Spring garden 2015: looking back

I have had a lot of good luck with my garden this Spring. I have harvested zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant, cubanelle peppers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, a smattering of cucumbers, and tons of basil. The summer squash plants have all been pulled to make way for the late summer/fall planting. This year I tried using hay to heavily mulch the beds to keep the weeds at bay. It was really successful, and I definitely intend to keep using it! I live in a very hot and humid climate (temperatures as much as 113 degrees Fahrenheit lately!) and the weeds can overwhelm the garden in no time. I still have to pull a few here and there, but it's no where near the battle it was.  

Lots of beautiful basil went into pesto, which I froze in ice cube trays and then popped into freezer bags for use this winter in minestrone and Italian dishes. I also invested in a dehydrator this year to dry the plentiful herbs from the garden: rosemary, oregano, basil, and sage. I did not dry the thyme, cilantro, or parsley.

I tried trellising my cucumbers this year. I think it was a marvelous idea! I had the most lush cucumber plants. I planted "burpless" and "straight 8". Unfortunately my gorgeous plants were attacked by pickle worms and I barely got any of the fruits. I have replanted a different bush variety to see if I might get a few more cucumbers in the next couple of months.

I erected hoops over the back bed and half of the center bed to install netting a couple of months ago. The deer were mowing down my green beans and sweet potato plants. After the netting was installed they found someone else's garden to enjoy. I have just ordered some lightweight fabric to go over the hoops for when I plant the brassicas. I have not had a Fall garden before, but I will this year. I have read in other blogs about some of the pests that attack the brassicas, and I am going to use their strategy of covering them to prevent the infestations. The heat might make growing them impossible, but hopefully the bugs won't be as much of a problem. I am planning to install hoops over most of the left bed and the other half of the center bed within the next couple of weeks.

My two year old granddaughter enjoys helping me in the garden. She especially loves to help pick the cherry tomatoes as they ripen. This picture reminds me of Holly Hobby dolls that I had growing up.