Early June Veggie Update

 I went back over the National Weather Service data for May 2024 and this May has an average temperature 7 degrees lower.  Now last year was a really good year and a little above average.  This year has been a challenge.  At this point everything is OK and growing, but it is not doing as well as last year.  See my Early June Update last year.  

Penelope Peas planted April 16th

Pea blooms ready to open

Carrots are absolutely outstanding compared to last year.  We had warm weather in April...

The first planting of beans is just coming up today.  I waited until this past week to sow these because beans seeds in cool, wet weather just turn to mush.  I have Marigolds direct sown alongside these and they are germinating too, but too tiny to bother photographing.

Dwarf tomatoes green and stocky but nowhere near budding.
Onions are growing well

The cabbage patch is unaffected by the cool, damp spring

Indeterminate Tomatoes and Bell Peppers are two or three weeks behind.
I gave the peppers some Iron-Tone today hoping to green them up.  The tomato plants are just fine and starting to put on a little size.

Havasu Hot Pepper Plants
Well....  compared to last year they are tiny.  But alive.
They weathered it better in this location than the Bell Peppers did in the cold frame.

This is a selection of each of the Bell Pepper varieties.
Again - happier than the same plants were in the cold frame.

The Perennial Herb Bed all over wintered plants

The Dill is the same as last year but down the center is a row of Sunflowers.  Last year I was unable to get these same Sunflower seeds to germinate without the mice eating them so this is a big win.

I am looking forward to some blooms

The Sweet Potatoes are small but survived and rooting in

Strawberries - are fantastic.  I have been snacking on these all day.  There were a couple of ripe ones yesterday and today they were ripening left and right.

First planting of Sweet Corn thinned

Last year I skipped Sweet Corn.  I just wasn't in the mood.  I was glad that I didn't have to water it through our extremely dry summer.  I would have been seriously rationing the rain water tank and prioritizing food crops only.  I bought farmstand corn once last year and even though they were SH2 super sweet hybrid varieties it was completely tasteless.  This variety is Solstice.  I have put corner posts in because I don't know if it will be prone to lodging.  Until I can observe it's reaction to wind and rain I want to have the option to tie it up if I have to. 

Second Planting of Sweet Corn not thinned yet
Gurney's Gotta Have It, my old standby

I also went back to growing potatoes.  I skipped growing them in grow bags last year because of the resources they take up in both potting soil and water and I used this location to grow dahlias last year.  But I missed having new potatoes to fix as "salt potatoes" so I need some fresh baby potatoes, something you just can't get at the store.  

Things are not as far along as last year, or even the year before, but we made it through a very challenging May and lived to tell about it.  The tropical type plants (tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes) are the most affected, but the cool weather crops like peas, cabbages, carrots, strawberries and even potatoes are thriving.  I have a nice apple crop going and will be bagging those this coming week.

My Dahlias are doing fine.  Maybe not as well as last year, but still pretty good.

And of course, almost all of my perennials are doing excellent.  I just have two grasses that have not broken dormancy.  I am reluctant to pronounce them dead just yet.  In a spring like this you just have to be patient.