Summer in the Garden - Part I

The summer solstice was a couple of weeks ago so I thought is was finally time from a little update from the garden. We have had some success as you can see above but a few misses as well (see below). Though our beet and carrot harvest has been nice, our bush beans have not been going as well as planned. Though we had some success in the beginning, the plants have just withered and died. So, this being southern California, I'm going to try again and plant another round. It's nice to live in a place where you have a year-round growing season.

Speaking of hits and misses, some of our tomatoes are doing well, especially the Isis Candy above. However, we had a few casualties with these as well. And, I had to replace 5 plants in our tomato bed. Now all of the tomatoes are at different stages of growth so it'll be interesting seeing what matures when. I have a feeling that we could be harvesting some into September or even October. We're just hoping that most of the plants survive.

If nothing else, the mint is growing like crazy. Yes, it is safely confined to a container so it doesn't go crazy and take over the yard. I've seen that happen to other people and it's not pretty.

When things don't grow as planned, you can start over. This is what I spent a few hours on yesterday. Tearing out two of our raised beds and prepping them for new plants and seed was a lot of work. A number of the plants, like the kale, arugula and snap peas just bolted and you cannot salvage them once that happens. Then the other bed had the carrots and beets so those got harvested. 

So, the bed that gets the most hours of sun got the heat loving plants. Those would be red bell peppers, jalapenos, eggplants and a couple of more tomatoes (Romas). I will be working on the other bed today. That one is going to be lettuces, snap peas, radishes and may be, some more carrots.

No, that is not a sunflower, it's a Black-Eyed Susan. I wish I could say I grew it but I didn't. I bought the plant at the nursery. I tried growing some sunflowers this year but the seeds never germinated. I was very sad about that. So I got these instead since they make me smile.

Mountain Valley Growers

I was really excited earlier this month to read about a nursery that stocks organic herbs, perennials and even some vegetables in The Herb Companion magazine. I have been looking for some unusual herbs for the garden but had not been able to find anything at local nurseries or even on some of the seed and plant websites. But, Mountain Valley Growers (MVG) was listed in the article so I decided to check them out. Their website is not the greatest and is a bit difficult to navigate but the variety of herbs and perennials that they have to offer more than makes up for the hassle.

I have never ordered plants for delivery before so I was a little worried about how they would arrive. But, the plants arrived safe and sound as you can see from the first photograph. MVG really knows what they are doing and it gave me a lot of confidence in their operation. Now, if I can do justice to the plants that I received and keep them alive and thriving.

I ordered the following herbs and perennials:

• Moroccan Mint (for tea...of course)
• Kentucky Colonel Mint (can't make a Mint Julep without it)
• Lavender Mint (because it sounded interesting)
• Lemon Thyme (love me lemon anything)
• Cretan Oregano (how could I resist with a name like that)
• Creeping Pink Thyme (needed some groundcover for around the bird bath)
• Dwarf Blue Butterfly Bush (looking to attract more birds and insects to the garden)
• Sungold Butterfly Bush (looking to attract more birds and insects to the garden)

Everything is planted now. And, so far, so good. I'm even thinking of ordering a tray of the creeping thyme since I could use a little more groundcover in a few areas.