Summer has arrived and that means gorgeous Oregon grown Strawberries. Mine are just in time, ripening quickly now, requiring daily trips to the patch. This was my yield today.
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| Oregon Strawberries..by Jenni! |
I started with eight 'Everbearing' strawberry plants in 2006. I've used the runners to cover another 20 sq ft of space. The entire patch, which is on a 'terrace' is now full and all the plants are producing. I'd say the whole patch is about 30 sq ft. This year I was able to use home-made compost to cover the patch in the early spring. My strawberry patch is the first place I have ever used home-made compost. Feel's pretty cool.
I grew up in the fertile Willamette Valley and by age 9, started spending my summers picking strawberries and then graduated onto working for a Chinese immigrant 'Mr. Wong' and worked for him all through high school and early college, picking snow pea's and other Asian vegetables. (He sold his vegetables to high end Asian restaurants in Oregon and Washington) I never minded the physical labor of those summers. I miss it actually. I dreamed up a lot of poetry, was quite fit and still managed to earn money for new school clothes :) I've never minded working in the drizzle or rain.
So, I grow my own snow pea's now. Mr. Wong would be proud. Here in box 1 of my vegetable garden we have sugar snap snow pea's, green onions, salad bowl lettuce, butter-crunch lettuce and romaine lettuce.
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| Veggie Box 1 |
Unlike Mr. Wong, I am babying my snow pea's and giving them some support if they wish to use them. They have 'climbed' on in a few spots.
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| bamboo supports for snow pea's |
A few blooms have started so I hope to have snow pea's by late July. Here are the radishes I harvested today. I few got pretty big. I enjoyed the smaller ones I harvest in May, hope these aren't too woody.
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| radishes |
In veggie box 2, I have a healthy looking Beef Steak tomato, blue lake bush beans, baby finger carrots, second sowing spinach, a bush cucumber and zucchini.
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| Veggie Box 2 |
I am trying to add some supports to the bush beans. I have no idea if they need them or not. They have been very slow to start, but I do have some flowers now.
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| Blue Lake Bush Beans |
The zucchini I started indoors. I need to work on my methods as I started three and only one survived the transition outdoors. But, this fella is looking contented now.
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Zucchini
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Veggie Box 3, pictured to the far right contains a Sweet 100 Cherry tomato, that is a bit out of control, peppers, a lemon cucumber, baby bear pumpkin, baby finger carrots and butternut squash.
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| Box three to the far right. |
The squash that I also started indoors has rebounded.
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| Butternut Squash |
The past week sported warmer temps that the summer veggies have responded to. It has been a welcome change. I apologize, all of my photo's are off. I am unfamiliar with taking pictures in the sunshine. No, really. ;)
This year of fully immersing myself into attempting a veggie garden has been such an adventure. I just received my first seed catalog from a wonderful company located in Oregon. Wow, so many neat accessories and ideas for year round gardening. I have quite enjoyed myself as I pursue the catalog.
Best wishes for a relaxing weekend to all of my blogging buddy's ~ I'm off to get some more sturdy supports for that crazy tomato.
Cheers, Jenni
P.S. Mark, Sue..somebody...my potatoes have been hilled 2x and are outgrowing their containers. I see flowers started but have not budded. When are those potatoes done?
Those strawberries look yummy! I tried growing them many years ago when I first started gardening, and never had enough success to be encouraged. Maybe now that I know a little more, I should try again.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks great, especially that tomato.
I really like the looks of those strawberries! And you raised beds look awesome. You're doing a fabulous job, despite the, ahem...less than perfect weather. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! Your strawberries look wonderful! So does your garden. Your earlier post showed some sad looking transplants, but they really rebounded. I planted bush beans also. I made a trellis for them, but they don't seem impressed. Everything looks great. What is the plant with the light green leaves in the pot? That is an excellent combination.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe all those strawberries! Ours haven't done much this year, but I think it's where they are. My squash and zucchini didn't transition too well either, but are loving the warmth we've been getting. Hope you had a sunny day there today.
ReplyDeleteThe tree w/ the pink petunia's is a dwarf burning bush. Great chartreuse green leaves that turn bright red in fall. Yes, some of those transplants looked so poorly...happy to have a couple of them make it!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenni; re the potatoes... If they are producing buds, they are nearly ready. When the flowers open (and there may not be many of those) the tubers will probably have reached a useable size. I prefer to wait until the foliage goes yellow and begins to die down. It depends how (im)patient you are! Waiting another couple of weeks may increase your harvest substantially.
ReplyDeleteRe the French (Bush) beans: they benefit from a short stake or bamboo cane to support them, but they don't need anything to climb up. I would tie the main stem to the stake with some soft string.
Your strawberries are really tantalizing. And your vegetable beds are doing great too.
ReplyDeleteIf your bush beans are our French beans they are fine without support. We never support ours.
ReplyDeleteWe are harvesting our potato bags now and some of them haven't flowered but have huge tops which have started to die back
We planted first earlies at the beginning of April. Have a scratch about in the soil to see what you have got or if you are brave enough tip out one of the pots. That's what we did. As Mark says if the foliage starts to die down - it's done its job and the potatoes are probably ready to harvest.
Mark and Sue..thanks much! I will wait for the foliage to die back as I'd like to have as good of a harvest as possible. Great tip on the beans too! Merci!
ReplyDeleteHurrah! I hope my strawberry patch will be as lovely as yours in a few years. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post and what a great feeling of accomplishment you must have. I'm so glad you can continue the tradition you started when you were a kid, working in the summers.
ReplyDeleteYour kids must be having a blast, watching all this stuff grow!
Your garden looks great, and it is really coming along nicely.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to tell you, I have tried numerous times to fave your blog in Blotanical, but the silly thing isn't working right. I have always had difficulties with it, but now it's gone haywire.
So sorry, and as soon as Stuart fixes it, I will fave you.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams