June 2012 Garden Update

It's now the end of June. We've been living in desert-like conditions with precious little rain. I have been faithfully watering my garden, however, and doing my best to keep it going.

The garlic was harvested two weeks ago on June 12 and I laid it out to dry. Today I trimmed off the roots and up to one inch of the stalks and put into a mesh bag in the basement to store. I plan to use the little sump pump room for a makeshift root cellar. I need to get Doug to hang a couple shelves, but it is dark and cool in there, so I hope my onions and garlic will keep well there.


My squash plants are thriving. I harvested my first zucchini and summer squash on June 24th. I think they could really use the full 4 squares per plant, however. :)

Can you see the broccoli head growing in there?

On a sad note, the carrots I planted in May did not sprout. Not a single one. I replanted two weeks ago and still, nothing germinated. :( I had such high hopes of a big carrot crop this year. Am not sure why - maybe the seeds were bad? I should also test my soil to see if there is something off, there.

Also, I planted some additional lettuce behind my buttercrunch. I was not sure how it would do under the cover of the giant squash leaves. It is coming up fairly well. However, the lettuce seeds I planted in the squares where the garlic was harvested from has also not germinated. I thought that lettuce and garlic were "companion plants" but maybe I should have spread some more compost there before planting something new? This is still a learning experience for me!

My blueberry bushes are definitely alive, although it may be some years before they produce fruit. They each have about a 4 - 6 inch leafy stalk.  They don't look like much, I must say. I think in the fall I will plant two additional bushes - this time some that are further along in the growth process!