Vacation garden explosion

Gardeners know what happens when you aren't there watching your garden on a day-to-day basis.  You do everything you can possibly catch up on before vacation in hopes that you will return to a garden plot that just needs a little tweaking when you return.  Gardeners are a delusional bunch of happy souls.
I left my plot in reasonable shape as I had a trusted caretaker to watch over the water duty while I was gone.  My garden was treated to several days of 80 degree plus weather in my absence.  When you add water to plants and add heat, they grow exponentially.  Weeds do the same.  

I soaked and planted the rest of my bean seeds before I left to make up for the miserable showing on the first sowing.  Mid-July is not a usual time for sowing, but you have to improvise when the situation dictates.  I weeded the areas around the new rows to allow as much water and light to encourage my new seeds.  I did not have enough time to do the whole area.  This is the one spot in my garden that had not been covered over with weed barrier and it shows.  I should be down on my hands and knees right now, but the weeds will wait while I enjoy my Saturday morning coffee.  I need to have a day where I don't dive into work the moment I open my door.  I had a sister that asked me once what do I do so my garden is so clear of weeds.  I told her that I weed them.  She thought I was guarding some trade secret, a chemical miracle, that would make her life easier.  I was finally able to convince her that all the large pots stationed in corners of my yard were indeed for quick weed disposal when I pull during my garden walks and not a Frisbee golf course for the athletically challenged.  This year is the first time I ever purchased a product called Preen.  It does cut down on the germination of new weed seeds.  It does not stop rooted or rhizome weeds from making their way back to the surface though.  You also cannot use it on gardens where you are trying to germinate seeds as it will effect those the same as weeds.

 The good thing about garden explosions is the vegetables and fruits that start to produce in tremendous force in your absence.  During the young growth period, most of use wander through the rows eagerly anticipating the first fruits of the season.  When you take a vacation during this initial period, you miss the first fruits as the trickle in.  After unpacking the trailer, I took my garden walk without a bucket or basket.  Pretty soon I was balancing too many cucumbers and squash and had to head back up for a vessel to hold it all.  The heat has continued through the week after vacation.  I take a bucket with me every time now.

My biggest surprise of the garden explosion was the recovery and growth of my cruciferous crops.  The cabbage had suffered greatly from spending too much time in the cell packs and not enough time in the garden.  They were stunted and leggy along with all the other cole crops I started in the greenhouse.  I almost didn't put them in thinking they were too far gone for any recovery.  I was proven wrong.  This was one of those garden hope moments that came through with big results.  I just need to keep a careful eye on them for cabbage moths and others that would love to do great harm to these babies.  The kohlrabi is even putting on some girth after the move to the soil.  
I better finish up my coffee and get a start on the weeds.  I am glad for the quiet morning moments when I get to sit and enjoy the garden.  The birds have encouraged me to get up and get something done.  Here are a few more photos from the garden explosion.

Zucchini 8 Ball

Zucchini and pumpkins co-mingling

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Basil and peppers

Lancelot leeks

Dinosaur kale, salsify and parsnips

Summer weather has been good for growth

Bed #1 on 6-16

Bed # 1 on 6-19

Bed # 2 on 6-16

Bed #2 on 6-19

Bed # 3 on 6-16

Bed #3 on 6-19

Bed #4 on 6-16

Bed #4 on 6-19

If you have been following the weather in the Midwest you are probably aware that we have been hot and dry.  I have photos from the vegetable gardens taken 3 days apart.  I have been watering to supplement the lack of rain.  Look what 3 days of heat can do for growth!
The peas that went in before Easter are in full production and even starting to lose their vigor with the heat.  I expect that I will be composting the vines within the week.  I have bush bean on their west edge and peppers and kale on the east edge, so this will provide the growing space those crops need.  This is the one vegetable plot I ran soaker hose through so I can irrigate without overhead sprinkling as needed.

Clockwise from left: shelling peas, Oriental peas, lettuce, garlic, and green onions at bottom.

 I pulled my garlic this last week also.  You can see it laying on the right side of this photo.  The tops had browned out which indicates they are done growing.  I had no idea what kind of garlic I put in as I picked up the bulbs at the farmer's market last summer and used what I had on hand.  It is the first time I had soft neck garlic in the bed so I was able to braid it for drying.  Hard neck garlic has too stiff of stems for this.  I started with three plants and just kept adding to the bunch to braid them into this bunch.

There have been several things ready for harvest.  We had fresh green onions on the vegetable tray for our parties.  The peas have provided my coworkers with healthier eats from my desk than a candy dish.  They appreciate the effort, so it is fun to share with them.  All the plants are in the ground now.  I held off on the tomatoes until after the graduation party was done so they would not risk damage from guests accidentally stepping into the bed.  I ran a soaker hose through this area as well and mulched with a bargain bin brown paper mulch that I found at the hardware store.  I'll let you know how well that works when the season is done.

Soaker hose around tomato 

brown paper and cocoa beans for mulch

I was so pleased with the tomato harvest last year that I put them back by the driveway again this year.  The sun and heat are fantastic in this area as well as the water supply so close for long, slow soaking.  Tomatoes do not grow well under black walnuts which has limited their growth in the backyard.  My neighbor has a beautiful tree and I would never  begrudge her the shade so I can have happy tomatoes.  The peppers do not seem to be affected even though they are in the same family.  I am happy to work around this and enjoy her shade on our backyard visits.  Good neighbors are worth working around small inconveniences that jugulans can present.  
It is good to sit down and get some journal entries done again.  It has been helpful to me to look back at some of the entries from last year to know what work and when I was planting things.  Maybe now that we are done with all our parties and planning, gardening will become part of the pleasures of life again.