June 29, 2017

At this time last year, my basil was huge, okra was very large, volunteer pumpkins were taking over, and cucumbers were vining halfway up the trellis. My “Early Girl” tomatoes were already red and ready to pick, and I had several grape “Sugary” tomatoes ready to pick.

This year is a completely different story. After a very rainy May, we continued to have above average precipitation for June as well. I’m not sure if this is the problem or what, but this seems to be a very slow season for everything I’ve planted, and many things are just looking like they will never thrive.

A Few Quick Notes

Basil: puny in the new shadier beds (and being eaten by a rabbit I believe); added two large plants to beds 1 and 2 which are doing much better.

Zucchini: harvested exactly 1 zucchini squash; plants look like they are giving up.

Okra: I’ve lost 2.5 out of 4 okra plants; #3 looks like it could keel over any day now, and the only one to grow is probably going to make it, but is taking an eternity.

Tomatoes: Besides my 1 “Roma,” I planted only “Goliath” tomatoes which are 65-85 days until maturity. Due to their new location with less sunshine, I was expecting maturity closer to the 85th day. They are “indeterminate” vines which have been described as “vigorous.” See the pictures. Vigorous and out of control is more like it. I had to add even more rope to my system of support, and have been pruning low hanging offshoots to encourage growth that gets more sun. Have tons of fruit, nothing yet ready to pick. That final tomato plant volunteer that I thought was a “Sugary” grape from last year is also likely another Goliath. It is huge and fruiting very slowly.

Cantaloupe: Seems to be thriving all of a sudden in bed 1; would like to build a trellis to support and get it off the ground. Several budding fruit.

Potatoes: volunteers from compost pile, have harvested a few small “new potatoes” and put the rest back to continue to grow.

Cucumber: harvested 1; at least 8 large and perfectly round fruit have seemed to cease growth altogether. Vines not growing quite as quickly nor as tall as last year.

Mint: doing just fine.

Herbs: not thriving but not dying; harvesting as needed and all are still alive.

North Carolina Raised Beds and Container Gardens
basil, milkweed, and potatoes in raised bed
Front to back: basil, milkweed, potatoes.
okra grown in raised bed
Scrawny Okra in Raised Bed
Cantaloupe growing out of raised bed
Cascading Cantaloupe
cucumber growing on trellis
Cucumber Growing On Trellis
cucumber growing on trellis
Cucumber Growing On Trellis
Tomatoes in raised bed
Tomatoes in Raised Bed
Tomatoes on support string system
Goliath Tomatoes On String Support System
Roma and goliath tomatoes, mint, and basil in raised bed
Raised Bed Roma Tomatoes, Volunteer (Goliath?) Tomatoes, Mint, Basil
Zucchini, pumpkins, cantaloupe in container garden
Container Garden: Zucchini, Volunteer Pumpkins, Cantaloupe
Pumpkins growing out of compost pile
Compost Pile Volunteer Pumpkins
White pumpkins growing in compost pile
Volunteer White Pumpkin Growing in Compost Pile
Plans and Ideas
  • Build trellis for cantaloupe.
  • Direct pumpkins away from blueberries.
  • A-frame trellis for compost pile?

Published by claire

I realize I lack tact. I realize I often speak/type and inadvertently hurt feelings as a result. But I strongly maintain that if the majority of humanity would simply succumb to saying what they mean without worry of how it sounds, sensitivity rates would drop, globally, and perhaps world peace would be at hand.

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