In the Garden // Garden Tour

 We've been having unseasonably cool grey weather through late May and early June.

 Today is no exception, the sky is heavily overcast which makes it ideal for a garden photo shoot. 

Things are moving rather slowly in the garden. The progress is subtle, and to an outside observer it wouldn't seem there is much to get excited about. But to me, the one who has raised all but a few plants from seed, these changes are worth writing home about. 

...or at least writing to you about :)

Plus, I haven't given you a proper garden tour this year, so grab your gumboots and come take a walk with me around the garden...

Early Vine Tomato 

{ Early Cascade from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown indoors march 7 ~

Yellow Bush Tomato 

{ Gold Nugget / seeds from last years crop }

~ sown indoors march 7 ~

 I've pulled the strawberries from the ground and potted them up to get away from the slugs.

 Miniature Romaine Lettuce

{ Little Gem from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown outdoors april 19 ~

 Radishes 

{ Vibrant Seeds from Seedy Saturday 2011 }

~ sown outdoors march 25 ~

 Perennial Arugula

{ West Coast Market Blend / Mescluns from West Coast Seeds Spring 2011 }

~ sown outdoors march 25 ~

 Corn Salad

{ Mache from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown outdoors march 25 ~

 Mizuna

{ West Coast Seeds }

~ sown outdoors april 15 ~

 Kale

{ Rainbow Lacinato from West Coast Seeds Spring 2011 }

~ sown outdoors april 15 ~

 Leeks

{ Bandit from West Coast Seeds Spring 2011 }

~ sown indoors march 7 ~

 The best Mother's Day gift ever. 

Snow Peas

{ Oregon Sugar Pod from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown indoors march 7 ~

 Heirloom Carrots 

{ Little Fingers from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown outdoors april 15 ~

 Cape Gooseberries

{ Aunt Molly's from West Coast Seeds }

~ sown indoors march 7 ~

 Cilantro

{ purchased plant from Capital Iron }

~ transplanted may 6 ~

 I had no idea I liked figs. There are 4 fig trees on the property and last year I lived on roasted fig salads with balsamic vinaigrette.

The miniature yellow plums always surprise me because they do such a good job of blending in with their surroundings until they are falling off the trees with over ripeness.

. . .

Well, I took some of your great advice and turned the soil in the veggie plot before planting it so that the slugs couldn't get too comfortable. I'm not doing straw pathways or brick borders this year for the same reason. I've also been applying coffee grounds and crushed egg shells to the soil around plants that are particularly tasty to the slugs. All of this seems to be working quite well. I still catch slugs on some of the plants or find the damage to leaves the next morning but it's minimal which makes me very happy. 

Because this is year two in this garden I was far more organized and had my seed order in long before I needed to start sowing. I even had seeds left over from last year. I also collected seeds from my favorite tomato varieties last season which has been really rewarding. 

Three of my tomato varieties have already set fruit which I am really excited about. I didn't take very good notes last year but it feels like they are earlier which is great news. I've been taking very detailed notes on all 13 varieties of tomato so that I can really narrow down my faves and get the earliest and best yields. They are my favorite thing to grow and by far the most rewarding.

Do you have a garden? How's it growing?

...also, I'm really enjoying the archives of my In the Garden posts. It has been really useful to have a photo journal of my vegetable gardens over the years. I've decided to organize all of these posts for easier reference on their own page. So if you'd like to browse my gardening posts from the past, check out the new In the Garden tab at the top of the page.