June is Bustin' Out All Over!

When we did Carousel in High School I didn't realize that one day the song mentioned above would come to mind while weeding my garden.  Oh how those buggers multiply!  Hence the reason for the lapse in blog posts.  You know how you have to de-clutter your house before you can have anyone over?  Well that seems to apply to posting photos of a garden on your blog!

Anyhoo,  I did some quick weeding today so that I could at least get some pictures up tonight.  It is exciting to see how the garden has grown.  So without further delay...

The Tomato Plants...

Notice the carrots in front of the tomato plants...

 Believe it or not... here are the cucumbers that I started from seeds!

Last summer I had a cherry tomato plant in a pot near the edge of my garden.  Sometimes when a tomato was past its prime, I would just toss it in the garden.  Well surprise, surprise!  This year I had about twenty spontaneous plants pop up!  So I transplanted some.  We'll see how they do!

 Here are the string beans and eggplant...

        

And let's not forget the zucchini and pumpkin... still in need of some weeding.

In the ground.

My plants are all in the ground!  I am very excited.  On Friday afternoon (5/13), I had some extra time, so I decided to do my planting a day early.  It worked out well, as we did have rain on Saturday.  All plants were fertilized with a long-acting fertilizer.

Tomato plants:

 Cucumbers:

Peppers (Green, Red and Jalapeno)

Eggplant and String Beans:

Zucchini and Pumpkin:

On Saturday morning, Katie clogged at the Burlington County Farmers Market.  While we were waiting for the dancing to begin, I had a chance to walk around.  There were several farmers there with vegetable plants for sale!  I wished I had waited to buy my plants.  There were lots of varieties of heirloom tomatoes that I would love to have in my garden.  I am already dreaming of taking down the swingset and expanding my garden next year...

I did pick up three perennial herb plants: lemon verbena, lemon thyme and chive.  I think they will make an excellent addition to my garden.  To make room for them, Wes pulled out the daylillies on the corners of the beds.  We put in the chive and lemon verbena.  I potted the lemon thyme.  

Now to watch it all grow :) 

Ready for planting!

The hostas have been moved and the beds have been turned.  We are ready for planting.  I am hoping to put the plants in the ground on Saturday.  I have covered the tomato beds with black trash bags.  I read somewhere that this will help warm the beds, and tomatoes like it nice and toasty!

I know you have all been wondering how those cucumber seedlings have been doing.  Well here you go!

I still can't believe it as I watch it happen!  This is only 4 days growth!  

Searching for Cucumber Plants

When I originally went to Lowe's on Saturday, I was unable to find Cucumber plants.  Since then, I have checked back at Lowe's and also tried Shop-Rite and Wal-Mart.  No Luck.  So I decided to start my own cucumber plants from seed just in case.  I realize that I will have a later crop, but that is better than no crop at all! 

While looking for the plants, I spoke to another gardener who remarked, "Don't worry, cucumbers grow fast".  Well, I started the seeds on Wednesday night, and here is what I have today...

Wow!  That is pretty fast!

Other Fun Pictures

Of course I couldn't resist taking a few pictures around the yard while I was photographing my garden!

Here is the cute garden flag I got when I was at Lowe's on Saturday:

I also picked up this bird feeder.  SO STINKING CUTE!

And what is a garden without flowers!  Here are the yellow Gerber Daisies I have in small pots around the bench seat.

Getting Started

I am so excited to get my summer veggie garden started.  Last summer, I tested the waters by planting a few tomato and cucumber plants along the trellis that surrounds our patio.  This year, I am expanding to the other side of the patio and adding eggplant, peppers, string beans and zucchini. 

The beds are getting close to being ready for planting, with the exception of two large hostas that need to be moved.

Here are the other planting beds:

All of the plants were purchased this Saturday (April 30, 2011).  Tonight, it is forecast to go down to 40 degrees, so I am moving the plants into the garage for the night.