I had every intention of staying on top of posting about our edible gardening throughout the spring and summer seasons. As usual, life gets in the way. At any rate, I wanted to provide a quick ‘what’s in our veggie beds’ as we near the end of summer:
We have a total of 5 raised beds in our back yard:
- 1 long bed
- 4 smaller beds
Here is glimpse of 3 from back in April:
In the foreground, is our long bed with lettuce, bright lights kale, and shallots. In the background my wife is getting one of the smaller beds ready for some tomatoes. The smaller bed on the left had some brussels sprouts–which we have NEVER had any success with–and more kale. The 2 other beds were planted with strawberries, kale, and chard (but also ended up with sunflower and tomato volunteers–the result of poorly cooked compost).
For those wondering, we are in Zone 9b and get our fair share of smoking hot days, which our tomatoes love! Here is a quick shot of a few tomato plant that we planted this season:
So far I would rate our summer season a C+, and here’s why:
- We did not plan ahead of time and consciously decide what to plant and where (instead we bought whatever looked interesting at the DVC plant sale & planted it where there was space)
- We have been distracted by the various front yard projects and have not been doing much maintenance or pest control
As we hit the heart of tomato season, the garden is producing, but not as well as last year. Next year, we will be better prepared =) Hopefully I’ll be able to stay on top of this california garden blog and will make it a point to post more frequently!
