Veggie update

Last week we had two days in a row where the thermometer hit 90°F but since then it’s been about 10°F cooler than normal. Most of our vegetables love—and need—hot summer temperatures to thrive so progress has been slower than expected. Still, all the veggies we’ve planted have grown since we put them in the ground. Since they’re still small, I decided to get out my macro lens and take some close-up photos. Most of the time we don’t stop to take a look at the small details even though they can be very beautiful.

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One of our heirloom tomato seedling putting out new leaves. The new growth looks so fragile and tender, yet with hot weather these leaves can grow rapidly.
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Leaves on one of the larger tomato seedlings
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Our Sun Gold cherry tomato has started to flower…
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…and produce fruit. Notice the mosquito-like insect (no idea what it is but it seems to enjoy hanging out on the side of this tomato)
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The bush beans I planted have doubled in size
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Snap pea left over from our winter garden—there are still quite a few pods, which my wife and daughters are enjoying
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Zucchini blossom
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Our yellow crookneck squash (or golden zucchini) has set fruit already
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This sweet basil was razed by rats, the eternal scourge of our garden, but is growing new leaves and looks like it will live
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Another sweet basil nearby escaped unharmed and is pumping out new leaves. I’m counting the weeks until we have enough to make pesto.
110510_chihuacle_seedling
In mid-April I sowed seeds for several Mexican chile pepper varieties, including three varieties of chilhuacle I’m growing to make mole. Pepper seeds need high heat to germinate and progress hasn’t exactly been explosive. Still, about ten seeds of the 75 I sowed have germinated. These seedlings are tiny (about ½”) and I’m making a concerted effort to keep them moist so they don’t fry in the sun. I’m not usually so obsessive about vegetable seeds, but these peppers are difficult to find, and I really want them to make it.

Comments

  1. Strange that anything would eat the basil, but I don't have experience with rats. You sure it's not a basil-loving neighbor? ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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