Garden progress

Planting is mostly done and weeds are under control. We've been working hard on our garden but enjoying every minute. 

The pole beans are reaching for the sky and trellises are going in this weekend. These are Purple Podded Pole beans. I am trialing these because I thought it might be easier to pick beans that don't blend into the color of the leaves.

As usual, I have a pretty poor pea crop. I never seem to get them in early enough, sprouting was poor, and they succumb to powdery mildew every year. I saw a couple of plants going south this week so took raw milk mixed with water (33/66) and sprayed it on all of them. The enzymes are supposed to help the plants fight off the mildew. Last year I tried a baking soda mix with limited success. This year I also selected a variety (Kelvedon Wonder) that is supposed to be mildew resistant. We'll see how it goes. I sprayed the beans and squashes also since they would be vulnerable if the mildew continues to spread.

The peppers and tomatoes are growing well. The larger tomatoes to the rear in this photo are "Black Beauty". I have been astonished at how well they are growing compared to all the other tomato starts I did this year. They were expensive and only 15 seeds to the pack, but wow, have they been terrific so far. I am excited to see how well they produce.

Here are the potatoes you saw us planting a few weeks ago. They were in trenches and have now grown so much they have been  hilled into, well, hills. They look incredibly healthy and strong. These are Kennebec.

I'm growing enough yellow onions to hold us for the year, I hope. Two 45 foot rows. This is my first time growing onions for storage. Every year we try to add at least one more food source to our little farm. This gardening stuff is fun!