Over the past several weeks, plants in The Soul Patch have been growing and growing. The tomato plants never cease to amaze us. They are huge and bushy, just like last year, and started getting fruit on them by June 29th. We had to stake them up because they were getting too heavy to stand upright on their own. Because we have so many tomato plants, we had to do the staking in a couple of sessions.
Erik staking tomato plants in The Soul Patch, June 29, 2010
The big, bushy tomato plants in The Soul Patch after first session of staking, June 29, 2010
Tomatos in The Soul Patch, June 29, 2010
Tomatos in The Soul Patch, July 5, 2010
Tomatos in The Soul Patch, July 10, 2010 - The tomatos are growing in clusters, with easily 17 to 20 tomatos on each plant.
The cabbage, for the most part, has grown to be large and beautiful. (There were a few that had bug holes on the outer leaves.) Thanks to our volunteer, Hubert L., about half of the cabbage has been harvested – about 40 pounds’ worth.
Cabbage in The Soul Patch, June 29, 2010
Cabbages in The Soul Patch, July 5, 2010
First cabbage harvested from The Soul Patch, July 5, 2010. The stalk is cut with an "X" in order to allow four mini cabbages to grow.
The beans and peas have been steadily creeping up the fence over the past few weeks.
Beans & peas creeping up fence at The Soul Patch, June 29, 2010
Beans & peas making serious headway up the fence at The Soul Patch, July 5, 2010
Beans & peas 5 days later, July 10, 2010
See what I mean about everything growing and growing? Erik found pea pods on the pea plants today. Soon we’ll be picking peas at an amazing clip, and the beans are sure to follow fast.
The first crop of radishes have been harvested and another crop planted by Hubert. Our onions and peppers and coming along marvelously. Peppers should be ready for harvesting soon. The squash and zucchini we thought were not going to make it have suddenly exploded, with Erik discovering some that were ready to be picked today. (Why did we doubt these plants?)
Pepper plant with peppers at The Soul Patch, July 10, 2010
Erik standing by suddenly explosive squash. To his right are the bush beans. July 10, 2010
It’s great fun to see how the garden this year differs from last year’s garden. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve been pleased with the results both years.
