Things That Happen

Right smack dab in the middle of my first full year/full scale urban gardener endeavor, I'm hit with the news that I have an umbilical hernia. It doesn't feel all that great when doing a lot of bending, which gardening tends to entail. I'm seeing a surgeon on Thursday to schedule a surgery. The recovery time is a bit slow. A good 3-6 weeks before I can lift anything over a few pounds or do anything that would entail a lot of flexibility such as gardening or picking up my son. So knowing this, I made today the day where I went and did a big garden clean and harvest. It may be my last chance to do so on my own this season, depending on when the surgery is scheduled. Plus I took a walk in my neighborhood today and met/chatted with a fellow gardener and that gave me another boost of motivation. So hi to Ann, if you are reading!  

Let me first comment on some things that I unfortunately do not have pictures on right now. My tomatoes are booming. Again (last year they turned themselves into a registered jungle). I had all the intentions of staking them and then summer happened and I lost track of time and didn't get it done. My dad said he will come over Sunday and get it done for me as the pushing the stake into the ground and the bending over and etc etc just isn't a good idea (despite me doing it today which I am already, a mere 30 minutes later, paying for). They are starting to lay over and crush some of my peppers and basil, all of which are doing amazing thus far! 

My pole beans are making a slow climb of it. They are climbing but I expected a more rapid growth rate. We'll see. Perhaps a dose of fertilizer will help that out. My bush beans are coming along nicely though. Also, my Zephyr summer squash and zucchini are coming in great with some being ready to pick in a few days. My acorn squash are also getting big leaves on them and developing nicely thus far. 

My lettuce is done until the fall crop comes along. The spinach is all about done as well. The peas are still producing but I'm seeing a fall off in rate and amount and some of the shoots are starting to yellow on me, signalling the end is near for them. 

Now on to today's harvest. 

My Chioggia beets with a random little albino one. They may be a little on the smaller side but I'm just glad to have a harvest after what they looked like a month or two ago due to the leaf miners. 

My Burpee Golden beets. 

Chantenay Red Cored carrots. 

Paris Market globe carrots

Purple dragon carrots. Love the coloration/variation on these carrots. 

Mini Purplette red bulbing onions. These have done so awesome whether transplanted or started from seed outside. Highly recommend. 

So there you have it! A great harvest so far. I still have about 1/3 of all of these left in the ground to develop more before another harvest. Some of them were crowded on space and now that the space is freed up, I'm hoping the thrive and beef up. Or maybe it's veggie up? Either way. If I missed any information that you are curious about, just ask! This post is rushed to be done before my son wakes up from nap so I may have skimmed over some details. I hope you enjoy. I know I am.