the fall garden. This will look like a big empty spot, which it is. This is where our potatoes and onions grew. They've all been harvested. We tilled in the area and I planted seeds for fall. Kale, spinach, peas, chard, beets, turnips, rutabaga, lettuce. And in October I hope to plant lots of garlic here as well (in our climate garlic is fall planted, overwintered with a heavy mulch for protection, and harvested the following summer).



That's it for me. How is your garden growing?

Here are some of my other farm-related blog posts:

Farmboys

Vegetable plants are overtaking my house

I can smell summer



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