What’s Growing in your garden?

As summer progresses, I am delighted to see things growing in my garden. What started as a seed, or seedling, is becoming something that will undoubtedly become a gastronomical delight. This year, I planted some plants that I have never grown before! What are you growing this year that is new or different from last year?

In my earlier post on gardening, I mentioned that I relocated some raised beds. This seems to be paying dividends! The soil is not drying out as quickly and the plants all seem to be doing fairly well… with the exception of my pepper plants. (Other gardeners in the area have stated that they have had problems growing peppers this year too.) I will have to do some research to see what the cause might be…

I am really excited to have corn this year! I have tried to grow corn in the past with little results. In talking with other gardeners, I learned that corn loves company. The minimum patch of sweet corn that can be successfully grown is 3’x 5′. This seems to take up a ton of my gardening space… but I like sweet corn so I planted a 3′ x 8′ patch. I am happy to report that most of the corn plants have developing ears. Has anyone else had problems growing corn in the past?

I planted some onions this year and have been very pleased with how well they are coming along. My only regret with the onions is that I didn’t plant more of them!

The beets I planted apparently didn’t germinate very well. Of 24 seeds planted, I have 4 plants. That is a pretty small crop and it is frustrating to not have anything growing in that space. Maybe next year, I will do some germination tests and focus on growing “starts” and then transplanting them. This will better ensure that I maximize my garden space and not have “holes” in my garden.

I am enjoying working in my gardens and look forward to harvesting some fresh vegetables soon. From the looks of things, I will also be doing some canning as my tomato plants have quite a few tomatoes on them!