summer

What’s Happening in Regina’s Garden in July: It’s Getting Wild Over Here!

published Jul 30, 2014
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(Image credit: Regina Yunghans)

When I looked back at May’s garden from June, I was taken by how our little raised bed had grown so full. Now, looking back at June from July, I’m taken by how that growth has become so unruly!

(Image credit: Regina Yunghans)

The zucchini spills out over the side of the bed, which is really a welcome growth, as it makes room in the bed for new plantings. We simply harvest the squash from the gravel bed next to the garden.

The tomatoes have grown to the tops of their stakes, producing well over 100 fruits on four plants. We have kept the plants pruned back to a single vine and are just now seeing some ripening, with a handful of tomatoes being harvested at this point.

In June, I said goodbye to the lemon squash plant. It was only a couple of inches tall after much time in a large container near the garden. As a last-ditch effort, however, I pulled it up and stuck it in the ground in the garden bed (where we grew romaine earlier in the season). Now, it has flourished and is producing beautiful, yellow, lemon-shaped squash. This is just an example of one of the unplanned surprises of keeping a garden.

Since we’re pruning all of the suckers off of the tomato plants, I have taken two of them and rooted them in pots. Hopefully, as some space opens up in the garden (peas, for instance, are brown and not producing anymore), I can transfer these and have a couple more tomato plants producing into September. We’d love to accomplish this, as tomatoes are our main reason for planting a garden.

Lastly, the basil is doing well in two small containers near the garden. I opted to keep them out of the main bed in order to get the most sunlight possible for them. Since this is my maiden year, the containers have allowed me to experiment with location as I get to know the sun/shade patterns of the yard. When I harvest, I cut back to only two leaves per plant, which results in bushier plants than if I just pinched leaves.

How are your gardens doing? Any unruliness out there?