My scarlet runner beans are blooming as Summer hits Northwestern North America. The heat turned on here in March, but Spring rains didn't show up until June. Now we're enjoying hot dry weather, and the Summer plants have started producing! Have a look around my organic heirloom garden.
I've never grown scarlet runners before. I've had the seeds for a few years but had no opportunity to grow them until now. These flowers sure are striking. Looks like it's going to be prolific!
Here are some progress photos of the plants in their pots, trying to reach up and climb the nearby staircase:
They're getting tall, and bushy, and covered in little red flowers. I don't know why the one on the right is a lighter colour. I'm happy to see it appears the bugs that were eating the lower leaves have stopped. Looking forward to the harvest soon!
Speaking of harvest, I brought in my garlic scapes at the end of June, while they were young and fresh:
And made a really tasty stir fry along with some of my snow peas.
I then got some more scapes from the local farmers market, and fried them with chopped garlic (bulbs) and some Swiss chard:
Here are the latest apple updates...
And a look down on the apple sapling showing the oregano growing nearby:
I think a side branch is beginning to form...
Looking down from above my calla lily, which should bloom soon:
Wildflowers in the yard:
This photo is from last week, so imagine my cucumber plants about twice this size:
If only they'd produce some cucumbers! I see flowers, so hopefully soon.
The basil last week:
The basil this week:
Apparently it enjoys warm weather! I'm told it doesn't like full sunlight, though, so I've got it in a pot that only gets morning sun.
Just today, I harvested some garlic. Looking forward to drying and trying it!
Also just beginning to dig up some potato plants. I've got dozens this year, 3 different varieties including these "pink finger" potatoes:
They've got a few spots from beetles taking bites, but those are gone once peeled. They're less a problem this year than last. I'm interested to start harvesting some of the other (larger) varieties to see how they've done.
And of course, peas! The snow peas have just finished up, and I've let the plants go to seed. Soon I'll collect the dried peas and store them for next Spring.
Now, the shelling peas are coming ready! I have two varieties. One grows to about 5 feet and produces pods with about 7 medium-sized peas.
The other ("Alderman") grows to about 7 feet and produces pods with about 9 large-sized peas:
And of course, all the yard update photos I've taken since my last update a couple weeks ago:
Wow, that lettuce has doubled in height in the past week! I'm not eating it anymore, just letting it go to seed. I see little lettuce flowers forming. Always continuing the cycle : )
My heart has been giving me trouble fairly often lately, so getting my gardening done is difficult enough, without also creating content for the blockchain. That's why you haven't seen regular posts from me lately. My surgery is coming up and after that I should be feeling better. Hopefully this update has been informative and enjoyable to some. Thank you for visiting!
Grow in peace.
DRutter
