Garden: Week 11

Garden update...At week 11 we are doing great.  Can you spot the new blooms we have in the garden?

Sunflowers are beginning to bloom.

Oh, so worth the wait!!

Corn is swelling

Nutterbutter squash is growing

These are also nutterbutter squash...but I don't think they were pollinated.  They are cute but I doubt they will grow to much.

Having had no luck with bell pepper seeds, I broke down and purchased a couple from a local nursery.

I picked up a green and golden pepper; then I realized I didn't have enough space in the garden so they went in planters.  I also picked up a muskmelon plant since mine aren't doing much.

Carl and I have worried about the avocado tree.  We were told they can be difficult to transplant and don't like heat in the first couple of years.  Well, we did our best to transplant but we can't help having a much hotter winter and spring than normal.  The leaves were looking awful but it could be they just never fell off the tree.  We have a ton of new growth and it looks beautiful.  This must be a good sign.  The old leaves actually provide some shade for the branches, helping this little tree along.

We have beautiful pollinators in the garden: bees and ladybugs.  We also have pests: aphids, ants, slugs, earwigs and some bugs I have yet to identify as good or bad.  I've been trying to learn about all the bugs in the garden so that I don't smash beneficial bug eggs or nymphs.

 Harvesting some of the carrots.  Despite planting too close and not thinning, most of the carrots grew to a decent size.

 Carrots all washed up (there are two different types).  The carrot tops were also washed up, blended and frozen into cubes.  Now we are set for our next green smoothies.  The upcoming week is going to be a scorcher, looking forward to some green smoothies.  Yum!

 Dinner from the garden.  We used basil and green onions to season the baked chicken.  Steamed the carrots and cooked the green beans with a side of corn from the store to balance out dinner.  Fresh carrots taste so different than the store carrots.  Overall, dinner was delish!  I love our garden!!