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It’s early summer and the first vegetable crops are ready to harvest. How fun! See what crops are ready for picking and enjoy wonderful harvest tips andtricks.
Fortunately, we have an expert gardening editor—Ben—to show us what’s really happening in a real garden!Let’s open the garden gate and take a look at what has worked so far this growing season—and what hasn’t. Plus, Ben will share some of his gardeningsecrets.
In the GardenBeds
The lettuce bed is now doing nicely and the Romaine lettuce is ready to harvest. As you harvest and gaps appear, re-sow lettuce seeds to keep the harvestcoming.
- In the same lettuce bed are clusters of salad onions that were started earlier in the spring in plug trays; they’re coming along beautifully. Some of the bigger ones can be carefully pickedand the rest can continuegrowing.
- Behind the lettuce are beets which were direct-sown. A couple can be pulled to enjoy today to add color to asalad!
- Tip: Plant pretty alyssum amidst the lettuce rows; the flowers attract bees and beneficial bugs to deterpests.
The carrot bed is starting its harvest.Some carrots are ready to be pulled. One pest to keep an eye out for is the carrot fly. To avoid them, cover the plants with a row cover. Or, plant something now that will help to mask the scent of the carrots, such as chives. This perennial herb also makes a really attractive edging along here once they’ve established, and bees love theirflowers!
The last of the pea pods are ready to be harvested. The peas were sown direct a couple months ago as the first crops planted. The peas are perfect! At this point, as the weather has warmed, the pea plants should be completelypulled.
Companion flowers (which are highly recommended) are also starting to bloom. For example, marigolds are planted among tomato plants to help with pests.Garlic is planted toprotect potatoes from peachaphid.
The onionsthat were started off in sets (very small bulbs) are a late variety, so the onions will grow on and be harvested at the end ofsummer.
The tomato bed is doing well, withbeefsteak tomatoes growing in stunning obelisks. See tips on growing trouble-free tomatoes by taking the right steps early in the season!
The Swiss chard is going to bolt as it’s beginning to flower, so time to harvest it! Chard is wonderful in smoothies and steamed in the same way you cook spinach. In fact, it’s really not necessary to try growing spinach if you’re growing chard, which is much easier to grow and soprolific.
In the herb bed, thyme is growing and some herbs arealready flowering, specifically the parsley. But this is great news for pest control because parsley attracts beneficialhoverflies.
Broccoli, planted earlier in spring, is rapidly approaching harvest time. It’s peak caterpillar danger time, so it’s best to keep them covered with insect mesh right now. A couple broccoli heads are ready to harvest, so just remove the mesh and cut the main heads off so the side heads continue togrow.
Fava beans are flowering like crazy now and should be ready in a fewweeks.
The climbing beans are just reaching the top of the arches and should be ready soon.
The summer squashes (zucchini) are absolute monsters already. They’re not ready to harvest, but veryclose.
The potato beds may be close to harvest. They’re an early variety. When they start to flower, it’s a cue that it’s worth having a look. Carefully pull one plant out and see if the potatoes are ready! It’s fun to unearth potatoes in thegarden!
The cucumber bed has sweet gherkins; only the first cucumber is ready toharvest.
The sweet corn is planted in a big block (for wind pollination) and looks close to “knee high on the 4th of July,” which is a goodsign.
FoodForest
If you have the space, consider planting a “food forest” next year. This is agarden that mimics the layers of plants found in a natural forest environment. Take a look at the video to see Ben’s foodforest:
- The apple tree behind the arbor forms the main canopy—the overstory tree layer—and then there is a shrub layer of currant bushes. They will take a few years toestablish.
- The herbaceous layer is made of non-woody plants which are mainly edible, including rhubarb, perennial Babington’s leeks, comfrey fororganic plant tea, and perennial Daubenton’s kale. All were started from cuttings late last autumn and planted earlier in thespring.
This area was planted into what was quite a weedy area. The entire area was covered in the fall with a few layers of plain cardboard over which went wood chips to smothering out the weeds. It worked but still needs a weekly pass at weeding any stray weeds that make it through.Leave the nettles which caterpillars feed on; this will help give life and color to the garden. Young nettle leaves can be used for arefreshingtea.
See a video showing the installation of the Forest Garden.
MoreSquash!
Winter squash needs a lot of room. The ‘Delica’ winter squash and a couple pumpkins are growing—as well as more zucchiniplants!
Some of us never tire of zucchini. Just remember to harvest zucchini when they are tender and small (6 to 8 inches) and check daily once harvest begins, as zucchini will grow too large veryquickly.
There are so many ways to enjoy zucchini. Here’s a great zucchini and parmesan soup recipe that isfantastic!
- Chop up a large onion and a couple of garlic cloves. Cook until softin a tablespoon of oil in asaucepan.
- Dice 2 to 3 medium zucchini. Addto the pot, together with 3 cups/700ml of vegetable stock. Simmer for 20minutes.
- Blend the soup till smooth before adding 3 to 4 ounces/100g grated parmesan. Whizz again to combine then serve with a warm, crustybread.
HotStuff
If you’re fortunate to have a greenhouse, it’s a great place to grow chili peppers! They really do love the heat and now it’s much warmer overnight as well as during the day, they’rethriving.
In the greenhouse are also tomatoes planted in straw bales and being supported on string supports. Just check for suckers, or side shoots and remove those; this is only necessary for indeterminate tomatoes in cooler climates. In hot climates, gardeners often don’t pinch out side shoots at all because they have a long enough growing season to get all the fruits toripen.
With everything growing away so fast, it’s all too easy to rest on your laurels and cruise through to harvest. But don’t forget those autumn and winter crops too. Winter staples include cabbage, more kale, salad onions, beets, and somebroccoli.
Space forWildlife
Gardening with wildlife in mind is so important. Without the intricate network of life that’s all around us, growing healthy, organic food would be nigh-onimpossible!
- Take some wildlife-friendly measures, such as a mini wildflower meadow area, with path mown through it. Late spring into early summer is the best time of year for the meadow. The flowers are in full bloom and the insect life isincredible.
Stay tuned! We’ll go for another stroll around the garden later in the summer so you can see how things have progressed – and maybe there’ll be a chili to tastetest!
