Straw Bale Garden June 2020 Update

                               

My lovey new arches!

I suppose you can already tell that I could not decide which picture to use, hm? lol The garden is off and growing well for the 2020 season. As you can see, we have made some changes. :) In previous years, we have trellised just the back strip of bales. I have long wished to add a panel up the right side. We finally did! Also, Hubs and Shelly installed two lovely arches! Those, like the trellis sets, are simply made using 't' posts and 16' cattle panels. 

Peppers, Tomatoes, Carrots (seeds)

While the garden may look larger bc of the layout, this is actually only our second-largest number of bales. In 2017 or 2018, we had 22 bales. This year, we only have 16. I did not choose to make double rows down the right and across the back. However, you can see that our yard is framed quite nicely with them. :) 

Just out of sight to the right of the (left) picture is a final bale, loaded with basil, mint, cilantro, and parsley herbs. 

Herbs

Here it is! You can see that they are growing well and happily. They also have survived the terrible winds we've had of late, which is a blessing. My entire back yard is a wind tunnel - no joke. 

The bale immediately behind the bench is loaded with pepper plants. There is a small zucchini to the left of it and also a wee tomato plant. 

Chef's Choice Pink Tomato

  

The tomato plant directly beside my zucchini is my Little Birdy Rosey Finch. She is the smallest of our tomato plants and came from my favorite vendor at the local farmer's market. We grew one of this variety from him last year, too. We were so impressed by the amount of fruit and the delicate pink tomatoes. And the flavor! Mmmmm... lip-smackin' good! This year, we have also chosen one of his Wapsipinicon Peach tomato and Chef's Choice Pink tomato plants. He also provided us with some cucumbers and the Apple Mint. I have never grown mint before. I can't wait to see how many ways we can use it!

Green Beans/Bush Beans

Our bush beans (green beans) have really taken off lately. The bugs seem to like the leaves, so we have to watch closely. Still, they are already flowering! My hope is that they will fully take up half an arch this summer as they continue to grow. Given the weird and spotted-with-harsh-temps weather we had this spring, I am impressed that our plants and bales are doing alright.

Squash and Watermelon

The inside of that first arch is growing faster than other places. Butternut squash is wont to do that. Like all squash and vining plants, it loves to spread. Right now, Shelly is in the middle of training the plants upward on the trellis. There is also a small watermelon plant growing closest to us on the right side of this bale. I think it is a Sugar Baby Watermelon, but it is possible that it is a larger variety from four or five years ago. One took, and one did not. 

Cantaloupe

The next bale is 100% Shelly's! This girl loooooves cantaloupe! We had trouble getting them to grow the past two years, so she was not messing around this year! She literally planted the single start we had ready under the grow lights, and then sprinkled an entire packet of seeds into the bale! LOL As you can tell, they took off! It is about time to thin these things out, I think! ;)

Cucamelon

I nearly forgot to mention one of our new-comers! This little guy is a Cucamelon plant! We tried to grow these a couple of years ago, but they refused to germinate. Happily, this year has been more successful on that front!

Cucamelon are a type of gherkin, so they have more of that flavor to them. However, they are very small and round. In fact, if you google images, you can see that several would fit in your hand. The best part? They are the same color and pattern as watermelons! Ha! 

Cucumbers

The fourth bale in the set that makes up the two arches contains nothing but cucumber plants. These are a mix of Slicing and Pickling cucumbers. Honestly, they will probably all be eaten raw. I am going to try my hand at canning this year, but I have no inclination whatsoever to try to can pickles. I love pickles, but a bad experience as a kid has these on the 'no way' list. I'll get my pickles from the store, as God intended, thank you very much. lol

Paste Tomato Plants

The entire back row of our garden is filled end-to-end with tomatoes. No surprise there, right? lol As I stated, I am going to *try* canning this year. With that in mind, most of these are paste tomatoes: Rio Grande and Roma, specifically. Due to an unfortunate incident where Little Pie dropped the seedlings, we do not know which plant is which! lol Today, we also laid in some Yellow Pear and Red Cherry tomato seeds. We shall see if those grow soon enough. :)

More Tomatoes :)

I'll be honest, my tomatoes suffered again this year in the house under the grow light. I am convinced that the bulb is old, and needs replacing. You can see the tiny size. These are my Pink Brandywine tomato plants and my Hillbilly Tomato plants. It is possible that I also have some Pineapple Heirloom in here somewhere. One or two seedlings that My saved were simply labeled 'mystery'. That said, our official number of tomato varieties is between seven and ten. I know I like to have far more than that, but this simply wasn't our year. I still cannot find the seeds I propagated myself the past four years, for example. 

Squash, Strawberries, Lettuce Seeds

Let's talk buckets and pots! I have strawberries growing in the back bucket. My little Pie has just today added some lettuce seeds. It should have been on the left, but you can see that volunteer squash showed up after we dumped our non-germinated starter pods into it. We also have seeds started for Purple Dragon Carrots elsewhere. The outside of the carrot is a brilliant purple, while the inside is the traditional orange. 

Here we have yet another bucket that was intended for something else. In it, you see the green pepper plants which had previously refused to germinate. lol Even so, we are pushing our luck and have today planted radish seeds. Fire and Ice Radishes and Watermelon Radishes, respectively. The first is standard red with white bottoms. The Watermelon Radishes' outer skin is white, while the inside is a vibrant fuschia. I have already had the pleasure of trying these, and they are magnificent! The heat ratio is absolutely perfect, too!

Large Hot Pink Rose

Would you like to see some flowers? lol I have hot pink roses growing by my back patio. These roses are huge and vibrant! They are hands-down my favorites to look at! Hubs got me this plant a year ago this month. They were my belated Mother's Day roses. I will enjoy them now for many years. <3

Red Roses

There are also medium-sized red roses, slightly darker than pictured here. The roses and the bushes out front are quite wild right now, as there hasn't been time to trim them. I know it is 'messy', but I kind of find something deeply thrilling about wild bushes and flowers. ;)

Lilacs

My lilacs are finished blooming for the year. It is such a pity that this plant doesn't blossom year-round. They truly are the loveliest, the friendliest, and the most fragrant flower on the planet (in my opinion). I cherish them above all others. I have candles in the house, but they do not... well, "hold a candle" to the real thing. ;)

My Dad's White Roses

One last note about my flowers. These little white roses are from my so-very-precious Dad, rest his soul. When he gave them to me, the plant was *so* very tiny! Over the years, it has continued to grow. It is now tall enough that it can be seen over the window sill. I am so grateful for that!

I miss my dad so achingly. The fact that these flowers continue to grow and bloom all summer long is a tremendous comfort to me. Back when he got them, white roses were still my absolute favorites. In fact, they are the color I used for my wedding. You might know, my preacher dad actually performed my wedding ceremony. <3 My only sadness is that they turn brown and fade so quickly. If you know why, please let me know so I can help it. :)

Well, I think that about wraps it up! Our 2020 garden has fewer bales, and yet it *does* manage to look like the largest garden we have put out. I do not have over 20 varieties of tomatoes like in 2018, but I do have enough to try out canning, enjoy old favorites, and try a couple of new flavors. I will end with a list of what we are growing/seeding so far:

Tomatoes
Pink Brandywine
Roma
Rio Grande
Pineapple Heirloom
Yellow Pear
Red Cherry
Hillbilly Potato Leaf

Wapsipinicon Peach
Little Birdy Rosey Finch
Beefsteak (?)

Melons and Squash

Big Max Pumpkin
Sugar Baby Watermelon
Butternut Squash
Spaghetti Squash (just seeds so far)
Cucamelon

Slicing Cucumbers
Pickling Cucumbers
Tigger Melon (will be reseeding)
Hale's Best Jumbo Cantaloupe
Black Beauty Zucchini

Veggies

Butter Crunch Lettuce
Early Golden Acre Cabbage
Purple Dragon Carrots
Fire and Ice Radish
Watermelon Radish
Green (bush) Beans
Sugar Snap Peas (we keep trying... so far, only 1 plant)

Herbs

Apple Mint
Cilantro
Basil
Parsley
Chives

Fruit

Raspberries
Strawberries

There you have it! :) A small backyard in a suburb of a big city can still manage to be filled to the brim with good things. Fresh produce is vital to life! I highly recommend gardening to anyone and everyone. It doesn't take a green thumb to encourage life, I promise! ;) Pop some seeds in a conditioned bale, set the water twice a day, and see what happens!