Location:
Last year I took over some land at the back of my rental property that I call "railroad land". Truth be said, I am not sure who the land belongs to, but it it acres of wild land that serves at a buffer between the railroad and the highway. If you are interested on how this garden got started here is one of my earlier posts. Check out last years garden
Squash:
What is new this year is that I am letting the squash climb. I am using several large tomato
cages that I have attached with twine to the fence to secure them. As you can see, I also have chicken wire on the back of this fence. Usually I let my squash sprawl on the ground and I must say that I love letting them climb way better. They seem more controlled and definitely take up less space.
Rhubarb and Bush Beans:
The beans are excellent this year. Probably due to our unusually hot weather. It had been in the mid 90's for the past two weeks. It seems to be the only vegetable I have harvested this summer that is producing normal yields. Up to this point my harvest had looked great, but did not produced the massive quantities I am used to. I am positive it is due to the hot weather that started in spring. It feels and looks like the last week of August here and the fourth of July just passed.
New drawers:
The old ones were great, but did not survive the winter rains. I spotted these in the trash early this spring. They are drawers from an office file and seem to be a little more sturdy that the ones I had last year. If you want to try using drawers as mini beds, I suggest that you seal them before putting them out. I am trying to think how to have these drawers survive another growing season. So far my thoughts are to store them, or cover the whole area with a thick sheet of plastic. Any suggestions?
Tomatoes:
They are growing quite well due to the heat, and have just started to bear fruit. I have been continuing to use epsom salts as fertilizer and it seems to be working! This year I am letting them do their own thing. No trimming of the branches, etc. They seem to be dong just fine.
More Squash:
I love the silver leaves of this variety. Caroline is testing it in her garden too. I will need to check with her what the variety is called. I do remember that it is a winter squash. as I am not crazy about summer squash myself. The plant is almost pretty enough to include in a regular flower border.
