Veggies Are Coming Up—Can’t Wait for Harvest!

Seattle’s growing season starts earlier than Syracuse, NY (where I grew up), and later than San Antonio, TX (where I lived for 15 years). Our growing season is relatively short, but our summer days are long. With a bit of effort, we’ll be eating fresh from the garden well into September!

We start most of our own seedlings or direct sow seed—expect for tomato plants (our season is so short it’s best to begin with larger plants). Our worm bins provide rich, organic compost, and we use only organic fertilizers and never any chemical pesticides or herbicides.

Since I need to spend my time out nurturing our emerging crops, I’ll leave you with this photo gallery today:

Baby Sweet William apples are beginning to form. We seem to have less than last year. Sadly, I think it was too cold for our pollinators at the proper time.

Baby apples on the tree.

My hubby got 99 baby basil plants in the ground this weekend. I’ll be mass-producing pesto come August to last us all year long. Some will end up in holiday gift baskets too.

BabyBasil

This pretty ceramic slug trap helps protect my baby lettuce from annihilation by the slimy critters.

lettuce starts with a slug trap

Direct-seeded cilantro will grow well until the summer heat takes its toll.

cilantro seedlings

Native Pacific Huckleberries attract a variety of bees, and feed the birds in the Fall.

native huckleberry

This kale plant overwintered. I’ll be able to harvest it while waiting for our direct-seeded ones to grow.

overwintered kale

We’ll be harvesting strawberries next week—if we can get to them before the squirrels do!

Strawberries1

Nine tomato plants went in this weekend. There’s three varieties—all for making sauce!

Tomatoes1

 

We started placing plastic creatures in our garden when my daughter was a toddler. She’s in college now, but they still add a bit of whimsy to the garden.

An apatosaurus seems ready to chow down on our potato plants.

Potatoes

This snow leopard hopes to catch a slug among the spinach plants.

Spinach

Nothing beats a Walla Walla onion from Walla Walla, Washington, guarded by a fierce tiger!

WallaWallas

What’s growing in your garden? Comment here and let me know!