It’s high time I provided an update on my new garden area. We have just entered a cool and wet spell after being hot and super dry. Meanwhile, the empty areas in the garden have been overwhelmed by grass, which I’ve accepted as a “cover crop”.

As long as the ground has moisture in it, pulling up the grass is super easy because the soil is very loose. As long as I keep the veggie plants mulched, the grass keeps the soil temp down, shades the plants, and outcompetes the weeds. So, whenever I want to plant something new, I just pull up some grass.

I planted two different types of heirloom tomatoes, Cherokee Purple and Blue Beech romas, but they have been struggling with a little too much nitrogen and super hot temperatures (heat indices over 100°F). They’ve grown quite large and set lots of blossoms, but they’ve yet to set serious fruit. Hopefully they will set more fruit during the cool down this week.

The zuchinni, Purple Islander bellpeppers, poblanos, and slicing cucumbers are off to the races and have set serious fruit. They grew fast and jurassic and I’ve been picking every couple of days. We’ve already given away produce to co-workers at the Husband’s work. We’ve been cooking entrees and eating salads with lots of bellpeppers, making sandwiches and salads with lots of cucumbers, and I made fried zuchinni, a personal favorite!

The corn grew unevenly, probably because of inconsistent amounts of nitrogen, but there are two good sections that should give a yield. (Remember, this is my first time growing corn here!) I’ve been working on removing the grass from between the corn rows to ensure that the corn is getting the maximum amount of water. I got worried when I saw tassels first and no silk, but the silk was not far behind!

I’ve also recently planted Thai chili peppers, Japanese eggplant, and purple tomatillos. I sunk some acorn squash seeds in the ewe paddock today. Soon, I am planning to clear an entire row in the garden so I can plant boatloads of collard greens!