July State of the Garden Report: Potted

Next up: potted plants! For reference, here is what they looked like last month. And now for the photos from the beginning of July:

Herbs on the left

I had to move some of the potted plants to a new location because I noticed they were damaging the wood underneath them. Oops!

Herbs on the right

I've learned that dill grows fast and doesn't seem to replenish itself after it is cut.

Also, the cilantro is turning yellow. I am not sure why.

The Earth Boxes have grown by leaps and bounds.

They are flanked by the tomato plants that were formerly on the deck.

Tomatoes and Peppers

Some of the tomato plants are taller than me!

Little globe tomatoes starting out

The first of the cherry tomatoes!

Tiny little baby bell pepper

July State of the Garden Report: In the Ground

Full Garden

We've come a long way, baby! And, we are only at the second month of the State of the Garden Report. Here is a quick link to the June report.

Left side

Right side

Look how big the zucchini plant has gotten! I think we will have a bountiful harvest of zucchini.

Various Greens, Radishes, Carrots and Beets

Peas

Tiny broccoli starting to form

Kale and Collards

Onions

When my mom came to visit on Monday she told me that I need to bend the onions over when they start to flower. Apparently, I need the plant to direct its energy to the bulb, not the flower. Thanks, Mom!

Thinning Harvest

Last night I ate babies from the garden. We dined on baby beets (including the beet greens), baby carnival carrots, baby peas and one of the first tomatoes from our cherry tomato plant. Also included were new potatoes from the farmers market, a fresh herb dressing made from a mix from our potted herb garden and chard from the garden. The only non-local food we ate was some avocado and a few slices of a coop tomato.

We harvested all of these tiny, tiny carrots and beets because the rows needed thinning. The remaining plants now have enough space to grow big and delicious.

I think I have created a pair of pea monsters. I started feeding them the shells from the snap peas and they love them. Now, when I go into the garden and snack on peas, they eagerly wait by the fence for me to toss some shells their way.

Fireworks and Butterflies

Do you think this will grow? My neighbors planted this in my garden over the weekend. I wasn't thrilled that their fireworks were landing a foot from our house. I am glad that the 4th of July only happens once a year. I don't know if I could handle poorly aimed fireworks being launched by drunk neighbors and/or their kids until midnight more than once a year.

Instead of the typical Minnesota 4th of July activities (firework displays, lakes and cabins), my long weekend was filled with to-do list items. Luckily, they weren't the kind of to-do list items that leave me feeling cheated out of my free time. They were all things I had been needing/wanting to do for a while and finally had the time to take care of. I went clothes shopping, spent hours weeding the garden, fertilized the potted plants, washed and blocked some knits (including the newly finished Daybreak Shawl pictured below), helped my mom with some jewelry repair projects, cooked, cleaned, knitted, hung out with Paul and the pets, etc. It wasn't glamorous, but it was a great weekend.

When I was outside working on a bunch of gardening projects, this very friendly Monarch paid a visit to the flowers in my rain garden.

Since we are now in the month of July, I am due for another State of the Garden Report. I'll be posting those updates this week.

Homemade Pesto

Our Earth Box full of basil plants is bursting at the seams. I had always planned to make pesto with it, but I didn't know I would be starting this early! I made the first batch over the weekend. This one is a traditional pine nut pesto. I made enough to yield one jar for the freezer and one jar for immediate use. I followed this recipe and found it to be simple, fresh and delicious.

There is still plenty more basil to use, so I will soon be making a version with walnuts and a version that includes sundried tomatoes.

It is a good thing we finally got our basement chest freezer. With all of this preserving, we will be filling it up in a hurry.