An exuburant front vegetable garden

The filet pole beans are coming in now, as are the climbing squash (winter squash varieties). 

And, I've been harvesting tomatoes and early peppers for weeks now.  There are paste tomatoes, slicing tomatoes and cherry tomatoes -- hard to beat that, along with the ancho and romano peppers.

front raised beds

It's remarkable how healthy everything is looking -- no bean beetles (knock on wood), no powdery mildew on the squash leaves, no squash bugs or squash vine borers

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Looking forward to spring vegetables!

I'm doing a program this weekend about "creating an attractive and sustainable vegetable garden" and it has me thinking hopefully about spring vegetables.

I'm feeling behind on sowing seeds and getting started due to travel and a bad cold, so am ready for thinking positively about lettuce, spinach, beets, arugula, mustards, peas, etc. -- all the spring possibilities that can be totally successful (and delicious) depending on the vagaries of late winter/early spring weather.

I've STILL got offset baby leeks to transplant, but hopefully they'll catch up quickly when I have time and energy to do that.  I managed to get in onion seedlings and transplants this afternoon, but they suffered a bit from a delay in planting (due to my being under the weather), so it'll be interesting to see how they fare.

In the meantime, this view of June raised beds in the mountains last year cheered me up!

Raised beds in June

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Scarlet runner beans and window boxes

The scarlet runner beans have been a standout in the front garden beds - the leaves haven't been bothered by anything and the flowers just keep coming. Bean production isn't high, but that isn't really the point with scarlet runners. They're lovely!

Window boxes

The window box plants continue to look great!

Woody's keeping an eye on what I'm up to!

Posted with Blogsy

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Productive raised beds

mid-June, 2012, WNC

My raised beds in the mountains have been amazing.  Filled with commercial compost, topped up with bags of mushroom compost, and enriched with Espoma organic slow-release fertilizer, they've continued to produce. This spring, it was greens, snow peas, sugar snap peas, and lettuce.  I'm harvesting beets and leeks now, along with greens (uh, you see that Tuscan kale plant in the center of the photograph!)

raised beds in the mountains

 But tomatoes are coming along nicely, along with squash plants and beans.  Soon, there will be a switch in our 'local food' diet.  It'll be welcome, too.

sunset from the front door

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