Guess what? June is here, we’re even a week into it, and I still haven’t gotten my vegetable garden completely ready! It’s frustrating to say the least. I’ve been so busy making plants for other people, selling at a local farmer’s market, and recovering from a nasty family sinus virus that I just haven’t been able to get out there enough. Hopefully things will start settling down after I recover from my cold (which is one reason I haven’t posted much this week – I just haven’t felt like writing). I thought today I would try to inspire myself with a list of things I need to do in the vegetable garden.
- Weed the vegetable garden. As you can see in this picture the weeds have gotten out of hand. It’s not bad at all around the tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, or potatoes. The potatoes were weeded a week ago. The rest of the vegetable garden areas were mulched heavily with grass clippings before planting which was very effective at diminishing the weeds right off the bat. The onion area is another matter. I didn’t mulch there and the ragweed seeds knew it. It won’t take long to get the area into shape – it’s just a matter of getting out to the garden and doing it!
Finish setting up the irrigation. I use small 1/4 inch soaker hoses that I loop around each plant. Then I cover with a mulch. I have my vegetable garden irrigation set up for the tomatoes but not the melons and cucumbers.
- Plant my winter squash. I’m planning on locating the winter squash near the corn to follow the “three sisters” approach. It’s a technique the American indians are said to have used that combines beans, corn and squash in a symbiotic relationship. Using the squash as a companion to the corn keeps the soil mulched with a living layer of leaves. I should probably go ahead abd plant more beans while I’m at it!
- Clean up my pathways and harvest seeds. It’s tough to walk through my garden right now. Not because of weeds, but because of cilantro! I’m waiting until the seeds are ripe on the plants so that I can save the cilantro seed. There will be quite a harvest!
- Train my cucumbers. My cucumbers need to be trellised up and need some guidance to reach the trellis! Here’s the trellis I used for my melons and cucumbers last year. It worked great so I’ll use it again this year, just in a different location.
I’ll stop at five items on the to do list for now. There’s a lot more I could put down but I don’t want to get overwhelmed! How’s your vegetable garden growing?
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Sheesh Dave…sinus viruses are dreadful, you just want to lay your head down somewhere and leave it! I am glad to read you have been selling your plants…that's wonderful!
Ugh, I'm hoping to feel better before this afternoon's market, dreadful doesn't begin to describe things!
Ugh, I have the sinus virus too. Yuck! I hope to get over it soon and back into my garden. My veggies need to be mulched in a bad way!
Hope you made it to and through the market today. Healing thoughts to you too emilyrose.
I hope you get your list done. I'm always helping my cucumbers onto the trellis too. I'm using square tomato cages for the cucumbers. Worked pretty well last year.
Dave, you should try using the corn as a trellis for the cucumbers. Tried this last year for the first time (picked up the tip from Cornell Cooperative Extension) and it works great. Just need to make sure you plant both at about the same time (if you're planting between narrow rows) so the cukes get enough early light. Hope you're feeling better soon.
Hope you r feeling better as I write this…Spent most of today mulching (after watering….we really need some rain in a bad way)and weeding. Weeds r not 2 bad right now guess because of the lack of rain. Dug potatoes today. Not a bad crop. First ripe tomato in a few days. Already turning. Picked jalapenoes and Onions. Made for a really nice lunch! Hope u r selling lots at the Farmers market. We r going to visit the Market on the square in Murfreesboro Saturday. Should b fun!